How Fertility Yoga Can Help Get You Pregnant
When you are investing significant amounts of time, money, and emotion into an IVF cycle, you want to do everything you can to make it successful. Look: New studies have shown that both online yoga and in-person yoga help to increase the chances of a successful IVF pregnancy by up to 26 percent. This is because yoga is proven to reduce stress and anxiety in IVF patients.
Here’s the fertility yoga deal.
Yoga regimens include a series of poses and postures designed to improve fertility by:
- Increasing blood flow to your reproductive system
- Releasing stress
- Reducing anxiety
- Balancing life energy flow throughout the body
- Helping to reset your endocrine system – aiding hormonal balance
- Supporting a healthy immune system
- Detoxifying the body
- Creating clarity in your mind
Six weeks of in-person or online fertility yoga can reduce an IVF patient’s stress and anxiety between 23 and 26 percent. Now, you can experience the benefits of yoga by practicing online at home.
Benefits of Fertility Yoga
A thoughtful regimen of yoga during an IVF cycle combines mindful meditation with physical movement. Yoga is a great physical activity for preparing the body for undergoing the physical and emotional challenges of an IVF cycle.
That’s not all. Yoga prepares a woman’s body for pregnancy.
Physical activity through yoga in conjunction with IVF will:
- Elicit a relaxation response in your body to reduce chronic stress
- Counteract harmful stress hormones
- Direct blood flow
There are many creative yoga sequences specifically designed to:
- Center attention on breathing
- Center attention on relaxing the mind and body
Practicing Yoga During Your IVF Cycle
A thoughtful regimen of yoga during an IVF cycle combines mindful meditation with physical movement. Yoga is a great physical activity for preparing the body for undergoing the physical and emotional challenges of an IVF cycle.
Yoga is helpful during:
Yoga prepares the body for pregnancy.
- Reduces stress
- Balances hormones
- Supports and nurtures the body, mind and spirit
When practicing yoga during an IVF cycle, follow five simple rules.
- Listen to your body – stop if something doesn’t feel right
- No twists
- No full inversions
- Avoid stress on your abdominal muscles
- Keep your body temperature neutral during your yoga practice – don’t sweat it
Safe Yoga Poses During IVF Treatment
Below are three simple and safe stretches to practice during your IVF cycle. Throughout the poses, make sure to pay close attention to your breath, taking deep inhales, and long, complete exhales.
Cat and Cow – On all four with the toes tucked under and the hands under the shoulders, alternate the curve of your spine in a wave motion.
If you’ve been undergoing acupuncture during your IVF cycle, then you know about the importance of directing blood toward the uterus. This smoothing, two-step posture activates your qi helping to relieve stagnation while safely moving the spine to relieve tension and cramps. Keep your stomach loose by relaxing your abdominal muscles.
Legs up the Wall – Lay on your back with your legs resting on the wall.
This posture is a wonderful way to invite relaxation and to encourage blood flow to the uterus. Our feet take on a great deal of stress every day and this gentle inversion gives them a break from the constant pounding. Your spine will be experiencing gravity in another direction encouraging proper alignment. If you’d like to the work into the hips, you can bring the feet together and allow the knees to fall open.
Restorative Hip Opener – Come to a comfortable laying position with your legs and upper body supported by pillows.
Allow the body to completely relax, surrendering into the posture. There are many unknowns with any IVF cycle that can overwhelm the mind, try embracing the unknown from a place of faith.
These three postures are generally thought to be safe regardless of your yoga background.
Celebrated IVF Expertise
To schedule your initial consultation with Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility Center call 917.525.5496.
