Pulling Down the Moon

Six Steps to Cultivate Resilience During Fertility Treatment

Aug 19, 2021
“I don’t know if I can go on.” 
We hear these words a lot at Pulling Down the Moon. And in a year like the one we’re having, these words take on added weight. We’re tired, we’re burnt out and it feels like we’ve used our last drop of mojo just to survive this pandemic…let alone another cycle. 
But you can go on. In fact, you can not only move forward, you can move forward with purpose and strength because you are more resilient than you know. And, resilience is something that can be shored up with some simple steps. 

 

 Six Steps to Resilience:

 

1) Allow yourself to be truthful about what you are experiencing and feeling.

Find a place where you can truly and authentically download what you’re going through. One of the biggest ways we become resilient is by combating the tendency to hold on to our negative thoughts and feelings. Seeing yourself reflected in compassionate eyes begins to heal the self-blame and anger that comes with fertility challenges.


2) Nourish yourself with healthy food.

Food not only fuels your body, it impacts your ability to handle stressful situations. Diet impacts brain chemistry in specific ways. Lean protein and complex carbohydrates balance blood sugar and help us maintain emotional balance and healthy fats provide the chemical backbone of mood-managing neurotransmitters. Adding an omega-3 supplement and/or probiotics have also been shown to prevent depression and anxiety. 


3) Get your Zzzzz’s

Give yourself the amount of sleep you need to feel rested and not in need of caffeine, sugar or other stimulants. Researchers have known for years that shift work (working nights or rotating day/night shifts) is associated with depression, obesity, breast cancer, menstrual irregularity, endometriosis, infertility, miscarriage and pre-term birth. There is evidence that melatonin, our sleep/wake hormone, impacts the ability of the uterus to receive an embryo. The fast pace of modern life has put everyone at risk of chronic sleep deprivation. 


4) Stretch and breathe.

Yoga is also the ultimate practice of resilience – we use the poses to bend, but do not break; we hold them with strength. Yoga reduces stress and anxiety and teaches us how to release muscular tension in our body, improve blood flow and lower stress hormones. Yoga works directly on the vagus nerve, stimulating our body’s rest/digest/nest processes that are the physical equivalent to resilience. Through yoga, your body can begin to relax and to heal. Once your body allows itself to relax, your mind will follow. Try our Yoga for Fertility Series starting on Sept 12th or drop-in for our weekly Wellness Wednesday classes starting Sept 15th! 


5) Stay sexy.

Fertility troubles can often take the spice out of an otherwise normal sex life. Exercise regularly so you feel strong and shapely. Splurge on a new nightie that emphasizes your curves and makes you feel like a sex kitten. Make an aphrodisiac meal that you can share by candlelight with your lover. Sex helps you release tension and rekindle the closeness you might be missing as you and your partner work through your challenges.


6) Lighten your load and begin to let go.

Resilience is about discovering what you need to shed. In my 19 years at Pulling Down the Moon, during many of which I was working on my own fertility journey, I have seen that we all wear some negative emotion or belief like a shell. We believe our shell gives us form and shape, and fear that if we release this deeply held belief we will no longer be the same. The shell can be made of many different things – grief, fear, blame, anger. We believe that if we work hard enough and are a good enough person, we will get what we want. Some of us believe our fertility defines us. Resilience is the ability to begin to address these questions and fears, rather than allow them to shape our world. Once we let go, we begin to come out of our shell and take the form in life that reflects our potential. Infertility is a painful process, but one that can allow for immense liberty and personal growth. Don’t be afraid to bend. You will not break!


At Pulling Down the Moon our personalized, holistic approach helps you find the tools to build resilience in body, mind, and spirit. Have questions about how we can help? Contact us at info@pullingdownthemoon.com today! 

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By Beth Heller • 13 Sep, 2024
There are many reasons that a therapeutic yoga program may benefit women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS presents very differently in different women but the syndrome as whole is associated with infertility and other adverse health conditions including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Women with PCOS may also have higher levels of chronic inflammation and elevated levels of circulating stress hormones. The good news is that more and more research suggests that lifestyle intervention including lifestyle intervention including diet and exercise may be the best way to manage PCOS. In addition, new research is showing the benefit of Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat the hormonal imbalances, symptoms like hirsutism and acne, and menstrual irregularity that is associated with PCOS. Another element of PDtM’s PCOS “Action Plan is yoga. Yoga has been shown to lower levels of stress hormones and women with a regular yoga practice have been show to have a “healthier physiological response to stress". Yoga has also been shown to reduce markers of oxidative stress and blood sugar control in people with diabetes as well as improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels in heart disease patients (1). Some of the goals of a therapeutic yoga practice for PCOS include: Standing and seated yoga asana that create an invigorating, but not exhausting, exercise session Twisting poses, which in yoga physiology are believed to help decrease abdominal fat Postures that bring blood to the thyroid gland, an important endocrine gland for metabolism Stimulating agni, the digestive fire, that supports complete digestion and metabolism of foods Mudras (hand yoga) that stimulate different physiological and energetic systems Breathing exercises that induce the relaxation response While lifestyle changes can be very helpful with PCOS, they are not enough on their own. Working in partnership with you physician or Reproductive Endocrinologist and ensuring they are kept up to date on any holistic treatments you may be using is the smartest approach for PCOS management. Yoga for Fertility to support PCOS is available at Pulling Down the Moon in-center starting on Sept 21st and virtually starting on Sept 30th . If you would like to learn more about PDtM’s PCOS Action Plan to manager your PCOS Action Plan with holistic health treatment ( Acupuncture , Massage , Nutrition , and Yoga ) then contact us at 312-321-0004 or email info@pullingdownthemoon.com to get started today! (1) Field, T. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 17 (2011) 1e8
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By Beth Heller, MS RYT • 15 Aug, 2024
As I’ve said before, it took me seven years and five pregnancies to get two kids. So, while pregnancy was a joyful time for me on some levels, it was also a time of stress and sleepless anxiety. In fact my business partner Tami will often joke that my pregnancies were some of the most stressful times of her life. Honestly, though, without yoga, massage and acupuncture I think I would have bitten my fingernails to the quick waiting for Jackson and Calvin to arrive safely. What I didn’t know then was that seeking relief for anxiety through holistic means was also good for my boys. A growing body of clinical evidence now suggests that prenatal stress, depression and/or anxiety is linked to adverse health outcomes for both moms and babies including preterm birth, preeclampsia and even future risk of chronic disease and obesity (1). Women, especially women who have struggled to conceive, may feel guilty about experiencing anxious emotions during this “blissful time". Yet preparing for a new baby, no matter how hard one had to work to get it, can be stressful. Changes in the body during pregnancy, including the strains of a growing belly and nighttime muscle cramps, can also disrupt sleep, which increases stress. Rather than worry about worrying, we suggest you take the bull by the horns and enjoy a 360 degree self-care program during pregnancy. And honestly, it will never again be as easy to justify self-care like acupuncture , massage and yoga as it is when your efforts are a “double-dip – good for mom and great for baby. Here are several strategies for decreasing maternal stress and improving overall well-being during pregnancy: 1. Get acupuncture. A 2010 study in Obstetrics and Gynecology found that acupuncture treatment alleviated symptoms of stress and depression in pregnant women and women experiencing infertility (2, 3). Acupuncture has also been shown to be effective at managing morning sickness, back and pelvic pain and labor pain. Make sure, however, that you see a practitioner who is experienced in treating pregnancy. 2. Do prenatal yoga. Compared to controls, women who did prenatal yoga experienced significant reductions in physical pain from baseline to post intervention compared with women in the third trimester whose pain increased. Women in the yoga group showed greater reductions in perceived stress and trait anxiety in their third trimester than women from the control group (4) The same women also experienced better sleep and less wakefulness (5). 3. Get prenatal massage. Research shows that women who received prenatal massage reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain. Cortisol levels decreased, which decreased excessive fetal activity; the rate of baby prematurity was also lower (6). 4. Seek expert prenatal nutrition counseling. There are specific nutritional strategies for managing weight gain, avoiding conditions like Gestational Diabetes and Pre-eclampsia and improving digestion (less heartburn, avoid constipation). At Pulling Down the Moon we target our prenatal nutrition consults based on trimester. Get your passport to pregnancy relaxation by getting started today with prenatal care in Chicago , Highland Park , or virtually ! Gift certificates are also available at our online store shop.pullingdownthemoon.com . 1. Entringer S et al. Prenatal stress and developmental programming of human health and disease risk: concepts and integration of empirical findings. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2010 Dec;17(6):507-16. 2. Smith CA. 1. SMith The effect of acupuncture on psychosocial outcomes for women experiencing infertility. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Oct;17(10):923-30. Epub 2011 Oct 6 . 3. Manber et al. Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar;115(3):511-20. 4. Beddoe AE et al. The effects of mindfulness-based yoga during pregnancy on maternal psychological and physical distress. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2009 May-Jun;38(3):310-9. 5. Beddoe AE et al. Effects of mindful yoga on sleep in pregnant women: a pilot study. Biol Res Nurs. 2010 Apr;11(4):363-70. 6. Field, T. (2010). Pregnancy and labor massage therapy. Expert Review of Obstetrics and Gynecology , 5, 177-181.
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