The fertility journey is hard enough as it is without the conscious systemic expectations that we put on ourselves or that society dictates. I don't want this for you or your fertility. By being aware, acknowledging, and making steps to change some of these engrained patterns can have profound affects on your mental, emotional, physical, energetic, and spiritual health. And, of course, your fertility.

I call them the 3Ps - the patriarchy, people pleasing, and perfectionism. Also referred to as the 3 strange bedfellows of fertility.

This episode has a lot of truth bombs in it - so buckle my friends.

I talk about:

Patriarchy

People Pleasing

Perfectionism

I am just brushing the surface with this one, but I want to use this episode to demonstrate some of the deep work we are going to be doing in the upcoming 40 Days to Fertile Freedom program!

This is an ongoing program - so check out this link for current dates:

40 days to Fertile Freedom Program

Dr. Gabor Mate - When the Body Says No

Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk - The Body Keeps the Score

Perfectionism & Fertility Study

This podcast is brought to by Kerry Hinds and Fertile Body Yoga - a yoga studio dedicated to supporting the body, mind, and soul of those going through fertility and fertility treatment.

After so many years supporting those trying to conceive with fertility yoga and mind/body practices - I can tell you, without a doubt, that the 2ww is one of the hardest times. Especially after an IVF cycle or 'really' trying at home.

There is so much anticipation and anxiety (what if I'm not pregnant or what if I am - then what?)

I also have noticed that we are our worst enemies as well during the two week wait. We work against ourselves in so many ways.

In this episode, I'm flying solo again and offering up some more fringe fertility tips.

4 things to do so that your 2ww flies by (or at least doesn't move at glacial speed).

Here's what I discuss in this episode:

I hope that these suggestions will help you in your next 2week wait!

Resources:

If you want to check out some Fertility Yoga during this time - I'm your girl! I'd start at the class library - every class is modified for anytime in the cycle!

Email Sign Up - lots of cool stuff & free things! Who doesn't love free stuff ;)

How Fragrance is Messing with your Fertility - Episode 18

Essential Oils and Fertility Episode 11

The changing of the years is upon us and with the new year comes a whole lot of activity around reflection and setting goals for the new years. When you're trying to conceive - new years are really loaded. You may want to desperately say good riddance to 2023, and am so excited to start fresh in the new year. Or - on the flip side, you may not be ready to say goodbye to 2023 because it is one more year that you were not blessed with your baby. It's hard.

Here is my take on how you, as someone who is trying to conceive, can release 2023 gently and land softly into 2024 - no matter how you feel about resolutions and reflection.

In this episode I talk about what I do every change of the year and why. I talk about drishti, or focus, and how we can gaze at what we already have within ourselves that is positive and how to take it into the new year.

Included in this episode:

I hope that you will find in this episode a gentler way to look at what you'd like to create 'more' of in your life. It's already there - we just need to listen.

Fringe Fertility is brought to by Kerry Hinds and Fertile Body Yoga- a virtual yoga study that is dedicated to supporting those who are trying to conceive with mind, body + soul practices.

I’m offering you some quick and effective techniques to support your fertility, calm your nervous system, and release stress in a new episode segment called - Fringe Fertility Tips. After talking to many of you about what you desire and need during your fertility journey, you said you'd like more easy tools that improve your overall life and bring you some joy. 

On this episode of Fringe Fertility Tips, I talk about the power of a hug. If the of topic touch is activating to your nervous system - then please check out some of the other great episodes with quick tips - like the fertility clinic stress buster technique (ep 14).

Hugs are an effective way to nourish your fertility and bring some love and joy into life.

But what is the perfect hug and what is happening when we give and receive hugs? 

In this episode I break down the ‘anatomy of a hug’ and how it impacts fertility and why you may want to include more hugs into your day.

I hope that you found some tidbits in this episode that will make your life and fertility better. 

If you do the hug experiment - please let me know how it goes and what effects you felt! I’m always curious to know what other think. 

RESOURCES:

Restorative Child's Pose - The perfect hug posture

This podcast is brought to by Fertile Body Yoga - a virtual yoga studio dedicated to supporting the body, mind, and soul of those navigating their fertility journeys.

Using non-toxic & fertility-friendly products on our bodies and in our home is so important - when you’re trying to conceive AND for your and your family’s overall health.

Endocrine disruptors, especially xeno-estrogens, are running rampant and unregulated in most skin and body products. Studies show that these chemical additives can mess with your reproductive hormones and fertility.

It’s overwhelming to know where to begin - so we want to get to the major offenders first and begin to remove these from the home and stop messing with your reproductive hormones.

One of the biggest offenders is FRAGRANCE. 

And that is the main topic of our discussion today. 

My guest for this episode is Sarah Michels - she is the brains, beauty, and braun behind Infuse Organics - which makes clean, non-toxic skin and body care products from the herbal and medicinal plants that she grows on her own farm. Sarah and her family work together to create healthy, sustainable, and effective products that keep you and your family safe from harmful chemicals while also keeping you smelling amazing. People all over the US and Canada trust her clean, lovely smelling, and effective products.

Today we untangle the web of self-care products and how they are silently causing our bodies and hormones damage - focusing on one of the main culprits - fragrance. Here is what we touch on:

Sarah’s passion for your health and the products she creates really shine through on this episode. If you’re ready to clean up your self care products and don’t know where to start - this is the perfect episode for you. And Sarah’s online store is the perfect place to start! https://www.infuseorganics.com/shop

RESOURCES:

Dirty Labs Laundry detergent: https://dirtylabs.com/products/free-clear-bio-laundry-detergent

When you’re TTC, dealing with fertility treatment, or infertility - the holidays can be overwhelming. Alongside the increase of social gatherings, is the increase of stress surrounding said gatherings. 

Even though this time is particularly hard - there are ways that you can prepare yourself for a more easeful and perhaps joyful holiday season. 

It starts with some preparation so that you can have systems in place that are supportive - like setting boundaries for yourself, prioritizing your mental/emotional/physical health as a priority, and finding ways to let the light in.

I called in my friend and colleague Elena Clamen for this episode. She is a licensed mental health counselor and expressive arts therapist in private practice in Massachusetts. The focus of her practice is reproductive mental health. Elena supports women and couples navigating infertility, IVF, donor conception, surrogacy, pregnancy lost, postpartum, and more. She provides both individual and group support. In addition to her clinical work, Elena is an adjunct instructor at Lesley University in the Expressive Arts Therapy Department. She served as a member of the Resolve New England Board from 2008-2021.

Elena offers our listeners great strategies for navigating the holidays so that you are not only surviving, but also enjoying yourself.

Here are some highlights of the tips and tricks we talked about on this episode:

Elena’s compassion and knowledge added so much to this conversation. With these added tips and techniques - we hope that you are able to let some light in this holiday season and have more easeful moments in your gatherings.

If you’re listening to this around the end of November or the beginning December and would like to join the special Holiday Yoga Series with Kerry please come!

Elena runs a weekly primary infertility support group - anyone can join these group sessions. You can contact her at [email protected].

Fertility Clinic Stress Buster Technique: Blog post / Podcast episode

is brought to by Fertile Body Yoga - a virtual yoga studio dedicated to supporting the body, mind, and soul of those navigating their fertility journeys.

This episode is packed full of so many fertility tips - it’s hard to know where to start! If your relationship with your body isn’t perfect - then this episode is for you. So basically all of us! 

I’d especially encourage those who have a relationship with disordered eating, missed periods, pelvic floor dysfunction, unexplained or secondary infertility, and endometriosis to listen - but truly if you’re dealing with fertility and fertility treatment - you will benefit from this episode.

Today’s guest has created a beautiful approach to healing our relationships to our bodies. It is composed of many different techniques, personal experience, and knowledge.

Emily Everton is a holistic Women’s Health Doctor of Physical Therapy and founder of Embody Physical Therapy & Wellness, in Hopkinton, MA. 

Emily specializes in Orthopedic and Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy, and is especially passionate about all things menstrual health, fertility, and perinatal care. Emily is a certified Mercier Fertility Specialist and incorporates Mercier Therapy, a deep pelvic organ mobilization technique, into her practice to help women with a variety of conditions including pelvic pain and fertility challenges. 

In addition to her work as a PT, Emily is also a Women’s Health coach primarily supporting women with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (missing periods) and irregular menstrual cycles. In her coaching she helps women restore ovulation, get their period back, regulate their menstrual cycles, and assist with fertility.

Though Emily’s work was initially inspired by her own lived experience with disordered eating, orthorexia, RED-S (relative energy deficiency in Sport), Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, infertility, and a poor relationship with her body…she is consistently inspired by the wonderful girls and women she is so fortunate to support on a daily basis.

Here’s what we talked about today’s episode

I loved having Emily on show! She has a tremendous depth of knowledge around the body and how to cultivate healing in a holistic and transformative way.  Her lived experiences inspire her work and you can feel her passion through the airwaves!

If you’re interested in working with Emily in person or virtually - check out her links below.

RESOURCES:

Fringe Fertility is brought to you by ⁠Kerry Hinds⁠ and ⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠ - a virtual yoga studio dedicated to supporting those on their fertility journeys - mind, body, and soul. 

Manifesting has become the new mindfulness - as in, it’s an exciting and interesting way to live your life - and apply to your fertility journey.

But, what is manifesting and how does it work? Can you manifest your miracle baby? Is it instantaneous?

Sometimes we need a little guidance and that is why I brought in Lisa White to the conversation.

Lisa White is a soulful IVF Coach specializing in helping women navigate the emotional ride of IVF with a focus on mindset and energetic support. She is the #1 bestselling author of ‘HOLD ON, BABY – A Soulful Guide to Riding the Ups and Downs of Infertility and IVF.’ She is the host of the SOULFUL IVF Podcast and the creator of the IVF Soul Align Method; A unique framework she personally lived and now guides clients through.  Her 22-year background as an Occupational Therapist helps contribute to the holistic lens she brings to her clients in supporting them not only thru IVF but also with life skills in general. 

She has been a lifelong practitioner of manifestation and intentional living and applied these same principles on her IVF journey. With one healthy embryo holding on for her and her husband, they beat the odds and found “success” despite a long road of unexpected setbacks and surgeries. Through it all she stayed hopeful and empowered, trusting in the unfolding of it all. 

In 2023 she received an award from the European Fertility Society for “Highly Commended” in the Best Fertility Coach category and in 2021 was awarded “Highly Commended” in the Best Fertility Book Category. 

And so today, Lisa is going to take you through how you can begin to utilize manifestation in your life and fertility journey!

We cover in this episode:

I loved having Lisa on the podcast talking about energy and manifesting! Her kindness and positive outlook to the fertility journey is refreshing - without falling into the realm of toxic positivity. We both understand how the fertility journey can seep into all corners of life - and manifesting is one way to find joy in life while also trying to conceive.

Give these a try - I’d love to hear how the manifesting goes! Drop us a DM on IG - @fertilebodyyoga

RESOURCES:

This podcast is brought to from https://fertilebodyyoga.com/ - a virtual yoga studio dedicated to supporting the body, mind, and soul of those navigating their fertility journeys.

Entering the world of IVF is overwhelming. And many of us enter the fertility treatment world under prepared for what is to come. I often hear from many students that they wish that someone had told them what it would be like, or how it would affect their lives. 

There is a step missing in the world of IVF as many people walk into that office not knowing what will happen and how they can make their journey less overwhelming and all encompassing. 

When you go to the fertility doctor - they are taking over the mechanics of making babies. But that embryo will be placed in your body to find its new home - so YOU are still important. Your mental/emotional health, your physical health, and your spiritual and energetic health.

Well - I have for you over 2 episodes - 8 things I wish I knew before starting IVF. I’m here to give you that heart to heart you deserve.

My hope is to empower you to transform your experience with IVF to being more informed, in agency of your choices, and experience more ease as you accept the path you’re on and find joy in life while TTC. And really that is what Fertile Body Yoga and the Fringe Fertility Podcast is all about.

Here is what we tackle in this first episode:

This is such an important conversation to have and I’m so glad I get to share with you my insights that I gathered - AFTER the fact - in hopes that they will support you now in your experiences with IVF.

RESOURCES:

Fringe Fertility is brought to you by Kerry Hinds and Fertile Body Yoga - a virtual yoga studio dedicated to supporting those on their fertility journeys - mind, body, and soul. 

Does the thought of going to the fertility clinic and sitting in the waiting room activate your stress response? If, so you definitely not alone.

Today's episode I take you through my tried and tested Fertility Clinic Stress Buster Technique.

Added bonus - after explaining what we're doing in the technique and why - I will guide you through the practice (with music some chill music) so that you can experience it with a guide. You can then do it yourself or do the recording again.

The guided breath and visualizations starts at...13:36

Resources:

Essential Oils and Fertility Blog Post

Essential Oil Podcast Episode

This podcast is brought to you by Kerry Hinds and Fertile Body Yoga - a virtual yoga studio dedicated to providing mind + body support to those on their fertility journeys.