Opening the Door to Fertility

Scan the stacks at your local library, and you’ll find shelves bowed with books on how to get pregnant. From the looks of it, one of our most

primal functions—the creation of new life—seems a terribly complicated task. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it has become for the 6.1 million women and their partners currently struggling with infertility. In their desperation to conceive, many people find themselves navigating the conventional fertility path with all its confusing twists, turns, and dead ends: beginning with invasive tests, progressing to harsh fertility drugs with countless side effects, and culminating with in vitro fertilization if all else fails.

For the most extreme cases of infertility, those in which one or both of the partners have medical issues preventing pregnancy, that path—bumps and all—might actually be the only way to get pregnant. But holistic physicians like Joel Evans, MD, OB/GYN, author of The Whole Pregnancy Handbook, find that people too often resort to drastic treatment before ever giving their innate fertility a chance to prove itself. According to Evans, “60 to 70 percent of illnesses are lifestyle related. So it would make sense to treat lifestyle issues or do lifestyle interventions, and then use medicine for the problems that are left.”

Our special section aims to shift the dialogue about infertility, so we focus on each person as an innately fertile being, who needs help manifesting this fertility, not as someone suffering from an acute dysfunction. Some approaches we explore are new and some are tried-and-true, but all of them will support your mind, body, and spirit as you find your path to parenthood.

Maya Abdominal Massage

By Catherine S. Gregory

Bring the uterus into balance, and the whole being will follow.

My path to motherhood came as a surprise. I didn’t expect to jumpstart my fertility on the beaches of the Yucatan, but that’s exactly what happened when I booked a relaxing, two-hour Maya massage session with a traditional healer. After the massage, the healer told me through a translator that women sought his work when they had difficulty conceiving. He looked me in the eye as he spoke to me, and the translator reported that I no longer had fertility problems.

I was taken aback because I hadn’t mentioned my concerns about not being able to conceive. But his words proved true. Not long after returning home to a loving reunion with my partner, we discovered I was pregnant. I have since learned that my massage in Mexico included Maya uterine massage, an ancient technique used to reposition a displaced uterus. According to the Maya, if a woman’s uterus is out of alignment, so is her whole being. Returning the uterus to its proper position in the pelvis brings a woman into a state of balance—and, in my case, into an instant state of fertility.

During my annual exams, gynecologists had often mumbled something about my tipped uterus, but whenever I probed for more information, they had reassured me: “Don’t worry; lots of women have this issue.” Yet as I learned more about the uterus through the Maya healing perspective, I realized my retroverted uterus actually contributed to my years of menstrual difficulties and low-back pain, as well as to my inability to conceive. My backwards-facing cervix had made the basic journey of sperm-meets-egg impossible.

Maya massage has gained popularity in the US and Europe through the help of Dr. Rosita Arvigo, an American naprapathic physician who trained for more than a decade with one of the great Maya shamans of Belize, Don Elijio Panti. Arvigo has in turn trained more than 200 healthcare practitioners to perform the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage (ATMAM). Her holistic healing method centers around uterine massage, using noninvasive, external massage to reposition the uterus and other abdominal organs and to make skeletal corrections to enhance the flow of blood, nerve impulse, lymphatic fluid, and life energy to those organs.

Arvigo practitioners also look to the menstrual cycle for clues to reproductive health, but the position of the uterus ranks as their most important assessment. “Undiagnosed uterine prolapse is a big issue affecting fertility,” Arvigo says, explaining that high-impact sports, falls, injuries to the tailbone or sacrum, heavy lifting, and even pregnancy and childbirth can easily displace the uterus. Repositioning it often corrects the issues causing infertility, such as uterine lining health, ovarian dysfunction, hormonal imbalance, and obstructions such as blocked tubes, surgical adhesions, or fibroids.

Although uterine massage is an ancient technique—a specialty not only of the Maya, but also of other indigenous cultures in South America, Asia, and Africa—its relatively recent introduction into the modern world of reproductive health means clinical studies have yet to establish its success rates. But that doesn’t deter people who visit Arvigo practitioners like Shelley Torgrove, owner of Apothecary Tinctura in Denver. Torgrove’s popular fertility program parallels that of other Arvigo practitioners and includes regular ATMAM treatments, self-care massage instruction, herbal tinctures to balance hormones and cleanse the uterus, menstrual cycle charting, and lifestyle recommendations such as yoga, meditation, and journaling. Pregnancy reports from happy clients usually start coming in within three months to a year after treatments begin.

Certified nurse practitioner Cindy Aspromonte uses her ATMAM training with patients through a Denver OB/GYN office and at Apothecary Tinctura. The majority of her patients suffer unexplained infertility, meaning no anatomical or structural issue prevents them from conceiving. “But when we do their exam, we often notice that their uterus is off to the right or the left or lower or displaced in some way,” says Aspromonte. “If the uterus is displaced to one side, it can infringe on the ovaries so you don’t have strong ovarian function,” she adds. “Sometimes you can get a short luteal phase, short follicular phase, or inadequate endometrial lining buildup. [The massage] just opens up the whole pelvis so everything’s in proper position and balance and pelvic health can be achieved.”

Displacement of other organs can push the uterus and ovaries out of place, too, says Marty Ryan, an Arvigo practitioner who works at Seattle’s Tummy Temple. One of Ryan’s clients had a prolapsed colon crowding the uterus and ovary on the right side. After six months of biweekly massage and herbs prescribed to cleanse the uterine lining, she was able to conceive and deliver a healthy baby boy. Ryan treated the woman’s partner as well to increase their overall chances of conceiving. Arvigo says men can have obstructions in the pelvis, too, in addition to the possibility of a clogged prostate. “The massage is very helpful for the man in just bringing back life force to the reproductive system,” she says.

For anyone who wants—literally—to take her healing into her own hands, the instructions for self-massage are quite simple (see sidebar). Or you can sign up for any of the Maya Abdominal Massage self-care workshops that are offered across the country. For a workshop schedule and a list of practitioners by state, go to www.arvigomassage.com.

Acupuncture and TCM

By Catherine S. Gregory

Unlock your body’s fertile energy with Traditional Chinese Medicine.

After Veronica Skudlarczyk of Denver tried unsuccessfully for almost a year to get pregnant, she turned to a reproductive endocrinologist recommended by a friend. Following a series of fertility tests, which revealed nothing obvious, Skudlarczyk learned she had “unexplained ovarian dysfunction.” She became suspicious when the doctor said they could “work around her ovaries” and prescribed a powerful fertility drug.

Instead of filling that prescription, Skudlarczyk made an appointment with Jane Gregorie, a licensed acupuncturist and owner of Acupuncture Denver. Gregorie, who practices Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), administered acupuncture treatments to help regulate Skudlarczyk’s menstrual cycles and to move energy to her reproductive organs so her ovaries could recover from 14 years of birth control use. Gregorie also recommended dietary changes and Chinese herbs to support her patient’s healing. Skudlarczyk’s cycle came into balance within just three months, and after adding a couple of months of Maya uterine massage (see page 76), she was able to conceive a child.

Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at fertility through the lens of a patient’s life force, or qi. According to Stephanie Gianarelli, LAc, owner of Acupuncture Northwest in Seattle, energy imbalances in the spleen, liver, and/or kidneys can cause irregular menses. By enhancing the health of those organs through acupuncture and lifestyle changes, Gianarelli says, a woman can regain her fertility and improve her overall health.

Despite its thousands of years of success in China and Japan, acupuncture is just now being recognized by Western fertility doctors as having a positive outcome on their procedures. A German study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility in April 2002 showed that pregnancy rates improved in patients who received acupuncture while undergoing assisted reproductive therapies. Women who received acupuncture immediately before and after embryo transfer had a clinical pregnancy rate of 42.5 percent versus 26.3 percent in the control group.

The University of Washington in Seattle and Acupuncture Northwest are replicating that research, which is referred to as the Paulus study. In her private practice, Gianarelli treats clients she describes as stressed-out, Type-A personalities in their mid-30s and early 40s who frequently show up at her clinic with diagnoses such as male factor infertility and hormonal imbalances.

Skudlarczyk says watching friends endure the stress of high-tech fertility treatments reaffirmed her decision to choose more natural alternatives. A study conducted in 2003 by Cardiff University in Wales showed that medical fertility procedures compound the stress of not being able to conceive, further decreasing the chance of a successful pregnancy.

When stress hormones dominate, the reproductive hormones can’t work, says Dr. Randine Lewis, LAc, Houston-based author of The Infertility Cure (Little, Brown, 2005). Western doctors pronounced Lewis infertile, but she found her path to motherhood through TCM and acupuncture. “We are now told that once we’re over the age of 35, ‘you better hurry up and do something or you’ll never have a child.’ That, I think, is the most damaging message a woman can receive because it causes way more stress and fear and anxiety and keeps us from a positive outcome no matter what we do.”

Studies have shown that acupuncture has a sedating effect on the nervous system—a plus for those enduring the stress of not being able to conceive, no matter what methods of treatment they seek. Outside of acupuncture needling, Gregorie helps patients reduce stress and tonify reproductive organs through a fertility-enhancing movement class that mixes qi gong, yoga, breathwork, meditation, and visualization.

Suzanne Dubrow, 40, a broadcast journalist from Los Angeles, spent three years and more than $30,000 to endure three failed intrauterine inseminations (IUIs), two failed in vitro fertilizations (IVFs), and the emotional trauma of two miscarriages before her doctor suggested she use donor eggs.

“I kept asking the doctor what I could do to help this process, and he said ‘nothing,’” Dubrow recalls. “I just knew intuitively there had to be something I could do.” After the second failed IVF, she went online and found information about Lewis. A couple of months after attending one of Lewis’ fertility retreats, feeling better than ever from a new regimen of nutrition, herbs, and acupuncture treatments, Dubrow and her husband decided to try a third IVF. This time, her body was strong enough to sustain the pregnancy. Recalling the experience of bringing her son, Griffin, into the world still brings her to tears, and she says her life changed on many levels once she began to approach her fertility from the TCM perspective. “I didn’t feel helpless anymore,” she says. “I felt empowered and strong and able to take control of my own destiny.”

“It’s the relationship between the brain, the pituitary gland, and the reproductive organs themselves that allows the expression of fertility,” Lewis says. “When that relationship is out of balance, nature dictates that you are not supposed to be pregnant.” TCM and acupuncture successfully enhance fertility because they work to bring all systems in the body into a state of balance. Perhaps the deeper message is that our fertility depends on our overall state of being—not just balance on the physical plane, but harmony within the body, mind, and spirit.

Retreat to Fertile Ground

By Kristin Bjornsen

Sometimes the secret to getting pregnant lies in just getting away from it all.

Becky Green’s heart sank when the doctor told her the verdict over the phone: premature ovarian failure, no chance of having a child. “That was my worst day,” Green says. “The next day my husband and I picked out a puppy—we needed to have something.” The diagnosis capped a two-year struggle to conceive that involved two intrauterine inseminations as well as the drug Clomid.

During that time, Green says, she lived her life on a pregnancy calendar. “I didn’t go on vacations, I hung on every word from doctors, and I basically put my life on hold.” Alas, to no avail. Watching friends and relatives bear children left and right made it tougher. “The world of infertility is a lonely, lonely place,” Green says.

Then in 2004 she heard about infertility retreats held by Randine Lewis, LAc, PhD, in Austin, Texas, and ended up attending three in summer 2004 and a reunion retreat in February 2005. “It was a powerful, eye-opening experience,” she says. “It changes your life regardless of whether you get pregnant.”

Such retreats, both for couples and for women only, have become increasingly popular as people seek more natural mind-body approaches to fertility, either as a safer alternative to conventional treatments or as their last hope. Interest has grown so much, in fact, that Lewis is expanding them to other cities nationwide. Although their treatment plans for the participants vary—with acupuncture, herbs, supplements, exercise, and
diet adjustments often included—the retreats usually share a few underlying goals: stress reduction, fellowship, and a shift in focus away from pregnancy.

At the Mind/Body Medical Institute (MBMI) near Boston, for example, a primary aim of the infertility retreats is teaching participants how to elicit the “relaxation response” (the physiologic opposite of stress) during stressful events, using techniques like meditation, imagery, breathing, and mindfulness. The program also teaches participants how to change negative thought patterns that add to their stress. “We can’t always remove stressful events from our lives, but we do have control over our reactions to them,” says Leslee Kagan, MS, NP, director of the Infertility and Menopause Programs at the MBMI, which offers weekend couple retreats and a once-a-week program that lasts approximately three months.

Many doctors—both conventional and holistic—note a correlation between stress and infertility. In fact, a 2006 study at the University of Michigan found that women with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol during their first three weeks of pregnancy had a higher risk of miscarriage. Other studies have shown that women grappling with infertility have the same levels of depression, anger, anxiety, and feelings of isolation as those with chronic illnesses such as HIV, heart disease, and cancer.

“If you remove any factors that may negatively affect fertility, such as depression and anxiety, you can potentially enhance a woman’s chances of getting pregnant,” Kagan says. “In evolutionary terms, it makes sense: If you’re running from a saber-toothed tiger, signals to the brain dampen systems not needed for survival, and reproduction is one of those.”
Support groups, an integral part of the retreats, help reduce stress and anxiety. Kristen O’Rourke, who tried two IUIs and suffered three miscarriages before attending Lewis’ retreats, concurs: “For the longest time, my husband and I never told anyone about our pregnancies and miscarriages. I think I felt embarrassed or ashamed, like I was failing at something.” But sharing her experiences with other people going through the same thing helped remove the isolation and stigma from infertility, she says.

Another crucial step in promoting fertility involves letting go of the sometimes frantic determination to get pregnant. Lewis tells of one woman who tried 27 in vitro fertilizations and nine donor eggs, spending $2.2 million in the process. “We can be so consumed with our attempt to have a child that it actually diffuses energy away from the reproductive system,” Lewis says.

No one knows this better than O’Rourke. “The harder I tried to have a child, the further away it seemed I was from having one,” she explains. “I became obsessed with it, losing sight of all the other positive things in my life.” Through the four retreats she attended, she says she grew emotionally and physically healthier, both by changing her outlook and by adopting a healthier organic diet, taking herbs, and receiving acupuncture and craniosacral therapy. “The retreats brought me out of my vicious cycle of trying harder and getting more discouraged,” she says. “I began to be a grounded and centered person once again . . . and arrived at a place where I could conceive and carry to term.” Indeed, O’Rourke just gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Not every retreat participant achieves pregnancy, however. Success rates can be as low as 30 percent, especially since retreats often draw the most difficult cases. But “fertility isn’t just about having a baby,” Green says. “It’s about letting go, getting life off hold, and learning to love other aspects of life.” To put that to practice, Green and her husband flew to Florida for vacation in August 2005. They floated on the ocean, relaxed, and opened themselves to whatever life—or the stork—might bring. “When I got back, I was pregnant,” she says. And on March 22 she gave birth to Zachary Daniel Green, 6 pounds, 12 ounces. “I got two hours of sleep last night, but I’m over the top in love with this little guy,” she gushes.

Baby Food (for you)

By Deirdre Shevlin Bell

Revamp your diet long before the pickles-and-ice-cream cravings kick in.

Thoughts of pregnancy—of nurturing a growing body inside one’s own—inspire many women to discover a new respect for their own bodies and health. They forego prepackaged dinners, suddenly finding both time and money to cook fresh, organic foods; they pass up that double mocha for a decaf green tea; they muster the memory twice each day to take their vitamins, which used to go forgotten for weeks at a time.

According to experts, these nutritional changes not only make women healthier, but actually can increase their chances of getting pregnant. Naturopathic physicians and holistic medical doctors often treat infertility with a three-pronged approach: detoxification, dietary changes, and herbal supplements.

Estrogens, everywhere
By the time most people want to start a family, they’ve spent a good 20 years exposed to environmental and dietary toxins. Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, drugs, certain foods, and all things plastic contain substances known as xenoestrogens. These estrogen-like compounds fit into the receptor sites on cells normally reserved for naturally occurring estrogen. Once there, they either mimic the hormone’s activity—thus increasing the overall level of estrogen activity—or trigger different effects in the cell, either of which can upset the delicate hormonal balance women and men need to reproduce successfully. According to Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, author of Cycles of Life (M. Evans and Company, 2001), xenoestrogens “aggravate the cell structure and can cause all kinds of changes, from an interruption in the normal function of hormonal release to the development of fibroids and cancer.”

In terms of infertility, xenoestrogens are a double-edged sword: Not only do they contribute to infertility, but they also create symptoms that mask its other biological causes. That’s why Cathy Carlson-Rink, ND, OB/GYN, advises getting rid of them as best you can and recommends a gentle detox as a first step for every couple she sees at her Langley, British Columbia, practice. “You get a clearer picture of what’s truly hormonal and what’s just the effect of improper digestion and poor liver function,” she says.

Supporting the body’s detoxification organs—specifically the liver and bowels—carries special importance for women. At different times of the month, a woman’s body produces varying levels of its many hormones. When the intricate interplay of those hormones is in balance, the reproductive organs function as they should. But when the body’s detoxification systems run at less than full speed, the body can’t break down and flush out the hormones during cycle changes. This leads to an overabundance of the wrong hormones at the wrong times of the month, potentially causing reproductive turmoil.

During the detox period, Carlson-Rink instructs both partners to eliminate alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and illicit drugs, all of which interfere with fertility and healthy pregnancy. Kamhi concurs and also recommends a special fasting diet for one to two weeks that consists exclusively of detoxifying vegetable soup (which you can eat to your heart’s content; along with a couple pieces of fruit each day.

Certain herbs and supplements can support the body during detoxification. Dandelion, burdock, licorice root, and milk thistle all help detoxify the liver; psyllium husk, ground flax seeds, and probiotics support the digestive system.

Clean up the diet
The official detox ends after a couple of weeks, but don’t pick up the Cheez Whiz just yet—your long-lasting nutritional changes are just beginning. Joel Evans, MD, OB/GYN, author of The Whole Pregnancy Handbook (Penguin, 2005), recommends that all parents-to-be eat “a whole-foods diet, which is one where foods are eaten in the forms closest to nature, where foods have a shelf life and there’s natural decay.” Carlson-Rink stresses the importance of eating foods low on the food chain, because they tend to have fewer toxins. Other general recommendations: Choose organic whenever possible; eat brightly colored fruits and vegetables; reduce red meat; and eat more omega-3 essential fatty acids (from coldwater fish such as wild salmon or from ground flax seeds, for instance). Avoid alcohol, caffeine, refined grains, sugar, prepackaged and fast foods, and non-organic meats and dairy.

Several individual nutrient deficiencies—iron, zinc, chromium, selenium, and folic acid, for example—can hinder fertility. But rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach to nutritional supplements, holistic doctors order tests to determine if a person lacks any specific vitamins or minerals. They can then design a targeted diet and supplement routine.

For some people, just improving their diet solves their infertility problems. In a study conducted by the British group Foresight, the Association for the Promotion of Preconceptual Care, 86 percent of couples with infertility problems achieved healthy pregnancies through an improved diet. (For more information on the Foresight plan, visit www.foresight-preconception.org.uk.)

Herbal support
Because so many underlying conditions can cause infertility, experts hesitate to give general herbal recommendations. “The beautiful thing about herbs is that they all have their subtleties, and which one is more suited to each situation is the art of practice,” says Carlson-Rink.

Also, Kamhi cautions against starting fertility-enhancing herbs before giving your body a chance to get into the best shape possible by detoxifying and eating right. “If your body already has trouble detoxifying regular estrogens to the point where you have estrogen dominance, then putting in more estrogenic compounds, even natural ones, is only going to complicate things,” she says. Kamhi instructs her patients to spend six months to a year on a cleansing diet before starting any of the commonly prescribed fertility herbs like chaste berry, false unicorn, rhodiola, and shatavaria.

Recipe for pregnancy?
Will a clean diet and a handful of herbs guarantee you a pregnancy? Unfortunately no. But all experts interviewed for this story report high success rates in people who truly take charge of their health. But regardless of whether you become pregnant or you choose a different path to parenthood, such as adoption, says Kamhi, these lifestyle choices will help you become as healthy as possible so that you’re “in better shape to be a parent, and you’ll learn more about eating and cooking naturally so you can feed the child the right way. In every way it’s a win-win.”

1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 head cabbage, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
5 kale leaves, chopped
2 sheets nori sea vegetable
4 pieces okra, trimmed and chopped
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 quarts water

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and simmer over low heat for 11/2 hours. Add Bragg’s Amino Acids to taste.

The Yoga of Fertility

By Elizabeth Marglin

Break through the “pregnancy or bust” cycle and be present to what is.

All too often, women trying to conceive get caught up in the frenzy of time running out, as if their bodies were bombs ticking away, about to detonate into an explosion of birth or an implosion of infertility. The focus relentlessly aims toward the future, starting with the hope for two blue lines on the next pregnancy test and reaching forward to thoughts of nurseries and strollers to come.

Pregnancy isn’t the only time a woman is “expecting.” Sadly, expectation clouds her vision when she is trying to conceive as well and keeps her from focusing on the here and now. Interestingly, the word uterus comes from metra, the Greek word for measurement, which is also the root of “time” and “mother.” A healthy relationship to time—without a sense of graspiness or expectation—forms the essence of a fruitful approach to life and motherhood.

Yoga, with its spotlight on the present moment, helps people avoid becoming distracted by what might happen in the future. It helps would-be parents in other ways, too. One of its main benefits—reducing stress levels—takes the body out of its fertility-hindering fight-or-flight mode. If the body has to marshal its resources to control stress, it must divert its energy stores away from reproduction. Since stress can constrict blood vessels, including those in the uterus, a yoga practice designed with the intention of lowering stress can only help with overall health and fertility.

“Stress plays a part in every single illness,” says Judith Lasater, PhD, a yoga teacher, practicing physical therapist, and author of Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life (Rodmell Press, 2000). “If you are in a stressed state, you don’t have the hormonal profile of someone who is likely to get pregnant.” She says she would emphasize a yoga practice that pays special attention to the qualities of “opening, softening, and yielding.”

Regenerate with restorative poses
Within the yoga lexicon, inverted postures (going upside down) shine as excellent poses for balancing the endocrine system, soothing rattled nerves, clearing the mind, resting the heart, and increasing circulation. Normally performed at the end of a practice, they can also stand alone as a quick time-out. One of the simplest and most effective poses, Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani), restores beginners and advanced yogis alike

Lasater also believes that quality rest is essential. Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose or Corpse Pose—in which you lie on your back, eyes closed, palms facing up and feet spread apart—can provide that, and she counts them among the most important poses for fertility. “We live in a state of low-level anxiety all the time,” Lasater says. “It’s so important in our fast-paced society to rest consciously every day—it reestablishes hormonal balance.” The quintessential restorative pose for every woman is Reclining Butterfly Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana), in which you lie over a bolster with the soles of your feet together

Nourish fertility with forward bends
Forward bends like Baddha Konasana (see page 104) tone and stretch the pelvic floor, improve circulation to the lower body, and stimulate blood flow to the kidneys. Yin yoga, a style that concentrates on the body’s deep connective tissues through long-held, passive poses, uses a lot of forward bends. Internationally known Yin yoga and mindfulness teacher Sarah Powers says that this style of practice draws out the passive, calming qualities that pregnancy requires.

Powers notes that a body’s prime state for pregnancy comes when all organs are in equilibrium. “Yin yoga targets the kidney qi, which is directly related to the vitality of the reproductive system and the major organs,” she says.

Powers recommends holding forward bends for three minutes and working up to five. Holding the poses that long, she says, creates a pulling action on the body’s connective tissues, increasing overall circulation and nourishing the organs. While opening the pelvis and hips, these poses also draw the senses inward, inspiring a more internal focus. Many yoga teachers, including Powers, suggest that women use visualizations for the areas in their body that feel constricted. For a basic visualization, imagine the breath flowing down to the pelvis and infusing it with energy.

Twist into tranquility
Yogis believe that prana (life force) moves through the body in two ways: upward as prana, which centers in the chest, and downward as apana, which centers in the pelvis. “Apanic energy is responsible for elimination, ejaculation, menses, and the power of childbirth,” says Colette Crawford, a yoga teacher and cofounder of the Seattle Holistic Center. Connecting this downward flow of energy to the heart, she adds, opens the doorway to conception.

Twists can increase apana by massaging the organs, stimulating the ovaries, and toning the abdomen. The wringing action of twists soaks the organs with fresh blood, allowing them to function at optimum levels in preparation for conception.

Surrender to the process
Although yoga can be a helpful companion on the road to pregnancy, if you go into a yoga practice thinking that certain poses will magically produce a baby, you set yourself up for disappointment. Yoga teaches surrender to the process, not obsession with the results.

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