NOW YOU CAN!

The QUIT CIGARETTES IN 60 MINUTES™ program will help you to quit cigarettes in one session of 60 minutes. That’s right! Sounds incredible… and it is! 95% of the people who experienced this program gave up cigarettes for good.

QUIT CIGARETTES IN 60 MINUTES™ uses a combination of advanced hypnotherapy and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) to talk to your subconscious mind and change the need for this habit at the root of the problem.

No matter whether you want to quit cigarettes because:

• You want to save money
• You want a healthier life
• You want o be more fertile
• You want to stop being ostracised in public places where you have to “go out for a ciggy”
• You want to get rid of the tobacco smell from your breath, body and your clothes

Most people have some level of gluten intolerance and excess gluten can damage the villi (the absorptive surface) of the small intestine leading to poor nutrient absorption and even other serious health conditions including coeliac’s disease, infertility, auto-immune problems and more.

The ideal scenario is to avoid grains completely, particularly those rich in gluten (described previously).

This initial change in habits leaves some people feeling like all the “fun is gone” but this is far from the truth!

Food is to be enjoyed but not abused. Portion control is essential for good health.

And the key is to find new foods and recipes to replace those grain and gluten containing ones you no longer will use.

Here are 10 good reasons to avoid grains and gluten:

1. Grains (gluten containing or otherwise) are usually high glycaemic and cause blood sugar irregularities being a real problem for people with diabetes, hypoglycaemia, PCOS, and insulin resistance;
2. Gluten is highly allergenic meaning the body will behave like it’s under attack and this may mean serious digestive disturbances, allergic reactions and more;
3. Gluten is highly inflammatory which can lead to skin flare ups including eczema and psoriasis;
4. Joint inflammation leading to increased body pain and exacerbated back problems;
5. Gluten has been shown to decrease a woman’s ability to ovulate ¹;
6. Gluten has been linked to decreased couple fertility ¹;
7. Grains are bad for your teeth due high levels of phytates which also decrease nutrient absorption in the body;
8. Eating grains makes you crave grains and sugar since grains break down into sugar, they create a rise in insulin levels when those levels fall you crave more grains and, thus, the vicious cycle continues;
9. Avoiding gluten has been shown to improve mental health decreasing the symptoms of depression, schizophrenia and autism ^2,3,4;
10. Improve your energy levels! Gluten has also been shown to have a negative impact on energy levels—avoidance is the best policy ²!

There are loads of great gluten free recipes and cookbooks out in the market these days. Just find one that suits your food preferences. Here are a couple of gluten free recipes to get you started and to enjoy responsibly!

Olive Oil Pastry Dough—*Gluten-free

A wonderful base for your pies and pastries… minus the gluten!

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole bean flour
• ½ cup rice flour or tapioca flour
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (or preferably coconut oil), frozen
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup ice water

Method of Preparation

Measure flours into the bowl of a food processor, pulsing to sift. Add the salt and frozen olive oil or coconut oil. Combine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the motor running, add the water 1 tablespoon at a time. Stop when about half the water has been added to begin checking the consistency of the dough by pinching the crumbs. The dough should hold together but not be sticky. Add the remaining water as necessary.

Bring the dough together into a ball, and then flatten it into a disk. Wrap in waxed baking paper and refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 180^oC.

If making a pie case, roll the chilled dough to about 0.5cm thick to fit a 25cm tart pan. Fit the dough in the pan and dock the dough with a fork. Line the dough with a circle of parchment or baking paper. Add dried beans or pastry weights.

Blind bake for 12 minutes and allow cooling in the oven slightly before removing.

Flourless brownie

Recipe Courtesy of Wholefoods Market http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

No one will ever guess the secret ingredient in this recipe: black beans!

Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (425g) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method of Preparation

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Butter 20cm baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the centre. Cool before cutting into squares.

1. G.F. Meloni, S. Dessole, N. Vargiu, P.A. Tomasi and S. Musumeci. 1999. The prevalence of coeliac disease in infertility, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. Vol. 14, No. 11, 2759-2761
2. M. SINISCALCHI, P. IOVINO, R. TORTORA, S. FORESTIERO, A. SOMMA, L. CAPUANO, M. D. FRANZESE, F. SABBATINI & C. CIACCI. 2005. Fatigue in adult coeliac disease. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Volume 22 Issue 5, Pages 489 – 494
3. Millward C, Ferriter M, Calver S, Connell-Jones G. 2007. Gluten- and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder (Review). The Cochrane Collaboration. Cochrane Library 2007, Issue 3
4. JR Rice, CH Ham, WE Gore 1978. Another look at gluten in schizophrenia American Journal of Psychiatry Volume 135 Issue 11

By keeping a calendar handy (or even better a sympto-thermal or fertility/ovulation chart), and marking days of menstruation each month, a woman can easily keep track of her periods, which in turn will help her keep track of ovulation. This can be very helpful for determining fertile days, thus making conception easier to achieve; or contraception easier to manage. Bear in mind that regardless of whether you’re looking to get pregnant or prevent pregnancy, your fertility journey (and treatment) and/or birth control (once you’ve had your babies) will be much more successful if they are customized to your individual needs.

Let me emphasize that every woman has her own inner workings, a biological clock, if you like. Textbooks generally state that every 28 days menstruation occurs, and that ovulation occurs on or around the 14th day of a woman’s monthly cycle. This does not apply to every woman. While there may be people who are on the textbook 28 day schedule like clockwork, there are still many whose monthly rhythms are tuned to a different drum! Some women menstruate every 30 or 35 days like clockwork, because this is what is normal for them. What tends to vary is the number of days that lapse between menstruation and the next expected ovulation; however, it is generally accepted that for most women menstruation does generally occur approximately 14 days after ovulation has finally taken place (unless in cases of luteal phase defects, which can dramatically impair fertility in women — seek the advice of a competent and qualified naturopath to address this, if it’s a problem for you).

While this counting and record keeping is important and helpful, used alone it is not foolproof. The most important aspect of determining your fertile days and keeping up with your cycle is paying attention to your bodily functions, particularly in signs changes especially those in vaginal secretions. That said, let us take a look at different physical and psychological aspects of the monthly cycle (note that whilst changes are expected and most women can experience disconfort before and during menstruation — symptoms are a sign of imbalance, which should be addressed and not simply thought of as normal just because most women experience them!):

First Week: Menstruation

Bleeding ceases, generally followed by a surge in energy levels.

If unpleasant symptoms are experienced, these generally subside when menstruation starts — eg. moods, sleep patterns and eating habits — becoming normal once again (if this is happening for you, seek the assistance of a competent and qualified naturopath).

Vaginal dryness may be present, or mucous will be scant.

Second Week:

As the time of ovulation nears, vaginal mucous may increase, will often become thinner, may appear white or clear. When ovulation occurs, approximately around the 14th day, — the vagina may frequently be “wet,” as the mucus becomes thinner. Sexual arousal and romantic feelings may be heightened, and one may experience breast tenderness, bloating, cramps or moodiness.

Third Week:

Moodiness may or may not subside. Vaginal wetness decreases, as this is the post-ovulation phase. Mucus may thicken or decrease.

Fourth Week:

Some women experience pre-menstrual symptoms, which may include moodiness, bloating, headaches, cramps, fatigue or lethargy, appetite increase or decrease, sex drive may decrease or increase, sleep disturbances or others. If this is happening for you be sure to seek professional advice as it may be a sign of hormonal imbalances, which can decrease your chances of a healthy conception.

Be mindful when examining vaginal secretions, that the mucus becomes thinner during ovulation so the sperm can swim to the egg easily. This is why paying attention to your fluids is crucial in determining your most fertile days as it is your fertile mucus (egg-white like aka spin or spinnbarkeit), which precedes and heralds the approach of ovulation. If you’re serious about charting your fertility, it may be useful to mark the days on which you show symptoms of ovulation as well as the days of your period to help you with conception timing. This will allow you to see more accurately how many days typically lapse between menstruation and ovulation. FertiliyFriend.com is a great charting tool, which will teach you lots about your own cycle.

Understanding a woman’s own unmistakable signs of fertility during my Natural Fertility Solution Program is one of the tools I teach each and every single one of my patients, because this is the one skill that gives you most control over your fertility and conception attempts. It also enables me to clearly understand (when things do not go to plan) where I need to focus my efforts as your practitioner to ensure my patients get the results they are after: their very own happy and healthy baby.

Emotional Freedom Technique is best described as emotional acupuncture without needles. It also works extremely well for physical aspects, such as physical pain. EFT helps to “re-organise” the body and mind, inducing relaxation, which enables a realignment of the body’s energy systems.

Essentially EFT helps one see situations, and experiences with “fresh eyes”, facilitating and being catalyst for a positive change. As it is able to cause powerful shifts in how one feels and behaves in various different circumstances. EFT does not change the way things are, but it does have a powerful effect on how “bothered” one gets about things. The best way to understand it is to experience it.

One of the greatest benefits of EFT is that it is a self applied, tapping technique based on the healing modalities of acupuncture, acupressure and kinesiology (yes, you tap certain points on your face and upper body and so what if you temporarily look a little bit silly—it works, that is what matters!). What these modalities have in common is that they all work to balance the system in different ways and you don’t need to become a master in any of them in order to very simply, quickly and effectively master EFT for self use. In fact the founder of EFT Gary Craig suggests trying it on everything and with the results I have had in clinical practice over the years, I couldn’t agree more.

It is worth applying EFT to whatever may be causing you discomfort right now. The likelihood is that with a little persistence you will see any uncomfortable or unsettling feelings disappear. EFT enables positive cognitive shifts, its genius is that you can pretty much pull up anything that bothers you and turn it “off” on purpose. It also modifies the anxiety/stress response, fostering positive body awareness.

I often see men and women in my practice that are distressed with different aspects and in different stages of their fertility journey, some really are at their wits’ end and this technique is absolutely fabulous for helping to rebalance one’s emotions.

Below you will see a case study with one of my patients and how EFT was able to help her address her fear of childlessness.

Case Study – Fear of Childlessness

(Result in 38 minutes)

Susie*, was a fertility patient who attended one of the EFT seminars with her husband Steve* because the workshop is a compulsory and also very important part of my in-house fertility program.

Susie volunteered to work at the front with me as an example for the group. And as she came up she said the thing she wanted to work on was her fear of not having a baby. Susie and Steve had been trying to conceive for a couple of years without having much luck and she was afraid it wasn’t going to happen.

I started working with Susie on that and her aspects kept changing, so the fear that was at 10/10 was only very slowly going down. Then after a particular round something else popped up for her. She remembered that the fear stared when she was in high school and she remembered herself thinking that being childless was really scary. So we changed the wording for her and instead of saying “Even though I have this fear of not having a baby”, we said “Even though I have this fear of childlessness” which to her meant growing old without a family.

And all of a sudden after a couple of rounds her intensity and anxiety about the whole thing was completely gone and testing, did not bring it back up. A follow up with her a week later and she still reported how great she felt about the idea of having a baby and even not having a baby, although of course she would still prefer to have a child. That gripping feeling had completely disappeared.

The most interesting part of all is that one month later Susie was pregnant! She had a great pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby girl.

* names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Did you know?

Emotional Freedom Technique is one of several helpful tools in the Emotional Freedom Plus System.

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body because it governs approximately 500 metabolic processes to ensure optimum health and fertility. These are categorized into nine main ones and include: Carbohydrate metabolism — assisting to maintain blood sugar levels; fat metabolism and cholesterol balance; protein metabolism including disposing of and re-making blood as well as other body building blocks; storage of blood; bile salts production to assist digestion; storage of vitamins (A, D, E, K, B, C) and minerals (iron, potassium, copper, zinc); production of heat, breakdown and elimination of hormones essential for hormonal balance and detoxification.

The liver is the largest human internal organ and one of the few capable of natural regeneration — as little as 25% of remaining liver can regenerate into a whole liver again. Ensuring the liver has what is required for optimum function is essential for peak general health and fertility.

The way of ensuring optimum liver function is the same (of course) as the approach used to help couples overcome infertility to have a healthy baby, it includes a low toxin lifestyle: a healthy, clean diet; no coffee or alcohol consumption; avoidance of chemicals, recreational substances, smoking and any other things which have been shown to negatively affect general heath as well as adding in other things which can be beneficial — such as the recipe I share with you below.

The Whole Lemon Drink is a recipe that was shared with me by my esteemed colleague and author, Peter De Ruyter. I have used it for various areas of health with excellent results (including and not limited only to digestion and digestive system function).

It’s simple and it tastes great. For improved health, fertility and digestion, all you have to do is drink it twice daily. The other great thing about this natural health and fertility boost is that it is completely safe during the pre-conception period. In addition, whether you are pregnant or trying to conceive naturally, or via assisted methods such as IUI, IVF, ICSI—you can continue this healthy ritual.

The Whole Lemon Drink is ideal for:

• Assisting with hormonal balance
• Detoxification
• Enhanced immune function
• Liver health
• Nourishing and strengthening cells and cell membranes
• Improving and normalising digestive health

Some of the benefits of the Whole Lemon Drink (observed in over 20 years of clinical practice):

• It decreases blood acidity and alkalises the system – despite lemon juice being acidic;
• The oils provide essential fatty acids that boost immune function, benefit cell integrity, and improve skin health (resolving dryness), etc;
• The D-limonene in the lemon peel has anti-cancer properties;
• The pectin in the lemon helps to emulsify oils and chelate toxins from the bowelLemon peel contains oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) – powerful antioxidants with antihistamine effects;
• Lecithin acts on healing and detoxifying the liver (it’s wonderful to address fatty liver) and nervous system (peripheral neuropathy) as well as the kidneys and brain, and enhances fat absorption;
• Lecithin helps normalise cholesterol and triglycerides;
• The choline in the lecithin and the oils in the citrus skin glands help liver detoxification pathways to work more effectively;
• The drink helps decrease swollen glands, increases energy, as well as lift depression and anxiety;
• It helps with insomnia and increases the appetite (only when it is poor);
• It assists in weight normalisation;
• It frequently raises CD4 cell counts (fighting cells of the immune system);
• It helps to decrease tumour necrosis factor (TNF), inflammation and wasting.

One amazing brew – cheap, simple, safe, and effective!

Whole Lemon Drink Recipe

• 1 whole organic lemon, well scrubbed to remove any wax or residues
• 1 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1-3 dessertspoons coconut oil or preferably liquid fish oil
• 1 heaped dessertspoon lecithin (egg based if possible) or a raw fresh, organic egg if you are not pregnant, trying to conceive or are a man
• 1 capsule of vitamin E (whole into the blender)
• 1 knob of fresh ginger (approximately golf ball size)

Cut lemon into small pieces, combine all ingredients and blend for 30-45 seconds. Strain and discard the pulp. Consume 1/2 of the liquid before or with breakfast and the rest for dinner. Store the remainder in a clean glass container* in the fridge. Always consume the total amount within 24 hours to prevent rancidity and too much oxidation.

* Ideally the glass container should be as full of the drink as possible to decrease the amount of air, which speeds up oxidation.

I attended a lecture last September at Oxford University. Professor Russell Foster, leader of the Circadian and Visual Neuroscience Group in the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology (part of the University of Oxford) set out the importance of rest very clearly: in 1900, most people were sleeping for 8.5 hours per night; today, the average is 6.5 hours. He stated categorically that the developed world is in a state of long-term fatigue. Our bodies are not adapted to this level of over-stimulation and lack of rest and because of this, diseases, both mental and physical, are showing up more and more. Stress-related illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, anxiety and panic attacks, insomnia (ironically, being over-tired and stressed can interrupt normal sleeping), and even cancers can be the result of lack of proper rest. Studies at the University of New South Wales have shown that the cells of people who are rest-deprived actually go into an inflammatory state – and in that state, there can be errors in cell-replication, leading to tumours. So, rest is not a luxury – it is a vital part of life.

It is during periods of rest that our bodies have the chance to shed the stresses we accumulate every day. There is also little doubt that for those trying to conceive a child, stress can be a major factor that determines success. This makes perfect sense, of course: if our bodies sense that we are in danger (and that is what stress truly is: a set of danger signals called ‘PCCs’ being triggered repetitively in the body), then Nature may decide that this is not the moment to put the body through the demanding process of conception and pregnancy.

This can all sound a bit alarming – unless we know that there is a solution readily available, and there is. Vedic Meditation has been scientifically proven to be much more restful than deep sleep. It is, if you like, a dynamic form of rest, in which the body rejuvenates itself. Stress is shed rapidly and the fight-flight chemicals in the bloodstream (such as cortisol) are replaced in minutes with bliss chemistry (such as endorphin, serotonin, dopamine and anandamide).

Vedic meditation is a very ancient technique which comes from India and was brought to the West just over 50 years ago. Millions of people now enjoy its benefits. Since its arrival in the West in the late 50s, this easy-to-learn and simple-to-practise technique has been studied by Western methods and the claims that have been made for it over many centuries in India have been verified time and time again. Studies have shown long-term Vedic meditators to be 58% less likely to suffer cancers and 87% less likely to suffer heart disease.

Did you know that a great number of these damaging chemicals are likely to be a part of your everyday lifestyle if you are not careful with what kinds of products you bring into your home?

How can you protect your family?

Education is key—by understanding the awful truth about chemicals in your daily life and through taking the time to identify and replace specific dangerous culprits you can protect your health for years to come. This can help you achieve some practical empowerment over your personal environment and reduce individual risks to you and your family’s development.

Chemicals can have a dramatic negative impact throughout one’s system causing a whole variety of imbalances and dysfunctions, which can be prevented (and sometimes reversed), including:

• Infertility
• Allergies
• Asthma
• Nervous system disorders
• Behavioural abnormalities
• Chronic fatigue
• Headaches
• Genetic damage
• Cancer
• Liver disease
• And much, much more!

For practically any chemical laden product there is a natural alternative that will be gentle and kind to you and your family’s health. The solution: Simplify. Where do you start?

Personal Hygiene & Care Items

An easy area to begin is through personal care and hygiene items. This is one of the greatest problem areas because of the high absorption ability of the skin and the fact that chemicals put on the skin do not need to be “check out” by the liver before they have their effect on the body because they go straight into the blood stream and do their damage from there. Luckily for you, Miessence is an outstanding natural, chemical free, organic range that will ensure your needs are more than satisfied from soaps to body creams, to deodorants and even make up—you can have it all, naturally!

Cleaning products

This is another very easy place to simplify and reduce your exposure. Most people get unnecessarily caught up on germ theories when cleaning. The truth be told you can do an amazingly hygienic job with everyday natural ingredients such as bicarbonate soda, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide (available from health food stores), pure essential oils and just plain water!

Pest Control

This is often the most toxic area. Just consider this… what if cockroaches could really survive a nuclear explosion? It just makes sense that whatever products we are using to kill them really isn’t going to be even “OK” for our health.

How about a changed approach?

In my book Protecting Your Fertility: The Dangers Of Conventional Pest Control Revealed (GOKO 2009) I share a great variety of ways to pest control with natural ingredients. Here are a few to get you started:

Cockroaches

• 1 cup sugar + 1 cup boric acid

Ants

• 1tbsp boric acid + 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mosquitos

• Lavender, citronella lemon grass plants and essential oils (Either 1-2 drops rubbed on the skin or burning in an oil burner)

Flies

• 4 cups of water + 4 tsp basil essential oil

The longer it takes you to make these changes the greater the negative impact to your health. Start today!

Studies have established that smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of spontaneous miscarriages, premature births and birth deformities in infants. There is also an established connection between smoking and infertility in both sexes. In women, the chemicals found in cigarettes directly affect the ovaries by decreasing estrogen production, and accelerating death of eggs produced. The toxic compounds in smoke also indirectly affect fertility by causing pelvic inflammatory disease, adhesions, ectopic pregnancies and by accelerating the onset of menopause.

Men who smoke have lower sperm count and motility, with increased abnormalities in sperm shape and function. They are also at a higher risk of impotence, which could result in infertility. Moreover, men who smoke are putting their partners at a higher risk of infertility through passive smoking. Interestingly, the effects and damage caused by passive cigarette smoke exposure is only slightly different to active smoking. Smoke cessation is an integral part of any fertility boosting efforts whether you are aiming for a healthy natural or assisted conception.

The best advice anyone can give you is—If you are a smoker, quit as soon as possible and if your partner smokes be supportive whilst encouraging him or her to quit. The decision to quit is the first of many important, positive steps which can be taken towards creating the healthy baby of your dreams. Here are a few approaches available for someone who wants to quit, and stay smoke free.

Choose a replacement habit or activity — There is no such thing as giving up an addiction. The best way is to replace it with a new healthy habit. So right now, consciously choose what you will do instead of smoking whenever you get the urge. You may choose to drink water each time you feel like smoking or writing in your journal or going for a run. Whatever you choose be sure to stick with it and the choice will become easier each time you exercise it.

Nicotine patches and gums — There are a wide variety of nicotine products such as patches, gums and oral tablets available. These deliver a small dose of nicotine, so that withdrawal symptoms are minimized. The goal is to taper off use of these products as quickly as possible. Nicotine itself is a fertility toxin so the sooner you can rid yourself of it, the better. Homeopathic remedies such as lobelia inflata and nux vomica may also be helpful to reduce cravings.

Hypnotherapy — Sessions with a professional or hypnosis recordings can be extremely beneficial and very effective in helping with smoking cessation. The basic principle of hypnosis is promoting positive behavior modification by complete relaxation of mind and body.

Emotional Freedom Technique — A fabulous tool to help balance the body’s energy system and address emotional attachment to smoking and the beliefs that quitting is hard, or that you will put on weight as a result or whatever other feelings or emotions that keep you attached to this poisonous habit.

Allen Carr Smoking Cessation Method — This is a very popular and effective smoking cessation method many of my patients have used in combination with EFT to stop smoking easily and effortlessly. You can too!

Acupuncture — This treatment comprises of stimulation of key acupuncture points on the ear, and may be done using needles or cold laser (low level laser beams). This promotes relaxation and the release of endorphins (the natural feel-good hormones) which mimic the effect of nicotine in the brain.

Request assistance of family and friends — A strong social support network can help you stay motivated.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle — Take up other activities that you are passionate about to keep your mind occupied. Exercise and healthy eating habits will help to rebalance your system allowing your body to heal quicker.

You see, in earlier times, nature, wisdom, health and life were synonymous. All creatures lived in alignment with the cycles of nature and the energy flows of the universe. As life has evolved to the modern day, humans have gotten further and further away from our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual foundations.

In survival mode or in situations that requires the body to adapt in any way, the body focuses all its energy and nutrients into the most important organs and systems to ward off immediate danger and it shuts down other systems that are not essential for the task. The body has a little internal conversation and it agrees that immune function isn’t all that important during a fight or flight situation because the little bug inside isn’t as much of a threat as the one running after you! So digestion, can also be shut down because after all is it not really vital in the grand scheme of things since if you’re not running away you will soon become food! And finally it asserts that the very LAST priority right now is to have a baby, therefore shut it down twice—the priority is survival!

So the body shuts down and aims to refocus on those functions once it has an opportunity. Although due to increasing demands it’s hardly ever able to resume its proper metabolic functions to 100% capacity.

When you live in a continuous state of high stress, inadequately nourishing and nurturing yourself, your reproductive organs don’t receive the energy and nutrients they need to function optimally, particularly as we mature.

Optimising your fertility and increasing your chances of having a healthy baby demands balance in all areas to restore your body’s innate functions. This optimises your natural, intrinsic fertility by specifically pinpointing contributing factors that ordinarily diminish your chance of creating a healthy conception, and increase the risks of miscarriage and congenital abnormalities as well as premature and stillbirths.

What is vital for you to remember is that your fertility isn’t “out there” as a magic cure to be given to you by the doctor or other practitioner treating you. It’s inside, tucked within your body’s own internal wisdom, waiting to be released when coaxed properly in a relaxed way.

So how can you increase your chances of a healthy conception?

Scientific research presented to the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology indicates that certain types of ‘talk therapy’ can reduce stress and increase chances of conception. Research at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) found that women who had ceased to ovulate regained fertility after cognitive behavioural therapy—a form of therapy that seeks to positively influence and restructure one’s voluntary thinking patterns. Other research indicates that laughter can reduce stress and increase ones odds of conception. Below is a list of tactics to fight stress and boost your natural fertility:

• Emotional Freedom Technique -an amazing relaxation tool with benefit–it can be used to turn off (like a switch) practically any negative emotional that is currently afflicting you.
• Talk it out – if you don’t have a trusted friend on board whom you can vent to, it may be worth seeing a counsellor. It will allow you to let it all out and perhaps give you a fresh perspective.
• Develop a positive mental attitude – if you keep telling yourself “I’ll never get pregnant” then you won’t! Replace that negative voice in your head with positive imagery. Visualisation has been shown to have deeply effective, physical benefits for fertility.
• Massage – this is something you and your partner can do for each other. You don’t have to be a professional masseuse; just the touch of the hands is soothing, reassuring and a sensuous prelude to lovemaking. However, a trip to a day spa for professional deep tissue massage is well worth it, and some spas offer couples’ packages.
• Time management -schedule your daily activities in a way that you have time to really unwind.
• Tea time – eliminate caffeine to reduce anxiety, boost your natural fertility and decrease the chances of miscarriage. Treat yourself instead to a relaxing herbal tea such as chamomile, hibiscus, lemongrass or linden.
• Romantic getaways – a little romantic getaway with your partner can have such a refreshing, reinvigorating and rejuvenating effect on you, your partner and the relationship. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, it can even be in your own city but it can be really fun. Enjoy each other!
• Music – while cleaning house or cooking or just doing nothing, put on some music that heightens your mood, relaxes or soothes you (and your partner).
• Yoga very effective for relieving stress! If you don’t belong to a fitness club, you can rent or buy instructional DVDs.
• Meditation – carve out a quiet space in your day to silence mind chatter and do some deep breathing.

Hopefully now you understand how much is in your hands. Begin taking the steps today to become a happier more relaxed you—it can only benefit your fertility. The key thing to realise however is that it is not enough just to relax and your will fall pregnant. Although being more relaxed will increase your chances of conception optimum fertility is multi-factorial so help yourself by beginning now to strive for balance in your whole life.

Gabriela Rosa is the natural fertility expert contributor to Fit for Life this week’s article is featured on that site, go and check out of the other great content too!

Many prospective parents are unaware that by 8 weeks gestation a baby’s little fingerprints, tiny organs and entire health blueprint are already created. As a result your child’s health potential becomes the lowest common denominator of you and your partner’s health and predispositions at the point of conception.

The opportunity for making significant improvements to your fertility and your child’s health in their future exists in the 120 days of preconception preparation before a pregnancy is even in sight. The time to optimise your child’s future, giving him or her the best possible start in life is not during your pregnancy—it is during your preconception preparation, involving both prospective parents.

Sadly too many parents-to-be also do not realise that several of the health concerns hindering our children’s development in today’s society namely allergies, asthma, diabetes and autism as well as learning and behavioural difficulties arise out of imbalances in basic metabolic processes.  These imbalances often occur due to nutritional deficiencies and exposure to everyday chemicals and environmental hazards—all of which in many cases could be resolved with a comprehensive holistic health approach fully involving both partners and a simple nutritional supplementation regime prior to conception and during pregnancy for mum and baby.

As a society we seem to have lost sight of what it is to be truly healthy. Surrounded by modern conveniences that frequently present serious health concerns, which we are often too happy to quickly ignore, we forget some simple facts: We now live longer, busier, more chemically challenged and ‘stressed out’ lives than our predecessors. In Western societies today, despite our exceptionally wide access to “food”, our bodies are faced with nutritional starvation and constant chemical and other environmental assault having to “make do” with excessive radiation, toxin and pollutant exposures, greatly reduced crop diversity, nutritionally depleted soils, dangerous pesticides and other chemicals, genetically modified produce and essential nutrient depletion in our food sources.

We ask more of our bodies today than our ancestors ever dreamt possible, yet we still fail to honour and acknowledge one of the simplest laws of nature: Every action has a reaction and as a society, the heavy burden and dire consequences of our previous choices are being left to our future generations to clean up, if they can. Unfortunately, we still have not yet fully integrated the complete understanding that our current state of health and fertility arises from the combination of our daily choices (also known as our habits), which in turn action our genetics to express itself in specific ways.

Much less have we developed full consciousness regarding the future state of health and fertility of our offspring and future generations based on our own actions? It is paramount that we begin taking individual ownership and full responsibility over these simple, yet profound truths in our daily lives because only in doing so and understanding the complete inter-relatedness and connectivity of all these facts can we take a new step into a bright future of optimism and true happiness.

This new journey begins with you: Professional, teacher, carer, parent-to-be. Only by educating ourselves and using solid discernment can we truly create a new movement of hope, underpinned by incredible health and optimum fertility for ourselves and our future generations.

Gabriela Rosa will be speaking at the MINDD International Forum on Children 2009. If you have children or hope to have children in the future this is an amazing conference to attend. For more information visit http://mindd.org/s/archives.php/173-Forum-2009-new.html.