FAQ’s About Fertility Yoga

What is Fertility Yoga and How Will It Help You Conceive?

I found Fertility Yoga when I was many years into my journey of trying to conceive. I was at my lowest point. I felt like I’d tried everything. IVF had failed, my doctor didn’t have any answers other than “you can try again.” I was told my eggs were too old, my chances were slim, and there was little else we could do.

How I wish I had found this practice sooner. Three months after starting Fertility Yoga, I fell pregnant naturally for the first time. Sadly, we lost that pregnancy early on. However, 4 months later I was pregnant again, naturally, and my little boy is now a healthy 1-year-old!

For thousands of years, yoga has been used to heal the body and promote optimal health.  As teachers, we use various yoga tools – the exercises you see on the mat, breathing techniques, relaxation exercises and meditation – to help people with so many health conditions, both physical and psychological. Yoga also incorporates dietary and lifestyle advice. It’s such an all-encompassing practice.

If you’re new to Fertility Yoga, here are several questions I’m often asked as a teacher.

Can yoga increase fertility?

The short answer to this is YES. It’s not a quick fix or a guarantee, but it absolutely benefits your fertility. Fertility Yoga has the power to help balance your hormones, stimulate blood flow to your ovaries and regulate your nervous system. These actions combined will assist with egg quality, stress reduction, and a more balanced cycle.

Which yoga is best for conceiving?

There are many different forms of yoga that you have come across – Hatha, Iyengar, vinyasa, ashtanga, and yin, to name a few. Fertility Yoga is not a specific style. Instead, we work with your menstrual cycle and correspond exercises, poses, and breathing techniques according to which phase you’re in. We adapt the practice to coincide with your menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases.

When should I do fertility yoga?

I find a lot of teachers will recommend practicing first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, as this is how yoga was originally intended. However, I usually find time for yoga in the evenings before dinner, or during the day before lunch. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you have some time and space to yourself. A reminder that yoga is always best practiced on an empty stomach.

Which exercises increase fertility?

There are so many yoga exercises we can apply to boosting fertility. However, it’s the combination, the sequence and the timing with your cycle that really brings the magic to this practice. Generally, fertility yoga is very gentle. We are not aiming to exhaust the body or perform advanced ashtanga-style poses. It’s more about stimulating blood flow to your reproductive organs, endocrine system and creating a sense of calm within the body. You’ll find lots of twists, forward folds, pelvic mobility work and restorative poses.

How can I increase my fertility after 35?

I find that women are always told their fertility rapidly declines after 35. Yet some gentle modifications to your diet, exercise, and lifestyle can make all the difference while trying to conceive – regardless of your age. It is always worth focusing on egg quality after the age of 35, but this is something I would recommend to younger students too. The easiest ways to do this are to quit smoking, avoid excess alcohol, exercise according to your cycle, and eat a wide range of nutritious foods.

To finish…

Fertility Yoga has so many incredible benefits. I admit I started the practice to help me fall pregnant. But it did so much more – I found some peace on my journey, I slept better, and I felt lighter, happier. I keep a regular yoga practice now to help me through whatever it is I’m dealing with in my life. Wherever you are on your journey, I hope it can shine a little light into your world, too.

If you’d like to learn about fertility yoga & start experiencing the benefits, sign up to my online fertility yoga course. I will take you through each stage of your cycle, provide meditations to help you release stress, and simple exercises to get your mindset in the right place to conceive.