Whether dreams of starting a family are in your near future or are a ways off, it's never too early to start cultivating a lifestyle that nurtures whole health, for you and your future.
It’s common for women to come to me as a last resort. I often hear, “I’ve tried everything and I’m not losing weight,” or “I’m still feeling exhausted and miserable.” Sometimes all it takes is a new perspective to jumpstart the transformation process. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine sees health and physiology through a different lens and through that lens new treatment strategies can offer hope to women whose progress has stalled or plateaued with conventional advice.
Cramps, mood swings, bloating, fatigue, forgetfulness… Your monthly cycle is a natural and beneficial process, PMS is not! Premenstrual symptoms are signs of imbalances and when the body is functioning optimally your period should come and go without a single cramp or rage-filled outburst. Each symptom can indicate a number of imbalances. Learn why you’re experiencing your symptoms and what you can do to eliminate them.
Despite our best laid birth plans, sometimes a vaginal delivery isn’t in the cards. Maybe your baby is breech and no amount of moxa can turn him. Or may be you have placenta previa or some other condition that makes a cesarean your only choice for a safe delivery. You can still have an empowered and dreamy birth, it just takes some tweaking to your birth plan and slightly different preparation and planning for postpartum.
The day of your visit, avoid caffeine, alcohol and overly fatty foods before your session.
Stay well-hydrated so you are primed to receive the benefits of acupuncture.
Prior to your first appointment you fill out a comprehensive health history online so we will have all of the information we need to get right to the details in your in-person consultation.
Your first session is approximately 1.5 hours
Your visit will include a comprehensive review of your medical history, including any diagnostic testing, blood work, symptoms, and illnesses, in addition to a full acupuncture treatment
Evaluation
Before receiving treatment, we will ask you a series of questions about your general health, emotional state and wellness goals.
We will take your pulse, examine your tongue and perform some palpation to inform a comprehensive treatment plan customized to you.
Treatment
During treatment, thin, flexible and disposable acupuncture needles are inserted into the skin at varying depths to stimulate pressure points to facilitate the optimal functioning of the immune, endocrine, and nervous system.
Most patients do not experience pain and report a gentle and relaxing “buzzing” sensation during the procedure as the treatment stimulates energy and blood flow throughout the body.
Removal
After 30 minutes, the needles are removed.
Depending on the condition, the treatment may conclude with adjunctive therapies such as cupping or gentle massage.
Although acupuncture has a cumulative effect, it is rare that someone doesn’t feel something positive even after one session. Often people report sleeping very well the night of the first treatment as a result of your body processing the new information being communicated via acupuncture.
Regardless of your main complaint, most patients will experience improvement in their sleep, digestion, mood, menstrual cycles and stress levels. Depending on the type of treatment, you may feel immediate relief from your symptoms, experience a calm euphoria or feel energized after treatment.
Follow up acupuncture sessions are approximately 1 hour
Chinese herbal medicine may also be recommended based on your health issues and goals.
Most patients receive acupuncture one to two times per week for a series of six to 10 sessions. These parameters may differ depending on the condition and constitution of each patient.
If you are local to Boston or Westwood, MA and ready to come in for your first appointment you can BOOK HERE.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
When baking, quality ingredients matter. So do the conditions in which the ingredients are combined. Fertility is just like baking. Both require precise measurements of ingredients (eggs, sperm, hormones) and conditions in which the ingredients can combine and develop (in your fertile window when hormones are at the right level to release the egg and prepare for fertilization).
For the recipe, read on!
This is one of the most googled questions. We ask either because we hope by knowing the answer we can avoid or prevent it or that knowing will help give us to peace of mind about what happened.
The vast majority of miscarriages are caused by genetic abnormalities, which means there’s nothing you could have done and it’s not any your fault.
Hormone imbalances
Immune system issues
Abnormalities of the uterus or uterine lining
Blood clotting
Drug use
A stressful encounter or experience
Exercise
A fight with your partner
That night out with the girls before you knew you were pregnant
Your morning cup of coffee
Too often I hear women blaming themselves or trying to wracking their brain to identify the thing they did that caused their miscarriage (all of the above-mentioned possibilities have been suggested by patients). I want to repeat, nothing you did caused your miscarriage.
While the choices you make in your daily life are not to blame for miscarriage, they can help in preventing miscarriage. Here’s how:
Of the top causes of miscarriage- genetic abnormalities, hormonal imbalances, immune issues, and uterine lining issues- there are things you can do to address all of them!
You can reduce the risk of having a miscarriage by making lifestyle and diet changes and implementing self care strategies that help to establish hormone balance, reduce inflammation and modulate an over active immune response, thicken your uterine lining, and even address egg quality to reduce genetic abnormalities.
Stop smoking
Reduce your alcohol and caffeine intake (1 cup a day is fine)
Eat a diet high in antioxidants, organic fruits and vegetables; and low in processed foods and sugar
Limit exposure to toxic chemicals that can impact the genetic quality of your eggs
Apply acupressure and abdominal massage to bring blood flow to the uterine lining and ovaries for uterine lining health and egg quality
Introduce a stress reduction practice to support hormone balance
Both acupuncture and acupressure are effective tools for restoring hormone balance and improving the conditions conducive to conceiving a healthy baby. Acupuncture and acupressure can help to prevent miscarriage by:
Addressing hormone imbalances and supporting optimal hormone levels for conception
Managing conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis
Promoting blood flow to the ovaries to support egg quality
Promoting blood flow to the uterus to support lining quality and thickness
Regulating the immune system
Promoting relaxation and reducing the effects of stress on the body
Though helping you get pregnant is our goal in everything we do, whether in the clinic, virtually, or through our online programs, our method always includes miscarriage prevention.
Our very intentional and comprehensive approach to helping you get pregnant takes into account all of the factors- hormone balance, lining and egg quality, immune factors, and lifestyle- that impact your fertility and your ability to not only conceive but carry and delivery your healthy baby.
To learn more about what we can do together to support your journey to motherhood, reach out, join our Facebook group, Yintuition Fertility Support Community, or find us on Instagram!
Stress is pervasive, especially right now. Add to that the stress of trying to conceive and it can have a major impact on your chances of getting pregnant.
Stress is a biological state. It is the state our bodies go into when confronted with a stressor, or more accurately a perceived stressor. Studies show that it is not the stressor itself (illness, upcoming election, an “infertility” diagnosis), but our perception of the stressor that determines our bodies’ response to it (whether we get sick from the stress or not).
When we perceive something as stressful, our bodies go into survival mode, activating the sympathetic nervous system (aka our fight-or-flight or stress response), releasing stress hormones, and causing physiological changes that support our ability to respond to an immediate threat (think of a gazelle running from a lion).
The release of stress hormones cortisol and cortocotropin releasing hormone (CRH) inhibits the release of LH. LH is the hormone that triggers the release of an egg at ovulation. If LH is inhibited due to stress then ovulation may be delayed or not occur at all. Without releasing an egg for fertilization, conception cannot occur.
During times of stress, our bodies prioritize the production of stress hormones at the expense of sex hormones. For the sake of keeping things simple imagine you have 100 pre-hormones available to be made into sex hormones- estrogen, progesterone, LH, testosterone- or stress hormones- cortisol, CRH, adrenaline. If you are under stress, instead of each type of hormone getting their necessary share- let’s say 50/50- stress hormones are getting the majority, leaving inadequate levels of sex hormones to keep your cycle regulated and in a position to support reproduction.
In a state of stress our bodies prioritize survival. Reproduction, like digestion, are low priority when a gazelle is running from a lion. While the stressors of our day tend to have a more insidious onset, the biological response is the same. In times of stress, reproduction is inhibited. Making a baby is very unlikely.
When our sympathetic nervous system is activated in response to a stressor, our heart rate increases and blood vessels constrict (to get blood flow to the extremities that we need to flee or fight). Unfortunately for our fertility, this means blood is diverted away from reproductive organs. Because nutrients and hormones are delivered to the ovaries and uterus via the blood, restricted blood flow to our reproductive organs can significantly impact egg quality, uterine lining quality and thickness, and hormone regulation.
Ok so that’s the bad news. But enough with all the doom and gloom.
Acupuncture and acupressure can help regulate the autonomic nervous system, switching the body back from the stress response to the relaxation response, reestablish hormone balance, and promote blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, completely resetting and restoring your body to it’s optimal conditions for conceiving.
Guided meditation and visualization is another powerful tool for resetting your nervous system settings and taking control of your perception of stress. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention without judgement. It is a way of interacting with the world through observation without ascribing a feeling to it. Since the impact of stress on the body is determined by our perception of the stressor, rather than the stressor itself, practicing mindfulness can modify the perception of your experience, which in turn reduces the impact of stress on your body!
What we put into our bodies can be sources of stress (dietary and environmental stress) as well as resources for modulating the effects of stress on the body. Eliminating sources of inflammation- alcohol, caffeine, gluten, dairy- can help to reduce the amount of dietary stress on the body. Eating nourishing, nutrient rich foods can help bolster your system and create a defense again the negative effects of stress. Good fats, the building blocks of hormones, are critical for maintaining healthy hormone levels and hormone balance. Adding antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods and herbs can help reduce and prevent cellular damage caused by stress that can impact egg quality and lining quality. Adaptogenic herbs, such as ashwaghanda, maca, and rhodiola, help the body to adapt to the physiological impact of stress.
Because stress is inevitable, the best way to overcome the negative effects of stress on your fertility is to apply the tools that consistently and effectively shift you back into the relaxation response and out of the stress response. Making a daily practice of meditation, acupressure and fertility-friendly diet modification will provide your body with the support it needs to restore reproduction function and optimize your fertile potential. Stress, of course, is not the only barrier to getting pregnant. There are many other factors that impact your fertility; however by managing stress you will allow your mind and body the capacity to resolve other issues and establish the optimal conditions for getting pregnant.
You’re about to invest a lot of time, energy, emotion, and yes, money, into this process so you want to do everything in your power to make it successful. Here is your checklist of to-dos before starting your IVF cycle:
GET INFORMED!
IVF is a whole new world with its own lingo, meds, and experiences. Also check out instagram accounts and hashtags for IVF to learn more about the process.
FIND YOUR TRIBE!
It's a club no one wants to be in, but it's full of supporting, encouraging, inspiring people. Create a new instagram account just for your IVF journey and discover an incredible community full of people who want to share, listen, and support and help you.
MAKE A PLAN!
IVF is time-consuming. Appointments are daily or every other day. If you're comfortable, give your employer a heads up, since appointments may need to be taken during work hours. Plan to make no plans. You will be at the mercy of your cycle so plan to stay close to home for the month.
GET ORGANIZED!
The what, where and when of meds and appointments can be overwhelming. Buy a simple planner to keep all of your appointments and notes organized and use our customizable Medication Schedule in our Conceiving Zen for IVF program to keep track of when, how, and what to take, and any symptoms you experience or questions you have. Double check that you have all your meds so you're not scrabbling and be sure you know how to take them in advance.
CLEAN IT UP!
Take inventory of foods, cosmetics, household products, and other potential sources of toxic hormone disruptors and start swapping them out for safer, cleaner options.
This is an opportunity to purge all the "junk" in your life and replace it with healthy habits- eating well, practicing meditation and self care, and moving daily. Start supplementing using our Supplements Guide (in Conceiving Zen for IVF) to supercharge your fertility. And check out our Getting Started Lifestyle & Diet guide (also in Conceiving Zen for IVF) and use the guides through the program to customize guidance to you and where you are in the process.
BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE!
If you have questions about your treatment, ask them! You know your body better than anyone. You have your unique expertise and your doctors have theirs. If you don't understand something, want more clarification, or simply feel uneasy- voice it! Don't be afraid they'll be mad you called again, or are "that woman" who asks all the questions. Ask them anyway! Ask them, ask your fertility friends, ask ME!
GIVE YOURSELF GRACE!
It's easy to get wrapped up in "doing it all right" but letting it all go and giving yourself a break is also so good for you, your mental and physical health, and your fertility. If you're here you're taking this seriously and that's enough. Listen to a guided meditation (Conceiving Zen for IVF has one for each phase of your cycle), apply some acupressure... or not. If you need a break, give yourself a break. Allow yourself to feel whatever you're feeling and give yourself space to vent, cry, scream, or just breathe!
And lastly…. set yourself up for success for joining our online IVF Support Program- Conceiving Zen for IVF. It will guide you through each step of your IVF cycle with lifestyle and diet recommendations, acupressure videos, self massage videos, guided meditations, and more!
