How Yoga Improves Women’s Fertility Health
Before – during – and after your fertility treatment, yoga is a holistic way to prepare one’s body for pregnancy and birth. When infertility is unexplained – or even if there is a clear medical diagnosis – life under the weight of fertility treatment can be daunting. Dr. Zhang recommends that you receive support and nurturing from yoga for infertility before – during – after your upcoming treatment.
Women’s Health and Yoga for Infertility
When you are investing significant amounts of time, money, and emotion into fertility treatment, you want to do everything you can to make it successful.
As a pregnancy enhancement tool, yoga is proven to reduce stress, balance hormones, and revamp one’s whole wellness in body, mind, and spirit. There are a myriad of benefits from yoga. Low impact yoga can significantly increase conception success rates in women undergoing fertility treatment. It can’t be emphasized enough: Always begin with a moderate yoga regimen – not high intensity exercise – and always get pre-approval from your fertility specialist. Look: Too much high-intensity yoga or other exercise has been shown to hinder successful IVF pregnancy outcomes.
Benefits of Yoga for Infertility
Yoga during fertility treatment combines mindful meditation with physical movement. Physical activity prepares the body for undergoing the challenges of a treatment cycle. Yoga prepares the body for pregnancy.
- Reduces stress
- Balances hormones
- Balances body, mind, spirit
- Reduces BMI
Yoga in conjunction with fertility treatment will:
- Elicit a relaxation response in your body to reduce chronic stress
- Counteract harmful stress hormones
- Direct blood flow
Creative yoga sequences are specifically designed to:
- Center attention on breathing
- Center attention on relaxing the mind and body
Customized Fertility Treatment
Because every patient’s personal, medical, and financial needs are different, we offer customized fertility treatment.
We offer the highest quality care timed precisely around your body’s optimal state of performance.
Candidates for Fertility Treatment
- Women with extremely damaged Fallopian tubes
- Couples suffering from male-factor infertility
- Couples suffering from idiopathic – unexplained – infertility
- Women suffering from recurrent pregnancy loss – more than two miscarriages
- LGBTQ couples using donor eggs and/or sperm
At New Hope Fertility Center, every one of our patients is provided with a unique fertility treatment protocol. Our protocols are specially designed to provide the highest standard of fertility care at the most optimal times for each patient’s body. We welcome difficult cases, regardless of the potential adverse effect on our pregnancy success rates.
Supportive and Nurturing Yoga
You will discover a love for restorative or Yin style yoga practices that will nourish your mind and body while alleviating the stress associated with fertility treatment.
Warning: Avoid practicing high-intensity yoga, such as:
- Ashtanga
- Power
- Vinyasa
- Hot Yoga
Yoga is easily adaptable to your lifestyle choices. If you have been practicing high intensity yoga methods – pump your brakes and adapt to a more moderate routine.
Remember: Your body will be working hard to produce healthy eggs and make a baby.
- Soft Yoga Routine
- Medium to Low Intensity
- Nourishing Yoga Routine
Yoga Before Treatment
Before your fertility treatment begins, scale back high intensity yoga practice with a more gentle and less forceful routine.
Avoid:
- All twisting postures
- All inversions
- All postures requiring jumping
- All postures requiring unstable movements
- All intense forward bending
- All intense backward bending
Yoga Goals:
- Reduce the amount you sweat
- Breathe steady and evenly – practice pranayama
- Become in tune with your egg growth and ovulation
Yoga for Infertility
Once you have started your treatment cycle, make sure you are practicing a very gentle pregnancy-appropriate yoga.
For self-control, include:
- Meditation
- Visualization
- Soft pranayama
- Mindfulness
To honor the intensity of yoga, maintain a ritual afterward:
- Sip a cup of tea
- Enjoy a healthy juice
- Indulge in some quiet time
Egg Retrieval
On the morning of your surgical egg retrieval, allow time for meditation or pranayama.
Embryo Transfer
Practice meditation or pranayama on the morning of your embryo transfer. Then, refrain from any physical yoga in the days following.
Women’s Health Provider of Yoga for Infertility
It is important to work with a fertility doctor and support team having the experience required to design a customized IVF treatment protocol meeting your personal needs. To schedule your initial consultation with Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility Center – call 917.525.5496.
