Pulling Down the Moon: Yoga for Fertility

With all the expensive, invasive high-tech treatments that exist for fertility, many women are now turning towards more natural therapies, including yoga. Indeed, some fertility doctors are now recommending yoga for families hoping to conceive.  

And while there are no studies on yoga for fertility, it appears to work. According to an on-going survey conducted by the Chicago-area fertility center Pulling Down the Moon, almost 75% of the hundreds of women, who have gone through the center’s six-week Yoga for Fertility program over the last six years became pregnant within six months of the fertility yoga class. 

Infertility is surprisingly widespread. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10% of women in the U.S. between ages 15 to 44 (about 6.1 million) have difficulty getting or staying pregnant. 

While different kinds of yoga are more appropriate for fertility, yoga helps support fertility in various ways. The benefits of relaxation and meditation are especially important for women hoping to get pregnant. Specific breathing techniques soothe the body, release stress, and nourish the reproductive organs. 

Yoga postures in themselves help stretch and relax tight muscles and connective tissue. Through relaxation of the muscles, blood flow into the pelvis can improve. Many poses focus on the hips, groin, and low back, which are all vital to reproduction. The characteristic focus of yoga on the breathe is important for stress and inner peace. Combining stretching and breathing releases tension and actually lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone that can interfere with the reproductive hormone function. 

Pulling Down The Moon is one example of a facility offering both yoga therapy and other natural fertility treatments. The facility has several centers in the Chicago area as well as in Rockland, MD.  Started by two fertility treatment patients, Pulling Down the Moon offers integrative fertility care, including yoga, acupuncture, nutrition counseling, and other modalities. 

The name Pulling Down the Moon is derived from a Buddhist chant. Within yoga and traditional Chinese medicine, the moon is associated with female energy and reproductive cycle. The organization strives to ‘pull down’ and get in tune with that energy that already exists within women. 

The deeper teachings of yoga also play an important role. One of the most important lessons from yoga is respect and awareness of self. Learning to trust your inner teacher can not only lessen stress and move towards positive thinking, but it can allow for more good things to develop. A sense of peace can make the difference in allowing reproduction to happen within the body. 

Doctors and fertility patients are increasingly supporting the belief that stress-reducing techniques, proper nutrition and acupuncture also increase the chance of pregnancy. 

While there are never guarantees for any kind of fertility treatment, yoga also helps alleviate some of the personal struggles and hardships associated with the process of treatment.