Episode 30 - We Are Nature, and Nature Is Us: The Whole Self Fertility Method™
Today, we are rerunning an informative episode to unpack each element that composes their Whole Self Fertility Method™. Josie developed this method over 14 years of practice and personal experience, integrating their whole, authentic self in relation to fertility. This method is particularly relevant for folks who haven’t been able to show up as their whole selves on their fertility journey, specifically queer, trans, and non-binary folks of color.
[ID: Text reads The Intersectional Fertility Podcast Episode 30, on an orange background with two blue and red butterflies.]
The basis of the Whole Self Fertility Method™ is that we are elemental beings, and that fertility is not our reproductive system only. It’s our endocrine system, our nervous system, our digestive system, and so much more.
Learn more about and sign up for Fertile here. This 5-week program is a queer, trans, and non-binary centered online program for people with wombs to reclaim power over their fertility journey and conceive using the Whole Self Fertility Method™.
Episode Transcript:
Disclaimer: This is an automatically generated transcript edited to be more readable. It may not be 100% accurate.
[00:00:00] Josie: I am Josie Rodriguez-Bouchier, and this is the Intersectional Fertility Podcast where ideas and identities intersect to deepen our understanding of fertility and ultimately our whole selves.
[00:00:32] Hello, dear listener. Today I'm bringing back an old favorite episode of mine about the fertility method that I developed over the past 14 years. It's called the Whole Self Fertility Method. So the Whole Self Fertility Method honors the unique intersection of our oppressed identities, invites participation of our mind, body, and spirit, and strives to balance the elements of nature within us.
[00:01:01] As acknowledged by Chinese medicine and other ancient medicine systems, in order to ensure greater success when trying to conceive. So I'm bringing back this episode because this is the fertility method that I teach in my online program called Fertile, and Fertile registration is open right now, so that's why I decided to bring back this episode.
[00:01:25] So if you're unfamiliar with my online program, Fertile. Fertile is a queer, trans, and non-binary centered five week online program for folks with wombs to regain power over their fertility journey and conceive using the Whole Self Fertility Method. So we begin next Monday on May 16th, and this is your personal invitation to join us.
[00:01:51] I would absolutely love to have you in the program. We've got such an amazing group of folks who have already joined, and I'm so excited to be in community with this new group of students in Fertile. And I would love to have you, I thought I would address some questions I've been getting recently about Fertile.
[00:02:09] In case you have some of these same questions. So one of the questions I've been getting is whether or not your partner or partners can join us, and the answer is definitely yes. So once you join Fertile, your partner can absolutely join for free and can just can be a part of the group with us. So we did that in the last cohort and it worked really well, so I'm happy to do that again.
[00:02:31] Also, if you're a healthcare practitioner or a community worker who supports folks with wombs to conceive, or if you want to support folks with wombs to conceive, you are also welcome to join us and become certified in the Whole Self Fertility Method. So there is also a certification option for you to complete if you'd like to do that, and I'm so excited.
[00:02:54] I just got the Whole Self Fertility Method certification badges back from these lovely designers that I work with and who do all my branding, and they're so gorgeous. So once you complete that certification, you'll get the little badge and you can put on your website or wherever else you'd like to put it, and show people that you're certified in the Whole Self Fertility Method.
[00:03:19] We'll also have weekly one hour live Zoom sessions that I've been getting questions about these too, about when they are and whether or not folks will be able to make the live sessions. So these sessions will be in q&a format. There's not gonna be any new material taught during these sessions.
[00:03:36] They're more an opportunity for us to hang out and get to know each other and get all your questions answered, and just being community in real time. And if you're interested to know when those sessions will be to see if you'll be able to make them, you can go to my website where they're listed at intersectionalfertility.com/fertile.
[00:03:57] And don't worry too much if you're not gonna be able to make those sessions live, because they will be recorded and you'll have access to that recording. You'll also receive five weeks worth of content in the form of videos, downloadable hand outs, worksheets and reference guides, and you'll have access to everything for a year.
[00:04:17] And if you need longer than that, just let me know. It shouldn't be a problem. But that should be hopefully plenty of time for you to get through everything. But yeah, I know life can get busy and all sorts of plans can change. So, just keep me posted if you need more time. You'll also be able to join our private qmunity, which is spelled with a q.
[00:04:37] It's a word that I learned from my teacher and friend and mentor, king yaa. So qmunity is two words together, queer plus community. So you'll get access to our qmunity where you can get additional support from me and also other folks from past cohorts of Fertile and the current cohort as well. You'll also get a bunch of bonus materials that you'll hear me talk more about at the end of this episode.
[00:05:02] And another question I've been getting is whether or not you can join from anywhere in the world and absolutely, yes you can. You don't have to be in the United States, which is where I'm based. We had some international students during our last cohort and we've already got some international students in this one as well.
[00:05:20] So yes, anywhere as long as you have an internet connection, you are welcome. There will be closed captions and transcripts available for those who need them, for all of the recorded material. And there is an economic justice sliding scale available for everyone. And scholarships are available for BIPGM, so black, indigenous, and people of the global majority.
[00:05:43] So you can access those and see the sliding scale and apply for a scholarship if you need to at intersectionalfertility.com/fertile. And you can register there and read all the details. And if there's anything I left out or anything you're still wondering about, any questions you have, please feel free to email me at Josie@intersectionalfertility.com and that's it. So I'm excited for you to hear this episode. I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you soon.
[00:06:23] Josie: Hello friend! Today, we're going to talk about the Whole Self Fertility Method, what it is, how I developed it, what it's rooted in, how you can learn more about it. I also want to address cultural appropriation. The Whole Self Fertility Method is the way that I've combined aspects of Chinese medicine and five element theory with the allopathic treatment of fertility or the Western medicine treatment of fertility, based on my own personal experience and observations through the years I've done of personal development throughout my whole life.
[00:07:08] And also based on my 13 years of clinical practice. So to be very clear, I am not improving upon Chinese medicine or making it more quote, unquote "palatable" for white people. Chinese medicine in its original form is perfect the way it is. And I don't cater to white folks. So there's my disclaimer for this episode.
[00:07:38] So as a non-Asian practitioner of Chinese medicine, I am aware that I'm practicing and teaching a medicine that is not in my ancestry. I'm also aware that as an American, the version of Chinese medicine that we're all practicing here has been colonized and westernized. And I have participated in the colonization and whitewashing of Chinese medicine.
[00:08:00] Our textbooks that we learned from in acupuncture school were written by an Italian guy. Our title and board certification still has the O word in it. If you haven't yet listened to episode nine of the intersectional fertility podcast with Jamee Pineda, who is from the AAPI community, it's called decolonizing medicine.
[00:08:21] Please do go listen to that episode if you've missed it. Jamee talks about ways to make reparations and how non-Asian acupuncturist specifically can start to uplift and support members and AAPI community in ways that they actually want to be uplifted and supported. It's such a great episode, so important.
[00:08:52] So I am passionate and I stand for the restoration of ancient forms of medicine and wisdom, not just Chinese medicine, but all forms of indigenous and ancient healing traditions. There's a lot of interesting crossover. The more I study indigenous ways of healing, I've noticed that there are things like needling techniques or even cupping that exist, not just in Chinese medicine, but other sorts, other types of indigenous ancient healing traditions, which I thought was fascinating.
[00:09:16] So my intention is to start infusing my work with the ancient healing art of Curanderismo, which is indigenous to Mexico, where part of my bloodline originates, as I embark on this new journey of learning more about the healing tradition in my own ancestry for now, my body of knowledge is rooted in Chinese medicine.
[00:09:36] Chinese medicine is so rich and complex and elegant. I could study it for the rest of my life and never reach the end of it. I have a tremendous amount of respect and love for this medicine. I feel so deeply connected to it. It has helped me heal my own body from severe endometriosis and have two healthy babies.
[00:09:57] It helped heal my anxiety, my awful panic attacks. I used to have chronic migraines. I suffered from depression. I had awful periods, pregnancy symptoms and helped me to recover more completely postpartum using my own placenta that was made into pills mixed with Chinese herbs. I've met and learned from so many incredible healers from China over the years.
[00:10:23] Nan Rui, Cao Yi, Dongming, Dr. Cheng, Dr. Gao. I want to name them and thank them for being such incredible teachers and for trusting me to practice this medicine. The Whole Self Fertility Method is a method I developed over years of clinical practice and personal experience that weaves together, ancient Chinese medicine principles, and my own observations about the power of integrating one's whole authentic self.
[00:10:54] In relation to fertility, this method is particularly relevant to those who struggle to be and show up in the world as their whole selves. Those who are at the intersection of multiple oppressed identities. Specifically queer trans and non-binary folks of color. After completing my masters in science of traditional Chinese medicine, I continued to formally study five element theory for three more years.
[00:11:18] Although I learned five element theory through the lens of whiteness and experienced some harm due to that lens, I gained a deep connection to nature and the way in which our essence is represented in nature and vice versa. Learning five element theory and the elements was extremely profound for me.
[00:11:36] Almost beyond language. There are qualities in nature that can't be explained, but only experienced. The dryness of old bones in the desert. The wind moving through tall hollow reeds, the murkiness of an old pond, a rushing vibrant river, chaotic fire, crackling and popping, sharp granite rock wall. I've sat in and experienced these sensations in real time.
[00:12:13] I experienced the essence of these sensations when diagnosing imbalances in the internal ecosystems of my patients' bodies and in my own body. For example, when I have too much phlegm, I can sense that dank pond pooling at the base of my sinuses. I'm sorry. I know that that's gross. Or when I used to get heart palpitations and panic attacks, I could feel the erratic floating sensations of flames in my chest, too much heat in the heart.
[00:12:37] According to Chinese medicine, we are nature and nature is us. The Whole Self Fertility Method is based on this ancient knowledge that we are nature. We each have all of the five elements within us in ancient Chinese medicine, and in many other ancient healing modalities, each of the elements relates to a specific organ or system in the body.
[00:13:01] The Whole Self Fertility Method relies on bringing into balance all of the elements within us, all of our organs and systems. Fertility is not only our reproductive system. It's also our digestive system, our circulatory system, our nervous system, our respiratory system, our elimination system, our endocrine system.
[00:13:25] It's all intertwined and connected. Our fertility is a reflection of our internal ecosystem and how integrated or not integrated it all is. Interestingly, interpretations of ancient Chinese medical texts have taught us that being more in touch with the literal essence of who we are, not just our fertile essence, but our authentic selves or whole selves actually gives us more access to our fertility, our creative power, because our whole selves and our fertility are one in the same.
[00:13:47] In Chinese medicine, this can look like developing anxiety, panic attacks, vivid dreams, and insomnia when we are not able to be true to ourselves, which happened to me before I came out, I wasn't able to live as my integrated whole self. And as a result, my body rebelled and got my attention to say the least.
[00:14:08] Or it can look like any other disharmony or imbalance in the body, including fertility issues. The body is so smart. It will do what it needs to do in order to get our attention. We all have all five elements within us, but there's usually a prominent element or sometimes three prominent elements. I'll go through each element of the Whole Self Fertility Method and explain what it's all about, what conditions especially benefit from balancing that element.
[00:14:32] How each element relates to fertility and what I teach in my online program, Fertile. And if you're anything like me, if you're sitting there and curious about what your prominent element is, you can go to my website, intersectionalfertility.com and take my two minute quiz to find out.
[00:14:52] Once you take the quiz, you'll get immediate results that will give you customized fertility recommendations based on your element that you can start doing right now.
[00:15:08] All right. So the first element that we'll talk about in the Whole Self Fertility Method is earth. So how earth relates to fertility in Chinese medicine is that it holds our energy upwards and it holds a pregnancy. So it keeps our pregnancy healthy and strong. What it also does is it transforms our food into blood and energy.
[00:15:41] So it's actually synonymous with our digestion. So the organ systems that it's related to are our spleen and stomach in Chinese medicine. So this is so cool because we can actually have a lot of influence over our spleen and stomach, our earth energy through our digestion. So folks who are going to benefit most from bringing this element into balance are people who've been diagnosed with any type of digestive issues food sensitivities, or allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease. And then also folks who have experienced or been diagnosed with PCOS,
[00:16:28] Fibroid issues, chronic fatigue syndrome, or folks who have experienced recurrent miscarriage. So all of these things fall into this category of the earth element. So what we really dive into in my online program fertile with during this week of earth is how to nourish ourselves, how to nourish ourselves on all levels. You know, not just through food, through our digestion, but spiritually and physically and emotionally and even mentally.
[00:17:08] How and what does that look like? Especially as a queer trans or non-binary person of color in this world that we're living in? So we really dive deep into that and how that affects our fertility and the internal environment of that earth element. Being able to nourish a fetus and nourish and hold a pregnancy.
[00:17:32] Along with this comes boundary setting, which is one of my favorite topics in the world and how important that is for this element. So an unhealthy or imbalanced version of earth tends to be someone with no boundaries. Setting boundaries helps to strengthen and nourish our earth element.
[00:18:01] An example of that is an auto-immune disorder. So when our body starts attacking itself, which is what happens when we have an auto-immune disorder, there are really murky boundaries, right? On a cellular level we don't know, you know, what's us and what is an invader. We just attack everything because we're not sure.
[00:18:26] And so on a micro level, that's a boundary issue. Like we don't know where we end and where someone else begins. And so a lot of times with patients who have auto immune disorders, I'll work with them on setting healthy boundaries in their life.
[00:18:56] Because having those clear boundaries on a macro level, you know, in our day-to-day lives can actually help reflect that and mirror that on a micro level on a cellular level. So that's another aspect that we dive into with this earth element is boundary setting. We also go into more in depth in fertility, food recommendations how to eat throughout each phase of the cycle in order to support each phase.
[00:19:20] As you may or may not know, there are four phases to your cycle. The follicular phase, when the follicle is developing, that will later become the egg, the ovulation phase, where the egg is released, the luteal phase, which is between ovulation and menstruation, and then the menstrual phase. So there are certain foods and ways to eat during each of those phases that will support and enhance our fertility.
[00:19:47] We also talk about during this section of Fertile, how to eat in a low-glycemic way to help balance our blood sugar and keep our, our blood sugar balanced in order to nourish and enhance that internal fertile environment. I also go over a prenatal supplementation if that's something that folks have access to and want to do.
[00:20:15] And then how to determine if you are energy or blood deficient, which happens really commonly. Especially with folks who tend to have these imbalanced earth patterns going on. They tend to have that blood deficiency or that qi or energy deficiency. So I go through in my program, how to determine if you have that and then ways to replenish that blood and that energy deficiency in order to hold a pregnancy.
[00:20:49] So that's earth of the Whole Self Fertility Method. And also by the way, if you are a visual person and like to look at something while I'm talking through these different points, you can go to my website, intersectionalfertility.com and you can click on programs. And then find where it says Whole Self Fertility Method and click on that.
[00:21:14] I'm just going through the elements. So the next element is metal. Metal has a more, I would say more secondary relationship to fertility. Whereas the earth element has a really direct relationship to fertility and really it's one of the main players, but metal is interesting.
[00:21:41] It's related to the lungs and the large intestine and in Chinese medicine, the metal element is more associated with the spiritual or the more etherial realms. It has to do with what I call the soulful self. So the imbalanced version of of this metal element is what I call the lost self.
[00:22:09] What we work on during this week of the metal element is transforming that lost self into becoming your soulful self. Folks that will benefit from this the most will be people have experienced or been diagnosed with that really frustrating diagnosis of quote unquote "unexplained" infertility.
[00:22:37] It's like the worst diagnosis ever. Also perhaps depression and/or anxiety, frequent respiratory issues like colds, asthma, bronchitis, or pneumonia. Also chronic skin conditions like eczema sensitivity, or rashes like skin sensitivity or rashes or feelings of disconnection from your soulful self.
[00:23:07] All of these things show up with folks who tend to have that metal element as their primary element. So how this affects fertility is that we want to be able to connect with that soulful self in order to clear that pathway, right. In order to welcome new souls, into our, you know, to come through us, to come through our bodies and to come into our lives.
[00:23:33] We want to be able to connect with that soul realm. Also we want to honor and grieve our lost self. So this is the, you know, the flip side of that coin of the soulful self is the lost self. And this is that full, authentic expression of ourselves that wasn't seen or honored or valued and maybe still isn't.
[00:24:00] It's important to honor that and to grieve that the metal element in Chinese medicine is also about grief and sadness and loss. So we talk a lot about that during this this week of the program. Also other forms of loss, like miscarriage and abortion. You know, we go through some valuable practices to honor and grieve those types of losses so that you can move forward in your fertility journey with more lightness and hope.
[00:24:29] We also go through some effective techniques to clear any known or unknown, emotional blockages or resistance around pregnancy birth or becoming a parent. I know that I had a lot of resistance to becoming a parent and actually to the act of birthing itself, I had a lot of resistance and fear around, and I've definitely spoken with some folks who share that hesitancy or that fear around that whole process.
[00:24:58] So that definitely felt like a huge emotional blockage for me. I remember the first time I found out I was pregnant and I actually ended up losing that pregnancy, but I was terrified. I started to panic realizing, oh shit, I'm going to have to birth this child. Like I'm gonna have to go through labor and delivery.
[00:25:19] That was a terrifying prospect for me. So I definitely, I had some work to do around that. You know, clearing those blockages. So that's something we work on during this week. We also talk about tips to improve your bowel movements. I love this one because one of the organ systems that metal is associated with in addition to the lungs are our large intestine.
[00:25:46] We want to be able to not only detoxify our system and make sure that we're not getting overexposure to toxins, right. We want to make sure those elimination pathways are clear, but we also want that metaphorical letting go, we want to be able to let go literally with our bowels and also metaphorically. We want to be able to clear those pathways and be able to let go of the past, of griefs, of loss so that we can welcome in this new life and new souls.
[00:26:25] And then the last thing we talk about during this week of metal is strategies to protect our fertility from environmental pollutants. Not just ones that we breathe in through our lungs, but other ways that we get them. One of the organ systems that's associated with metal and Chinese medicine is the skin.
[00:26:46] Actually our largest organ system in the body is our skin. So we absorb a lot of toxins through our skin, through our lungs. Those are all associated with metal, that element. We go through ways that we can protect ourselves from those environmental pollutants. The next element is water, which is one of my favorites.
[00:27:11] It's connected to or associated with the kidneys and the urinary bladder and Chinese medicine.It's what I call the authentic self. That's the healthy, balanced version of water is our authentic self. The unhealthy, more in balanced version of that is what I call our thwarted self.
[00:27:34] So what we work on during this week and the program is transforming the thwarted self to become more of the authentic self. You'll especially benefit from this section if you've ever been diagnosed with again, that really frustrating diagnosis of unexplained infertility, or if you've had been told that you have poor egg quality and ovulation, which is no ovulation a short follicular phase.
[00:28:04] Perimenopause adrenal fatigue, low libido, low back pain, early hair graying, night sweats, or hot flashes. As you may have guessed from those types of symptoms, the water element in Chinese medicine really has a lot to do with our fertility. So I explain it to my patients often as our fertility blueprint.
[00:28:31] It's also known as our kidney essence. And what it is, is it really dictates our fertile lives. This fertile essence dictates how old we'll be when we get our first period, how old we'll be when we go through menopause. How many eggs were born with what the quality of our eggs are like.
[00:28:55] So this fertile essence or this kidney essence that is associated with the water element it's also loosely related to our genetics, right? Like sort of what we're born with. So this also relates to not only our genetics, but also our authentic self, our, our essence, the essence of who we are.
[00:29:23] Those are the two main aspects that we dive into during this week of water. We explore our relationship to who we are, our authentic self. We also explore our relationship to resources, especially as queer trans non-binary people of color, what are what our relationship is to resources, if we're well-resourced.
[00:29:49] And if not, what are some strategies we can do to bolster those resources to, resource ourselves, more completely. We explore our relationship to our own sexual energy, pleasure, and desire, especially this is so important for queer, trans, or non-binary people of color and how to bring all three of those back into our fertility journey in order to have more access to our own creative potential in our fertility.
[00:30:23] We talk about the importance of at pre-mester, which is the the trimester before pregnancy. I talk a lot about this and tips to improve our egg health, and egg quality, which is if that's something that we need to do, if we're using our own eggs. We also talk about how to nourish and keep in balance our kidney yin and kidney yang.
[00:30:50] So these are two additional aspects of the kidney. In that water element that loosely correlate to progesterone and estrogen. They're sort of like the the cooling and the warming aspect there of the of the kidneys that are like our sex hormones. So we need to keep those in balance.
[00:31:14] This is one of the crucial parts right. Of achieving that hormone balance in order to conceive and also to prevent early menopause. We also talk about things like the roles that constitution and genetics and birth order play in our inherent fertility and how we can boost those if they tend to be deficient and then how to replenish and maintain a reserves from a Chinese medicine point of view.
[00:31:38] All of those things have to do with that water element and sort of our blueprint of fertility. The next element is wood, which correlates to the liver and the gallbladder in Chinese medicine. And this is where the healthy version of our wood element is what I call our powerful self.
[00:32:10] And the more imbalanced, unhealthy version of the wood element is what I refer to as our stuck self. The way in which wood is related to fertility is in a couple of different ways. It relates to fertility in our stress levels and also our hormone levels. So the liver, which is one of the organs that is associated with wood is one of the main places where estrogen is processed and metabolized.
[00:32:39] Keeping our liver healthy is one of the things that that keeps our hormones in balance, and that keeps our fertility optimal. So that's one of the main ways that liver plays into our fertility. The other way is stress levels. So in Chinese medicine whenever we're stressed, the liver is the organ that takes the brunt of that stress.
[00:33:07] Generally our liver is in charge of the smooth flow of energy in our body. So anything that requires any sort of micro movements like ovulation or menstruation or implantation, that's all orchestrated by that liver qi, the liver energy. So when we're stressed that liver qi constricts, and then we actually crave things that temporarily smooth out that liver qi which are usually things that are referred to as liver loaders in Western medicine.
[00:33:35] So things like coffee and alcohol, sugar, spicy food. So whenever we crave those things that usually gives us this temporary relief of smoothing up that liver qi again. But unfortunately those things also create more liver qi stagnation, what we call liver qi stagnation and the long run. So it becomes this vicious cycle.
[00:33:58] Basically what we want to do, is how at the stress levels affect fertility, is that we want to create healthier ways of lowering our stress levels so that our liver can function more optimally and help conception to happen. Another reason why we want to lower those stress levels is that it creates messages of safety throughout our body that send messages in the form of chemical messengers in the form of hormones that tell our body it's safe to bring a baby into the world.
[00:34:42] It's safe to go ahead and conceive that this baby will be fed and loved and cared for and has shelter and community and all of those things. So that's where wood plays a role in fertility is those stress levels that we want to keep way down into that more, that rest and relaxation, and also our hormone levels balanced in the form of balanced estrogen levels.
[00:35:14] We want to keep that liver clear. So, this is our focus during this week of the program. In the Whole Self Fertility Method is transforming that stuck self to become our powerful self. So you'll especially benefit from this section if you've been diagnosed with, or have experienced PMS, which, who hasn't?
[00:35:37] Irregular cycles, endometriosis, PCOS, clotting factors, polyps, cysts, growths in or around the reproductive organs, high blood pressure or high stress. So during this week, we really dive into our relationship to power especially as queer trans or non-binary people of color and how we can connect with our powerful self on our fertility journey. Also stress and anxiety reduction techniques is a big part of this week to address the emotional exhaustion right of pursuing parenthood.
[00:36:06] The extra efforts it takes to conceive, especially as a queer trans or non-binary person of color, there's a whole other layer there that is not present for cishet folks who are trying to conceive.
[00:36:33] We also talk about techniques to quit vices that are bad for our fertility, like coffee and alcohol and what to replace them with in order to reduce inflammation in our body and to optimally balance our fertility hormones. Anger is a big part of this puzzle for the wood element. Anger is really the emotion that is associated with wood.
[00:37:03] So I would say anger and stress are the main emotions that we that we focus on with wood. We talk about the role that anger plays in our fertile health and how to safely express it so that it doesn't contribute to those hormone imbalance. We also go through how to instantly signal your body that it's safe to conceive.
[00:37:25] This is a crucial step that most people don't know about, and I talk about it a lot in different podcast episodes and in my social media and things like that. I'm sure you've seen me talk about this technique, this breathing technique that I teach on how to instantly flip that switch in our brains from fight or flight to rest and relax.
[00:37:47] So this is such a crucial part of the wood element of how we de-stress and get into more of that rest and relaxation mode more often. Also, we talk about simple yet really powerful trauma healing techniques to create feelings of that embodied safety in order to positively influence our ability to conceive.
[00:38:14] And this one is interesting. The wood element in Chinese medicine is associated with being stuck in the future. So it's like this futuristic way of thinking that we, where we miss our point of power of being in the moment and being present. I feel like that's especially relevant to the fertility journey because there's always this anticipation of the next step in the process.
[00:38:46] And so this is a really important piece of this is to how to ground yourself in the present moment and how that improves your fertility. Then finally, in the wood element, we talk about exercise. This is a question that comes up a lot of how much is too much and what's the right amount for you.
[00:39:06] So this is something that we dive into with the wood element, because it has to do a lot with circulation and power and, and being in your body like that. The last element is fire, which is associated with the heart and the small intestine and the in balance healthy self is the joyful self and fire.
[00:39:32] So you can imagine that fire can be really joyful. The unhealthy version of that is anxious self. That's the two sides of that coin, you know? That it's like a fine line isn't it? Between feeling anxious and joyful. It's like, am I really excited or am I having a panic attack? I don't know, maybe that's just me.
[00:39:54] I feel like that's a fine line for me. So that is what we focus on during this week of the Whole Self Fertility Method is transforming that anxiousness, that anxious self into our joyful self. You'll especially benefit from the section if you've ever been diagnosed with, or have experienced anxiety, heart palpitations, perimenopause, hot flashes, night sweats, vivid dreams, chronic UTIs or insomnia.
[00:40:26] All of these things are fire in the heart mainly, and how that affects fertility, the role that that plays in fertility is that the heart really has to communicate with the uterus, according to Chinese medicine. So when the heart is experiencing too much heat it gets agitated and that communication pathway between the heart and the uterus gets disrupted.
[00:40:54] So that is one of the reasons why we want to calm down the heart and nourish the heart and transform that anxiety into joy. During this section, we talk about how to restore that connection with your joyful self, especially as a queer trans or non-binary person of color and why that's so important to create a more fertile environment in your body.
[00:41:19] We also talk about how to improve, like I just mentioned, that communication between the heart and the uterus, and how that's so important to improve our chances of conceiving. We talk about the the art of vertical living, which how I mentioned before, where the wood element is associated with that futuristic thinking.
[00:41:42] That's also referred to as horizontal living in Chinese medicine, which I think is so interesting, whereas living more in the present moment and being more grounded in the present moment is actually referred to as vertical living where you're living more connected to the soul and, and your spirit and your heart.
[00:42:02] We talk about those differences and how that method of vertical living can positively affect your fertility. Then lastly, what we talk about during this section is how important sleep is for your fertility and how that helps to replenish and balance your hormones and your fertile pathways and all of that and how you can improve your sleep.
[00:42:30] So those are the five elements and how would those comprise of the five elements in The Whole Self Fertility Method that I teach in my online program Fertile. I also just want to mention that there are some bonus resources that you get in addition to the, to the Whole Self Fertility Method which are included in Fertile.
[00:42:54] You also get some how to's. So how to prepare for egg retrieval, how to prepare for IUI and ICI, how to prepare for embryo transfer and how to track your cycle and ovulation. Also a list of queer trans and non-binary inclusive practitioners which is growing all the time. So hopefully that list will just get bigger and bigger and the odds of having a practitioner who is closer to you will get better and better.
[00:43:22] Also a timeline and price estimates for egg retrieval, embryo transfers, IUI and ICI. This is a question I get asked a lot. And again, these will be estimates and mostly US-based. So for folks who are in different parts of the world, this may not that particular resource might not be as helpful, but for those of you in the states hopefully that can help.
[00:43:53] You'll also get a tool to learn your exact traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis. So this is different from your Whole Self Fertility Method element, which is what you can find out what that is on my website. What this is, it's more of a medical diagnosis. So that will be more specific to you that's available to you in the program.
[00:44:19] That is the nuts and bolts of my online program, Fertile. If you want to learn more about it you can go to my website, intersectionalfertility.com/fertile, and you'll also see there that there's a sliding scale to join Fertile. I want to make it as accessible for everyone as possible.
[00:44:42] Make sure to join the wait list there so you're notified as soon as registration opens. There will also be some live sessions while I run the programs. When I do live versions of the program, there'll be Weekly zoom sessions. You get to get all your questions answered with me and connect with your classmates.
[00:45:05] And all the sessions will be recorded if you can't make it live. There's a lot of benefits there, so I encourage you to go check out more about that program. All right. I hope today's episode was useful to you and that you learned more about the Whole Self Fertility Method, and I will see you in the next episode.
[00:45:31] Y’all, I'm so excited to let you know that Fertile registration is open. Fertile is a queer, trans, and non-binary centered five week online program for folks with wombs to reclaim power over their fertility journey and conceive using my Whole Self Fertility Method, healthcare practitioners and community workers, you are welcome to join us and become certified in the Whole Self Fertility Method.
[00:45:58] Head over to intersectionalfertility.com/fertile, to check out all the program details and register now. Sliding Scale is available for all, and scholarships are available for Black, indigenous, and people of the global majority. Join us, it's gonna be so much fun. I'll see you there.
[00:46:18] Thanks for listening to the Intersectional Fertility podcast. To get customized fertility recommendations based on your Whole Self Fertility Method element, join my mailing list at intersectionalfertility.com and get immediate access to my two minute quiz.
[00:46:35] If you like the show and wanna hear more, tap subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and please leave us a review. It really truly helps. The Intersectional Fertility Podcast is hosted by me, Josie Rodriguez-Bouchier, and produced by Rozarie Productions with original music by Jen Korte.
All content offered through The Intersectional Fertility Podcast is created for informational purposes only, it is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.