Pulling Down the Moon Review

Just after hitting my one year mark trying to conceive, I started toying with the idea of talking to a doctor. In moments of weakness, I was willing to do whatever it took to achieve a pregnancy. "Put me on Clomid! I'll do the tests, the treatments, whatever it takes!" When I hit these low points emotionally I would occasionally have these thoughts. My rational mind would eventually take over, calm me down, and help me realize that while there can be medical benefits to these procedures, it's not an option I am ready to explore. I then came across Pulling Down the Moon which is is a holistic approach to improving fertility. This is exactly what I needed. I wasn't emotionally ready to approach a doctor/midwife about trying to conceive. I'm still not ready for testing, diagnosis, or treatment. I'm not trying to be in denial about possible issues that could be preventing me from achieving a pregnancy. I just don't feel like there is a problem. I may feel differently after a while and choose to seek help from medical professionals. Until that time, and even if I make that choice, during that time, I will utilize the amazing resources and products from Pulling Down the Moon.

Pulling Down the Moon was kind enough to send me their Fully Fertile gift package for for review.  In the basket I received: the book Fully Fertile, by Tami Quinn, Beth Heller, and Jeanie Lee Bussell; their DVD Yoga Practices for Fertility: Techniques To Calm Body, Mind and Spirit; as well as Full Fertile ARTeas in Nourish; and tea filters. For more details on this incredible package check out their online store!  Upon receiving the gift basket I went for the tea first.  It smelled wonderful and I new I wanted a cup right away.  White it tastes great on its own my favorite way to drink it was when I added a drop of honey (I have such a sweet tooth). The particular tea I was sent is meant to "..nourish and prepare the body prior to beginning a fertility cycle." This is not a tea you want to drink during a fertility cycle, especially if you are receiving medical treatment for fertility. (I chose to drink this tea at the beginning of my cycle up until I was close to ovulation.) I really loved the tea and the idea that it is nourishing my body to prepare for achieving a pregnancy.

I sat down with my cup of tea and began to look through the Fully Fertile Book.  Reading the personal stores of all three authors made me feel an instant connection to all three inspiring women. The book lays out a Holistic 12 week plan for optimal fertility. This includes yoga, meditation, acupuncture, nutrition, relaxation and spirituality. Trying to conceive is stressful and I was so excited to find a calm and natural approach to encouraging fertility.

The book is broken up into 3 sections: The Physical Practices, A Fertile Mind, and The Esoteric Tools (Spirit). In the Physical Practices section it starts out by introducing a Yoga program for fertility. While I enjoy yoga, I am not very flexible and just not very good at it. My concerns were immediately laid to rest when I read:

"Keep in mind the goal of your hatha yoga practice is not to be the most flexible, strongest or physically adept. Your goal is to learn to calm the body enough to be able to sit quietly for 30 uninterrupted minutes, thinking of nothing. When this becomes enjoyable, your yoga is starting to work. .... We just wanted to point out that the overall goal of true yoga is not physical fitness, it is mental peace and clarity."

OK that sounds like something I can do. I don't think my flexibility is going to change drastically no matter how much yoga I do. It will improve, sure. But when you've never even been able to touch your toes (even when I was a kid) it's just not looking promising. But the mental peace and clarity is exactly what I'm looking for, so I will give it a try. I really love how the book explains each yoga pose and has a picture beside it. When I used the DVD, I referred back to the book often to make sure I was executing each pose correctly. I'll get more into that later.

The book goes on to explain the benefits of acupuncture, which I had been interested in before, but have never tried. I am definitely going to look more into finding an acupuncturist and the costs associated. The benefits of acupuncture regarding fertility are: regulating your period, regulating hormones, increasing uterine lining, improving sperm count and motility, and more.

I am not going to go into detail about each section of this book because I could go on and on! There is just so much great information. From alleviating stress to adequate sleep and how to achieve it, this book really gives a plethora of great information to help optimize fertility naturally. I especially enjoyed the section on identifying and alleviating stress. Stress is something that I didn't think I had trouble with until reading this book. I learned how to identify stress in my life and the best part: get rid of it! I really have come to love meditation and positive affirmations in part because of the things I learned from this book. There are some great ideas and tips to reducing the stress involved in trying to conceive. I am especially excited about the tips I learned to better handle negative comments regarding my fertility.

On to the DVD. Again, I was sent Pulling Down the Moon's own DVD: Yoga Practices for Fertility: Techniques to Calm Body, Mind and Spirit.This was such a god-send! As instructed, the first time I viewed the DVD, I just watched it start to finish. I was immediately hooked. Just the breathing techniques made me feel so peaceful and relaxed. It was as though my entire world was quiet for once! Once I actually tried the yoga poses, I was surprised to find them to be doable for an inflexible girl like me! I certainly didn't look as relaxed or poised as the people featured in the yoga class, but I was able to keep up and with practice, I began to see the positive results yoga had in my life. I experienced reduced neck pain (recurring from a car accident), more energy, a calm, yet positive outlook on life and of coarse, I did improve flexibility (slightly). I loved the yoga poses as well as the quiet meditative visualization exercises. I think the visualization part was my favorite. I loved the Lake of the Mind visualization exercise. It really helped me feel connected to nature, and more importantly, my own mind.

I can't thank Pulling Down the Moon enough for sending me their product to try. I was at an emotional low and this came just when I needed it most. I am happy to say that I have reduced stress in my life and have a renewed interest and energy in trying to conceive. I definitely recommend this product to anyone trying to conceive or even as a gift.

NOTE: I received no compensation for this review and all opinions expressed are my own. Thanks again to Pulling Down the Moon for donating this great fertility package.