Yoga For Fertility

Infertility is a heartbreaking struggle for more than 7-million women across the country, but there's a class that some women say is helping them to conceive.

Lori Rimkus dreamed of motherhood, but the journey there wasn't easy. After several unsuccessful pregnancies, she needed to clear her head.

"It just created a lot of anxiety, and it was building up and building up and building up, and I didn't really know how to deal with it," she admits.

Lori decided to sign up for yoga, but not just any class. Hers is specifically geared towards women struggling with fertility. It's a new twist on reproductive health. Yoga For Fertility classes are part therapy, part gentle and relaxing poses. Over the years, they've exploded in popularity, both with women who are just starting their journey and those who have been undergoing treatments such as IVF. Tami Quinn, the co-founder of a holistic fertility center, says many yogis are even working alongside major medical centers.

"We found that women were really looking for a place to come where they not only could exercise their physical body, but they could come to a place where they would feel support," Quinn explains.

Quinn says fertility struggles can take a toll emotionally, physically, and financially. They can also be difficult for women to discuss, even among friends and family. That's why at sessions like Lori's, women are encouraged to share their fertility story.

"Women become very open. We pass the Kleenex box. We give a lot of hugs," Quinna says.

Lori says yoga for fertility helped her channel positive energy. "It taught me how to relax. It taught me how to let go."

It taught others how to let go, too. At Quinn's center, a recent in-house survey revealed that 75% of yoga-goers reported a pregnancy within 6 months. But is there science behind striking a pose? While yoga itself is known to reduce stress, Dr. Samantha Pfeifer with the American Society For Reproductive medicine says there are no conclusive studies linking stress and fertility.

"There's never been any studies that have shown that yoga improves fertility rate," Dr. Pfeifer explains.

Still, Dr. Pfeifer believes that yoga can be beneficial for the mind and the body. She adds, "It is known to improve physical endurance. It is known to promote health, from an exercise point of view."

"We don't guarantee that every single woman that leaves here is going to leave with a baby, but we're pretty confident that you're going to feel happier. You're going to feel healthy," Quinn promises.

Lori's story has a happy ending. Now the mother of a healthy baby boy, she believes yoga played a role in her success story. She exclaims, "It's really indescribable how you feel when you come to the end of a journey like the one that I have had."

Dr. Pfeifer says that yoga for fertility is often gentle enough for patients undergoing treatments such as IVF, even those who are advised not to jump or run. Always consult your doctor first.

By Sushan Kim

Source:TMJ4