For infertile couples, stress and infertility challenges typically go hand-in-hand. With the stresses of modern day living, it’s not surprising that infertility is on the rise and 1 in 6 couples struggle with it. Many of the couples who come to our clinic are distraught; having gone through years of trying unsuccessfully to have a baby.
The Stress Point
While some of these patients may have tried infertility treatment in the past, many have tried nothing except timing their intercourse etc; which obviously has proven to be unsuccessful in their case. We also have patients with secondary infertility; patients who have one child but face infertility issues while trying to get pregnant again. Needles to say, their inability to conceive the second time around becomes a stress point. Many of these patients are trying to have their second baby much later in life and find that age isn’t on their side this time around.
Breaking the Grip
So how can patients break this tight grip between infertility and stress? The one proven way to do it is to include some OM or AUM in infertility. It means that the patient should widen her perspective just enough to help her connect with something that’s deeper & powerful; something that she already has in her being. OM is a very powerful word and popular for the manner in which it reverberates and makes you feel when you chant it. Today, it is used as a meditative technique, not just in India, but across the Western world too; it helps you focus your mind as well as your nervous system.
When you chant OM, you consciously align your mind, body & spirit. Many of my patients raise their brow when I tell them to learn and practice a bit of yoga and OM chanting while they are doing IVF. They wonder how meditation and medicine mix; well, the answer is simple- Technically, they don’t, but it’s a proven fact that the more you stress, the more your body misbehaves and no matter how much you try, you may not get pregnant.
Change your Perception
On the other hand, when you meditate and learn the OM technique, it helps you shift the manner in which you perceive yourself and your experience by integrating OM figuratively/literally; you automatically open yourself up to a mind-body perspective. When you do this, you are able to deal with your infertility in a much better way. Since your attention shifts to cultivating a deeper part of yourself, it’s easier for you to ease all the stress and anxiety out of your system.
The Mind-Body Technique
You will be able to get some space to breathe and will move through this entire IVF experience very differently. Alice Domar, is the brain behind this mind-body approach to deal with infertility. She has conducted a significant amount of cutting edge research that is focused on the connect between stress & fertility.
She started her research way back in 1987; studied the impact that physiological stress had on infertility. She has developed a range of mind body techniques that are effective in combating infertility-related stress. Today, most reputed IVF clinics offer have support groups that help women understand how they can change the way their bodies react to stress.
The Effective Tool to Combat Stress
The one thing I tell all my patients is that the infertility experience doesn’t really have to be so stressful and anxiety-filled. It’s natural for you to go through different levels of emotional stress while you are going through IVF treatment; integrating some kind of mind-body or spiritual aspect can help you focus your attention in a much more positive way.
It also helps you address your emotional responses in situations that are way out of your control. And so, OM can be a very useful tool for any woman who suffers from infertility and the anxiety and stress that is integral to it.
Need more information? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you!
good blog....
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