From the category archives:

Brain-Fertility Connection

Introducing “How Einstein Would Get Pregnant!”

by Joanne September 7, 2010

We are excited to introduce a new blog/educational series called How Einstein Would Get Pregnant. We are always amazed at the incredible stories about the ability to use our brains and minds to help our bodies – and with just as much amazement we cannot believe that this isn’t widely known and used! And [...]

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5 New Ways To Re-Think Fertility and Stress

by Joanne August 31, 2010

With this study published definitely linking stress and trying to conceive, we are one giant step closer to understanding more about our female bodies.
Three years ago when I had my “a-ha” moment, standing in my kitchen holding a cup of coffee, with the idea of Circle+Bloom banging me on the top of the head, the [...]

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PCOS! Be afraid…be very very afraid.

by Joanne August 25, 2010

We are setting our sights on you, PCOS!  We are in our labs right now mixing up a deadly concoction of brain-body therapy to rid you forever!
When we sent out our questionnaire a few months ago as to what next product you would like us to develop, PCOS was high up on the list. [...]

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What We Now Know About Stress

by Joanne August 19, 2010

The NIH study showing indicating stress may delay women getting pregnant is getting lots of attention from the press.  The study which has taken 274 couples who were having trouble with conception and tracked them over the course of six months while testing for stress hormones has shown a statistically significant connection between stress and [...]

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A Powerful Fertility Drug – Your Brain

by Joanne August 12, 2010

Would you believe me if I told you reading about a story of a 61-year-old male cancer survivor can help in your fertility journey? No? Read on, and you might just be surprised to find out.
In 1971, Dr. O. Carl Simonton, a radiologist at the University of Texas met a 61-year old patient who [...]

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What Makes Circle + Bloom Different?

by Susan August 3, 2010

When people talk about Circle + Bloom they use different ways to describe our programs and how it works. We hear our programs referred to as meditation, mind-body therapy, relaxation exercises, etc.
To a certain extent our programs incorporate parts of all of these descriptive terms, but our programs are also different from [...]

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Stop Stressing Over Stress

by Joanne July 22, 2010

“Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.” ~Astrid Alauda
What does stress mean to you? In this post we seek to uncover the mysteries of stress, its effects on our health and fertility and why it’s important to do something about it.
Stress is something [...]

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What if We Could Talk About Infertility?

by Joanne July 15, 2010

“Infertility is where breast cancer was in the 1970s—completely in the closet.”- Lindsay Beck, Fertile Hope
Thank you Jennifer Wolff Perrine for this amazing article in the August issue of Self Magazine. It explores the fact that there are so many women having trouble conceiving, but nobody feels comfortable talking about it. As a [...]

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The Brain Versus the Mind

by Joanne July 14, 2010

We are constantly on the hunt here at Circle+Bloom to ensure that our product descriptions and overall company messaging gets to the point and the maximum number of people understand what we are all about.
Among other things, we’ve been focusing lately on the “cliff-notes” or short-hand way of describing our programs.
Historically we have been using [...]

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A special email we would like to share

by Joanne July 9, 2010

This is an actual email we received from a customer earlier this week regarding our Energy Program. Thought we would share it, because she goes to great lengths to connect it back to her life and her meditation practice. Keep these emails coming, folks! It makes our day, our week, our month! [...]

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Waking Up Feeling Refreshed – It’s Possible!

by Joanne July 7, 2010

When creating our Energy for Empowerment Program, I did a lot of research on the effects of lack of sleep on our body.  Turns out, lack of sleep can be the first domino in a chain of events that can wreak havoc on all aspects of your well-being.  When you do not get enough sleep, [...]

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My Intentions. What are Yours?

by Joanne June 30, 2010

Having a list of intentions – or some people like to call affirmations – can be life changing. Here are mine. I would love to hear yours.
We would LOVE for this to be a “wiki” list of intentions. Please add your own in the comments section.
I will dare to always be honest [...]

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How to Deal with Insensitive Comments

by Joanne June 22, 2010

I remember getting very upset when folks would try to give me advice while I was trying to conceive.  One person even told me after I had miscarried that “I was lucky to have one healthy child…you should leave it at that.”  While you are going through the very difficult and painful process of trying [...]

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We want you to tell us…

by Joanne June 16, 2010

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var q7×2q5 = new WufooForm();
q7×2q5.initialize({
‘userName’:'circlebloom’,
‘formHash’:'q7×2q5′,
‘autoResize’:true,
‘height’:'925′,
’ssl’:true});
q7×2q5.display();

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OnAir with Conceive Magazine

by Joanne June 16, 2010

I was interviewed by Emily Kruckemyer, Senior Editor of Conceive Magazine. It is a fun and engaging portrait of not only how Circle+Bloom became to be, but real information and suggestions to really get started on your own brain fitness journey to improve fertility.
Listen to our podcast:
Click here to begin [...]

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The Brain-Infertility Connection Podcast

by Joanne June 14, 2010

Click here to listen right now to a fun and engaging presentation Joanne made to the U.K. Fertility Telesummit.
Here is just a quick idea of what you can learn about how we can begin to our brain to improve our fertility:
*How the mind-body connection effects your fertility
*How stress can effect fertility and what you can [...]

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Psychoneuroimmunology…your superpower!

by Joanne June 14, 2010

We all have a superpower and it is called the internal communication between mind and body.
The fancy and scientific name for it is Psychoneuroimmunology, which means your thoughts and feelings (psycho) affect the chemicals in your brain (neuro), which affects the hormones that fight disease or replicate viruses (immunology). Research centers have sprung up [...]

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Mixing It Up

by Joanne June 8, 2010

I have a love affair with interior design. Since launching Circle+Bloom, however, I have had no time to dedicate to it except to stumble across a few blogs here and there. Today I came across this image and it really struck a chord deep inside. Here is the image:

What I see is [...]

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Energy for Empowerment

by Joanne June 3, 2010

Tired all the time? Check. Overworked and overstressed? Check. Can’t get a good night’s sleep? Check.
Don’t we all suffer from low energy levels? Does low energy impact your levels of fertility or other health related issues in your life? I have always struggled with energy levels – even [...]

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The World Stage

by Joanne June 1, 2010

I’d like to boast a tiny bit – and maybe you will indulge me. Having launched Circle+Bloom less than a year ago, we have created an unbelievable groundswell of enthusiasm and support and not just across the United States – but from all around the world. Just take a little glimpse at [...]

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3 Steps Towards Creating a Mind-Body Habit Everyday for Pregnancy

by Joanne May 18, 2010

Whenever I approach the challenge of creating a new habit – whether it is start a new exercise routine or to eat better – I have found it’s always easier when others before me lead the way and provide advice on how best to do it. Our intent with this post is to do [...]

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Using Circle+Bloom with Acupuncture for Fertility.

by Joanne May 14, 2010

We’re thrilled to announce that the Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness in New York City will be offering their patients our programs on iPods to listen while they are being treated with acupuncture. Mike Berkley, L.A.c., founder and director, was very complimentary of the quality of our programs – including our detailed physiological visualizations [...]

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Book Review: Healing Mind, Healthy Woman

by Joanne May 6, 2010

Just a quick note to say that we are beyond thrilled with the unbelievable response we have received from the launch of our new IVF/IUI Mind-Body Program!  If you haven’t done so yet, click on over and see all the details.
In our effort to pass along great books related to empowerment and fertility, we are [...]

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How to Apply the Art of Meditation

by Joanne April 19, 2010

Lately I have been learning the art of meditation for extended periods of time in solitude.  We sometimes refer to our mind-body programs as a fertility meditation – but I think of the study of meditation as more an umbrella term for any exercise when we quiet our mind for a certain uninterrupted period of [...]

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IVF / IUI Product Development

by Joanne April 7, 2010

We have been working hard to finalize and release our IVF / IUI Mind-Body Program. It most certainly has become a labor of love. We were so lucky to get a great group of women currently going through an IVF round to beta-test the program. So, far two of three women who [...]

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DIY Health

by Joanne March 31, 2010

I love this. This concept is one that I take very seriously and how we see Circle+Bloom growing in the future. All of our programs are about empowerment and taking charge of your own mind-body connection and health. This is a one page excerpt written by Jay Parkinson, MD from the ebook What [...]

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How to Trust Your Instincts

by Joanne March 25, 2010

Recently, we received an email from a woman who told us about an “epiphany” she encountered while using our programs. In a blink of an instant, while in a relaxed state and mentally focusing on her reproductive organs, she realized that she didn’t trust her body to do what it is supposed to do. [...]

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How Acupuncture Works to Improve Fertility

by Joanne March 11, 2010

Recently, I was treated with acupuncture for the first time to more fully understand what patients experience when they use this treatment option for fertility. I went to Patti Safian, who has a center in Montclair called the NJ Acupuncture Center for Fertility and Reproductive Health. She is an acupuncturist who specializes in [...]

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The Mind Body Connection + 3 Simple Tips to Use It for Daily Wellness.

by Joanne March 2, 2010

The true story of a little boy named Garrett has to be one of the most inspiring examples on the power of a vivid imagination and the mind body intelligence to self-heal. Garrett had an inoperable brain tumor and after intense radiation treatments the tumor sat basically untouched. His doctors said to his parents [...]

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IVF / IUI Mind Body Program in the Works.

by Joanne February 24, 2010

We are proud to be working with one of the leading fertility clinics in the U.S. – Valley Hospital Fertility Center, associated with New York University Fertility Center – to create a special mind body program specifically geared toward an IVF and IUI cycle.
Dr. Dehan Chen, graduated from Harvard University and Albert Einstein College [...]

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What does the new business book “Linchpin” have to do with Fertility and Health?

by Joanne January 22, 2010

How do you deal with problems? Do you lean into them, or do you lean away? Or simply run in the opposite direction?
Seth Godin defines leaning into a problem as follows:

“You lean into a problem, especially a long-term or difficult one, by sitting with it, reveling in it, embracing it and breathing it in. [...]

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Using the Other 90% of your Brain

by Joanne January 13, 2010

Whether or not the claim that we only really use between 5 – 10% of our brains is true, we know that we can always improve our mental well-being for purposes of increased focus, better sleeping and overall improvement in health and energy levels. I have found over the past three years that [...]

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Seeking Advice From a Fertility Coach

by Joanne January 11, 2010

As we all know, the “baby-dance” can take us on a very difficult emotional roller-coaster. Talking with family and friends certainly helps, but there is nothing like connecting with someone who truly understands what you are going through. Someone who has been trained with the knowledge – as well as deep personal experience [...]

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Your Molecules of Emotion

by Joanne November 17, 2009

Like Bernie Siegel M.D., Candace Pert Ph.D. is a medical professional who has gone against the grain of traditional science to explore – and ultimately prove – the connection between the mind and the body. Dedicating her life to researching the molecular interconnectedness between our brains and the rest of our body, Ms. Pert [...]

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Infertility and Negative Self-Talk

by Joanne November 9, 2009

Right after my second miscarriage, we attended the wedding celebration of a very dear friend who was already about four – five months pregnant. She had on this stunning cream colored dress and her baby bump showed just enough that she looked curvy and round in a beautiful, almost primitive way, like one of [...]

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Power of Music

by Joanne October 7, 2009

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.” -Plato

Dr. Mike Miller, a research cardiologist at the University of Maryland, has been studying the effects of happiness — or things that make people happy — on our hearts. He began his research with laughter, and found watching funny movies and [...]

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Ten Ways to Express Your TTC Rage

by Joanne September 18, 2009

Riding the TTC roller-coaster every month can get very exhausting, depressing and very frustrating. The first two weeks are spent turning the let-down from the previous month into cautious optimism around the time of ovulation and then thinking maybe this month? Could it be?

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