Fertility Enhancement by Nourishing Life

Dr. Robin Saraswati Markus, DAOM, MSTOM, LAc, e-RYT The Ripe Fruits of Autumn: Women And The Second Phase of Reproduction Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits. Samuel Butler Chinese Medicine(CM) teaches that as women age their energies move from the youthful, flowering fire of the lower burner, the womb, where babies can be held, into the Heart, where the fruits of all of life s unfolding can be held. This introduces in broad brushstroke the Three Treasures of Jing-Qi-Shen, or Essence-Energy-Spirit, also known as the Kidney-Heart Axis, depicted below. The Three Treasures provides a basis for understanding menopausal transition and offers hope for alchemical rejuvenation and organ system rebalancing in later reproductive years. Those years may be biological, in the case of premature, accelerated aging, or chronological, that numbering we keep from birth to death. Often, women maintain there own tense count through their late 30s, or even more tentatively into their 40s, a time when doctors say we shouldn t have babies.

Heart: Second Phase of Reproduction

Energy moves upward from the lower pelvis and reproductive organs to the upper chest and heart

Kidney: First Phase of Reproduction

Though Western Medicine has good reason to suggest that older mothers-to-be enter into childbearing with caution, women have been having healthy babies into their 40s from the beginning of ever. What s different today is that many women are choosing not to have their first child until their 40s, at a time in life when the reproductive energy

has already moved away from its firm root in the pelvis and has begun its ascendance into the chest. Add to those cooling fecund energies the accumulated effects of habituated reactivity, poor diets, unmanaged stressors, traumatic losses, heartbreak,the insults of bacteria, viruses and chemical toxins and the later phase of fertility doesn t seem so abundant or safe anymore. In my CM fertility practice I now see women in their 20s and early 30s with advanced maternal aging and the associated issues of poor ovarian reserve: high follicle stimulating hormone and low anti-mullerian hormone. Contributing to causative internal imbalances are outer life imbalances: in large part these women are subjecting themselves to the demands of competitive careers, long work hours, and taxing responsibilities at work and at home. They re keeping up with social networks, global business, working any and all hours of the day, perpetuating the madness and revving up the intensity because we re taught that our accomplishments are a badge of honor. The uniquely female skill of multi-tasking has backfired: our bodies are moving through time too fast. And that comes at a cost. LONGEVITY: The New Math Though we may not have thought of it in these terms, every task accomplished expends precious energy. If what s expended exceeds what s reserved or replenished, there is a deficit, and the body, mind and spirit suffer accordingly. A foundational CM principle that life, in and of itself, is yang: warm, active and alive, while death is cold and yin. Remember the beautiful, bold red and blue graphic of the Heart-Kidney axis? If yang belongs to birth and yin belongs to death, we can support movement toward birth (longevity) with what are known as Yang Sheng fa. Literally translated from the Chinese as Nourishing Life practices, these ground yang energies down into the lower burner, which solidifies the Qi and returns life and higher function to the reproductive organs. I ve been so taken with the promise and demonstrated results of Nourishing Life practices that they ve become my namesake. Here are some practical ways to begin reawakening, treasuring and cultivating yang energies in your life: 1. Understand the rhythms of nature, the position of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and learn how to become nourished by the cosmic energies 2. Follow the ways of yin and yang 3. Avoid unnecessary use of cold herbs, cold foods, cold medications and cold air and water 4. Keep peaceful with a calm spirit. Control stress, emotions and pressures. This is the way of a healthy life

5. Refrain from hyper-stimulating yang, either physically or emotionally (moderation is good) The Three Treasures: An Alchemical Goldmine For Living Well The Tao suggeststhat we are born with all our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual predispositions a full store of Kidney Essence (Jing).At the level of Energy (Qi) we can treasure our yang by following the guidelines above and meeting our tendencies with awareness and choice toward healthy outcomes. A lifetime of meeting life s challenges consciously creates wisdom and clarity, which bubble up into the Heart toward the autumn of our lives (Shen). The precious Shen is where the seen meets the unseen, where base physical essence has transmuted into refined spirit, a place where women spend the last significant half of their lives, the lower burner having cooled. What will we birth with all of that life experience, all of that energy in the Heart? Menopausal Transition Doesn t Have to Be An Endless Cycle of Suffering Twenty-five hundred years of Chinese medical literature corroborates Western medical findings about what we ll call the second reproductive phase. The early phase of fertility occurs from around age 14, when the Jing is robust. Cycling through women in sevenyear increments, physical and reproductive vigor peaks at around age 28. The second cycle then begins around age 33 until the ripe age of 49, just before textbook menopause, which marks the end of the reproductive years. Whether or not you re preparing for pregnancy in late fertility, the tools of Chinese medicine, my offerings, will smooth your transition to a post-reproductive life and spare you some of the symptoms from which most women unnecessarily suffer. It s the abrupt shiftfrom lower to upper burner that creates those hallmark experiences of menopausal transition: the hot flushes, groggy feeling, weight gain, low sex drive, insomnia, depression and stress. I ve developed nine steps to add grace and ease to this process. Each definitely requires your commitment to self-care, and they may require some explanation, but please do what you can. I ll offer more on each of the nine steps in upcoming workshops. Nourishing Life s Nine Steps to Healing Infertility 1. Cultivate Fertile Ground. Reduce toxic load, and detoxify the body. 2. Bring in fresh ingredients: Eat well, often, fresh. Breathe. 3. Nourish, Harmonize & Let It Flow. Open your body s energetic channels with acupuncture, meridian flow, acupressure and yoga. 4. Prioritize Ease of Mind. Settle, and learn to focus. Do one thing at a time 5. Create internal spaciousness 6. Pivot from negative emotional states;actively cultivate feelings of well-being. 7. Fertilize Your Spirit. The 5 things that spiritualize your life. 8. Letting go. Release the work of conceiving; become empty and receptive.

9. Harmonize yourself with the wisdom and rhythms of nature, and return to your naturally fertile state.

In this article, I ve focused on the autumn of life, the specific obstacles to vitality we modern women face, having been taxed by the insults of our environments and our own compromising habituation. I ve touched on the Three Treasures of Jing-Qi-Shen, and the beautiful hope of revitalizing what s been lost with yang sheng practices, freely offering you some of my favorites. It is my hope and intention that you ve found something rich and worthwhile in these pages. I hope to see you soon.