How do you trust yourself when your fertility journey feels uncertain, overwhelming, or completely different from what you imagined?

In this inspiring conversation, Shreyasi sits down with fertility coach Justine Lapointe to explore intuition, self-trust, decision-making, and the unexpected ways fertility challenges can transform our lives.

Drawing from her own experiences with infertility, IVF, pregnancy loss, entrepreneurship, and recovery, Justine shares how learning to trust herself became one of the greatest gifts of her fertility journey. Together, she and Shreyasi discuss intuition, community, creativity, surrender, identity shifts, and how fertility struggles can ultimately open doors to new possibilities, relationships, and ways of living.

This episode is a reminder that while fertility journeys are often filled with uncertainty, there can be profound growth, healing, and self-discovery along the way.

• How to recognize and trust your intuition during uncertain times

• The role of creativity, movement, and passion projects during fertility struggles

• Why community can become one of the greatest sources of support

• Learning to surrender when life doesn't unfold according to plan

• Navigating fertility decisions through self-trust rather than fear

• How fertility coaching can help women uncover options and move forward with clarity

Justine Lapointe is a fertility coach who helps women navigate the emotional, practical, and strategic aspects of their fertility journeys. Drawing from both professional training and lived experience, she supports clients in exploring their options, building personalized support systems, making aligned decisions, and finding clarity during challenging seasons.

Through one-to-one coaching, Justine helps women better understand available resources, navigate decision fatigue, manage the emotional impact of fertility struggles, and create fertility journeys that reflect their unique needs and values.

Website: https://www.justinelapointe.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justineclapointe/

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional challenges of trying to conceive, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing, guided meditations, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women reconnect with themselves while moving through the uncertainty of their fertility journey.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Learn more about fertility support programs, equine healing experiences, retreats, guided practices, and resources designed specifically for women navigating fertility challenges.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow The Red Thread on your favourite podcast platform, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who may benefit from its message.

Your support helps more women find compassionate guidance, connection, and healing throughout their fertility journey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your IVF or IUI journey could become an opportunity to build a deeper, more compassionate relationship with your body even when it feels like your body has let you down?

In this episode, Shreyasi explores what it means to become a sovereign ally to your body while navigating medically assisted conception. Drawing from her own experiences and what she has witnessed in IVF and IUI support groups, she reflects on the complicated relationship many women develop with their bodies during fertility treatment.

From hormonal medications and medical procedures to pregnancy loss, unsuccessful cycles, unexpected diagnoses, and the uncertainty of treatment, IVF and IUI can leave women feeling disconnected from their bodies, out of control, numb, frustrated, or even betrayed.

Shreyasi offers gentle, trauma-informed practices for beginning to rebuild that relationship. She explores body awareness, soothing and sensory practices, pleasure, compassionate touch, and learning to recognize your body’s signals of “yes” and “no.”

This episode is an invitation to move away from seeing your body only through the lens of fertility treatment and toward becoming its ally, guardian, and compassionate partner throughout the journey.

· Why IVF and IUI can create feelings of disconnection or betrayal within the body

· The physical and emotional toll fertility treatments can place on the body

· What it means to become a sovereign ally and guardian to your body

· How to check in with your body and notice what it needs throughout the day

· Recognizing physical sensations connected to emotions, stress, fear, tension, and ease

· Responding to your body’s needs for rest, movement, comfort, or release

· Using soothing touch and sensory experiences to create feelings of comfort and safety

· Why pleasure, beauty, connection, and positive physical experiences matter during fertility treatment

Your body is going through a lot: IVF and IUI can involve hormones, procedures, tests, uncertainty, physical discomfort, and emotional stress. Simply acknowledging how much you are asking of your body can be an important first step toward compassion.

Checking in creates connection: Taking a few moments to notice how your body feels and then responding when possible with rest, movement, stretching, soothing, or comfort can help rebuild a sense of relationship and agency.

Your body deserves experiences beyond treatment: Your physical experience does not have to become defined entirely by tests and procedures. Pleasure, comforting touch, movement, beauty, connection, and sensory experiences can help create a wider range of experiences within your body.

Your body has its own language: Tension, constriction, bracing, or pulling away may signal a “no,” while openness, expansion, excitement, or ease may feel more like a “yes.” Learning to recognize these signals can strengthen your connection with your body and intuition.

Start slowly: Trauma-informed body connection is about pacing. Begin by noticing your body’s signals during safe, everyday experiences rather than trying to develop these skills for the first time during a stressful fertility procedure.

· IVF and IUI fertility support groups

· Trauma-informed fertility support

· Mindful self-compassion practices

· Sensory soothing and grounding practices

· Somatic and body-awareness practices

· Mental health support during fertility treatment

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional complexity of a fertility journey, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine-facilitated healing experiences, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women stay connected to themselves while moving through the uncertainty of trying to conceive.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if one of the most powerful forms of support on your IVF or IUI journey isn’t another appointment or piece of advice but simply being in a space with women who truly understand?

In this episode, Shreyasi explores the profound healing potential of women’s circles and fertility support groups. Drawing from her experience facilitating IVF and IUI support groups, she shares why gathering with other women navigating medically assisted conception can create a sense of safety, belonging, connection, and understanding that can be difficult to find elsewhere.

Shreyasi reflects on the isolation that can accompany fertility treatment, even when you have supportive partners, family, friends, medical professionals, and holistic practitioners around you.

She explores the power of having your story witnessed, hearing experiences that resonate with your own, and being in a space where fertility terminology, treatments, fears, losses, and hopes don’t need to be explained.

She also discusses the importance of choosing support spaces carefully, practicing emotional and energetic boundaries, and finding groups that reflect your particular fertility journey whenever possible.

This episode is a reminder that while every fertility story is unique, you don’t have to navigate yours alone and that sisterhood, community, and being truly seen can become an important part of healing along the way.

· Why IVF and IUI can feel deeply isolating, even when you have support

· The unique power of being surrounded by women who understand medically assisted conception

· How sharing and witnessing fertility stories can create connection and belonging

· Why feeling seen and understood can help bring safety and wholeness to the fertility journey

· The importance of creating emotionally and energetically safe women’s circles

· How to practice discernment when choosing a fertility support group

· Why customized groups can be especially valuable for different fertility experiences and family-building paths

· How to maintain emotional boundaries when hearing difficult stories from other women

· Why you are not responsible for rescuing, fixing, or taking care of everyone else in the group

· Making space for both grief and celebration as women move through different stages of fertility treatment

· How women’s circles can help heal “sister wounds” and rebuild trust in relationships with other women

· Why community and sisterhood can continue beyond IVF or IUI into pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood

· IVF and IUI fertility support groups

· Women’s circles and fertility community spaces

· Single mothers by choice support groups

· Couples fertility support groups

· Emotional support during medically assisted conception

· Fertility-focused mental health and holistic support

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional complexity of a fertility journey, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine-facilitated healing experiences, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women stay connected to themselves while moving through the uncertainty of trying to conceive.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if one of the hardest parts of fertility treatment wasn't the medical procedures—but the emotional journey no one prepares you for?

In this compassionate and deeply validating conversation, Shreyasi sits down with registered psychologist Caroline Andersen, whose practice specializes in reproductive mental health. Together, they explore the often-unspoken emotional realities of navigating IVF, IUI, infertility, pregnancy loss, and reproductive grief.

Caroline shares why fertility treatment is so much more than a medical process. She explains how infertility can challenge identity, relationships, trust in your body, and the future you imagined for yourself. Together, they discuss grief that often goes unseen, the isolation many women and couples experience, and how friends and family can offer meaningful support without trying to "fix" the situation.

This episode is a gentle reminder that your emotional experience is valid, your grief deserves to be acknowledged, and you don't have to carry this journey alone.

Caroline Andersen is a registered psychologist specializing in reproductive mental health. She supports individuals and couples navigating medically assisted fertility journeys, including IVF and IUI, as well as pregnancy loss, infant loss, donor conception decisions, and the complex emotional realities of infertility. Through her work, Caroline helps clients process grief, rebuild resilience, and navigate one of life's most vulnerable experiences with compassion and understanding.

In this Episode they Explore:

• Why fertility treatment is much more than a medical procedure
• The unexpected grief that often accompanies infertility
• The loss of control, spontaneity, identity, and trust in your body
• How fertility struggles can impact relationships and emotional wellbeing
• Why infertility grief is often misunderstood or invisible
• Understanding disenfranchised grief and why it deserves recognition
• The emotional isolation many individuals and couples experience
• Why toxic positivity can unintentionally increase pain
• How loved ones can provide meaningful support without trying to solve the problem
• Learning to ask for the support you truly need
• The importance of community, support groups, and feeling understood during fertility treatment

Key Takeaways:

Fertility treatment is an emotional journey, not just a medical one: IVF and IUI involve much more than appointments and procedures. They often bring grief, uncertainty, identity shifts, and emotional vulnerability that deserve attention alongside medical care.

Grief takes many forms: Infertility can involve grieving future dreams, lost expectations, trust in your body, spontaneity, and the life you imagined—all of which are valid experiences.

Invisible grief still deserves support: Fertility struggles are often hidden from others, making it difficult for people to understand the depth of the loss. Acknowledging this grief is an important part of healing.

Support doesn't require perfect words: Rather than offering solutions or reassurance, simply saying, "I see you're struggling. How can I support you?" can be one of the most meaningful gifts you can offer.

Connection reduces isolation: Whether through trusted friends, therapy, or support groups, feeling understood by others who recognize the emotional realities of infertility can help ease the loneliness of the journey.

Connect with Caroline:

Website: https://www.carolineandersen.ca/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfertilityGroup

Connect with Shreyasi:

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional complexity of a fertility journey, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine-facilitated healing experiences, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women stay connected to themselves while moving through the uncertainty of trying to conceive.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you give yourself permission to put your thoughts, feelings, fears, hopes, and experiences into words?

In this heartfelt conversation, Shreyasi sits down with author, poet, and writing mentor Rebecca Canup to explore how creative writing can become a powerful source of support during IVF, IUI, infertility, pregnancy loss, and the emotional complexities of trying to conceive.

Together, they discuss the healing nature of self-expression, the importance of finding safe spaces to share your voice, and how writing can help women process grief, uncertainty, identity shifts, and the many emotions that arise throughout a fertility journey. Rebecca shares her own experiences creating writing communities for women, the transformative power of storytelling, and why writing doesn't need to be perfect to be meaningful.

Whether you've journaled for years or have never written more than a few sentences in a notebook, this episode offers a compassionate invitation to explore writing as a tool for self-discovery, self-trust, and emotional healing.

• How creative writing can support women navigating IVF, IUI, infertility, and pregnancy loss

• Why self-expression is an important part of emotional wellbeing and healing

• The connection between writing, grief, self-trust, and resilience

• How journaling can help process difficult emotions and experiences

• The value of community and safe spaces for sharing your voice

• Why writing doesn't need to be perfect to be meaningful

• How prompts can help unlock thoughts and feelings you may not realize you're carrying

• The role of storytelling in reducing isolation and helping women feel less alone

Rebecca Canup is a published author, poet, writing mentor, and founder of The Writer's Room. Through her group programs and one-to-one mentorship, she helps women discover their voice, deepen their self-expression, and bring their stories into the world.

Learn more about Rebecca's writing programs, mentorship opportunities, and upcoming Writer's Room sessions through her website and social media channels:

Website: https://www.burnforwords.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burnforwords

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/burnforwords

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional challenges of trying to conceive, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing, guided meditations, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women reconnect with themselves while moving through the uncertainty of their fertility journey.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Learn more about fertility support programs, equine healing experiences, retreats, guided practices, and resources designed specifically for women navigating fertility challenges.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow The Red Thread on your favourite podcast platform, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who may benefit from its message.

Your support helps more women find compassionate guidance, connection, and healing throughout their fertility journey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do people really need to understand about the IVF and IUI journey?

In this solo episode, Shreyasi shares five powerful truths she wishes more people understood about navigating fertility treatment. Drawing from her own experiences, conversations within fertility support communities, and years of supporting women on their fertility journeys, she explores the realities that often go unspoken.

While IVF and IUI are often viewed through a medical lens, Shreyasi invites listeners to look deeper at the emotional, mental, spiritual, financial, and relational impacts of fertility treatment. This episode offers validation, perspective, and encouragement for anyone navigating infertility, assisted reproduction, or supporting a loved one through the process.

• Why IVF and IUI are far more than medical procedures

• The emotional, nervous system, and spiritual impact of fertility treatment

• Releasing timelines and navigating unexpected detours

• The financial realities and pressures of fertility care

• Why doing everything "right" doesn't guarantee a particular outcome

• Recognizing your resilience, strength, and capacity throughout the journey

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional challenges of trying to conceive, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing, guided meditations, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women reconnect with themselves while moving through the uncertainty of their fertility journey.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Learn more about fertility support programs, equine healing experiences, retreats, guided practices, and resources designed specifically for women navigating fertility challenges.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow The Red Thread on your favourite podcast platform, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who may benefit from its message.

Your support helps more women find compassionate guidance, connection, and healing throughout their fertility journey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if one of the most powerful tools on your fertility journey wasn't another supplement, treatment, test, or protocol? What if it was learning how to be kinder to yourself?

In this solo episode, Shreyasi explores the practice of mindful self-compassion and why it can become an invaluable source of support for women navigating IVF, IUI, infertility, pregnancy loss, and the emotional ups and downs of trying to conceive.

Many women on a fertility journey are used to achieving goals through hard work, discipline, and determination. But fertility often asks something very different of us. It asks us to sit with uncertainty, disappointment, grief, hope, and vulnerability in ways we may never have experienced before.

Drawing from the work of Dr. Kristin Neff and Dr. Christopher Germer, Shreyasi shares the foundations of mindful self-compassion, common misconceptions about self-compassion, and how these practices can help create greater resilience, emotional wellbeing, and self-trust throughout your fertility journey.

She also guides listeners through a soothing touch self-compassion practice designed to help you feel more grounded, supported, and connected to your body during difficult moments.

• What mindful self-compassion is and why it matters
• The emotional challenges of IVF and IUI journeys
• Why high-achieving women often struggle with self-compassion
• The relationship between self-criticism and fertility stress
• The three core elements of mindful self-compassion
• How fertility challenges can trigger shame, guilt, and self-blame
• The concept of shared humanity and why you are not alone
• Common myths and misconceptions about self-compassion
• The phenomenon of "backdraft" when beginning self-compassion work
• Research-backed benefits of mindful self-compassion
• How self-compassion supports emotional resilience
• Ways to cultivate greater acceptance of your body
• Bringing self-compassion into fertility treatments, testing, and procedures
• A guided soothing touch practice for emotional support and regulation
• How self-compassion can positively impact relationships and support systems

Learn more about Mindful Self-Compassion at Kristen Neff’s website: https://self-compassion.org/ 

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional complexity of trying to conceive, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing, guided meditations, retreats, and one-to-one support, I help women reconnect 

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if joy wasn't something you found after your dream came true? What if joy could support you while you are still waiting, hoping, grieving, healing, and navigating uncertainty?

In this heartfelt conversation, Shreyasi sits down with joy facilitator, educator, and founder of the Academy of Joyful Living, Jillian Schecher, to explore how joy can become an anchor during the challenges of a fertility journey.

Jillian shares her deeply personal story of loss, addiction, self abandonment, and ultimately finding her way back to herself through what she now calls The Joy MethodTM. Together, they explore how women navigating IVF, IUI, infertility, pregnancy loss, or the uncertainty of trying to conceive can cultivate joy without bypassing grief, sadness, disappointment, or fear.

They talk about surrender, trust, manifestation, self compassion, and the powerful shift that can happen when we release the need to control every outcome.

This conversation is an invitation to soften, reconnect with your own wisdom, and remember that your life is still unfolding, even in the waiting.

Jillian Schecher is a joy facilitator, educator, speaker, and founder of the Academy of Joyful Living. She is the creator of The Joy MethodTM and the Daily Joy Journal, helping people reconnect with joy, trust themselves, and navigate life's challenges with greater resilience and self compassion.

• Jillian's journey through grief, alcoholism, and recovery
• Why joy is more than happiness
• The connection between contrast, pain, and authentic joy
• How fertility challenges can become a "dark night of the soul"
• The seven steps of The Joy MethodTM
• Why surrender and trust are often the hardest parts of healing
• How attachment to outcomes can create suffering
• The difference between control and co-creation
• The role of manifestation on a fertility journey
• Why your dreams can remain sacred without consuming your life
• Practical ways to reconnect with abundance and gratitude
• How self celebration can shift your emotional state
• Understanding the power of "future self"
• The concept of the void as a space of creation and possibility
• Trusting divine timing during IVF, IUI, and fertility treatment

website: https://jillianschecher.com/

 Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianschecher/

Instagram: @jillianschecher  

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joy-journey-podcast-with-jillian-schecher/id1789913454

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional complexity of a fertility journey, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing experiences, retreats, and one-to-one support, I help women stay connected to themselves while moving through the uncertainty of trying to conceive.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if one of the most powerful sources of support on your fertility journey isn't found in another treatment, test, protocol, or supplement, but in reconnecting with yourself through nature?

In this solo episode, Shreyasi shares the profound ways horses can support women navigating IVF, IUI, infertility, pregnancy loss, and the emotional complexities of trying to conceive. Drawing from her experience living and working alongside a herd of horses, she explores how equine facilitated healing can help women reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, process difficult emotions, and find moments of peace amidst the uncertainty of a medicalized fertility journey.

Shreyasi discusses the concept of horse medicine, the wisdom horses offer through their presence and stories, and how spending time with animals and in nature can create opportunities for healing, self-discovery, and deeper self-trust. Whether you're actively undergoing fertility treatment or simply seeking additional emotional support along the way, this episode offers a gentle invitation to slow down, reconnect, and remember that you don't have to carry this journey alone.

• How horses can support women navigating IVF, IUI, infertility, and pregnancy loss

• Why fertility treatments can create disconnection from the body and emotions

• The healing power of mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and emotional awareness

• How horses encourage authenticity, self-trust, and deeper connection to yourself

• The concept of horse medicine and the wisdom horses offer through their stories and presence

• Lessons from nature, motherhood, and the cycles of life that can support fertility healing

• How equine facilitated wellness can provide grounding, hope, joy, and emotional resilience

• Why community, connection, and feeling supported matter throughout your fertility journey

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing, guided meditations, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women reconnect with themselves while moving through the uncertainty of their fertility journey.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

You can also purchase the Trusting Spirit Horse Medicine Deck and Guidebook at Shreyasi’s website.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Learn more about fertility support programs, equine healing experiences, retreats, guided practices, and resources designed specifically for women navigating fertility challenges.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow The Red Thread on your favourite podcast platform, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who may benefit from its message.

Your support helps more women find compassionate guidance and connection on their fertility journey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it really feel like to walk the path of IVF or IUI?

In this deeply personal solo episode, Shreyasi explores the emotional realities of navigating a medically assisted fertility journey. Drawing from both her professional experience as a psychiatrist and her own lived experience with IVF and IUI, she offers a compassionate reflection on the complex emotional landscape that many women and couples encounter along the way.

From grief and uncertainty to hope, identity shifts, relationship challenges, decision fatigue, and the pressure to stay positive, this episode acknowledges the full spectrum of emotions that can arise throughout fertility treatment. Shreyasi explores how infertility and assisted conception can impact self-worth, relationships, the nervous system, and a woman's connection to her body and womb.

Most importantly, she reminds listeners that they are not alone. There is support available, healing is possible, and every emotional response along this journey deserves compassion and understanding.

• The emotional impact of IVF and IUI beyond the medical procedures

• Grief, loss, and disappointment throughout the fertility journey

• Why hope and grief often coexist at the same time

• Feelings of envy, shame, frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty

• Identity shifts and changes in self-worth during fertility struggles

• The emotional toll of waiting, uncertainty, and decision fatigue

• Living a double life while appearing okay on the outside

• The impact of fertility treatment on relationships and partnerships

• The effects of chronic stress on the nervous system

• Trauma, body disconnection, and the relationship with the womb space

• The importance of support, connection, and community

• Practices that can help women feel grounded, supported, and emotionally held throughout their journey

If you're navigating infertility, IVF, IUI, pregnancy loss, or the emotional challenges of trying to conceive, you don't have to walk this path alone.

Through fertility support programs, mindfulness-based practices, equine facilitated healing, guided meditations, retreats, and one-to-one support, Shreyasi helps women reconnect with themselves while moving through the uncertainty of their fertility journey.

Website: https://shreyasibrodhecker.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shreyasi_brodhecker

Learn more about fertility support programs, equine healing experiences, retreats, guided practices, and resources designed specifically for women navigating fertility challenges.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow The Red Thread on your favourite podcast platform, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who may benefit from its message.

Your support helps more women find compassionate guidance, connection, and healing throughout their fertility journey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.