There are many different styles of yoga and fertility yoga is one of the many yoga styles. In fact, it’s often said that all yoga is fertility yoga, the difference is in the intention, the language and your way of being when you practising.
Fertility Yoga is a combination of Gentle Yoga, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, breathwork, meditation, visualisation, affirmations and journaling.
And IVF Yoga is really Fertility yoga - instead of practising according to the menstrual cycle (Menstrual, Follicular, Ovulation, Luteal), or menstrual symptoms, the practices of IVF Yoga are treatment-specific, and based on the 3 phases of IVF (Pre-retrieval, Pre- transfer, 2WW).
The best way way for me to describe the difference in my personal experience, is when I practice Fertility Yoga or IVF Yoga, I practice with the intention of
nourishing my heart and womb space
creating a safe space for my stress response, which is the fight and flight mode of your nervous system, to be at rest from the doing, thinking and planning
create space and softness in womb and heart for a possibility of something beautiful and new
And the benefits of practising yoga intentionally helps disrupt negative thought patterns that arises from the fertility journey that can causes stress, anxiety and depression.
It brings you a better state of mind to undergo the rigors of IVF, cultivates a practice of physical relaxation, and develop yoga self-care tools to help you manage stress for life!
N.b. This post complement the Online IVF workshop Series that was happening concurrently.
What you will learn:
When to start Fertility Yoga
The importance of keeping things simple when doing yoga during IVF
Disadvantages of Yoga
Guidelines for Yoga during the Pre-Retrieval Phase
Guidelines for Yoga during the Pre-Transfer Phase
Guidelines for Yoga during the Two Week Wait
Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash
When to start IVF YOGA
If you are already practising yoga, you'd already know the endless benefits including relaxation, reducing stress and improving blood circulation.
BUT I know, when you are thinking in the midst of the IVF trenches
- > Yoga is the last thing on your mind.
Even as a yogi!
Even for me!
But ideally, the guideline given is that you should start practising fertility yoga 6 weeks before you start IVF, like any other holistic treatments, so you can allow the body to heal and absorb the benefits of the treatment.
And I can guess, that if you are reading this now, you are probably about to start your IVF cycle, or you are in the middle of stimulation.
And you are feeling stressed from interaction from others, financial stress, feeling of being isolated, appointments, fear of failure, and trauma from past experiences.
And there’s niggling feeling inside of you that is aware that stress, anxiety and depression is influence your fertility chances and yoga can help.
I promise you that it’s not late!
A study by Darbandi, et al. (2018) showed that “yoga can help couples overcome infertility and increase the ART success rate by improving the physiological and psychological states of both men and women.”
Keeping Yoga Simple for a peace of mind in the midst of a busy schedule
The importance of doing yoga during IVF is it needs to be simple and flexible, because your life is much more regimented - your schedule is probably filled to the brim with injections, medications, supplements, doctor appointments, acupuncture and what not.
And you need to constantly check in to see how you are feeling because of the various side effects of the IVF treatment- and yoga gives access to that ability to listen to your body and giving it what it needs even if it means lying down in bed.
And trust me, there were times where I struggled to rest because there’s so many things that’s on my mind, or because I must complete the things on my fertility todo list otherwise I will, I don’t know - negatively impact my cycle? I felt guilty for taking a nap, or reading my books.
And there’s one mantra that shifted my busy mindset -
You are already doing enough. You are enough.
So whenever I feel rushed or overwhelmed, repeating that to myself, has really helped get out of my lack mindset into an abundance mindset.
SIDE effect/Disadvantages of yoga
I also discovered newly this year, 5 years after starting my IVF journey, that if I’m afraid (I use this term loosely) - I will NOT want to sleep.
In fact I am afraid to sleep.
Do you have the same experience?
Fear can cause anxiety and sleepless nights. Ironically one of side effect of doing yoga is that it reduces anxiety and helps you sleep.
What?
YES!
I mean you did or may have considered taking DHEA after reading the book “It Starts With The Egg” in the hopes of improving the quality of your eggs, and the side effects are hair loss and acne, and you still took it, right?
Or if you are stimming now, you’re familiar with the Gonal-F pen, which helps stimulate multiple follicular growth? The side effects to name many are- Bloating, indigestion, pelvic pain, weight gain, rapid, Hot flashes, Mood swings, headaches, signalling ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), swelling or a rash around the injection site, etc.
And despite the warnings of the side effects - we did everything our doctor ask us to do.
We don’t do yoga because all we see is the inconvenience and discomfort of practising which includes:
It will take for up some of your exercise time where you will not feel like you’ve exercised.
You will not sweat!
You will not feel your muscle being engaged!
You have to slow down, which does sound painful, when you are used to your HITT workouts, and you are always on the go.
But wouldn’t you want to try yoga if it negates the side effects of your hormone medication?
yoga doesn’t have to look a certain way
I’m not asking you to spend 1 hour everyday for yoga - but can do you 5 minutes a day? Can you do 1 hour a week?
There’s no quick fix to reducing anxiety and stress. You can’t wait until you are overwhelmed, panicking and feeling numb to try to be calm.
You practise right NOW, even way before you start your IVF, before the stress comes in! You practise NOW getting into your relaxation mode of your nervous system, so that when you are stressed, your nervous system already knows what it feels like to be calm and safe, and you would want to get there quicker.
A yoga practice, be it a 5 mins breathwork or one pose before bed or if you have the time, a 1 hour class at your favourite studio - can bring balance to your life and routine, offering you nourishment at a time when stress can make you feel depleted.
Why not try yoga today?
Guidelines for Yoga during the Pre-Retrieval Phase
It is a myth that you should stop going to the gym or doing intensive exercises if you are struggling to conceive or that yoga is the only option. But the suggestion to minimise high-intensity, high-impact training like HITT yoga, hot yoga etc. is because we want to avoid the ‘over-training’ syndrome to avoid increasing the stress hormone cortisol which is not great for optimal fertility
Mild to Moderate-intensity physical activity is fine as long as you are not experiencing pain or discomfort in the pelvic area.
A yoga sequence, similar to what we do in Fertility Yoga for Ovulation would be appropriate, as we are trying encourage follicle growth.
If you are feeling fatigue , do gentler modified sun salutes , gentle yoga movements or restorative poses
If you are feeling bloated and uncomfortable (pelvic fullness is common 3-5 days before the date), you can do Legs Up The Wall and Forward folds to bringing blood to womb (note that: Legs Up The Wall should be avoided if you’ve been told that you are stimulating too fast.)
Be mindful of swollen and tender areas such as pelvic belly and breasts.
Avoid abdominal twists or any pressure on tender areas such as belly especially if you are prone to OHSS, or sensitivity due to injections and focus on creating as much as space as possible in your pelvis eg Supine Butterfly pose
Cooling practices, such as Sitali breath, can be helpful if hot flashes are an issue.
Restorative yoga is appropriate after some rest after procedure
Avoid overheating the body
If you have any pelvic discomfort you need to stop. If the discomfort is severe or persists you must contact your doctor.
[Post-Retrieval ]
Women vary in their experience post-retrieval side effects.
Refrain from physical exercise for 48-hours after egg retrieval to allow the body and any discomfort to settle.
Guidelines for Yoga during the Pre-Transfer Phase
A yoga sequence, similar to what we do in Fertility Yoga for the Luteal Phase would be appropriate, as we are trying to build your lining and preparing for Embryo Transfer,
Essentially the yoga is gentle, more yang (circulation to build up the lining) than yin (nourishment for inner calm) but also important to find balance, and/or choose what feels good at that moment
The movements should be gentle and not expend too much energy
Keep the belly and pelvis soft and released from tension
Create intention of kindness to oneself
This is also a great time to add more restorative yoga to your practice so you train your body to get used to relaxing and slowing down and to nourish your womb and heart as you prepare for the 2WW. Focus on poses that offer opportunity to fold inwards
It’s important to create your own yoga ritual, that is not physical, that can bring you to a state of calm and peace through the 2WW and beyond. It can be a spirit baby meditation, journaling, breathing technique, visualisation etc. Choose 1, something simple and takes less than 5-10 mins that you can incorporate into your day to day life. Doing this will help you feel grounded and it’s a practice you can always come back to anytime you feel anxious or when your mind starts spiralling.
Guidelines for Yoga during the TWO WEEK WAIT (TWW)
[Post implantation]
Some specialists still recommend to refrain from physical activity for 48-hours after transfer. While bed rest is suggested following a transfer, most evidence do not support it.
Gentle exercise is not going impact implantation but you may be conscious of every move you’re making and it’s possible consequences. I would say if in doubt, just rest. You deserve it.
What you can do instead is for the first few days after transfer - practise affirming mantra, and visualisation
Bear in mind the hormonal changes taking place on the IVF drugs. ( ie possible “pregnancy symptoms” because of the progesterone drug). And some of us may experience minimal or zero symptoms. So listen to your body, and if in doubt, just rest.
If you don’t have the luxury of rest, and what I can suggest is that you are unsure, you go about your daily activities as if you are injured.
Many specialists suggest low impact activity such as walking, swimming or gentle, restorative yoga during the TWW period is appropriate and helpful, providing that there is no pain, inflammation or other side effects from treatment.
Gentle and mindful movements helps to warm up body and improve circulation. Focus on movements that does not expend to much energy
A grounding, and nurturing restorative practice is safe for the TWW, and it encourages relaxation and calm nervous system.
If you are not confident with the physical practice, you are second-guessing herself if you do not conceive, and you are afraid of negatively impacting your treatment - Stick the rule of “if in doubt, don’t do it.” Or you may empower yourself to find peace and calm using other yoga tools like meditation, breathwork, visualisations, affirmations or journaling.
It doesn’t matter how you long or how you do a practice but the way you do it, and it’s equally as important to listen and trust your inner wisdom.
Avoid Dynamic Inversions, Backbends and Twists and anything that compresses the belly.
Avoid becoming short of breath, dehydrated or over-heated. If any activity causes pain or discomfort then stop immediately
Know that every one of you and your bodies are uniquely different. In all my classes, I encourage my students to create their own shape with props. Each client needs to adhere to her doctor’s advice but here are some general guidelines that could influence her yoga practice during each phase of her ART cycle.
