Conceiving and healthy pregnancy in the forties … sadly, women we see are desperate about being in their late 30’s and 40’s and their presumed inability to get pregnant.

Yet other women in this same age group stop using birth control for the identical reason--they've been told they're infertile-- and find themselves with unplanned pregnancies. Did you know this age group seeks abortions as frequently as teens?

Can we stop passing around the notion that women in their forties are infertile?

Chinese medicine tells us that we are capable of conception and childbearing up until menopause.

I was organizing my email recently and came across this note and I wanted to share it ... Not because it is unusual, but because it is typical!

“I want to thank you both so much because I really feel like the acupuncture, the massage, and the supportive/optimistic energy at Oriens helped me get pregnant (when my doctor told me I had only a 5% chance of conceiving naturally . . .”

The only thing truly unusual about this email, is that the doc had given her 5% odds.  Our patients often have received worse prognoses than that.  A few times I’ve had patients tell me that their doc told them they had less than 1% chance. And yet…Life comes through when circumstances are right.

What about the statistics?  They reflect data related to reproductive medical clinic outcomes, based on couples experiencing difficulty who seek help -- not couples world-over.  And for many couples, thankfully high tech exists!  At Oriens, we thoroughly enjoy partnering with great RE’s for IVF, IUI and natural IVF—a phenomenal combination where the couple  prepares through natural medicine and then benefits from high tech.

There's no question that the ease of achieving healthy pregnancy declines with age, particularly in the forties. But we also know that Mother Nature does not serve her best eggs first. So what remains in the reserve is often viable.  And we know that the environment in which eggs mature (nutrient and blood supply, etc.) contributes to "good" and "bad" eggs, as well as to the quality of the uterine environment for an embryo and child.  So we focus here, on what we can influence, to nurture fertility and increase the odds. 
 
 Since Nature has not quite caught up with modernism, women in their forties typically have more to accept, forgive and invest in, in order to lay their claim on motherhood.  But they are not infertile. As we delay child-bearing until we find love, or create financial security, or until we have the maturity to fully appreciate the miracle of family….more is required to balance the body and bring fertility forward.

We need to adjust our diets, we need to face our fears about it “not happening” so the body can relax into the knowledge that we will be OK whether we do or don’t have a biologic child—and free up energy for reproduction that is siphoned into fear management. We need to get more blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, we need to balance hormones.  Sometimes we need medical procedures to clear the path.

Acupuncture, Nutrition, Maya Abdominal Massage, , self-care routines, counseling that leads to self-knowledge and trust. These are not just preparations for conception and healthy pregnancy.  They are investments…in a healthy body, in a peaceful spirit, in a calm mind. A kind of deep strength emerges, a vibrancy—fertility showing herself!  Wow!...what preparation for motherhood!  And what lucky children to be loved by such moms!

Speak privately with Elizabeth about Your Fertility Challenge  212-213-5785

  Speak with Elizabeth about Your Fertility Issues

Oprah is such a “force.”  Oprah.com featured an article on Maya Abdominal Massage (MAM) last year, and it continues to help women find out about this  women’s health and fertility Super-Secret! Not that it’s just for women. Maya Abdominal Massage boosts men’s fertility as well and can also address a great variety of other health concerns such as digestive problems and prostate health.

At Oriens, we place MAM in almost every Fertility, Women’s Health or Digestive Health care plan. I personally love to receive MAM, as I know I am not just having a relaxing and delicious massage, but am building my long term health with every session. It took me over a year to find an extraordinary Maya Abdominal Massage practitioner capable of handling the complex fertility issues and the complex health issues Oriens specializes in working with. Simone is a gift! You will feel blessed and welcomed, heard and helped. She is masterful and completely approachable all at the same time.

I thought the Oprah article did a great job of talking about what MAM is and what to expect in a session.

For those interested in MAM for fertility enhancement, read this blog posted at CNY Fertility in Rochester NY  by Erin McCullough—the MAM therapist there—that beautifully outlined how MAM enhances fertility, and gets very specific. So I thought I’d share her gems with you here!

“[Maya Abdominal Massage] is a modern adaptation of ancient Mayan healing techniques that adds modern knowledge of anatomy, physiology and herbology. Through noninvasive massage, this technique gently manipulates the muscles and connective tissue that hold the pelvic organs in place. The intention is to reposition the pelvic organs so that any blockages and congestion are removed. When blockages and congestion are resolved, the body can self-regulate, heal and regenerate. In addition, physiologically, there is increased blood flow, the functioning of the lymphatic system and nervous system are optimized, and life creating energy is maximized. Both female and male fertility can be enhanced by applying these massage techniques.
Specifically, Arvigo Maya Massage benefits fertility in the following ways:
FOR WOMEN:
1. Increases blood flow to the reproductive organs
2. Nourishes follicles with fresh blood supply and oxygen
3. Helps to break down scar tissue and adhesions
4. Helps cysts to dissolve
5. Helps to resolve blockages in the fallopian tubes
6. Re-aligns uterus, as in the case of a prolapsed or “tilted” uterus
7. Relieves stress and anxiety, releasing emotional blockages
8. Improves digestion and absorption of nutrients
9. Helps to regulate the menstrual cycle (addresses cramps, heavy bleeding, irregular cycles, reduces clotting)
10. Restores healthy menstrual flow in amenorrhea
11. Improves, tones and cleanses the uterine lining
12. Helps to prepare body to carry a healthy pregnancy, a key ingredient in the case of frequent miscarriage
FOR MEN:
1. Increases blood flow to the reproductive organs
2. Regulates enlarged prostate
3. Improves sperm (count, motility and morphology)
4. Improves digestion and absorption of nutrients

So just how do our pelvic organs become blocked and/or congested? Arvigo says 90% of women will have a misplaced or tipped uterus at some point in their lives. The causes include difficult labor and delivery with prolonged periods of pushing; poor professional care during pregnancy, labor and delivery; repeated pregnancies close together; falls to the sacrum; a career in aerobics or high impact sports and dancing; wearing high heel shoes; poor alignment of the pelvic bones with the spinal column; chronic muscle spasms around the hips, low back and sacrum; carrying young children on the hip for prolonged periods of time; rape, sexual abuse or incest at any time in life; chronic constipation; running or working on cement surfaces with improper foot support; and errors committed during surgery that cut through uterine ligaments. Any of these can damage, tear or overstretch uterine ligaments, thereby prohibiting them from properly supporting the uterus and causing it to eventually fall down (inferior), backward (retro), forward (antero), or causing it to shift either to the left or right side of the pelvic floor.”

When reproductive organs shift out of proper position, they can constrict normal flow of blood, lymph and nerve connections. Just a few extra ounces sitting on delicate blood and lymph vessels can cause havoc throughout the different systems of the body. For women, by gently shifting the uterus back into place, homeostasis (or the natural internal balance of the body) is brought back to the pelvic area and surrounding organs. Toxins are flushed and nutrients that help to tone tissue and balance hormones are restored to normal order. This is essential for conception. Old adhesions from invasive treatments to the pelvic and abdominal area, are diminished gradually and safely when addressed by uterine massage.

For men, the massage also addresses and prevents a congested or swollen prostate by maintaining proper blood supply and fluid drainage, thereby preventing swelling and inflammation.

When to Receive Arvigo Maya Abdominal Massage:
For best results, start ATMAM 90 days before beginning ART and commit to a minimum of one treatment per month from ATMAM practitioner in conjunction with a self-care routine at home. Men can receive ATMAM anytime but women have special considerations depending on the time of the cycle, ART treatments and contraceptives.

Special instructions for women:
Receive MAM after period and before ovulation, trigger shot or retrieval. If you are in the process of doing a donor cycle then you can have an abdominal massage anytime before transfer. In the case where you are taking birth control pills due to cysts, you can receive ATMAM anytime, which may help to resolve your cysts very quickly.”

To Schedule Maya Abdominal Massage:  212.213.5785 or info@oriensliving.com to gain advice on whether MAM would help you.

  Simone Burgos, LMT

For the first thirty years of life, it’s likely that most of us don’t give menopause a second thought. We’re too busy growing – mentally, emotionally, intellectually, and certainly physically to spend much time considering what our body’s journey will be later in life. Somewhere in our late thirties, however, we begin to know in a deep way that menopause is part of our path. For many women this inspires worry … and fear. Fear around aging, around changes in our bodies and lives, in our sexuality and our identity.

We can have confidence though, because one thing that women experience all of our lives, is change. Our bodies are NEVER stagnant. Our hormonal bodies are always shifting – and menopause is just one of those shifts. In fact, peri-menopause and menopause are a gift of change for women.  If we are at our strongest and most confident, we will know that menopause is not a loss at all – rather, it is the recall of the self.

As we hit puberty, our bodies naturally prepare for motherhood – and they sustain that role for a long time. This is embodied – built into our DNA – mapped into us genetically. There’s no judgment about whether we have a family – or a child. It is simply how our bodies guide our journey. Our bodies (and perhaps even our souls) have a map that says that the years in between puberty and menopause are focused on the “nature” of mothering – to be loving and caring – to be focused on others. We see again and again that this is true for us, whether we have children or not. We are the growers of humanity.

Later, when we reach menopause and begin to experience the end of our menstrual periods, we are at an age where our identity begins to shift away from “others” and back to our own process. Our bodies themselves are no longer focused on “mothering” (or finding mates) – our map shifts – and we are once again connecting with self. THIS TIME in our lives is a huge opportunity for a renewed spirituality. Why?  Because spirituality takes TIME and focus. Two things we do not have when we are focused on being the growers of humanity and mothering the universe around us.

Trust me, menopause and peri-menopause should not BE frightening. Yes, this is a period of change (no pun intended), but it can be a time of great laughter and freedom. Our autonomy and power become very apparent to us. As empowered women, we have a renewed freedom from the “roles” that are put on us by others or society. While we might have been tied down by approval in our 20’s and 30’s, this is definitely released as we approach menopause.  We are attractive for US.  We are alluring for US.  We are engaging for US.  It is no longer about others:  a mate, a partner, our children, our obligations.  

Don’t be fearful – be THRILLED! We often achieve great things in the years of menopause. Gifted with time, a renewed focus on self, and LIFE EXPERIENCE, we soar to new heights in life – we begin our own businesses or create amazing new careers, we finish (or even start) our education, we write that book, we take that trip.

USE this time to claim your life and spirituality anew. Rediscover your body. In peri-menopause or menopause our bodies need a new kind of tender loving care and respect. Consider yoga to stay peaceful and fit at this time especially – and Maya Abdominal Massage to gently guide your body through its process – increasing vital blood flow to organs and maximizing hormonal health. Most of all, embrace this time. It is YOUR time – and while every moment in our lives IS ours, we are finally empowered enough to know it – body and soul. 

Maya Abdominal Massage

Simone Burgos is a Certified Arvigo Practitioner, bringing the wisdom of the ancient Mayan tradition to the West.   

Did you happen to see this Time article last year on increased miscarriage rates associated with the use of antidepressant drugs?  I was struck not by the findings or the data around the drugs – after all, most pharmacologic agents are discouraged during pregnancy – but I was struck by a comment specifically referring to the data collection and the elevated rates of miscarriage in women suffering from depression:

“…the study was an observational one that looked retrospectively at data already collected, which means that it's possible that some part of the miscarriage risk picked up by Bérard can be ascribed to depression itself rather than the drugs used to treat it. Indeed, the authors acknowledge that some past research has shown that women who are depressed during pregnancy are at increased risk of spontaneous abortion.”

What leaped off the page to me was the straightforward fact that depressed women have an elevated miscarriage risk.  The article did not dive into depression itself, which is obviously a multi-layered, complex human health risk. 

What my own mind immediately jumped to however, is something I see repeatedly in my practice as a fertility specialist—that women suppressing their fears or ambivalence around having children often have the longest and most difficult time achieving pregnancy.  It’s almost like their efforts are on one track and their spirit/emotion is on another, and perhaps, her body is confused.

I can’t count how many times I’ve seen a woman be courageous enough to admit and wrestle with her fears around parenting, or around her body changing, only to fall pregnant once she gets that honest and lets herself off the hook for being ….for being, well, human!

With children, and even in pregnancy, almost everything about life changes. Why wouldn’t this cause self-doubt? Don’t we humans often “want things both ways?”  It’s normal!  A woman can deeply want a child and be terrified she won’t know what to do, or be bad at parenting, or afraid she’ll resent not having control of her time anymore. This is only the beginning of a very long list of mental crimes she can convict herself of.

Many women facing fertility struggles have somehow drunk the KoolAid that you have to stay positive and be doubt-free in order to conceive. My experience as a fertility specialist is just the opposite.  When women open their hearts to ALL of who they are and ALL of their feelings, somehow the body relaxes into a higher state of fertility.  After all, she is birthing—herself!  Life begets life.  Somehow, when she permits herself all of herself, things start to change.  Always for the better.

Depression is painful and complex, and the treatment of it is often complicated as well. I do not pretend otherwise. This article is not about that.  I simply share with you all a moment of mental leapfrog I had while reading the article in Time, and my experience helping women bring forth their children. 

And it represents a wish for all on the fertility journey -- for the abundance and peace that comes from making room for ALL of who you are.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1992988,00.html#ixzz0rzCYHgFm

Elizabeth Carpenter, MS, L.Ac., CEFP, Founder and Director of Oriens

  Speak privately with Elizabeth about your fertility journey.

“Looks like science may show that women with POF aren’t ‘running out of eggs’ after all…” That was the opening line in my colleague’s email. The next person on the thread wrote, “I love when science proves Chinese Medicine right!” This volley comes from The Clinical Excellence in Fertility Professionals group brought together by Dr. Randine Lewis’ (author, The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies).

So we now find that not only are the “best” eggs not going first, in youth—nature’s mechanism for egg selection remains a mystery—but that even in extreme situations such as POF (Premature Ovarian Failure, sometimes called Primary Ovarian Insufficiency) the possibility of conception often still exists.

“The researchers were surprised to find that 73% of 97 women with primary ovarian insufficiency had ovarian follicles. In addition, they found that the follicles could produce reproductive hormones.”

This exciting new research revelation points us toward what we often find true in Chinese medicine when treating POF. The woman may be experiencing the signs (hormone profiles, lack of menstruation) and symptoms (dryness, night sweats, heat flushing, brain fog) of menopause, but the reproductive life can be revived!

Often with the right herbs and nutrition to nourish those follicles along with acupuncture and Maya abdominal massage to correct structural and energetic imbalances undermining how energy is used in the body and driving it to the reproductive system, the menstrual cycle is restored and conception is achieved. Pregnancy often occurs naturally in these cases!

I find the language of this diagnosis particularly devastating: “Failure,” “Insufficiency.” As if experiencing infertility wasn’t painful enough! Isn’t it time we come up with a naming system that doesn’t blame the patient? Especially in medicine--a “science” that is more of an art, a service profession, a refuge for those in need.

Speak privately with Elizabeth about your personal fertility journey.

  Speak with Elizabeth about Your Menopause Transition 212-213-5785

When you’re a woman in your 30’s and 40’s, who wants to hear the M word—menopause?

Yet, the truth is that most women will experience a 5-13 year ramp toward it, with the average age of menopause being 51. These years leading up, are known as perimenopause or pre-menopause. The experience is different for every woman—just like her period is.

Could we just mention here that this is NORMAL? It’s not a health hazard or a disease! It’s a life stage that is ushering in what are often referred to as your “power years”—yep, the ones where Life gets really good! 

Menopause: when your period—meno, has stopped for a full year-- pause. Up until that one-year mark, pregnancy is still very much possible ---even if your periods are erratic—so be aware!

Menopause arrives in 3 flavors: natural, premature and induced

Natural ~ you gradually shift toward the end of menstruation and physical changes drift slowly.

Premature ~ the whole transition happens fast and early (before age 40) and instead of 5-13 years, the transition is just a couple years.

Induced ~ through hysterectomy, chemo/radiation, other drugs or illness.

For the natural and premature groups, the perimenopause transition doesn’t need to be difficult and uncomfortable.
Our experience notes that it often goes pretty smoothly for women who take great care of themselves. They often need no medical support in the form of hormones.

So what does “taking great care of yourself” look like?

You attend to your nutrition, and exercise, and clearly choose a lifestyle that reduces stress, entertains all the feelings and identity shifts of this time, and weeds relationships into “supportive-&-keep” and “makeover-or-terminate” categories.

And, you create a simple routine for energy fine-tuning, which can make a HUGE difference in your menopause transition experience! We find acupuncture & herbs and/or Maya Abdominal Massage to be “game changers.”

Because hormone balance is so linked in with other physical and emotional cueing systems, this makes perfect sense. Physically, mentally and spiritually you are literally metamorphosing! So when we build Suround & Support Programs for our 40’s ladies, we always feature the Big 4: Nutrition, Acupuncture, MAM, and Spiritual Counseling.

If you are a woman in your forties, you’re most likely at some point in your peri-menopause journey. How’s it going? Let us know what’s going on with you . . . we probably can help!

Today is my birthday. It is a day to celebrate every good thing that would ever come to me!  Every precious friend, every love, every triumph – it all begins on the sacred day of our birth. On that day, for each of us, we are given a sacred, precious, beautiful body to move us through our life journey. It is amazing.

In our lifetime, our eyes will process more images than we can conceive, they look upon great beauty and will share our deepest soul secrets through even the most subtle of glances. They will be the doorways to amazing visions. Our ears will hear music, not only the kind we will dance to, but in the laughter of friends … and children. They will listen to the stories of those we love and they will share with great empathy in the hard times and will allow us to be there in support and friendship. Our mouths will taste great things – magical things. They will drink from the very fountain of life itself – water. Pure and simple and life giving. Our sense of smell will guide us toward amazing gifts of beauty, like flowers, and homemade bread, and the smell of our partner. Scent will also be a doorway to precious memories, long forgotten.

But it is touch that has guided MY life. It has been my gift of healing – to myself and to others. It has been the guiding force in my life – taking me from teacher to teacher, learning hidden and ancient arts – like Maya Abdominal Massage from a Mayan Shaman in Belize. In my native Brazil, I experienced touch modalities and herbs as a way of healing. My experiences with local "sages of the healing arts" gave me an intrinsic knowledge of the connection of all things. The frequent use of plants and herbs, praying and touch, awoke in me the desire to be of help to others and assist with the reawakening of our connection with all life.

I have learned from great institutions, like the Swedish Massage Institute, to share all of my soul through the healing art of touching another human being. We are born to this world in one sacred body, and every time we reach out to touch another person, or even more – when we are open and vulnerable and allow someone to touch us, we participate in that sacred connection.

I have been privileged and used my gifts to support men and women – but especially women. I have supported them through fertility issues and change of life, I have shared my sacred gift of Maya Abdominal Massage with those of us in menopause and those of us in recovery from illness. I have been graced to participate in healing both physically and spiritually. And today, the day that I celebrate my own sacred birth and sacred body, I am filled with gratitude for all of the bodies I have connected with through my journey.

May you spend this one day amazingly aware of YOUR precious body. May you “touch” those around you in meaningful ways. May you remember to allow others to connect with you spiritually – and physically. You are here to connect, and even through this article, I celebrate your connection with me.

Simone Burgos, LMT

Honor Your Sacred Body with Maya Abdominal Massage 

Simone Burgos is a Certified Arvigo Practitioner, bringing the wisdom of the ancient Mayan tradition to the West.

Enjoy Maya Abdominal Massage, PreNatal massage and more with Simone!


Ever since an early age I was drawn to water. A beautiful abundant river ran on the back of our house and we daily splash on the water and people wash their clothes, women did dishes and so I lived in the semi-paradise small town where everything was so abundant and organic, no plastic bottles, no worries with tomorrow just freely leaving daily what life brought to us.

Later on in my life, while in high-school in the big city, I would reflect on this state of beauty and nature and tears would come out of my eyes, for the river I knew no longer existed and it was being polluted with a tire company and pesticides for farmers and cattle farming.

I have been thinking a lot about the amount of synthetic estrogen that has been thrown in our waters and consequently our bodies, and my question is how are we going to be able to maintain a balance in progesterone to be able to create, a fertile body --- will avoiding these chemicals, once infertility is diagnosed, make much difference? Who can say?

Let’s raise our consciousness to the fact that the cause is not only one problem, there are several. I have been meditating on clean water this week, and when I say clean I mean not plastic bottled water which contains bisphenol A or BPA’s which are suspected of causing breast and prostrate cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity and other serious disorders in laboratory animals.

If you want to avoid these chemicals in your plastic water bottles, look for and avoid the number 7, usually found within the recycle symbol. The "number 7" plastics contain BPA. This chemical mimics estrogen in the human body, scientists say.

An article in the British Telegraph newspaper, Infertility: Handle With Care, implies that these chemicals are the cause of a number of health problems, including infertility. While the article itself makes clear that the scientists are "suspicious" but can't prove its effect, the chart at the end of the article makes it seem like there's no doubt these chemicals are to blame to a number of heath problems, including infertility and miscarriage, in mice... mice -- not people. Genetically mice are actually very close to people, which is why researchers use them. Our intake of these chemicals is far below what the mice were purposely fed, in large quantities.
www.keepitorganic.org/category/packaging-concerns/bisphenol-a-bpa.

As a preventive matter lets keep our bodies and planet clean from so many pollutants. Eat live, pesticide-free food, grown with clean water.

With love,
Simone


World Water Day The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

“There is enough water for human need, but not for human greed.”
– Mahatama Ghandi