What is Strong Yoga®4Fertility?
There are many types of Yoga to choose from, but not all types are ideal for fertility. Strong Yoga®4Fertility was created by Brenda Strong who has undergone secondary infertility and through her teaching and research over the last 15 years, she developed a gentle and effective Yoga program for women trying to conceive. (She has worked with The Mind Body Institute since 1998 at UCLA and Newport Beach teaching her yoga method). Hundreds of women have successfully used Brenda’s method to get pregnant and it’s helped couples to face the emotional and physical stress of trying to conceive.
Brenda’s Strong Yoga®4Fertility Classes are unique because she offers participants expert instruction in Yoga asanas (poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques) that nourish the reproductive organs, calm the nervous system and relax the mind and body, helping to release accumulated anxiety and stress. She teaches the Four Fields of Fertility© which enables students to understand the innate connection between the mind and body as they learn specific techniques that will help them shift away from fear based anxiety to empowered presence and the ability to embrace their inherent ability to receive Life in all it’s forms of fertility. She also has developed specific breathing and visualization techniques specifically for fertility.
Brenda’s classes offer a safe and serene environment where women can gather together to support each other in their journey while facing the sometimes unpredictable path of fertility treatments. This helps address the isolated feeling that can lead to depression and chronic illness. Brenda has surveyed her participants and they overwhelmingly feel more positive and capable of dealing with stress after experiencing her classes. Up to 75% go on to conceive within 6 months after her workshop.
How does yoga help with fertility?
The Mayo Clinic recently acknowledged that chronic stress can lead to a variety of health and emotional problems. Yoga is an effective method to reduce stress and anxiety. But in addition, yoga for fertility can help to detoxify the body while relaxing tight muscles and connective tissue. The specific areas in Yoga for fertility of the low back (sacral plexus) hips, groins and pelvis begin to improve in blood flow and circulation-which can aid in healthier gynecological function. As the body relaxes, the mind calms and the nervous system is aided by the breath to help lower stress hormones like cortisol, which can impede reproductive hormone function. This can potentially be beneficial for fertility. Learning to listen to the body’s natural rhythms through yoga and breathing can bring a deep sense of peace and connection to our own innate healing capacity, helping women and couples feel more empowered on their journey.
Research that supports Yoga for Fertility:
Yoga and Meditation change gene response to stress: medicalnewstoday.com
Mind Body programs often provide support groups in which individuals dealing with medical conditions such as cancer, infertility or other chronic conditions receive instructions on meditation, yoga and breathing techniques that are practiced to release tension, worry and stress. As in Alice Domars groundbreaking work at the Mind Body Institute in the field of mind body wellness as it relates to fertility, the research shows that patients who underwent this type of training had higher success rates of conception to their counterparts in the study that did not. These feelings of isolation and depression that can be a part of infertility, are counterbalanced by learning yoga and meditation in a group led by Brenda.
In a recent article in The Examiner written by Corey Whelan she wrote, “Always a forerunner, Ms. Strong announced this week that a new technique combining acupressure and her new, trademarked Fertility Ball can support and empower women to stimulate circulation and blood flow, massage internal organs, help to regulate gynecological function, and decrease stress. Acupressure has long been employed as a simple and gentle way to decrease difficult menstrual symptoms as well as certain forms of sexual dysfunction, and is also the recognized forerunner to acupuncture.” In addition to this Reproductive Endocrinologists nationwide are starting to acknowledge the powerful connection between yoga and their patients ability to conceive through stress reduction as illustrated here by Dr. Robert Kiltz, founder and director of the CNY Fertility and Healing Arts Center. Dr. Kiltz states that, “Yoga for fertility is a powerful practice that helps men and women reduce stress and anxiety, become more mindful and centered, and therefore, improve the body’s ability to conceive”.