Snack 7: Ujjayi Breathing for Fertility

02/27/22 • 12 min

Take a moment to notice how you’re breathing. Is your breath short and shallow? Or long and deep? Our breathing runs on autopilot, but there are ways to control, deepen, and improve it.

Breath is the foundation of a yoga practice. In this short snack episode, Lynn Jensen (@yogaforfertilityLynnJensen) leads us through an ujjayi breathing exercise, which is great for calming down your central nervous system. Get ready to relax and expand your capacity.

Take a moment to notice how you’re breathing. Is your breath short and shallow? Or long and deep? Our breathing runs on autopilot, but there are ways to control, deepen, and improve it.

Previous Episode

Episode 4: Yoga for Fertility with Lynn Jensen

Yoga has come a long way from a bit of a "fringe" activity to a popular way to get and stay fit. But can it help with fertility?

Ruby and Anne’s guest today certainly believes so – in fact, she wrote a book on it! Lynn Jensen is a Registered Yoga Instructor and a Certified Yoga Therapist.

In 2002, after her own fertility journey, Lynn founded the Seattle-based Yoga for Fertility program, and since then has helped thousands of women and couples on their paths to parenthood.

Lynn is co-author of the book Yoga and Fertility, A Journey to Health and Healing. She designed and taught the yoga portion of a study on Yoga for Menopause funded by the National Institute of Health and the University of Washington.

Lynn currently teaches group Yoga for Fertility classes online, as well as offering private instruction and fertility coaching. Yoga teachers certified through Lynn’s Yoga for Fertility Teacher Training programs are now teaching across the U.S. as well as internationally. Find her at yogaforfertility.net.

Highlights:

About Lynn, her credentials and journey The advent of yoga for fertility What is different about yoga for fertility?How do you structure classes for people who are in different parts of their cycles?Overcoming the isolation of infertility The stigma around fertility issues Safe spaces for those dealing with infertility Stress reduction/stress hormones How often should people do yoga? Adding back to your life energy stores The benefit of mind/body and support for fertility

Lynn offers online courses, so if there's not yet a yoga for fertility class near you, you can still enjoy the benefits!

Next Episode

Snack 8: Get Ready to Read! Reviewing two books about in/fertility

If you’re facing fertility challenges, there are myriad resources for medical and emotional support. There are podcasts (ahem, like this one!), classes, and...books! On today’s short snack episode, Ruby and Anne are reviewing two fantastic reads.

Fertility Walk by Tamara Tobias (@fertilitywalk, @tamaratobias.fertilitywalk), a nurse practitioner, dives into the medical side of infertility. What's it like in fertility clinics? What’s the science behind the barriers? What are those gray blobs on your ultrasound?

Make IF Make Sense by Regina Townsend (@brokenbrownegg) shares a deeply personal story about the unpredictability – and all the accompanying emotions – of infertility. How do you make sense of such a big IF? Where are the spots of humor in an otherwise difficult situation? How can you locate solace for yourself?

Both books are excellent companions for your fertility journey.

...Looks like it’s time to head to the library!