My dreams of a large family were shattered at 17 years old following a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Endometriosis by a Gynaecologist who said that I would never have a child. This stole my dreams of raising a large family. After many years of suffering from painful, very heavy and intermittent periods, I decided to make a change.
Against all the odds, I was determined to prove the diagnosis was wrong. I was young, vibrant, healthy, daring, alive, menstruating and happy, so with the help of reflexology, plus altering my diet and lifestyle, I felt I might one day be able to be a mother. My tenacity and lifestyle changes proved me right and I am now a mother of a gorgeous almost 10-year-old boy and no longer suffer from PCOS or endometriosis.
Gemma Ireland and her son
I have been a reflexologist for over 19 years, specialising in helping and supporting couples balance their systems to conceive. I work with them all the way through their pregnancies and postpartum, all with amazing results.
A little example of ‘imbalance’ in a body: I often have clients come to see me and tell me that they exercise six times a week at 6am, don’t have time to eat breakfast, take a million supplements, only take 10 minutes for lunch at their desk, have cut out wheat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, pulses, grains, oil, meat and fish. They go to bed at midnight too exhausted for love-making, let alone having it at the right time. BMI weight can plummet and periods can become intermittent or non-existent.
“Nothing is set in stone in life, but if you make some very simple changes you will see profound differences to your body, mind and fertility chances.”
This is just not the right recipe for a healthy, happy home for a baby to grow in. Nothing is set in stone in life, but if you make some very simple changes you will see profound differences to your body, mind and fertility chances. Here are 10 ways to start bringing about change…
1. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION
Extreme tendencies in the way you lead your life have dramatic effects on the body and cause your systems to work sluggishly, resulting in difficulties in conceiving. Do everything in moderation and don’t follow the fads and trends.
2. SLOW YOUR LIFE DOWN
We all move far too quickly, constantly ‘doing’ and not ‘being’. Try to make changes in your everyday life; do less, enjoy more and get outside in the fresh air as much as possible. Say no to things that you really don’t want to do.
“Try to make changes in your everyday life; do less, enjoy more and get outside in the fresh air as much as possible.”
3. DON’T COPY YOUR FRIENDS
Everyone has a unique DNA, so try not to copy your friends or do what worked for them to conceive. A holistic treatment may be very beneficial for one client but definitely not for another. At Bodyflow, we treat every single client differently, working out their individual needs and what healing program is best for them, their lifestyle and history.
4. CALMNESS IN THE BODY
Anxiety and stress play an enormous part in disrupting the balance of your fertile body. Some people don’t breathe correctly, are holding onto emotional history and have put a block on their endocrine system working correctly. Negative hormones cut in and overtake. Reflexology helps calm the mind and body, creating a sense of well-being and calmness, encouraging the natural healing process to work, with fantastic results.
5. GENTLE EXERCISE
Whoever said that ladies had to have six packs? Stop pounding the pavements, spinning the wheels and rowing the length of the Atlantic… it is not necessary and rather damaging overall for the optimum health of your ovaries. Your body will go into ‘fight or flight’ and your adrenal stress will be at its highest and take over the running of your body. You will not have time to ovulate and create a little person. Three sessions of exercise a week is plenty, a mixture of gentle yoga, swimming and walking.
“Three sessions of exercise a week is plenty, a mixture of gentle yoga, swimming and walking.”
6. STAYING NURTURED BY NOURISHING AND WARMING FOODS
I am a great believer that if you put warming, nourishing foods into your body, you are giving it less to do and will have a quicker absorption and healthier response to what you have just eaten. Raw cold food takes the body so much longer to digest and causes it to concentrate on breaking it down, rather than building a happy home for a baby.
7. GET YOUR WEIGHT TO THE IDEAL BMI
It is highly beneficial to check that you are at a healthy BMI weight as being underweight leads to infertility tendencies. Measure your height and take your current weight and check out where you are on the graph. A healthy BMI and keeping your body warm with slippers on and mid-drifts covered are imperative.
8. SELF-HEALING MOMENTS
We were all put on this earth with self-healing properties. Each morning and night, place your hands skin-to-skin on your tummy over your ovaries making a triangle shape. Creating the warmth with your hands, breathe into them and send lots of positive energy into the area, imagining a happy home for a baby. This is incredibly powerful and will certainly help you go to sleep as well. If you are going through IVF or any other medical help, this too is highly beneficial.
9. QUALITY SLEEP – AND REMEMBER TO ACTUALLY MAKE LOVE!
Some of us need more sleep, some less. We should aim for eight hours sleep a night to restore and recharge the body, let all the systems rest and reset for the next day ahead. Please turn off your devices early enough to give your brain and eyes time to relax two hours before bed. Leave them turned off outside your bedroom and buy an old-fashioned alarm clock.
Also, try to resist telling your men when you are ovulating as this puts so much pressure on them ‘to perform’… try, if you can, to hide away ovulation kits and related products in the bathroom. Let them come home and just make love.
“Try to resist telling your men when you are ovulating as this puts so much pressure on them ‘to perform’…”
10. DO TRY SOME REFLEXOLOGY
Reflexology is truly amazing and powerful and you will find all its benefits on this here. It can help you gain control of a calmer body and mind, and lead you to a stronger, more fertile body.
Gemma Ireland is a reflexologist & co-founder of Bodyflow (www.bodyflow.co.uk)
