In this episode, I will be discussing five simple ways you can improve your fertility health! A lot of these have to do with calming the nervous system, which can regulate hormones, digestion, as well as the endocrine system.   I will be covering:

• The benefits of yoga and how that can support your nervous system
• Why breath work is vital to your energy
• When the best time is to be intimate with your partner
• The ultimate practice of self love!

  Links mentioned in this episode:   Queen of Thrones Discount: https://shop.queenofthethrones.com/thewholesomelotusfertility. Coupon code: LOTUSFERTILITY10   Studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7153865/   https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(15)01885-3/fulltext https://archive.news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2015/10/immunity-sexual-health.shtml   For more information about Michelle, visit www.michelleoravitz.com   The Wholesome FertilityFacebook group is where you can find free resources and support:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/   Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/         Transcript:     [00:00:00] On today's episode of the Wholesome Fertility Podcast, I'm going to share with you five game changing ways to support your fertility health. And these five different ways are really powerful, so stay tuned.   Welcome to the Wholesome Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Michelle Orvitz. I have a lot of people that have listened for a while, but I know that some people are new.   So, I am a fertility acupuncturist. I specialize in fertility. I have a background in Ayurvedic medicine as well, and studied hypnotherapy, love the body and mind, anything that really has to do with fertility. If you have been listening for a while, nothing would make me happier than to hear from you on either a DM on Instagram at thewholesomelotisfertility or sweet review or rating on the podcast because of course that helps a lot of people learn about the podcast and see if it's going to [00:01:00] be helpful for them on their fertility journey and I love doing this.   I really enjoy getting feedback from you guys. So I hope you enjoy this episode.   On today's episode, I'm going to share 5 ways that you can support your fertility health. Ways that I personally think are super powerful. You're also going to learn some interesting things that you probably have not heard about before. And I will list a few studies as well that are very interesting. Things that I thought were definitely valuable for people to know.   So first up, is yoga. So I'm a huge fan of yoga and there's a lot of reasons for why. Well, it's personally impacted me and my life and I have felt the benefits that it has on my nervous system and how I'm able to function and I see the benefits that it has on my patients and my clients.   And there's also science behind it. So yoga is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. And [00:02:00] many people don't realize that it actually is a branch of Ayurvedic medicine. I have a background in Ayurveda. When I studied it, I was surprised to find out that it was really a branch of Ayurvedic medicine.   So Ayurvedic medicine as a whole, an umbrella, encompasses the physical therapy, which is yoga and yoga was typically done in preparation for meditation so that it can calm the nervous system and allow the mind to be more settled. So doing practices like yoga, settles the mind and creates more calm overall in the person who is practicing it.   One of the benefits is that it can improve blood circulation all over the body. And a lot of these yoga postures specifically for fertility health help with opening the pelvis and the hips and creating more flexibility. And when you create more flexibility, you're also creating more energy flow and blood flow, which is super vital for fertility health.   So that's just one way that yoga is so beneficial for fertility health. Another [00:03:00] way that it's beneficial is in studies, it's been shown to improve heart rate variability. So if you're not familiar with what that is in heart math, which is a heart math institute. You can Google it to find out more. It's really fascinating research that shows that the heart rate variability, which is basically how the heart adapts to stressors and is able to basically go from like being really active to really calm. And it's also associated with the rest and digest mode or parasympathetic nervous system, which is a really important aspect of the nervous system that allows us to go from a heightened sense of urgency or stress.   So, heart rate variability is also associated with physiological, endocrine, and emotional balance. So, this means it has a role in helping balance hormones and creating homeostasis, which is typically the yin and the yang.    So when your body is able to get to this rest and [00:04:00] digest mode, or it's able to get that homeostasis. or yin and yang balance, then it's able to heal itself and it's creating a restoration in the body and that creates more harmony and it helps your not only your nervous system, but it can also help regulate your immune system because there is also a correlation between the nervous system and the immune system.   So a lot of the things I'll be talking about today really do actually impact the body. The nervous system for fertility health and really for overall health and remember, fertility health is a reflection of overall health.   So number two, which is very much related to number one is pranayama, which is an ancient Indian practice and it's connected to yoga refers to breath control.   So breath control, there's many different ways that you can do this and many different ways that you can apply pranayama and each way. incredibly has its own indication. So it's almost like used like medicine and it can impact the body and the nervous system and it can also detoxify the lungs. It can also improve your [00:05:00] digestive health. There are many different types of pranayama that can be very beneficial for the body. It can calm the nervous system. Another thing that can calm the nervous system and that helps with your body's ability to restore itself. And it also. So for the body's own repair, hormonal regulation, so that it's able to support the energy of the body, which energy is extremely important when it comes to reproductive health because it takes a lot of energy for the body to conceive and support new life.   So pranayama or breath control, or increasing the oxygen in the body also or it's something called Qi, which is life force vitality. And I've talked about this before . But Qi is a Chinese medicine term or Chinese term that refers to the body's overall energy. And when we increase that Qi, there's many different ways where we can increase it. But one of the ways is through pranayama through oxygen intake, not only in Chinese medicine, but it's been shown to help. the mitochondria, which are the energy units in the cells to generate ATP. [00:06:00] So it's important to get that oxygen and to be able to do it consciously, because most of the time people don't breathe enough or they don't really use the capacity of the lungs in a proper way to maximize the benefits.   And it's actually something that I often suggest to some of my patients and clients that have been told to decrease the amount of exercise that they're doing because sometimes over exercise or exercise addiction, which I've seen a lot, can impact reproductive health, and it's important to keep exercise in balance and in check so that you're not overdoing it, and what I find is that you're people get really upset because they feel like exercise is their one way to release stress. And one of the ways that exercise helps in relieving stress is because it forces you to breathe. So one of the ways that I say, and it is an addiction, believe it or not, even though it seems like a good addiction, it's an important thing to keep in balance because sometimes too much of a good thing isn't really great.   So one of the tools that I give my patients and clients is to [00:07:00] do breath work, if they feel that stagnation building up from being used to exercising too much. So instead of exercising too much, and I always suggest doing something instead, rather than creating a complete void. So instead of that, what they could do is they can increase the amount of times that they do breathing exercises during the day. So one of my favorite methods of breathing exercises is called breath of fire. So breath of fire or skull shining is a type of breath that can increase and support well, what they call is the fire in the digestive system or in the abdomen area, which is really important.   And it's probably one of the biggest ways that acupuncture helps really well. So it improves that circulation. And you do literally feel like your abdomen's on fire when you do this correctly. And so breath of fire is a really, really amazing type of pranayama. And you can do that. And then there's also alternate nose breathing, which basically you [00:08:00] alternate from the left and right hemisphere of your breath. So you inhale from the left side, hold it, exhale from the right side, and then inhale back from the right side, and then exhale to the left side, and then back and forth like that. And what that does is it actually helps balance the left and the right hemispheres of the brain. And this has been shown in studies to also improve the tone of the parasympathetic or the rest and digest aspect of the nervous system.   And again, the nervous system is incredibly important. And typically in modern day life, we are using more of the fight and flight sympathetic nervous system. So it's important to regulate it and balance it by calming the nervous system down as well, because when you're doing that, that is when your body is able to repair itself. It has so many more benefits, including your digestive system and for your body's hormone balance. Like I mentioned before, it also helps to lower cortisol, which is really important because cortisol tends to compete with [00:09:00] progesterone, so we don't want that. And it lowers progesterone, which is a really important hormone to help with conception because it supports the luteal phase, which is when conception begins.   So on to number three, and that is again, another nervous system regulating technique, which is self massage. It is something that you can do for yourself. It is one of the most unused gifts that we have. We have hands and we can massage our own bodies. I know it's much nicer when someone else is massaging you, but you could still benefit from massaging yourself. And it actually, as a matter of fact, is another Ayurvedic technique, something that has been done for thousands of years, and it's called Abhyanga.   So Abhyanga, self massage or self anointing, is when people use oil and self massage. Now, you could use oil or you can use moisturizer. Most people get out of the shower and they use moisturizer. You could use that time. And take advantage and instead of just putting [00:10:00] on the moisturizer or the oil, you can start massaging yourself.   So self massage is incredible. And what I usually suggest is remember the saying, all paths lead to the heart. So always massage towards the heart because that is how you're going to move the lymph and so if you start from a distal point, You just go towards the heart and if you start from the bottom of the ankles you go up into the groin area, so you're going towards the lymph the lymph nodes and then you could also massage your abdomen which is amazing for your digestion, and it's also amazing for your pelvic blood flow, which supports your uterus and your uterine lining and your ovaries.   So great for your body, great for reproductive health. Self massage also calms the nervous system and self massage also improves sleep. You could also do this before you go to sleep. A lot of times I suggest for my patients to massage your abdomen. You don't have to always [00:11:00] do a full body massage like you do after you get out of the shower, but you could do an abdominal massage. And you go counter, which you could do in a clockwise fashion. And honestly, there is, I mean, I can give you specifics on how to do this, but it's so instinctive. You could really literally just push in your area of your abdomen and feel areas that feel stuck and massage them, release them. The more you do this, the more intuitive it becomes.   And you're going to get more in tune with your body. So you can go around the belly button clockwise, or you could just focus on the area between the hip bones or above the pubic bone and start to feel the areas that feel stuck. And what you're going to find is it actually really relaxes you. And it feels amazing. And you can also include calming essential oils if you'd like and make this a routine, a ritual before you go to sleep. to calm your nervous system. Again, it's all about calming that nervous system. Expression of self love.   Number four, castor oil packs. I'm sure you've [00:12:00] heard about the benefits of castor oil packs. Castor oil itself is amazing at helping move stagnation. So Chinese medicine, we often suggest it for things like endometriosis or fibroids, or just really to move the circulation around the pelvis to support fertility health. The best time to use the castor oil pack is during the follicular phase after the period. So not during the period, but you could start it when you're like spotting at the end of periods. So you're no longer in a full blood flow, but you're starting to spot, so it's tapering off. You can start doing the castor oil packs. But if you're actively trying to conceive, I would stop right before ovulation.   And that just during that small window is when you would use the castor oil packs. And how you use them is typically you'll find kits and they'll have a flannel cloth where you use the castor oil, which I recommend getting in a glass jar and also organic. So you put it in there, you put that on your abdomen, you cover it with [00:13:00] something just to keep it from getting messy, and then put a heating pad on top of that.   The one I recommend the most, and it is literally the best one I found so far, because it contains it and keeps things from getting messy and you don't need to put any other plastic wrap on top of it to keep the oil from getting out is called Queen of Thrones. And I have a unique discount code for that if you'd like. And you can find that in the notes.   So whenever you putting some warmth on your abdomen and having some circulation moving around that area, it also works to calm the nervous system. I would even suggest doing both self massage. and then also applying the castor oil pack.   You could start with the castor oil pack and then do a self massage right before you go to sleep. So kind of like end the day that way. That is the best way you can do it. You can even fall asleep with a castor oil pack on you during the window that I mentioned. Sometimes I'll do that. I'll put the castor oil pack with a queen of thrones. So I wrap it around. I put the heating pad on. [00:14:00] When I'm ready to go to sleep, I just leave it on and I fall asleep.   And last but not least, number five, I'm going to say sex and you're going to say, okay, well that's obvious, but I'm not talking about sex just in the fertile window. I'm talking about sex during the fertile window and outside of the fertile window.   And I'm going to tell you exactly when. So avoid sex during your period. Why? Because it's important for the sperm of your partner to be contained. And sometimes so that it's extra robust and strong on the beginning of the fertile window, which is five days before your ovulation. So every other day from five days before ovulation, the day before ovulation, day of ovulation, day after, and then also into the luteal phase when you're not fertile.   And I'll tell you why. Number one, it's going to help strengthen the connection with your partner, and it's going to take away the pressure of intimacy only during the fertile window, or timed intercourse, and I know I'm giving you a little bit [00:15:00] more of a time still, but doing so takes away that Uh, so that's the first thing, but what it also does is that it prepares the body to conceive.   When you're intimate more times, your body regulates its immunity so that it's able to accept, especially during the luteal phase, it calms the immune system so that it's able to accept something that's typically considered a foreign invader, which is Sperm and also the embryo itself. So their body's immune system lowers and it's able to accept the implantation of a new life form.   There's been studies that show this. So I'm going to list that in the notes as well. And it's also been shown to improve progesterone levels in the luteal phase. So that's huge. And then let's not forget the nervous system. It also works amazingly to calm the nervous system.  We've all felt it. And that is one of the best [00:16:00] parts of being intimate with your partner. It feels amazing.   So getting back into that state, into that flow, allowing yourself a little bit of a break from that fertile window and the baby making and making it more of the connection with your partner is just the best. And it's super beneficial for your connection as well.   So there you have it. That includes my five game changing practices. that you can do to boost your fertility health.