i am SO excited to finally be writing this post!!!! at first i thought i’d talk generally about my experiences with acupuncture right after i was through with the collaboration – but this story really packs a punch, and was totally worth the (twelve week) wait to reveal. read on for a synopsis of my time with Soar PT and my thoughts on acupuncture!
i had been really hesitant to try anything related to fertility since stephen and i had only been trying to conceive for 6 months. “they say” you need to try for a whole year before you can even approach a doctor, so we were well within the “normal range” – but i’d be lying if i said that each negative test didn’t make the stakes higher the next month… and the next… and the next. by the end of my 6th negative cycle, i was beginning to get really frustrated. i’m a worry wort – so even though everything was completely normal, i couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
when i was approached by the team at Soar PT at first i thought i’d go and have them focus acupuncture on my plantar fasciitis and heel spur. i have had chronic foot problems, and it only makes sense that i’d point that out to someone who is about to focus on healing my body naturally… but the more i thought about it, the more i realized that acupuncture has always been mentioned in conjunction with fertility! so i inquired, and took it as a sign from above that their resident acupuncturist danielle lichtenfeld (otherwise known as @yogipeanut) actually specializes in fertility! it was meant to be – so i said hey, why not! it’s worth a try as an experiment and “if it works, it’ll make one hell of a blog post!”
the first time i went i was a nervous wreck. danielle was a calming energy and made me feel better about the entire process. it turns out, the needles used are so tiny that you barely feel them! they are left in for about 25 minutes total – with danielle coming in briefly to check on you about half way through. soar pt has fantastic rooms for both physical therapy and acupuncture… with the acupuncture suites playing soft relaxing sounds and boasting the perfect amount of dim light to really help you get your ‘zen’ on. about five minutes after the needles are inserted, you feel a calmness wash over you. according to danielle, your body has different points that are related to different parts of the body – for example, there are some major fertility points in your feet! so attempting to heal my plantar fasciitis actually goes hand in hand with enhancing natural fertility!
while acupuncture can’t guarantee help with major issues like PCOS or endometriosis, what it can do is get you in a more relaxed headspace and open pathways for energy to flow freely throughout the body. it improves blood circulation, and can even help you have a nice “strong” ovulation because of the increased bloodflow to your pelvic region. each week danielle put the needles in relatively similar spots, changing them ever so slightly based on what she felt i needed… which to this day still amazes me.
now on to the good stuff! i apologize in advance for the t.m.i – but this part is pretty crucial to the story. i went for 6 sessions…. once a week for 6 weeks. i have a 5 week long regular menstrual cycle. my first session was right after i had my 6th monthly attempt at trying for baby and was officially the start of our 7th… so long story short, i went once a week for the entire duration of my body preparing for ovulation, ovulating, fertilizing, implanting, etc…. at the end of our 7th month trying to conceive i received my “big fat positive” pregnancy test!!! AMAZING!!!!
i did absolutely nothing differently at home, short of using ovulation sticks… so i am a firm believer in the power of acupuncture and how one tiny little blockage of energy can hold you back more than you even realize – and that has nothing to do with fertility specifically! thank you to the team at soar pt not only for having me do this experiment, but for your patience as i waited to write this post until after we had announced our pregnancy publicly. i truly consider soar pt to have helped me achieve my dream of becoming a mother and i will go straight to acupuncture whenever i’m feeling something is ‘off‘ ever again! every time you walk into soar pt, danielle would ask “how are you feeling this week?” – so when i arrived for my 6th and final session, i was elated to be able to tell danielle that i was feeling “pretty damn pregnant!!!!” we were so pumped!
so the moral of the story is this: at the very least – acupuncture is 30 minutes of mindful, peaceful thinking each week. it’s relaxing, it’s pampering, and it heals. at the most – you’ll wind up like i did: with an undeniable and unbelievable success story! if you’re in the south jersey area, definitely check out Soar PT for a state of the art facility, stellar staff, and most importantly – results. do you have experience with eastern medicine? how has it helped you? has anyone experimented with this as a fertility treatment? i’d love to hear and compare other stories! follow along on instagram for more on my adventures to motherhood!
