Fertility- What is it?
According to the dictionary, the meaning of fertility is the natural capacity to procreate. It is not only applicable to humans, but also to animals and the plant kingdom. Fertility is finding the ambiance and the environment conducive enough for things to grow. We may wonder what meditation really has to do with Fertility. But, wait…. Meditation, if done right, is the best way to connect to fertility and allow it to be the hub for anything to thrive. Fertility does not come to everyone. There are some people for whom conception just happens. There are some others who just cannot conceive. They go through a lot of medical procedures for conceiving. This is where meditation can help to allow fertility as the backdrop for things to happen. Check out this post on the power and types of silent meditation, which is a great eye opener.
Meditation can help entice fertility because it changes your state of mind and helps remove stress as an obstacle. Mindfulness meditation, as well as specific types of breathing such as Ujjayi breath, help you focus on the now, and let go of useless ruminations about the past. When being more appreciative of the present moment, all obstacles and mind traps preventing you to conceive can dwindle away. Also, types of meditation focused on positive thinking, and sending love to others ensure that your body is free from any toxic energy and negative thoughts. When not carrying these types of energy in you, it’s will be much easier for your body to do what it has been naturally designed to do.
State Of Mind- How Important Is It?
Believe it or not- fertility has a lot to do with the state of mind of a person. When stress and tension are like the two sides of the same coin for a person, then it means that this person knows no peaceful and quiet moments. When our mind is completely inundated with thoughts that keep worrying us, without any end, then how can we allow Nature to take its own course? Evolution and conception are divine creations that, according to the age-old Gurus from yore, have a touch of divinity. How can we attribute logicality to everything? Everything in the universe has the backing of the Divine. It is a whole dynamic process that goes on, seemingly quiet on the surface. Yoga teaches us that meditation helps to calm the nerves, destress us and allow fertility to sweep over us.
What Helps Us Achieve That State Of Mind?
While there are many things that make us get that state of mind to bring about fertility, such as pursuing a hobby such as painting, singing, music and meditation, we need to decide what is best. This should be a panacea for the problem of infertility. With meditation, we learn that we can practice it regularly and also make it a very important part of our daily routine. While integrating it into our daily routine, it acquires the status of becoming almost monotonous. When something becomes monotonous, we know that it has become a part of our everyday life. Monotony means the same old pattern- it also means something that is an everyday process. Meditation has the power to correct infertility issues and confer health and fertility and help us conceive.
Read more here on how meditation and yoga can help cope for those who feel lonely.
Meditation Can Bring About Fertility
Let us examine how meditation can spur fertility- it seems like it is a long shot, but in actuality, it is not. When we meditate, we know (through real life examples, and also when the great gurus have attested to it) that meditation brings about a different state of mind. It brings a lot of quiet and calm, and nullifies the stressful state. When we have this ease in the mind, we can think positively with mindfulness, and visualise only positive things happening to us. While we meditate, the DHEA hormone, a sex hormone gets released, both in men and women. The full form of this DHEA hormone is Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. This DHEA is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and it prolongs the life of the eggs in women. There are many types of meditation. Try reading about Transcendental Meditation here.
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Why Do Most Of Us Turn To Meditation -To Help With Fertility?
The reason that many men and women turn to meditation to help fertility is that it reduces stress. The effects of stress can harm the entire body, including sperm quality and menstrual cycles. By meditating, we actually bring down our levels of the stress hormone, Cortisol, helping to set right the balance and let our body heal itself. After trying many kinds of remedies, Mala, a young journalist says she was advised to go in for regular meditation to address her infertility issues. This was suggested by none other than her own doctor, who said that her job stress was eating into her conception-related problems. Meditation was the only thing he could think of to help her conceive after five years of marriage.
How Should A Person Who Wants To Conceive, Plan Her Day?
We have to understand that there is a lot of resetting of tasks to include in the daily schedule, for a woman who is trying to conceive. One of the most important elements is that of mindfulness. It is being in the moment, according to big time experts. Try to follow the meditation of the now, as shown by none other than Eckhart Tolle, who has spoken a lot about the power of the NOW, and being mindful of the moment, in this meditation on the Now.
This is where ‘mindfulness’ comes in. This means we are simply being aware and conscious of being in the moment – not replaying the past or wondering about the future. The past is redundant- it is a dead thing. Still, people think and waste their energy over the past, and waste the present precious moment.
Worrying about the future is just as bad. By focusing on the Now, mindfulness lets us appreciate the details, without going into the intricacies. It also means, we are so aware that we are able to put all our senses into use at the same time, or simultaneously, such as, if we were at the beach, we could listen to the crash of the waves. Or, we could listen to the sound of the birds chirping. And soon, with all the meditation, it won’t be long before the stork comes visiting with the bundle of joy.
What Kinds Of Meditations Can We Do?
1. The Chakra Meditation
The human body’s aura is divided into seven chakras- it is also called the Sukshma Shareera and these chakras are the imaginary zones- they are there, but cannot be felt in a tangible way. So, the seven chakras are: The Sahasrara or the Crown chakra (top of head; The Agnya or Third eye (between the eyes); The Visuddha or The Throat Chakra; The Anahata or the Heart Chakra; The Manipura Chakra or The Solar plexus; The Svadishtana Chakra or The Solar Plexus Chakra or the Sacral area Chakra and the Mooladhara Chakra or the Root (base of belly button) and the root of the spine. So the most easiest and effective meditation would be the Chakra meditation.
How do we do this meditation?
First of all, find a quiet and a comfortable place to sit. Make sure that you won’t be interrupted here for a while. Close your eyes, after you sit in the Sukhasana or the Padmasana – the comfortable seated pose or the lotus pose. The lotus pose being a little strenuous, do not attempt it, unless you are confident that you will not disengage yourself from this position suddenly, due to cramps or a tightness in your legs.
Close your eyes and slowly take deep inhalations and exhalations. Ujjayi Breathing would be most ideal. To know more about it, read here. In Ujjayi breathing, we take deep inhalations through our nose and exhale through the nose, but with the air being expelled after it touches the inner throat. It has a slight sound like the waves in the beach.
Visualization is the key
Now, visualise your chakras in the respective positions like in the image below, where you can even see the colours. We have to stay in that specific region for a short duration of about one to two minutes (if you are a beginner) and go gradually from the base of the spine (the Mooladhara) to the highest point on top of the head. As we do this meditation every day as a habit in the early mornings (since it will be calm and quiet), it will start to generate some calmness and serenity in our entire being. This is so important for the person to become conducive for fertility to set in.
Meditation On The Now
The General Length Of The Meditations
Meditation here is the art of silently being in communion with the Divine to achieve that tranquil state. Given below is one way of meditating.
Let us sit quietly, in the sukhasana state and gently close our eyes. We can play some soft music if we want to, or we can skip this. This is a focused meditation on the aspect of the now. It will teach us to be aware of being mindful and in the moment. Letting go of the past – which is redundant, is important. Mindfulness and being aware of the present state is important for our health and happiness. As we keep our eyes closed and our bodies as comfortable as possible, let us also allow a calmness to descend on us. Let us keep an image of our Ishta Devatah – or the deity close to our heart, in our point of mental focus.
Now, let us be aware of the breath, and the way it seems to push out the toxins away from the body, and take in fresh air from the air. We have to feel the breath taking over us physically, and how we release it. There is more to this meditation by setting a goal or an intent in our hearts. This will enable us to think positive, and manifest our desires (here- the desire to conceive). The mind has a lot at the subconscious level to make things happen in the physical.
Meeting Your Breath
Many people spend an entire lifetime without being conscious of their breath or realizing that it is their body’s and mind’s best friend. The following practice introduces you to your breath and calms the nervous system as well as the muscles of the face and eyes. If done for an extended period, it can lead to a very deep state of meditation and clarity of mind. It is especially good if you are very busy or suffer from stress or knee-jerk responses to events, helping you to re-engage with yourself and your environment.
1. Sit comfortably on the floor or on a chair. Close your eyes and breathe gently so you do not strain your sinuses and there is no engagement of your facial muscles as you inhale and exhale.
2. Bring your awareness to your whole body, ignoring what is happening around you or whether someone is looking at you or not.
3. Keeping your mouth closed, focus on your inhalation and exhalation and notice your breath as it moves in and out of your nose. Bring your mind’s eye into your nostrils, feeling the touch of the breath on your nostril walls. As you inhale, embrace the sensation of your breath’s cooling touch and freshness.
4. As you exhale, feel your breath’s warm touch inside your nostrils. Breathe comfortably for the length of your inhalation and exhalation, travelling with your breath from your nostrils to the root of your nose
and back. Do not try to replicate the experience of an earlier breath or hold the memory for the next one.
5. Keep taking full breaths but slow down the speed at which you inhale and exhale, letting air enter your lungs gradually. Synchronize the speed of your breath with the awareness of your nostrils. Continue for 20 minutes.
What Kind Of Company Should We Keep? Why is It Important?
We should never be in the company of people who draw out our energy. We feel drained when we are in the presence of negative people. So, from time immemorial, the age old Gurus and the seers as well as the mystics have always told us to steer clear of people who are energy vampires. When we are in great company of happy people, we feel energised without knowing the reason why. That is why, after we engage in deep meditation, we should be in the company of people who make us happy and laugh out in happiness.
Sending Positive Thoughts To Everyone
Our elders have always told us why it is important not only to be in the company of happy people who exude positivity, but also to not harbor negative thoughts in our minds about anything or anybody. This will have a detrimental effect on our psyche and our physical body, not to say of mental wellness. By adopting the attitude of sending positive thoughts to everyone, friends as well as enemies, we bid goodbye to everything negative in our nature.
Good Feelings generate the Oxytoxin or the Happiness Chemical
Why are we discussing this, when we need to focus on meditation? That’s because it is an entire package- the attitude of sending a lot of love and not anger towards something makes us always stress-free. To this, when you add the concept of practicing meditation (in whatever form), it is another way of adding positivity to ourselves. If all these states are imbibed in us, then we stand a hundred percent chance of getting fertile to be receptive to conception and becoming ready for a new life in us.
Blessing And Forgiving Everyone Before, During and After Meditation
When we sit down for the meditation that is filled with the intent of generating calmness within us, we should visualize everything positive. We are also validating that this meditation will help us become successful to conceive and create a life in us. There is no perfect way to meditate, as what works for one, may not work for another.
There are also various schools of thought which tell us that theirs is the perfect way. But, Patanjali, who propounded the tenets of yoga has said in his Yogasutra, that Yoga, Dhyana and Pranayama when done, and when they add comfort (sukha) to a person’s bearing, it is near-perfect. When we commence our meditation, we have to be in a light frame of mind. There should be no stressful feeling about anything. Then we have to be in the attitude of gratitude for all the learning lessons that fate or destiny has thrown at us.
Following this should be the act of blessing everyone in our life, sending them sweeping waves of love and blessing them. The act of sending blessings to everyone redeems us of the pressures that we are cowed down with, in many area of our life. Then, after the meditation, which should last about nine to ten minutes for a beginner, and about twelve or fifteen minutes for others, we should again bless those who have come into our life. This is very liberating, and can help us overcome those hiccups that we have initially gone through, to conceive.
References:
- Henepola Gunaratana: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English
- Swami Satyananda’s theories
- Meditation from The Power of Relaxation by Yogi Ashokananda
- Eckhart Tolle for dynamic meditation
Shanti Arunkumar, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
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