Yoga and Fertility: A Journey to Health and Healing

by Jill Mahrlig Petigara E-RYT, MA, Lynn Jensen E-RYT, RPYT, MBA, Carol Knoph MEd, LMHC (Foreword by)

Overview

Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or with the help of assisted reproductive technology (ART), yoga can help enhance your fertility and smooth the path to parenthood. This specialized Yoga for Fertility practice improves circulation and energy flow, balances hormone levels, and tones your reproductive organs. Jill Petigara and Lynn Jensen, who have lead fertility workshops for years, have seen many women successfully begin families and they know how to harness the power of yoga for your benefit. With plenty of photos and clear descriptions, they demonstrate optimal poses for fertility enhancement in every stage of your cycle. Routines are simple but effective for yoginis of all levels of experience.

Yoga for Fertility will help you:

• Redirect blocked energy to improve blood flow to the reproductive center
• Reduce stress with breathing practices, visualization, and affirmation
• Modify yoga classes when you're trying to conceive
• Incorporate fertility-enhancing lifestyle approaches and natural fertility treatments
• Use yoga to improve the success of either natural cycles or assisted reproductive technology cycles, including in vitro fertilization (IVF)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936303328
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/12/2012
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jill Mahrlig Petigara, E-RYT, MA, a registered yoga teacher since 2001, has helped many women struggling with fertility through both her work as a Fertility Yoga Teacher and as a volunteer with Resolve, the National Infertility Association. She teaches group and private classes in Atlanta where she lives with her beautiful family.

Lynn Jensen, E-RYT, RPYT, MBA, has helped over a thousand women and couples on their paths to parenthood since founding the Seattle-based Yoga for Fertility program in 2002. A registered yoga teacher since 1997, Lynn's teaching draws from her personal fertility challenges, her long-term personal yoga practice, and many years of studying yoga and its effects.

Carol Knoph, MEd, LMHC is a licensed mental health counselor and teaches the Mind/Body Program for Fertility at Peak Health in Seattle, WA.

Table of Contents

"Foreword by Carol Knoph, MEd, LMHC
; Introduction: Why We Wrote This Book
; Chapter 1: What Is Yoga for Fertility
; Chapter 2: Who Can Benefit from Yoga for Fertility
; Chapter 3: Getting Started with Yoga for Fertility
; Chapter 4: Routines for the First Half of Your Cycle
; Chapter 5: Routines for the Second Half of Your Cycle
; Chapter 6: Yoga Routines for Additional Situations
; Chapter 7: More Yoga Practicies for Fertility Support
; Chapter 8: Lifestyle Changes to Support Fertility
; Chapter 9: Using Yoga with Other Modalities for Fertility Support
; Chapter 10: Success Stories"

Editorial Reviews

"Yoga and Fertility is a great resource for women seeking to optimize their fertility Take full advantage of this powerful tool."-Nancy A. Klein, MD, Reproductive Endocrinologist, Seattle Reproductive Medicine, Seattle, WA

"Lynn and Jill provide an easy-to-follow program to take you through poses that enhance each phase of the menstrual cycle, regardless of your familiarity with yoga."-Randine Lewis, LAc, PhD, FABORM, Author of The e Infertility Cure and The e Way of the Fertile Soul

"This is a beautiful and informative book that will give hope and help to many women."-Angela Farmer, International Yoga Teacher, Lesvos, Greece

"Those who are interested in practicing yoga in the context of their path to parenthood, whether they are yoga novices or long-time practitioners, will find in this book a very easy-to-follow guide to poses, breathing, and relaxation."-Cathryn Booth-Laforce, PhD, RYT, Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

"Jill and Lynn have created an informative guide for people who are trying to conceive and wish to incorporate yoga into their own journey to parenthood."-Lora Shahine, MD, FACOG, Pacific NW Fertility and IVF Specialists, Seattle, WA

"Yoga and Fertility is a terrific resource for women who are trying to overcome fertility challenges or just starting to prepare for conception."-Judy Simon, MS, RD, Mind Body Nutrition, PLLC & University of Washington Medical Center Faculty and Dietitian,www.mind-body-nutrition.com, Seattle, WA

"Yoga and Fertility provides guidance that can benefit men or women, in other words, anyone wanting to have more of the life they truly desire."-Rod Stryker, Founder of ParaYoga, Author of The Four Desires

"I know this book will be a valuable resource and recommend it highly."-Angela Thyer, MD, Seattle Reproductive Medicine, Seattle, WA

" An amazing step-by-step guide to the most beneficial yoga postures for fertility, scientifically shown to elicit the relaxation response."-Kathryn Simmons Flynn, Founder of Fertile Foods and Author of Cooking for Fertility, www.fertilefoods.com

Reviewer: Kasey Reynolds, MD (Washington University School of Medicine)
Description: This book reviews the basics of how yoga may affect fertility and overall health, and illustrates different yoga poses.
Purpose: The purpose is to educate the general public on different benefits of yoga, focusing on those that may in some way increase fertility. Although these are worthy objectives, the book sets out to explore an area that has little scientific backing, and may misrepresent the function of yoga to the lay public. However, the book is written in such a way that it does not directly state scientifically how these poses improve fertility; instead it focuses on the basics of overall health, which is indeed useful.
Audience: It is written at an appropriate level for the lay public.
Features: The book covers different aspects of yoga which may affect fertility through increasing overall health awareness, improving circulation, and improving self esteem. It reviews various yoga poses to accomplish this, and the illustrations are quite helpful and informative.
Assessment: This book is of reasonable value for its intended readers, but it contains little scientific evidence. It would likely be particularly useful for women who are undergoing fertility treatments and want to use yoga as a way to cope with stress and feel better mentally and physically, with the understanding that the yoga techniques will not actually "cure" their infertility.

Doody's Review Service