Today, I am honored to have Sue Dumais guest blog! She is the author of Yoga for Fertility Handbook and owner of Family Passages Mind Body Studio in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Recognizing the need for more support for women and couples all over the world, Sue developed a Fertility Yoga Teacher Training Program and a Fitness Fertility Specialist Certification Program.
Fertility Yoga is a Healing Community
The main reason I created and starting teaching a Fertility Yoga class was to support my own health and wellbeing. In the depth of my own fertility challenges, I was becoming more and more disconnected, depressed and isolated. Although my husband was very supportive he just couldn’t understand the extent of my grief. I felt misunderstood and at times, I thought I was actually losing my mind. I watched myself spiraling out of control and realized that I needed to shift something quickly.
The first class I taught filled up with little effort. Women were nervous and at the same time relieved to find some support. I experienced such a warm comfort as we shared our experiences with each other and I realized that I wasn’t alone and that other women were on a similar emotional roller coaster.
We all had such a profound experience in the first session of classes and I discovered a community of support that gave me HOPE! Within months I opened Family Passages Mind Body Studio where I continued to teach Yoga for Fertility classes as well as private yoga therapy session and a Couples Mind Body Program. I was touched by the impact the space had for women and couples and I was grateful to witness such amazing transformations in such a short period of time.
The classes provide a space for healing the mind, body and spirit. The yoga postures help support the body by reducing the effects of stress and improving blood flow to the reproductive organs. Each posture is held for 3-5 minutes and accompanied by a dialogue specific to fertility. The class allows for a deep experience of the posture and fosters a level of healing that miracles are made of.
I love to witness women coming in the door feeling defeated, confused and stressed and by the end of the class they leave feeling relieved, calm and supported on their journey. It is the most rewarding class as an instructor that I have ever taught in my 18 year career. It is like a yoga support group. There is comfort just walking in the door and realizing they are not alone. There is peace in re-connecting to their own inner guidance/intuition as they realize they no longer need to desperately seek answers outside of themselves.
They begin to befriend their body again, follow their guidance, find a sense of calm and discover a strength that will help them through their journey. I watch them come alive as they begin to take back control of their life. The learn how to identify and process their emotions and they use the mind body tools to shift their experience outside the class. They bring their yoga practice off the mat and into their lives each day, and their experience of fertility shifts and transforms.
Most importantly I don’t see women as “infertile” or “broken” or “failures”.
I see women as the Mothers I know they are.
I hold FAITH for them!
I BELIEVE in them, no matter what!
You can be a Mother! I know with my whole heart, that one way or another, you too, will bring your baby home into your arms. I will hold FAITH for you until you BELIEVE it as deeply as I do! Because when you BELIEVE something is possible, impossible is nothing.
Namaste,
Sue Dumais
To learn more visit www.familypassages.ca
To find a Yoga for Fertility class in your area visit www.yogaforfertilityresources.com
Photo credit: Adrienne Thiessen of Gemini Visuals
Thanks again Sue! I hope your enjoying the Olympics! 
Happy ICLW!
Welcome To all new and returning visitors! If you are here from Mel’s Stirrup Queens , Happy IComLeavWe Week! I am so glad you stopped by and I am hoping you will come back and visit beyond today. I will tell you a little about me.
I’ve started this blog because I’ve been there…and I know it’s a stressful, lonely place to be. I am not a Reproductive Endocronologist, a licensed psychologist, a nurse or anyone in the medical field. But, I was an infertility patient that went through some of the same real, raw experiences you may be going through now. The long version about my infertility is here. But the short of it is I’ve done 6 IVF cycles (3 fresh and 3 frozen) in the last 3 years. I transferred a total of 14 embryos, had 2 BFNs, 2 chemical pregnancies and 2 BFPs that led me to my beautiful daughter who’s almost 3 and my 5 month old twins. Now, I blog to help others and I also blog about being a mommy to my 3 ordinary miracles under 3 if you want to check that out too!
peppermintpr.com
Although my blog is fairly new, each week, I post a topic of the week that involves stress-free tips mixed in with my own experiences. Past topics have been getting support through family, friends, support groups, message boards, social-networking sites, and blogs. I’ve also written posts on eating organically, proper hydration, sleeping well, meditation, acupuncture (including my top 10 tips) and yoga.
And I round out the week with fertility news on Fridays. My experience inspired my blogging journey but now that I’m here, I am inspired by all of my readers! I am here for you. It truly means the world to me to know that I’m helping others. And that brings to my total excitement about this week because I LOVE comments!!! So, please don’t hesitate to comment on what you like, what you don’t like and what you’d like to see topics on! I’m all ears! OR eyes anyway! LOL!