Part One:
This is the first blog I wrote for the French website info-lux.com. It is in three parts. If you would like to read it in French, please click the link.
How can we support optimal fertility, and indeed optimal physical and emotional health at any age, using the wisdom of Traditional Chinese medicine? Perhaps you are preparing to conceive and want to optimise your chances, or you have been trying to conceive for more than a year without success. Maybe you have experienced a miscarriage or a failed medically assisted cycle. As a woman, you may have been told you have PCOS or endometriosis or low ovarian reserve. As a man, you may have been told you have poor sperm movement or form. In all these situations TCM may be able to offer support.
There are powerful Vessels which regulate our reproductive organs including our ovaries and testicles. Through working with them, either by receiving shiatsu, a form of bodywork based on TCM, or by doing some simple movements and meditations, you can support the optimal quality of your egg and sperm. Shiatsu uses the same points and theory as acupuncture but instead of using needles we use pressure, along with stretches, and more massage type strokes. Since touch is our first sense to develop, present at 7 weeks in the womb, it offers a profound way to heal unconscious patterns.
Over the years I have supported many women and their partners having difficulty conceiving or experiencing repeat miscarriages, both naturally and with artificial reproductive technologies (ART). Depending on your situation, shiatsu may or may not be able to help you have a baby, but it will help you feel better in your body. It can also be a powerful tool to help your process grief if you are not able to conceive.
What are these Extraordinary Vessels and why are they so powerful?
You probably have heard of the 12 meridians of TCM but have perhaps wondered why there is no Brain or Reproductive organ meridian. This is because these organs are so fundamental they have a deeper network of channels to support them – the Extraordinary Vessels. The Vessels circulate our “Essence,” which is given to us at conception when an egg and sperm come together to create new life – essentially our DNA. The ancient Chinese emphasised the need for optimal health for both parents at the moment of conception because our Essence is the greatest gift we can give to our children. They also understood the importance of our time in the womb and how it influences our future health and well-being, not for us but future generations. This is why they emphasised nurturing the mother during pregnancy and postnatally.
Here is an exercise to connect with all your Extraordinary Vessels.
Cycles of growth and gateways of transformation
Our Essence flows in cycles and is responsible for our physical and emotional development and ageing as well as our fertility. It flows in cycles of 7 years for women and 8 years for men mirroring key developmental cycles. These include puberty within our second cycle ( 14/16) peak growth at 5 cycles ( 35/40), declining fertility in the next cycle (42/47) with the ending of fertility for women with the menopause after 7 cycles (49).
Many of these cycles include times of hormonal change. Although the ancient Chinese did not describe hormones in the way we do, clearly the neuroendocrine changes which regulate male and female fertility are movements of Essence. The core organs of the Vessels are our Brain, Reproductive organs along with our Kidneys (which include the adrenals) and Heart. The Chinese understood the connection between the Brain and Reproductive organs, but also how they work together with our Heart and our emotions and how Kidneys are affected by stress. Connecting with these organs is a simple way to support our Essence.
Puberty, conception, pregnancy, birth, and the menopause are gateways when we have greater opportunities to repattern our Essence. Miscarriage is a form of birth and can be part of preparing to have a baby. I have worked with women to support this process of repatterning her body, through processing feelings of grief and loss, and opening up to something new. One of my clients had 5 miscarriages before she conceived naturally, and, in retrospect, she understood how each miscarriage was a vital part of preparing her to be a mother.
The importance of our lifestyle – epigenetics
Like our DNA, our Essence is not fixed. It is always being influenced by our environment, even from conception. This is epigenetics and why it is vital to support the mother in pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. Our eggs and sperm are expressions of our Essence and so their quality can also be influenced especially during gateways of change.
Our food and nourishment – Food Qi
What we take in from outside in terms of food and emotions affects our health and our Essence. Food is seen as not just its physical components but how it was grown and prepared. If it is grown with love it nourishes us differently than if it is prepared mechanically.
When we work with shiatsu we may be working on deeper issues related to how we were nourished. Our early childhood, or family and relationship patterns, even sexual trauma.
In modern culture, much of the food we eat, is unhealthy. Ultra processed foods and drinks along with excess sugar and wheat interfere with our neuro endocrine and immune system. Before going down the path of supplements and herbs, we need first to encourage good healthy diet -local organic produce and clean water.
Diet includes all we ingest and in our society there is a high consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, recreational and medicinal drugs. Heavy drinking can stop ovulation and reduce sperm count. Opiates can disrupt testosterone production. Smoking reduces our fertility. Receiving shiatsu can help address the reasons why we might be drawn to these and help us to reduce or eliminate our consumption of them.
Breath and movement – Air Qi
Breath is another way we take in from the outer world. Like food our breath is more than its material parts. It includes the less tangible qualities of our environment like stressful situations at work or in our personal life. As well as the qualities of the air itself we are influenced by the emotions of the people around us.
Air is also how we move the air around our body. We could be in a supportive environment but not moving enough. Receiving shiatsu and being more in touch with our body includes being more aware of our breath and how we move. After the hands on work we explore breathwork and exercise. Excessive or insufficient exercise can reduce fertility.
You might like to listen to this talk on my YouTube channel about supporting fertility for women in their 30’s and 40’s
