Article for Women Issues

So just what are the ingredients for the fertile soil in a woman’s body that supports healthy pregnancy and birth? This is an important question for a woman trying to conceive. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has some solid contribution on the topic…First
a woman’s blood must be ample
nutritionally and hormonally healthy
and flowing unimpeded throughout the body and
in particular
the uterus. Second
her Chi needs to be flowing smoothly in all her organs
muscles and channels (including the uterus). Third
her mental and emotional energy system needs to be balanced in such a way that a woman trying to conceive
is enhancing her overall health versus burdening her overall health.

Whew
that’s a mouthful. And what does it all mean? Well
let’s look at each piece individually.

Ample
nutritionally and hormonally healthy as well as
Flowing Unimpeded throughout the body Blood: In Chinese Medicine we refill our tank daily with energy or life force
via our food
drink and breath. We must sleep at night in order to repair
rebuild
regenerate and rejuvenate our entire system. This repair work requires a foundation of nourishment that we supply ourselves each day.

One of our energy systems in Chinese Medicine
The Earth System which includes the organs Spleen/Pancreas and Stomach
is responsible for receiving the food and drink we ingest
breaking it down into usable nourishment for the blood (called transformation in TCM)
and then transporting nutrients
via the blood
to our entire body. Optimal function of our body can only be as good as the quality and quantity of the food we eat. Quality refers to how healthy
vital and nutrient-rich the food we eat is. Quantity refers to the eating of food in proper portions. If we eat too little
we become deficient in nutrients. If we eat too much
our system becomes burdened in having to deal with the excess that cannot be transported or is unusable
for example excess sugar. If either deprivation of necessary nutrients
or over-burden becomes the norm
our system suffers greatly.

If deprived or over-burdened
at night
during rebuilding and regenerating
our system is mostly trying to keep up with robbing “Peter to pay Paul
” or figuring out what to do with the excess and repairing the breakdown in our system from the excess. This is quite a wasteful expenditure of our energy when we need our energy available each day and night for the important job of keeping our organs
tissues
hormones
and cells operating healthfully.

If misuse of our energy goes on over time
our soil may become infertile. We absolutely need healthy blood on a regular basis and we need this rich
nourished blood flowing throughout the uterus. When our blood becomes tired
lacks oxygen
or is nutritionally deficient
it can become sluggish
slow down and even stagnate. This means our smooth flow of blood is compromised
thus compromising fertility.

Enough Chi flowing smoothly in all organs
muscles and channels (including the uterus): Chi is a Chinese word for life force
or energy
or molecular energy. It is what we are made of in that
if we have no Chi
we have no life force. Simple stated
when we are born we have a full tank of Chi
and when the tank is empty
we die. While alive and during the reproductive years
it makes sense that in order to create a new life inside of you
you must have a reasonable life force yourself. If you don’t have enough Chi or life force in your own system
where do you think the Chi will come from to create a new life for 9 mos.? Nature
and infinite wisdom
just knows that if a woman’s Chi tank is too low
then reproduction falls below the line of possibility. It’s a no-brainer
in that
for a fetus to grow it needs a certain amount of Chi and blood.

Mental and emotional energy systems need to be balanced in such a way that a woman trying to conceive
is enhancing her overall health versus burdening her overall health: Thoughts and emotions are as much Chi as your elbow or liver is. They are just a more subtle form of Chi. Much like the wind
in that
we don’t “see” wind
but it exists because we see the effects of wind even though it is invisible. This more subtle form of Chi
like our thoughts and emotions
are just as important as the food we eat. Every time we think a thought or have an emotion
there is literally a chemical reaction in our body. To put it in simple terms
the by-product of these chemical reactions are either toxic and thus
burdensome to our system; or the by-product of these chemical reactions align with optimal functioning of our system.

When I teach a woman to observe herself in this more subtle form of Chi
it is often surprising to her that she is much more plagued with thoughts of fear
worry
or depression
in relation to her fertility
than she realized consciously. Some of it she was aware of
but the extent of it is more the eye-opener. The chemical by-product of these thoughts and emotions over a prolonged period of time
become burdensome to the system
contributing to a decreased flow of Chi and Blood. It requires practice to become aware
and then become intentional about our choice of thoughts.

“Ingredients
” or choices
are either enhancing or inhibiting our fertile soil. Either our fertility switch is ‘on’ or ‘off.’ No woman purposely turns her fertility switch off
but
unknowingly
she could be making choices
day after day
that are preventing optimal and fertile soil. Start where you’re at and begin making the best choices you can in order to fertilize your soil in such a way that pregnancy and healthy birth are a natural outcome.