Fertility yoga for beginners; everything you need to know to get started
Have you googled every possible alternative therapy that *may* help you fall pregnant faster? Perhaps that’s how you landed here on a post about fertility yoga for beginners? (If so, a big welcome to you). Perhaps you’re also feeling a little overwhelmed by allll the things you’re ‘meant to be doing’ for your fertility. Maybe you’re even wondering what the hell is fertility yoga anyway.
The good news is that fertility yoga is perfect for beginners, and should help to relieve your stress – not add more to it. Fertility yoga is very gentle and uncomplicated. It doesn’t involve any expensive equipment (don’t be conned into believing otherwise), and you can start without even needing to leave your home.
I’ve put together this post to help you to get started. It’s my hope that I answer all your questions, but please, if there is anything I’ve missed – please write your questions in the comments below.
What is fertility yoga?
+ Fertility yoga is a style of yoga that aims to support and improve your fertility.
+ Fertility yoga views your menstrual cycle as an indicator of your overall health. It aims to balance your hormones based on different yoga practises for the four stages of your cycle.
+ Fertility yoga is (mostly) a gentle and restorative style of yoga.
+ Fertility yoga teaches you the skills to relax and calm your nervous system. (Stress negatively impacts our hormonal balance and fertility.)
What do I need to practise?
- Comfortable clothes (these may be yoga tights but could also just be your pyjamas).
- A comfortable space (again, a mat is ideal, however you can get started on a carpeted floor or rug).
- A teacher who understands fertility (and/ or is fertility yoga trained) and can adjust your practise to enhance this.
How do I find a fertility yoga class?
Search “fertility yoga near me” in Google to find out if there is a class in your local area.
You could also talk to a local yoga teacher in your area and see if they have specialist knowledge around fertility. They may already have experience in this area, but may not be offering group classes – or they may know someone who does teach fertility classes.
I have many online resources if you can’t find a teacher locally.
Where do I start?
Fertility yoga is based around an awareness of your menstrual cycle. Because of this, it is preferable to know where you are in your cycle before you start practising. (Many of my fertility classes are based around a specific stage of the cycle to maximise fertility and to avoid certain poses after ovulation).
Don’t panic if you don’t know where you currently are in your cycle though. Start tracking and in the meantime you can practise this beginner’s fertility yoga series below. Once your period arrives move onto the other more specific classes.
Fertility yoga for beginners
Day 1 – “I am ready to conceive”
In todays class we set the intention to conceive a baby. Throughout the yoga practise we work to open our body and our hearts up to having a baby. Whether you’ve just started trying to fall pregnant, or you’ve been on this journey for a while… I hope you enjoy this class. If you’re brand new to fertility yoga – you can download my free guide here.
Day 2 – “Release Stress”
Everyone wants to tell you to ‘just relax and it will happen’ when you’re trying to conceive. If only it were that easy hey? When trying to conceive isn’t as easy a you were told it would be, life can start to feel REALLY stressful. One of the main goals of my work is to help you to actually enjoy the process of trying to conceive. In this class I share tools and practises to help you to relieve stress when you’re trying to fall pregnant. Stress is very normal. We all have some degree of it. Life = stress. You just need to have tools to be able to manage it. I hope this class helps to ease some of your stress today.
Day 3 – “You are strong”
In this class we use the physical practise to tap into our inner strength. Sometimes we forget how strong we are. How far we’ve already come. Everything we’ve already survived. I hope this class helps you to remember how strong you actually are.
Day 4 – Meditation to conceive
This class is a fertility meditation rather than a physical practise. Wait! Before you click away, you CAN meditate. Even with a busy, bouncy mind… BECAUSE you have a busy, bouncy mind. You don’t have to be ‘good’ at meditation. Most of my personal practise is just me arguing with myself in my head and trying to focus. THIS is the point. Enjoy Day 4.
Day 5 – Fertility self-massage
This fertility class is a little different. Today I want encourage you to explore another limb of yoga (the niyamas) or self care. In this session I am guiding you through a self-massage practise you can do to help relieve stress and anxiety when you’re feeling ‘all in your head’ about everything. I found this practise helpful when we were struggling to have our third child and experienced 3 losses in 12 months. This massage is suitable for all stages of the cycle. If you’d like to work more deeply into the womb space when it is safe to do so, check out my full massage series in my Online Yoga Circle.
Day 6 – “Just be here”
Expectations are tricky. If we expect something will be easy and it’s not, we become disheartened. When our expectations are not met we might start to lose hope. Today I want to encourage you practise just being in this moment. Not having expectations of what this class will feel like, or won’t feel like. Let go of your expectations around what you can and can’t do. And just let yourself be.
Day 7 – “Lean into hope”
As we finish up our 7 days together, I wanted to address the number one thing I struggled with on my fertility journey. I know many of you struggle with this as well. How do you stay hopeful when your heart keeps getting broken? Today, we cultivate hope. We allow ourselves to be excited. Lean into the fact that we might be hurt again. But that the great love of a baby is worth it. Stay hopeful.
I hope that this fertility yoga for beginners series and post have been helpful. If you have questions I haven’t answered – pop them in the comments below. Sending you love and hope. x