FERTILITY YOGA
What does yoga have to do with fertility?
The effectiveness of yoga in aiding fertility has been shown in scientific studies. The most famous studies linking yoga to fertility were completed by Dr Alice Domar at the Mind/Body Institute at Harvard Medical Centre. In her studies, ‘infertile’ women going through IVF were assigned to either a control group, or to a group who participated in peer-support discussions, or to a group that received training in mind/body techniques such as yoga and meditation. Her studies showed that women who practiced mind/body techniques achieved pregnancies at a rate almost three times that of the control group. (Domar, 2002).
In 2017, I was truly inspired after reading these findings and went on the develop my Yoga for Fertility teacher training program and classes.
What is involved with these classes?
I have developed a unique fertility yoga course that takes a holistic approach to fertility. In my classes we cover a different topic in each class, such as stress reduction and fertility, nutrition and fertility, and the power of positivity on your fertility journey. Using feminine yoga principles, we focus on pranayama (breath work) for enhancing fertility and we use yoga asana (postures) to decrease stress, regulate hormones and build a lovely healthy endometrial lining. I also teach how to adapt asana as per menstrual cycle and for the different stages of fertility treatment. Guided savasana and meditations are all beautiful and written specifically for fertility journeys.
Who are these classes for?
Please do not feel you need to have an ‘infertility’ (I hate that word!) diagnosis before coming to these classes. These classes are for ALL women who are trying to conceive not just those going through fertility treatments. They are for women interested in taking a holistic approach to their fertility.
If you are interested in delving deeper into understanding the links between yoga and fertility then check out my webinar with The Fertility Network here.
What my clients say about these classes
I can’t thank Annie enough for all of her support over the last year and a half. I started with her fertility yoga classes whilst going through a difficult infertility journey. I was a bit lost and going through some dark times. The support I felt from Annie and a group of lovely ladies was overwhelming and really helped me through.
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We were so lucky that our second round of IVF worked and I was excited to join Annie’s pregnancy yoga class. Despite covid, Annie has worked hard to make sure we can all attend virtual classes and feel that support from the other ladies with a wee catch up at the beginning. She’s also arranged some extra online Information sessions to help with the fact that we haven’t been able to have the usual ante natal classes. I can’t wait to join the mum and baby yoga when we finally welcome our baby into the world! The Luna centre is such a lovely, quiet and welcoming place for yoga. Fully recommend Annie and her yoga classes.