If you haven’t noticed, I am loving this book. Just loving it. It is at my bedside. I read at least a few pages every day. It soothes me. It makes me feel just a little more in control of my destiny by allowing me to accept that I am not in control of some aspects of it. Does that make sense? When I first received a copy to review, I had every intention of using it as a future Freebie Friday gift.

I am really sorry ladies, if you want this book you will have to pry it from my hands, or get one for yourself. Because I refuse to part with it.

I love the actual feel of the book. (Sorry, I do judge a book by its cover, and the quality of paper it is written on, and the size and the heft of it in my hand…) I love the things I have learned about my body and my self. Most importantly, I love the way reading Fully Fertile makes me feel. Peaceful. Content. More ready to accept a child into my life, even if its not in the way I originally dreamed.

When I showed the book to my (very pregnant) best friend when she was over for a visit, she remarked, “This feels like something that reaches beyond fertility. These lessons feel like they are for your whole life.”

Holistic = whole body = whole life

Beth Heller, one of the three authors of the book and founders of Pulling Down the Moon recently emailed me when she noticed Fully Fertile mentioned here at Fertility Notes to let me know that:

we’re encouraging women across the country to read our book together in Fully Fertile Book Groups.  We piloted the program in Chicago last October and it was great!  We have another group up and running in a Chicago suburb and lots of inquiries from folks interested in starting groups across the country.   In the book clubs, women agree to meet for 13 weeks and work through the book together.  They can meet at a coffee shop, the library, someone’s home…wherever.  Each week a woman from the group “leads” the chapter.  We provide a journaling exercise, discussion questions and a group exercise/”ritual” for each week.  What unfolds is a really unique support group experience as women find motivation, friendship and discover their inner goddess.

One of our biggest missions at the Moon is to provide community and sanctuary for women who are struggling to build family.  Folks can contact us through the website if they’d like to start a group or find one in their area.

These reading groups are peer-led and free and participants receive additional discounts on PDtM products and services.

I heart these ladies.

I’m feeling like I should add some sort of note here that lets you know that I am not affiliated with PDtM in any way and I’m not receiving any sort of compensation for my mentioning or promoting their book. I did receive a complimentary copy of Fully Fertile to review, which I feel has been a priceless gift.

Stay tuned for more thoughts on Fully Fertile and how I am incorporating it’s lessons into my current cycle and beyond.

Post from: Blisstree

Start a Fully Fertile Book Club

But now I am ready to crack them open again. Start where I left off. And, most important, share what I’ve found with you.

You might recall my little teaser about Fully Fertile: A 12-Week Plan for Optimal Fertility a month ago. This book, created by the founders of Pulling Down the Moon, a Chicago-based holistic fertility center, really does intrigue me. The book is divided into three sections: the first dealing with the body, the second the mind (dealing with stressors, disappointment, etc) and lastly, the spirit and by that, they mean exploring the value of breath, meditation, visualization and, if you’re into it, prayer. I am not going to let this book collect any more dust. Look for a review soon.

I also have a similarly titled tome called The Mind-Body Fertility Connection: The True Pathway to Conception (oh, and I have more than one…future freebie friday item, hmm?) Once again, be on the look out for a future review.

In the meantime, let me share with you a great new site called All Thumbs Reviews, brought to you by some fantastic bloggers Lori and Chicklet. Their latest review is of The Fertility Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to Getting Pregnant, which based on Chicklet’s assessment, some of you may find quite useful, others not so much. Chicklet gives it one thumb up, one down and has issues with the design, size and overall lack of bibliographical info for the numerous facts and figures it shares. But, I encourage you to go to the full review to read, you know, the full review.

Hey, you have entered the latest Freebie Friday giveaway, right?

Post from: Blisstree

Summer Reading – Some Fertile Words

From a mystical standpoint, the breath is believed to bring prana, or life-energy, into the body. This life-energy is considered divine, the spark that illuminates all beings. When we are full of prana, we are healthy and at peace mentally and spiritually. For fertility, it stands to reason that we want to maximize prana.

that sounds reasonable to me. How do we gain prana? According to Fully Fertile,

• Deep, mindful breathing
• Eating non-processed, organic foods
• Interaction with/contemplation of nature
• Prayer

How do we lose it?

• Stress
• Physical Illness
• Obsessive thought (what? are you saying thinking about something you want 24/7 isn’t a good idea? oh.)
• Strenuous exercise
• Poor diet, too little/too much food

Its funny, I decided to give yoga a second chance just to get more mindful of my own body and the mind/body connection, you know, to get my head right. I really hadn’t been thinking about it (at least not consciously) as a tool to facilitate my fertility. But the more I read, the more it seems it could do just that.

Bonus.

What are your thoughts on yoga? Weigh in on Fertility Notes’ latest poll.

Post from: Blisstree

Maximizing Prana for Fertility’s Sake