Are you feeling frustrated with the process of trying to conceive? Well, you are not alone. One in six couples in the United States experience fertility issues and face the pain and disappointment of failing to conceive. It does not mean your body, egg, or sperm failed you or that YOU are a failure or broken.
There are many lifestyle factors and the undercurrent of unrecognized stressors that may throw you off kilter. Ongoing chronic stress states have a negative effect on health and fertility, as does fear and control. When you continuously contract out of fear during times of stress, it will turn into chronic negative stress response governed by fear. Stress responses are fabricated emotional constructions of the world, based on conditioning. The brain then predicts responses that will trigger this same emotional response (shame, fear, anxiety, etc.) that impacts the egg’s follicular home in which it will be conditioned. Your whole being is then out of sync with Nature’s natural ebbs and flow.
In Chinese medicine, the body is viewed as a microcosm of nature, there is no separation between the body, mind, spirit, and emotions; if one aspect is out of balance it will ripple out and affect the rest creating discord or disturbance in the body’s “ecosystem”.
Restoring optimal health through Chinese Medicine modalities will support and prepare you to express your natural fertile state and conceive. The focus is on restoring balance to the entire body and can serve as a valuable adjunct to Western medical technology.
There's a vivid metaphor of treating infertility from Dr. Randine Lewis, author of The Infertility Cure, and the leading expert in treating infertility conditions naturally:
“Chinese medicine addresses the energetic health underlying those organs, then it
gently coaxes the body to function in the most efficient manner.”
“Think of your body like a river. The health of the river depends upon the natural flow of water. When nature is doing its job, rain falls in the hills, runs downhill in rivulets into streams, then into bigger streams, then into the river. But if the river isn't getting enough water-if there's a drought, for example-the system won't flow the way it's supposed to.
The Western solution to a drought is to open the floodgates of a dam upstream and release an enormous amount of water all at once. That will cause water to flow into the river, but it also may cause enormous problems because the river's ecosystem isn't equipped to handle that much water all at once. Hormonal stimulation can have the same effect on a woman's body: it floods the system with a huge amount of stimulation that the body simply isn't equipped to handle.
The Eastern method is different. Instead of flooding the river with water from a dam, the natural approach is to seed the clouds and release just enough rain to restore the proper level of water in the river. Traditional Chinese medical treatments are designed to stimulate the body's own natural production of hormones while restoring the health and harmony of the entire system. Once the body is in balance and its hormones are restored, conception can occur.”
What can you expect when you come in for a Chinese Medicine consultation and treatment with one of our practitioners?
1) A detailed investigation in every aspect of your history and habits to determine which organs and meridians are out of balance. You’ll be asked a range of qualitative questions about your lifestyle and state of being which will include but not limited to the following: diet, stress and anxiety levels, exercise patterns, sleep habits and relationship dynamics.
2) After a thorough examination you’ll be prescribed a custom-tailored treatment regimen which may include a combination of acupuncture, herbs, dietary changes, relaxation and stress-reduction exercises to restore your body’s equilibrium. When a woman's body is restored to homeostasis (yin & yang are in balance), the hormones needed for conception and pregnancy are produced the way nature intended and you’ll be on your way to conceiving.
3) Your health and progress will be monitored and the treatment regimen will be adjusted and changed accordingly, meeting you where you are on your healing journey.
From the lens of Chinese Medicine, if there is an imbalance in the energy of the acupuncture meridians running to your reproductive organs; the energetic balance of the ovaries, uterus, Kidneys, Liver, and Spleen will be off. This imbalance of energy will affect your hormones as well as your overall health. The reproductive system must work together seamlessly so conditions will be right for pregnancy to occur.
“The way we respond to acute stressors can actually improve our fertility.”
Here are some questions to contemplate on and write down to help you process your thoughts and feelings and move some Qi stagnation:
How do you respond to stressors in your life?
Do you have a healthy way to resource yourself?
Are you willing and able to reframe stress as a preparation for a new exciting challenge?
What are your false beliefs around limitation and failure?
What are the physical sensations you feel in your body when fear, anxiety, shame, guilt arises?
Are you able to be gentle, kind, compassionate, loving and gracious toward yourself?
Book your appointment today and let’s optimize your health and prepare your body to conceive!
You can book an appointment online at this link here:
Or call or e-mail to book an appointment:
224-313-5901
office@ginkgowellnesscenter.com
Clinic Hours: Mon-Sat: 10AM-6PM
Address: 1400 S Wolf Rd. Bldg 200, Suite 203, Wheeling, IL 60090