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 stress-fertility connection was only a theory. Over and over we heard friends who “gave up trying” and either adopted or decided to go childless, and they ended up naturally pregnant.

Even my own experience seemed to show the connection: our first baby came with us “trying but not trying,” – we weren’t using birth control, nor were we expecting anything to happen. Our second child was a completely different story. With my biological clock ticking like Big Ben, our work to get pregnant a second time was just that: work. Four years of work.

Now, we have 284 women to thank for shedding light on the subject. With the study published in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility, we can now conclusively say that there is a most definite connection between the length of trying to get pregnant and levels of stress.

Of course there are a multitude of other factors that may be impeding your fertility: PCOS, endometriosis, premature ovarian failure, cysts, etc., etc. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should ignore the stress component if you do have a diagnosed condition. Working through your stress issues will give you peace of mind and having a better feeling of control over your fertility and may give you the strength to carry on.

So let’s celebrate this new-found knowledge! Use it to our advantage! Say NO to stress!

I can hear you yelling at me right now though. Is this easier said than done? This raises questions for ourselves such as how much stress do we really experience in our lives? How can I really reduce stress and relax? How do I know if it is working?

Here are five tips to begin to think differently about your life, your stress and your ability to become pregnant:

1. View the stress-infertility link with a sense of optimism and take control of your fertility. Knowledge is power, and this study brings us closer to making our pregnancy dreams a reality. Think about this as a way to restart your fertility journey.

2. Assess what brings you peace, joy and fulfillment. Every single day, find the simple things in life and find gratitude for them. For me, it could be the sun light filtering through the curtains that makes me stop and enjoy the moment. What else brings you happiness throughout your day? Try to become more aware of your inner state of being, and really make a commitment to yourself to manifest more of the good stuff in your life.

3. Deep breath every single day. The wonderful book by Meir Schneider who taught his eyes to see after being born completely blind convinced me of the value of deep breathing exercises. The fact that most of the time we take in only enough oxygen for our lungs when the entire body needs oxygen convinces me that we need to take time to restore all parts of our body with deep breathing exercises. Not only will you feel more awake and alive after deep breathing, but the process of focusing on your breathing is step one in any kind of meditation or relaxation work. Focusing only on your breath allows you to become centered and more fully present.

4. Wherever you go, there you are. The wonderful books by both Jon Kabat-Zinn and Ekhart Tolle have been so life-changing for me on a personal level. For most of my life, my thoughts have always been on the next thing in my life, the future, and the “what-ifs” that could either help or hurt me. I was known in my family as the “klutz” and I truly believe I have accidents when I am not focusing on what it is I am doing in the present moment. What these books have taught me is that all we have is right now. All that truly exists is right now. By focusing on the “now,” I begin to see the true value of my existence. (Note – I still have klutzy moments as my sisters will surely point out – but I realize it immediately where my thoughts were and therefore feel more in control.)

5. Integrate relaxation techniques into your schedule. Just like you exercise for health, just like you take vitamins and eat healthy foods, you should also take time to consciously reduce your heart rate in relaxation and focused attention. Slowing your brain chatter, becoming more aware of your thoughts each and every day – and scheduling something in your daily schedule like meditation, using our Circle+Bloom programs, yoga, journaling, or simply taking a long slow walk to savor the day.

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. We’ve heard you and are working very hard to help you help yourself heal from PCOS.

By way of quick background, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormone dysfunction. It effects approximately 1 in 10 women, and is most often never diagnosed unless there is a specific problem pertaining to trying to get pregnant. We don’t know the cause, nor do we have a pharmaceutical cure. PCOS symptoms vary to a large degree, but include not so fun things such as menstruation irregularity and anovulation, insulin-resistance and being overweight, male-pattern excess hair growth or loss (depending on location), depression and a few other wonderful traits.

Essentially, PCOS is a hormone inbalance. From my tons of research, I’ve uncovered the fact that we really don’t know which is the first “domino” to fall, but our cycles are completely out of whack. In a normal cycle, we have a hormonal feedback loop that starts with the Hypothalamus sending GnRH to the Pituitary which sends out LH and FSH in increasing amounts to the ovaries which in turn send estrogen back to the pituitary in increasing amounts to reduce the LH and FSH (and surge LH around ovulation)…and then progesterone enters the picture. Everything works in order to effect the menstrual cycle. With PCOS, there is either not enough estrogen (or too much andogens/testorone in relative figures), not enough LH or FSH (or too much of either of them) or not enough or too much progesterone. The cycle breaks down and can’t recover itself.

I was diagnosed with PCOS as a late teen – probably because I had a great OBGYN and a few symptoms such as irregular cycles. I had trouble with conception not so much with our first, but most definitely with our second child.

All this research has been bouncing around like a tennis balls in my head.  I am now convinced that we need to get our cycles back on track. Simple as that. If at some point the cycle broke down at one point AND our natural state is balance, then we can find the right feedback loop again. Our brain-body communication can do this, I’m convinced of it.  How?  A daily guided visualization to get the body back on track.

I think anyone with PCOS trying to get pregnant can benefit from our daily Natural Cycle program to help the hormones find balance, and then we are set out to create supplemental programs to be listened to every other day – one for insulin and weight loss, one for male-patterned issues, one for depression.  Anovulation and cycle irregularity will fix itself by virtue of the Natural Cycle program which focuses on hormonal changes and balance as you proceed through the cycle.

We sent out a tweet about 5 days ago asking for beta testers, and was overwhelmed with the response. As a fellow “cyster,” I know the frustration and contradictory information and the fact that there is no cure at this point. We are set to change that. Stay tuned.

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, your body does not operate the way it should, and the net result is increased stress levels and cortisol, which we all know is harmful to all facets of our well-being and fertility.

I have always been one that “needs” 7 – 8 hours of sleep per night, or else I never leave zombie-land throughout the day.  Not only that, but even with 7 – 8 hours sleep per night, I still would rarely wake up feeling refreshed, energetic and feeling positive for the day. I used to need something like the “clocky” alarm clock that jumps off your nightstand when you don’t get up on time!

I am proud to say that I have changed that.

I now wake up without the alarm.  I now wake up feeling positive and excited for the day.  I start by planning my day while I still have my eyes closed and then spring out of bed.  How did I accomplish this?

By reprogramming my subconscious to allow for deeper sleep, and re-thinking about how I awake.

One of the sessions in our energy program focuses on your sleep:  Helping to fall asleep, and more importantly, programming your mind and body to sleep as deep as possible

It’s your subconscious mind in the wee-hours of the morning that dictate your behavior.  If you have always woken up feeling lethargic and tired, I believe the only way to change that is to change your thinking.  How can you change the thinking?  By using your brain to guide your body and direct it to change how it feels and reacts to waking up.

It’s hard for me to listen to my own voice, so I have created programs that I know can help people, but I have been the last one to actually use them.  My sister urged me to get over that and I am glad to say that and now I actually enjoy listening to myself (I sound pretty good, BTW!).  Anyway, I have really started to integrate the sleep and other aspects of the Energy program into my routine and the difference is profound and life-changing.

I am so passionate about what you can do with our programs and thank you for following along!

Just to show you how truly easy it is to use our programs and integrate it into your daily life – take a minute and watch…We had fun making it!

And it might just get you to make a similar one and enter to win an Apple iPad!

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 at Harvard, Ohio State, The University of Rochester, and the University of Miami, and UCLA to continue to expand the understanding around the mind-body connection.

The revolution of the acceptance of the mind-body connection can be partly traced back to Norman Cousins, according to Anne Harrington, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. In the 1970s, Cousins, the editor in chief of Saturday Review, was hospitalized with a mysterious, crippling disease. Doctors diagnosed degenerative bone disease that would eventually kill him. Cousins, facing a death sentence, decided to take matters in his own hands. Checking himself out of the hospital and into a hotel room, and he decided to wage war against his disease by flooding his body and cells with laughter and good cheer.

Knowing that research at the time proved that negative effects and emotion were bad for you, he decided to do an experiment and see whether or not good emotions could have a positive effect on your health. He felt he had nothing to lose and began his treatment regimen by constantly watching funny and uplifting shows and movies. Non-stop. He found that 10 minutes of belly laugh gave him 20 minutes of pain-free sleep. Slowly but surely, he laughed himself back to health. His experience was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and thus began the movement towards scientists and researchers under the field of Psychoneuroimmunology.

It’s my understanding, however, that even though Psyconeuroimmunology is as widely accepted today by scientists, it’s still not taught in medical school. Thinking back on my own experience with infertility, it was a “neck-down” problem treated with fertility drugs and procedures.

We know the tools we can employ to unlock this connection, so for us, it is very exciting to share this treatment approach where YOU take control and YOU can wage your own war with laughter, good cheer – and other tools such as relaxation and guided visualizations.

Our goal is educate and promote the concept of using simple and easy-to-use mind-body programs that are effective and allow women to feel in greater control over their health, fertility, mind and bodies.

This is an edited post that was first published on our special blog on Fertility Authority. If you haven’t done so already, you should really explore the wonderful resources that website has to offer.

I have had an amazing couple of weeks, a beginning of a life style change that I know will help me live my life to the fullest. I joined Joanne at Circle + Bloom because I wanted to make more of a difference in the world. That might seem odd, but something stirred within me as I thought about helping women struggling with infertility, an incredibly painful health issue, with an approach that might not only help with fertility but could also positively change how they approach their health and well-being. About a month ago, Joanne and I started to think about our next program and this desire to make a larger impact was front and center. How great would it be if our next program could offer additional help to women TTC, but also anyone in the world…..and our Energy for Empowerment program was born.

In order to inspire you to take the first steps to take control of your health and well-being I decided it would be fun to share a few highlights from my experience of using the new program. I also hope you will have a few laughs at my expense.

• It will not surprise anyone who knows me that my initial reaction was 20 minutes per a session was way too long. I was nervous that I would get bored listening to each session, and that my “to-do” list would never get done if I took 20 minutes out of my day. But on the first day, I plopped myself down on the couch and started to listen and was very surprised when I heard Joanne’s voice say, “This concludes session A”.   I was downright pissed…what do you mean concludes, I am not ready to conclude, keep going!

• The first day I started to use the program my teenage son barged into the room looking for clean clothes. You would have thought he caught me having sex based on his initial reaction of seeing his mother looking all relaxed lying on a couch with an i-pod and headphones. He eventually recovered and said, “Mom you are so weird, get a life.”

• Completely exhausted one afternoon, all I could think about was taking a nap. I realized I should give C+B a chance, if I was going to tell people to buy the program to help with energy then I should use it when I needed energy. To be honest I was also thinking I could still sneak in a nap after I listened. After I finished listening to TWO sessions I told my husband “I feel light, refreshed, and my unmade bed will be ready for me tonight at 11:30 after I watch the last episode of Lost.” BTW I loved the ending of Lost.

• In one of the sessions Joanne asks you to think about any emotions that might be zapping your energy and finding a way to let them go. I immediately had a vision of juggling and all these balls were falling towards me from every direction – each of those balls represented a different responsibility; buying a house, selling a house, mother to a 4 and 15 year old, wife, disciplining my kids so they are not spoiled brats, giving everything I have to my kids so they feel my love…… Joanne then said to let go and I visualized catching each ball and throwing them into a lake. I am not sure why a lake, but that is where they went, and that is where they stayed. It was very liberating.

• Over the course of the last two weeks I found my mind wondered less while I listened and the visualization exercises became easier. One of my most bizarre visualizations was when my mind went to my “youthful, bar hoping days” when I felt like I could dance all night. I started to visualize my circulation system having a great time on the dance floor. I changed the image of “slobbering drunk dancer” – which I have to admit was me back in those days – to “sophisticated sexy dancer” – which I will never be, but hey that is the beauty of this mind-body thing, you can create what ever you want!

One night my husband and I listened to the sleep session together right before bed, it was a fun thing to do together, and the note he left me as he slipped out the door at 6:00 AM says it all.

Over the last couple of weeks I have seen positive changes. I have been able to get through the day with just one ice coffee, not my typical two. Yoga class seems to be easier, I am able to stay in the mediations a bit better and hold the poses slightly longer than normal. I have slept through the night much more often and that knot right below my shoulder blade – gone!

I know I am biased, but I absolutely love this program, it is the beginning of a life style change for me, incorporating the powerful mind-body connection daily. It makes me feel refreshed, energized and puts a smile on my face as I do the visualization exercises.

I hope you will give the program a try, make sure to try the different sessions, listen to them at different times of the day, and in different relaxed positions and you will begin to find what works best for you. Enjoy, and please share your experiences with us!

And we just released the program! Click here to get started…

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 two things: (i) convince you why making a mind-body habit is worth your daily attention to help you get pregnant; and (ii) to give you some ideas to get started (or to stay on the path).

I’m so convinced of our ability to use our brain power to stay healthy and balance our reproductive health for optimum fertility and do other things like improve our eyesight, increase our ability to fight cancer, and even lose weight. As we discussed in the past, this whole concept of using our brain to direct our bodies has been scientifically proven even on a molecular basis and it’s time we all start putting this to work. Why isn’t this taught in medical school at this point is beyond me – and a a focus of a future post that I promise to write about.

So, if we can improve our health in any manner that we wish, isn’t that worthy of 15 minutes a day? Especially if it means finally joining the positive party and getting pregnant to build your family?

Three easy methods and ideas to start a mind-body habit:

1. Plan ahead and select the times of the days that will work for you. For a long time, I was fortunate enough to find myself on a bus 45 minutes twice a day where every bit of time was my own. I could read, write, do some research and yes, I did mind-body exercises. Don’t take too drastic a step, but integrate 15 minutes into your schedule so that it is something you look forward to. Each day may be different in terms of when you decide to do the sessions, but plan in advance and stick to the schedule.

2. Put all of your attention into the sessions. Really try to clear your mind if possible, believe what you are doing is truly beneficial for you and your future, and dedicate your emotional self into the sessions. I guarantee if you do this, you will find yourself really enjoying the time, and therefore, creating a habit out of finding happiness and joy. I have seen women who have done this also have reaped the benefits of their desired outcome (or finding themselves pregnant).

3. Bring awareness inside and reflect throughout the day. You can easily integrate your mind-body exercises periodically throughout the day and strengthen the intention and outcome you desire for the highest possible benefit. Don’t let your cells forget what they are supposed to be doing – a simple awareness and mini visualization of your focus for the day is all that is required. Waiting for the elevator, or stopped at a red light? Take a deep breath and bring your awareness inside to find balance. Visualize adjusting your internal dials for hormone balance and trust your intuition to do so correctly. Any time you do this, you will also have the wonderful benefit of stress reduction throughout the day – or night for a great night’s sleep.

How have you incorporated mind-body exercises into your daily schedule? Do you consider it now a habit that would feel odd if you stopped? How have you benefited?

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 – and sees how using our programs used in conjunction with his acupuncture treatments can be extremely effective for his patients.

The Berkley Center is world renowned for treating reproductive disorders with acupuncture, natural fertility medicine, nutrition, and fertility massage. They take a comprehensive approach to increasing fertile wellness with natural fertility treatment. We are thrilled to be working with them!

As I told Mike Berkley, our programs coupled with acupuncture is like fitting a hand in a glove. Their patients will have the opportunity to extend the incredible benefits of their acupuncture treatment for only dollars per day. Patients will be able to choose from all of our programs – our natural cycle for fertility, our IVF specific program and even our pregnancy series.

Mike also is affiliated with our friend Patti Safian, acupuncturist who practices in Northern New Jersey, whom I have had the pleasure of speaking with in the past. She has been giving her patients also the opportunity to listen to our programs while be “needled” as well.

Please contact us if you would like to learn more about this partnership!

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. Having had severe endometriosis surgically removed, she lost faith in her own body to find its way back to reproductive health. Being aware of this lack of trust is so incredibly liberating as she is now able to understand her body and her emotions on a much deeper level and be in greater control over her health going forward.

Tapping into our mind-body connection can eventually become a two-way communication that can bring about real therapeutic change. The mind “talks” or directs the body to act in a certain way without limitation, and the body sends communication back to the brain. It can become a powerful feedback loop to optimize health and reproductive cycles.

But how do you really know what your body is telling you? How can you trust what you are feeling, hearing, or intuiting, especially when your doctor may be telling you something very different? Here are three ways to start you in the right direction.

1. While doing guided visualizations of your body movements, quiet the brain as much as possible. The less your brain is “chatting” the greater connected you will be with your body. In fact, the opposite of that is true as well. The more focus you have on your body, the less your mind will run on its own. In a quiet, meditative state, you may have sudden insights or feelings that may reveal hidden truths.

2. Ask your body questions. This may sound strange and don’t expect an answer right after you ask the question. But if you repeatedly engage in probing questions regarding your body, it tells your subconscious to respond. And the response may come at odd times during the day as that “little voice” inside your head – the one that feels that it comes from a different place inside. Catch that little voice when it talks and begin to trust the things it says.

3. Pay attention to your dreams. Researchers still do not know exactly why we dream, but they do believe that dreaming is extremely important to our health and well-being. It’s often recommended by psychologists to keep a pad and pen handy by the bed and first thing in the morning write down the dreams you can remember. This simple act does two things: (1) It helps you spend more time with your dreams and potentially learn from them – again, making sure to listen to your intuition as you do; and (2) it tells your subconscious that you have increased your focus on your dreams and, in turn, your dreaming will become more meaningful and lucid.

In summary, finding an element of trust that you can listen to your body and your intuitions is enormously enlightening. When you have these “awakenings,” you can begin to learn from them. Just that act of acknowledgment moves our internal energy in a positive direction. The next step of course is taking that information and using our mind-body exercises to do what we need to do.

All the best,

Photo courtesy of Stas Kulesh

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 by changing my thoughts, meditating and entering into deep relaxation has allowed me to greatly expand my thinking, feel more optimistic and take steps to reach my goals on a productivity level that I have never experienced before.

What is interesting is that there are now many researchers and scientists documenting what meditation and relaxation can physically accomplish in our brains and how it connects within all facets of our bodies. Science is finally catching up to centuries old methods of how millions have approached a wonderful way of living, interacting and simply being.

One example of this research is found in this video, posted by the smart folks at Google in conjunction with Stanford University. Phillippe Goldin Ph.D, who is in the Department of Psychology at Stanford, is doing some amazing research into “Mindfulness Training.” Being funded by the NIH, he is proving – among other things – how meditation affects the mind and body through reduction of stress. What I find exciting about this work, is the opportunity to bring meditation and mindfulness thinking into the mainstream. No longer will this work be categorized as unproven, or even worse, something only men in robes do. Someone recently said that we are entering a new phase in human development, fully exploring the capabilities of the mind. I agree!

In this talk entitled “Cognitive Neuroscience of Mindful Meditation,” Goldin discusses how Mindfulness (as he defines it) is associated with stress reduction. He defines Mindfulness as using meditation practices to help you pay attention in a particular way without judging things as good or bad. He discusses what Mindfulness is NOT, such as being distracted, suppressing emotions, ruminating or avoidance. He helps us understand how we can put Mindfulness into practice for our own personal development. I highly recommend taking a bit of time to watch and learn – and then let us know what you think!