THE WHOLESOME FERTILITY PODCAST
EP 283 Why Acupuncture & Herbs are Game-changing for Fertility Health
In today’s episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, Mike Berkley shares his personal journey with acupuncture and herbal medicine in fertility treatment. He highlights the value of integrative medicine in fertility enhancement. Mike explains how acupuncture and herbal medicine improve fertility by increasing blood flow to the ovaries and testes, enhancing egg and sperm quality. He also discusses the importance of preparing for IVF and the timing of treatment.
Mike Berkley, LAc, FABORM, is a licensed and board-certified acupuncturist and a board-certified herbalist. He is a fertility specialist at The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Infertility can be a daunting journey for couples longing to start a family, which is a reality Mike faced with his wife. Luckily, she sought the guidance of an acupuncturist and herbalist who possessed some knowledge of reproductive issues. Despite initial disappointments, after undergoing acupuncture and herbal medicine treatments for seven months, the couple became pregnant and carried the child to term without any complications. Their once seemingly elusive dream had become a beautiful reality thanks to the remarkable effects of acupuncture and herbal medicine. This experience led Mike to obtain his degree in acupuncture from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine's New York campus and his National Board Certification in herbal medicine. Equipped with the necessary license and fueled by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Mike studied Western medical approaches and the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine about infertility treatment. Through rigorous study and invaluable clinical experience, he developed unique acupuncture protocols and proprietary herbal formulas, tailoring them to each individual or couple seeking his assistance. Mike is also a member of several organizations, including the Acupuncture Society of New York and the American Infertility Association. He is writing a book on reproductive disorders and Chinese medicine and hosts his groundbreaking seminars nationwide. Mike has witnessed firsthand the life-changing potential these ancient practices hold for couples struggling with infertility. Together, he can help transform your dreams into reality and create a world where the joy of parenthood knows no bounds.
Website: www.berkleycenter.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeberkley56/
For more information about Michelle, visitwww.michelleoravitz.com
The Wholesome FertilityFacebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/
Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/
Transcript:
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Personal Journey
00:30 Discovering Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
05:16 The Limitations of Western Reproductive Medicine
06:33 The Value of Integrative Medicine in Fertility Treatment
08:59 How Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Improve Fertility
20:16 Living in Accordance with Nature and the Impact on Fertility
26:11 The Mind-Body Connection and the Importance of Mental and Emotional Health
28:48 The Impact of Acupuncture on Blood Flow
32:35 The Heart and Uterus Connection
33:49 Contact Information
Michelle (00:00)
Welcome to the podcast, Mike. Yeah, I'm actually really happy to have you. And
mike berkley (00:02)
I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you for having me.
Michelle (00:07)
read about your story and I find it fascinating that you guys started out as patients, kind of like how I was. I was working in New York, really close to you, for doing architecture. So completely different life, completely different world. So I went in for my menstrual irregularities and then everything started getting resolved.
for the first time with acupuncture. And I know you guys were also moved by it with your own journey. So I'd love for you to share your story and how you got into this type of work.
Mike berkley (00:39)
Sure, I'd be happy to. So, while I was in acupuncture school, my wife and I were trying to have a baby. And we couldn't. And I had, she had anti -sperm antibodies and I had, I don't remember, motility issues or morphology issues or something. And she went to a...
She didn't go to a reproductive endocrinologist. She went to a gynecologist and he wanted to do some IUIs. And then she met or heard about an acupuncturist and herbalist in New York. And she went to this one.
And the woman gave her herbs and acupuncture and gave me some
then two months later, I was I think I was working and going to school. I can't remember so long ago, but she called me. My wife called me and said that she was pregnant and I didn't know anything about medicine in any way, shape or form. And I said, how do you know?
And she said, well, I peed on the stick. And I said, well, that's all well and good, but I don't believe in that. You better go to the doctor and get a blood test. And she did. And now I have a 29 year old son. Yeah. So I got very inspired at that time to pursue knowledge in the realm of reproductive medicine.
Michelle (02:03)
amazing.
Mike berkley (02:17)
And so I spent many years studying Western reproductive medicine. I don't mean officially, I didn't go to medical school, but on my own, I studied a lot of Western reproductive medicine and a lot of acupuncture and a lot of herbs. And I've been treating fertility cases exclusively. Like I won't treat a neck or a back or a headache. I've been treating fertility cases exclusively for 27 years.
Michelle (02:29)
Yeah. Amazing.
So that's awesome. I mean, I personally love working with fertility. I first started, it was more general, but I just love it. And the rewards are like insane. You know, when you get the positive pregnancy pictures sent to you and it's really incredible and people are shocked. Oftentimes, because they're like, there's no way. I mean, sometimes five years of nothing like Western medicine. And I think one of the common things is that people think that IVF is a guarantee. Do you find that?
Mike berkley (03:17)
Of course, of course. I mean, it's, you know, our lives as acupuncturists and herbalists are very interesting, gratifying and ungratifying. I'll give you an example. This has happened to you. It's happened to any acupuncturist listening. Patient does four failed IUIs and three failed IVFs.
Michelle (03:18)
Yeah.
Right. Right, or it helped me relax through the process.
Mike berkley (03:43)
And then you work with the patient for three months and she does an IVF and she gets pregnant and has a baby. And then I've had patients more than one say, well, you know, it's possible that that what you did helped me. And I'm like, yeah, it's possible, you know.
Exactly, exactly. I love that one. You know, it helped me relax. So I think that I'm I think more and more individuals more more couples more women more men are becoming aware of the the efficacy and the value of You know complementary medicine or integrated medicine acupuncture herbs You know diet In the context of fertility enhancement
Michelle (04:16)
Mm -hmm.
Mike berkley (04:34)
And I often say to patients, I say, listen, you can go to the best reproductive endocrinologist in the world. I don't care who it is, but that person cannot improve your egg quality. They cannot improve your lining quality and they cannot rectify your husband's sperm DNA fragmentation. I can. So therefore,
Michelle (04:37)
Mm -hmm.
Mm -hmm. Right.
Mike berkley (05:03)
We should work as a team. And I'm saying this to the patient, but I'm also saying it to society. And I'm saying it to reproductive endocrinologist. The best type of medicine is integrative medicine. You can do something I can't. I can do something you can't. Let's do this. Let's try again.
Michelle (05:05)
Right, 100%. Everybody has their blind spots, you know, and their strengths. I mean, we don't have the technology, we can't go in there and extract eggs. Right.
Mike berkley (05:32)
That's right, but who cares? You know, a good car mechanic can fix an engine, but it doesn't mean he can make an engine. So it doesn't matter that we don't have the technology. It doesn't matter that we're not reproductive endocrinologists. What matters is, is that for an IVF to work, you need four things. You need a good egg, a good sperm.
Michelle (05:36)
Right.
Mm -hmm. Right.
Mike berkley (06:00)
And so the reproductive endocrinologist cannot offer a patient good eggs and good sperm and good line. In fact, there are patients that come to me and they say they have a five millimeter lining and the doctor will give them either transvaginal Viagra or something called Trentol and Neupogen. And these medications will thicken the lining and they still have implantation failure. Why?
because a thick lining or within normal limits lining, a 10 millimeter lining doesn't convey that it's a good lining.
Michelle (06:31)
Definitely. And of course I've asked this question a lot. I love asking questions that I can answer them too, but obviously every acupuncturist says it in a different way. So,
Mike berkley (06:38)
So I think that as acupuncturists and herbalists, we have a lot to offer a patient suffering with infertility for sure.
Michelle (07:00)
I'd love for you to talk about how acupuncture and herbals can help somebody who's trying to conceive.
Mike berkley (07:08)
Sure. So I'm gonna kinda speak around a little bit, but it'll all make sense in the end. So blood is nothing other than a taxicab. Blood is nothing other than a messenger service. When we inhale, the oxygen gets into the blood and the body is oxygenated through blood flow.
When we eat food, our nutrient products get into the bloodstream and nutrients are disseminated through the blood. FSH and LH coming from the pituitary get to the ovaries via the blood. And so I'm gonna step back for a second and say what I say to patients.
You have a heart that's beating. It's disseminating blood throughout your body. But there are two things that are happening. Number one, that dissemination of blood is generalized. And number two, you're 40 years old. And your blood flow is not as good as it was when you were 20. And if you're not 40, you're 37 or you're 36. Same case. Your blood flow is not as good generally as it was when you were running around in the playground at nine years old. You exercise less, you do less in general, I'm speaking.
And so now to acupuncture, what acupuncture does is it improves and elevates hemodynamics, which means blood flow. And when a patient says, well, my heart is doing that, though that's true, with the utilization of acupuncture, you're improving hemodynamics to a specific area, which is the ovaries.
Michelle (08:57)
Mm -hmm.
Mike berkley (08:58)
Blood, therefore, is you're increasing the delivery of oxygen, electrolytes, nutrients, and hormones to the ovarian milieu. Not only that, but you know when a taxi cab takes a passenger to the airport and the passenger gets out, the taxi cab doesn't want to drive back to the city empty. They want to take a passenger back to the city.
It's a 45 minute trip from JFK to New York City to Manhattan. So they don't want to go back without a passenger. Well, blood is the same thing. So when you're increasing blood flow to the ovaries, you're delivering these essential products, but the blood is also picking up debris. What is debris? Debris are dead cells. Now, of course, during this conversation, both of us have lost a billion cells. They've died and they've regenerated. But what happens to the cells that die? Well, they get emitted through the sweating, exhalation, urination, defecation. This is how we get rid of toxins in the body. But again, because our digestive functions are not necessarily great, because our hemodynamics are not necessarily what they could be, by stimulating blood flow to the ovaries, you're delivering the good and helping to take back the bad which is the dead cells. So you're actually taking this garden that's not getting a lot of rain and it's not getting a lot of sunshine because the trees are like this over the garden. So when you're doing acupuncture herbs, you're cutting down the tops of these trees and you're going like this. So the garden is now getting all this sunshine and the rain is able to hit the flowers. And in a month, the flowers are joyous, beautiful, smiling, looking at everybody and winking at them and saying, hey, I'm a beautiful rose, look at me.
And so that's kind of, I think that the analogy or the metaphor is to how acupuncture improves egg quality. And the same is true with sperm quality. You're causing improved and increased hemodynamics to the testes and the same thing happens as with the ovaries. So it's the testes and the ovaries are really homologues. They both do the same thing. One creates eggs, one creates sperm and...
Michelle (11:09)
Mm -hmm.
Mike berkley (11:23)
…stimulating blood there, we're improving the quality of the contents. Now let's talk about herbal medicine. So herbal medicine is much more sophisticated, in my humble opinion, than acupuncture. Acupuncture is very sophisticated and very effective in all areas, whether you have pain or infertility. But the thing about herbal medicine is that you can construct an herbal formula that specifically deals...with the overall presentation of the patient, in my opinion, in a more powerful, efficacious manner. So for example, if you have a patient with polycystic ovarian syndrome who's five foot five and weighs 250 pounds and she's 40 years old, and then you have a PCOS patient who's five foot five and she's 29 years old and she's 110 pounds, they're both suffering with...
Michelle (11:56)
you
Mike berkley (12:23)
lack of proper menstruation, they're both suffering with infertility. So when you use herbal medicine on those patients, you're not just treating PCOS, treating this woman who's 250 pounds, this woman who's 120 pounds, this woman who's 40 years old, this woman who's 29 years old. So the herbs are very pinpoint accurate in what they do and how they work. And...
The beauty of herbal medicine is that one can create a very specific formula for this patient. So this patient is suffering with infertility, but she also has constipation and chronic headaches and...
Michelle (12:56)
you
Mike berkley (13:05)
She's got low back pain. So you can give her herbs to deal with all of that stuff. And so acupuncture is efficacious in the same manner. So really, what's the difference? So there's a couple of differences. As I said earlier, in the perspective of herbal medicine, you're taking it orally. It's internal medicine. It's having an effect on the organs, on the follicles.
Michelle (13:16)
you
Mike berkley (13:34)
the ovaries, on the testes, et cetera, et cetera. But I'm going to say something that's even more interesting. Let's say that you or I had a really bad headache. And we said to our partners, honey, I have a splitting headache. Could you please massage my shoulders and massage my head? It would really make me feel better. And our partners say, of course, of course. And they stand. I'm sitting in this chair and my wife comes.
Michelle (13:46)
you
Mike berkley (14:03)
me and starts to massage me and she's massaging my head and maybe in a half an hour I feel better. Let's retell that story. The same exact scenario except before my wife starts to work on me I take three Advil. Now what happens is instead of my headache dissipating in 30 minutes it dissipates in 15 minutes. Why?
Michelle (14:22)
you
Mike berkley (14:32)
because I'm being treated from the outside in, which is the massage, and I'm also being treated from the inside out, which is a three Advil. And so when you use these together, you're increasing the efficacy of the treatment. And so I think using acupuncture nerves together, they do similar things, but they also do different things, and they certainly potentiate each other's efficacy and power.
Michelle (15:00)
Yeah, for it's very complimentary. Now, typically somebody comes to you and says, I'm starting IVF in a month. Sometimes I'm like, okay, I kind of wish you came here a couple of months before. So for people who are listening, if they want to prepare for IVF or really just prepare their body and their egg quality, how early...
should they come to you? Like how long does it take really for everything to take effect?
Mike berkley (15:30)
So it's a great question. So again, I'm going to talk about sperm and egg. Again, the similarity is quite fascinating. It takes three months for a spermatogonia, an immature sperm, to reach a mature sperm. And it takes three months for a primordial follicle, which is...speck of dust to turn into a 20 millimeter follicle. It is the 20 millimeter follicle that the egg is retrieved from. So three months before a transfer is the, you know, is the gold standard. It's the best thing to do. But what I will say to patients, because I get this kind of situation all the time, is listen, you're having a cycle, you're having a transfer next month. That's okay. Let's start tomorrow.
Yeah, but you just told me it takes three months. No, no, no, no, I understand. But let's start tomorrow. I'm going to tell you why. If you do the transfer and it works, you've thrown out a couple of hundred dollars on some sessions. So what? I'm going to continue to treat you twice a week for 13 weeks to help prevent miscarriage. Why for 13 weeks? Because 90 % of miscarriages occur viable for the 12th week. In the event, in the most unfortunate event,
Michelle (16:29)
you
Mike berkley (16:52)
that the cycle fails. We've already started treating you now. So then in the subsequent cycle or the cycle subsequent to that, you'll have much better egg quality. You know, I don't know if you know Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett is one of the greatest investors in the history of America. And somebody said to him one time, Mr. Buffett, when is the best time to invest in the stock market? And he said, today.
And the point of the story is you can't really time the market. Invest if it's high, invest if it's low, dollar cost average. Invest 100 bucks every month for the rest of your life and you'll be okay. And so that's kind of like this. Invest in the treatment even though your transfer isn't a month. Doesn't work out? Okay, we've still improved follicular quality. Does work out? It's all good. I'm gonna continue to treat you twice a week for 13 weeks. You're gonna have a baby.
Michelle (17:47)
Yeah. That's a good perspective for sure. yeah, I mean, what are some of the things that you see? Cause cause I feel like the way we're living right now is impacting our bodies in so many ways. And Chinese medicine, really the heart of it is living in accordance with nature, living in accordance with our own nature. And what happens is when we live outside of that and against our normal flow, that's when we start to get patterns and symptoms. So living in New York, I remember having a lot of really kind of like climbing an uphill battle because it is go, go, go. And so some of the things that I tell people who are not close to here, wanted to get coaching calls is even getting a grounding matter somehow finding ways to living in more flow. And what are some of the things that you see?
Mike berkley (18:43)
So I think everything that you just said is true, real and valid. However, I'd like to say that unfortunately, and remember, this is to the listening audience. This is my opinion only. I do feel it's next to impossible to get to one's nature. I do think it's next to impossible to be really settled, really like, able to exhale. Why do I say this? I say this because the world is at war, because there is intense poverty, there's joblessness, there's crime, there's all kinds of negative things. Of course there's many beautiful things, but there's many negative things. And so how can people possibly exhale?
So it's very difficult to become kind of, you know, one with nature and one with yourself and this kind of thing. I do think, however, that even though it's difficult to achieve, that the achieving is not the goal. The trying is the goal. The journey is the goal. One will probably never reach the destination, but it's okay because through the journey one's psychic and mental and emotional and physical health can improve. So even though I don't see a path to ultimate improvement, I don't see a path to ultimate health, I do think that there is a mind -body connection for sure. It's completely unassailable. And I think that people, I don't really get involved with this kind of thing too much in my own practice. I'm very, very clinical, but that doesn't mean that I don't totally embrace what you're saying. I think people should do yoga. I think they should meditate. Listen, I'll tell you an example of exactly, I'll put a patient in the room and I'll come to take the patient out and she's laying on the table with the cell phone.
You know, this is terribly destructive to the patient and he or she doesn't understand that. And I'll say to them, listen, you have 30 minutes of your entire life that you cannot be bothered by anybody. You can just be free. You're in this room on this table with beautiful music and it's a lovely room and you're taken care of here.
Michelle (20:53)
yeah.
Mike berkley (21:22)
put the phone down, man, and B, and it's really hard because people need that constant stimulation. I need it. The first thing I do when I wake up is I check my phone at 6 .15 in the morning. You know, it's mental illness. It's mental illness. It's craziness. But I do think that trying to be at peace is very important, not only for fertility,
Michelle (21:26)
Yeah.
It's an addiction for sure. Yeah.
Mike berkley (21:49)
but for life, for happiness, for joy. And so, as I say, I don't have meditation classes here or yoga classes here, but I strongly recommend that patients do engage in those activities. And I also think people should go to the gym. I think people should work out three days a week.
Michelle (22:09)
yeah.
Mike berkley (22:10)
and work out pretty hard. I don't mean hard like a professional athlete, but you know, don't get on the treadmill for five minutes. Like work. You know, listen, we have this thing called liver -chi stagnation, right? It means that, you know, the chi is stuck and people are stuck. And as a result of being stuck, inflammation occurs and they're angry and they get headaches and they're bitter. Guess what happens to the stuck chi when you move, when you exercise, the chi becomes unstuck and the
Michelle (22:37)
Right, yeah.
Mike berkley (22:39)
Exercise makes you feel better psycho -emotionally and when you feel better psycho -emotionally, you'll be better off physically
Michelle (22:47)
100%. I remember, so when I was in New York in the craziness just over firm, you know, that's the only way you can really survive there. You have to like show that you're a good quality employee. And I remember I found Acupuncture and what I found that it gave me is this flow.
in my life where I was able to still withstand and have that pressure, but I felt more resilient. It like, it increased my ability to adapt more than anything else has. And that was one of the things that I was so amazed by. But then it really made me realize whole beings that have so many different aspects to ourselves and how one...
part, if we work on our own energetic frequency and chi, it impacts our life and it impacts our how we can think and how we feel.
Mike berkley (23:47)
I agree with you. You know, another problem that I see quite frequently is, you know, there were two kinds of patients. There are patients that are very self -aware, and they exercise and they meditate and they do yoga and they eat properly.
And then there are patients that they may not be overweight, but they don't eat well. You know, they drink Coca -Cola and they eat French fries and listen, guess what? There's nothing wrong with drinking a Coca -Cola and having French fries, you know, once every two months, once a month. It's all good. Chinese medicine is about yin and yang. What does yin and yang mean? Balance. It's all good. But when you have French fries and burger and ice cream tonight, you smoke a joint tomorrow and you, you know, you don't go to the gym for three days. You know, this just...
Michelle (24:07)
Mm -hmm.
Mike berkley (24:36)
it's just going to have negative attributes. It's going to create negative outcomes, certainly physically. So I try to encourage patients to eat properly and I try to give them some type of helpful diet plan if I think they need it. But I think nutrition and diet are very important for health in general. And certainly in the world of infertility, many of the
Many of the causative factors can really be, I don't want to get too technical, but they can kind of originate with what's called free radicals, reactive oxidative species, and these things cause inflammation in the body. And if you have inflammation in the uterus or inflammation in the testes, inflammation in the testes kills sperm. Inflammation in the uterus is going to kill an embryo. So we need to be careful about what we're eating from the inflammatory point of view.
You know, the inflammation point.
Michelle (25:37)
Right. Yeah. Gut health is everything. interesting how the spleen and stomach are center. That's their location. The direction is center because, and it really is, it's such a symbol of how important it is in creating blood. And actually speaking of blood flow that you were talking about before, did you ever see, there was something on Instagram, somebody took a sample of blood before and after acupuncture.
it was shocking. Like you could see it literally move everything that you learn in textbook about how it improves chi and flow. You could see the blood cells being a little bit more stuck together from the before. They're a little more stuck together and very slow moving. The after the blood cells not only are not stuck together, but they're more round.
Mike berkley (26:30)
Interesting.
Michelle (26:30)
They're more round and they're moving fast and flowing. They're not right next to each other. It's crazy. And that was mind boggling. And I actually, so I shared it on my Instagram. I'll forward you the link. And I shared it on my Instagram. And interestingly enough, I had a lot of acupunctures, because we all learn this in theory. That's the theory. We don't really often see this with our own eyes. So I think that a lot of
Mike berkley (26:45)
Please.
Michelle (27:00)
acupuncturists that saw this were like blown away. They're like, my God, this is exactly what it says in the textbook. And to actually see it with your own eyes is amazing.
Mike berkley (27:09)
So I'm going to share a little story with you that's completely apropos of the story that you just told
I'm going to tell you a story that's a little bit different than what you told me, but it's the exact same outcome. So about 10 years ago or 12 years ago, there was a study done. First of all, let me talk about the uterine artery impedance index. The uterine artery impedance index is an index that determines the flow through of blood through the uterine artery.
Uterine artery at its end point has branches that come out and enervate the ovaries. So the ovaries are getting their blood through the uterine artery. And so the more patent and effective the uterine artery is, the more blood will get to the ovaries. And so there was this little study done.
where they did a transvaginal ultrasound with a color doppler. And for the listeners who don't understand that, you know, when you have an ultrasound and the doctor looks at the monitor, it's all black and white and gray. But with a color doppler, the monitor is color. You can see all color. It's not just gray. And so they did these transvaginal ultrasounds with a color doppler to determine the uterine artery impedance index. The higher the index,
the lower the amount of flow through of blood through the uterine artery. So they took a bunch of women, they did this and they wrote down the uterine artery impedance index numbers. and by the way, when they did the transvaginal ultrasound, you could either see no blood or just a little blood in the uterus, in the uterine lining. Then acupuncture was given to the patient and...
Michelle (28:37)
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Mike berkley (29:00)
25 minutes after acupuncture was done, they repeated the transvaginal ultrasound with a color Doppler and two things happened. The uterine artery impedance index dropped like three or four points and you could actually see a red line right across the uterus. So you could actually perfectly well see evidence of enhanced blood flow into the uterine environment which
you know, really I'm talking about the ovarian environment, but you don't see it on the ovaries, you see it on the uterus. And it was fantastic. So it's exactly what you're saying, a little bit of a different study, but the same outcome.
Michelle (29:43)
more specific to fertility. Yeah, that's amazing. Wow, incredible. So fascinating. I mean, it is really fascinating when we get to see with our own eyes, something that has been, you know, taught for thousands of years, and to actually see science and you know, I look also housing the mind
Mike berkley (29:45)
Absolutely. Yeah. Pardon.
Michelle (30:04)
that also reflect that in modern science, but the heart math and the heart -brain coherence that they're finding is pretty much proving the whole idea of the heart housing the mind.
Mike berkley (30:04)
you
So I don't even, I don't know anything about this. This is all brand new news to me, but it sounds really fascinating. I love.
Michelle (30:22)
Yeah.
It is. And this is why I love talking to acupuncturists. Cause you just told me something that I did not, I thought I heard about it, but I didn't hear it in that detail. And I'm learning so much talking you. So this is why I love coming together with fellow acupuncturists because I always, always learn something new.
Mike berkley (30:44)
as do I from you, thank
Michelle (30:46)
of course I could talk to you for
But I would love for you to
can people find you or find more about you?
Mike berkley (30:53)
Yeah, thank you so course, I'm Mike Berkeley and my website is berkeleycenter .com, which is B -E -R -K -L -E -Ycenter .com. And I'm happy to speak to anybody, answer anybody's questions. There's no charge for that. And I'm a plain, simple, down to earth guy. And I'm just here to help people.
Michelle (30:55)
Yeah.
Yeah. You got the New Yorker mentality that I miss that I'll be honest, the culture of New York, I really miss since I've moved. So it kind of brings me back home to like, you know, the accent and all that. So Mike, it was great meeting you. I really enjoyed our conversation and thank you so much for coming on today.
Mike berkley (31:35)
Well, I want to say it was an absolute pleasure and an honor to meet you. I enjoyed our conversation so much and thank you so much again for having me as a guest. I'm grateful.
EP 277 What is Often Missing on the Fertility Journey?
On today’s episode, I will be discussing some aspects that contribute to vitality and fertility health that are often missed on the fertility journey. Here are some topics that will be covered:
Integrating Ancient and Modern Knowledge: How aspects of Taoist philosophies and TCM align with current research and what that can mean for fertility health.
The Body’s Wisdom: Learn how the body possesses an inherent intelligence for conception and how aligning with our natural biological rhythms can support the path to reproduction.
My Personal Experience: Hear about my own struggles with irregular periods and how this led me to explore a combination of medical perspectives and trust my intuition in making health decisions.
Patterns and Cycles: Learn about the importance of recognizing natural patterns and cycles, a concept deeply rooted in Chinese medicine, and how this understanding can impact fertility.
Interconnectedness: How TCM perceives a holographic nature of the universe, where everything is connected, reflecting a larger whole and its relevance to our reproductive health.
Balance for Fertility: The episode highlights the critical role of balance, represented by the yin and yang, and how maintaining this equilibrium is essential for optimal health and fertility.
[Don’t forget to subscribe to the Wholesome Fertility Podcast for more empowering insights and real-world stories on the fertility journey.]
Be sure to go to this link to find out how to pre-order The Way of Fertility and receive the special gifts mentioned in this episode! https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewayoffertility
For more information about Michelle, visitwww.michelleoravitz.com
The Wholesome FertilityFacebook group is where you can find free resources and support:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/
Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility
Transcript:
Way of fertility episode
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Wholesome Fertility Podcast. So if you're new to this
podcast, my name is Michelle Oravitz and I'm an acupuncturist specializing in fertility health. And for people who know me have been listening to this for a while, you may have heard a couple of different announcements here and there that I am super excited. Because my new book is coming out, The Way of Fertility.
And a lot of you guys might be thinking, What in the world is this book about? Is it about Chinese medicine? Is it about acupuncture points? Is it about food? Is it about supplements? What is it about?
So of course I can try to explain in the best way I can but it's almost like trying to tell a friend about another friend that you met that you really connected with and trying to put that into words and To describe the person and [00:01:00] of course, there are so many different aspects to it and it's an experience So, you'll have to read it to get that full immersion However, it really is based on ancient Wisdom so a lot of what I share is not only about ancient wisdom,
But it's also about some modern research that has been done that has shown and proven some of these things that Chinese medicine has spoken about and the energetics that basically are super important for fertility health, like the heart uterus connection.
And ultimately, this book is for the person that has tried everything to conceive and is not sure what in the world is getting in the way. So they're eating the right foods. They're doing the right things. They're having sex at the right time. They're going to the doctor. They're figuring out all the different options that they can do.
They're cutting out any toxins in [00:02:00] their life, trying everything almost to the point of being stressed by all of the checklist, but yet not having any success. And so in the book I wanted to speak about
a very important aspect of our being that rarely gets attention. And it's not just the mind. I know I talk a lot about the mind, but it's more than that. And And it really comes down to this and really the statement. So unless you have some very unusual reason that's very rare, like blocked tubes or some people are born without a uterus or a genetic component that is not allowing you to conceive, then you are hardwired to conceive.
You were designed to reproduce as a human. Majority of people are designed to reproduce and the majority of cases of fertility challenges is. are not true infertility, meaning it's not [00:03:00] like impossible for them to conceive. And this is why people are listening to podcasts like mine because they know and believe that there must be something that they can do in order to improve their ability to conceive.
So in the book, I look into this thing, this intelligence that has been spoken about throughout history. It's been referred to the Tao, you know, the Tao, the way. So Taoism, if you haven't listened to some of my earlier episodes, Taoism is really the, religion, or it could be considered a way of life.
That is what. Chinese medicine is based on, and a lot of these ancient medicines have a wisdom. So even Ayurveda, it really comes down to uniting and connecting with our nature. And when we are [00:04:00]expressing our nature the way it was intended to be expressed. And when we are connected with our external nature, which is the nature that is also being guided by that same intelligence that we are,
then that is really living in accordance to the Tao, accordance to the way. So the Tao translates as the way this is why I was inspired to call it the way of fertility because ultimately when our bodies are fully aligned
In their expression, then that is when our bodies will want to reproduce because it's kind of like a reminder. I think we forget often because we see it as such a challenge, but reproduction is what your body. It's programmed to do because that is ultimately what will continue life here on earth and you'll see it.
You'll see it everywhere. I mean, sprouts are everywhere in nature because nature [00:05:00] constantly wants to keep thriving and it will adapt to that. As well. So if you'll see a tree or even cement and through the cracks, you'll see lots of weeds. I mean, nature just constantly wants to keep on thriving and that's what it is gravitating towards.
So I speak about what gets in the way of that, because there must be something that's getting in the way of that. If the body is not expressing itself fully, and this is a very personal story for me as well. You may have heard me talk about this a lot in my own. You know, my own journey is that I had 12 years of irregular periods and irregular meaning like two months, three months, just not getting my period on time at all.
And
Only given the birth control pill as an answer and getting really frustrated and realizing that while. All types of medicines have their [00:06:00] gifts, not all of them know everything. So there's a time to rely on different types of medications and different types of technologies and different types of medical philosophy.
But it's important to know that not everybody knows everything so that when somebody tells us there is no answer, it's important for us if we feel that intelligence speaking to us in our heart to continue getting second opinions or talking to other people and not finishing with just one and taking no for an answer, like right off the bat. And for me, I actually had to go to many different people. Before I got the answer and I had to go to a different modality in order to get the answer.
So the modality that I kept going to was just not a great answer. modality for menstrual cycle health. And I've learned that is that every type of practitioner will provide tools and some of them are more fitting. So for example, if somebody[00:07:00] does have block tubes,
they would benefit from IVF and the technology. And it's incredible. So. I want to state that all of them are good. There's many, many different options here, but it's important to figure out what option is best for you. And ultimately I speak very strongly about this is that your intuition is this same intelligence.
that basically tells your cells what to do. It's based on the same intelligence that tells an animal something's not right, or you should eat this or don't eat for a day and fast. This is an intelligence that guides us towards vitality. So when we're starting to be in a state of listening, we will ultimately be guided.
So we can analyze tons of information out there and really go through that rabbit hole of Google when it comes to fertility health and just getting like being information dense and that information oftentimes is can be good, but it can [00:08:00]also take us down this path where it's confusing to us. So while it's important to have information, it's also important to tune in to your own intelligence.
And I call the difference between that is vertical knowledge versus horizontal knowledge. So horizontal knowledge is just like what it seems like. It's basically information that you get from person to person. You're getting it from this material world that you're living in. You go to school, you learn. information. You're basically getting information, but you're also getting energy.
I think one of the ways that we learn is invisible. It's not something that we measure, but we must be picking up also on other types of information that we were not realizing. So it's not just even language. It could be body language. It could be energetic.
And then vertical knowledge is something that we can get from downloads. So if you have [00:09:00]meditated in the past, you will know what I'm talking about, because if you meditate long enough, you will start to get. This guidance that you can't quite put your finger on, but you know, it's there and you know, it's real.
And those are the signs that you get. Those are the hunches. Those are the guidance. Like something will tell you, Hey, you know, I should call this friend. And then little, Did you know that this friend actually happens to know a great IVF clinic and finds you the best and most aligned doctor that you were looking for.
So this is just one example, but that's that intuition, that feeling, that gut. And a lot of us have felt that. And a lot of times it saved us in situations that could have been dangerous. And also something that I, I know I've had, and I've heard a lot of people tell me is that when they don't listen to it, they actually remember afterwards, like, Hey, I knew that something was telling me something like something was telling me not to do something.
And I did it anyway. And I realized [00:10:00] why I felt that feeling. So next time I'm really going to listen. So that is basically your intuition guiding you. And that intuition is not as abstract as it seems.
It's actually real. It's just invisible. It's not something that we can measure, really measure. And although there were some studies that were done on intuition, also premonitions, people would have a certain type of their brain active before they saw a picture that was related to that type of activity.
So that has been actually measured and seen in people. And luckily, you know, we're in a place where We are studying a lot of things that show that our minds are very powerful,
but this divine intelligence, as I like to call it, I like to call it divine intelligence because it's really something that is greater than anything that we can perceive in our material world is really what the material [00:11:00] world emerges from. And what happens is we often respond or react to what. has already come from that.
It's sort of like the tail end, rather than going within to that root. So it's almost like we talk about root cause medicine and root cause medicine is all about going to that initial place where the something emerged and manifested in the body rather than going to the manifestation, just putting a bandaid or cutting it out.
We want to know where is it coming from in the first place? Where is this pattern coming from? So we have our own patterns and our life is also a pattern. So just like it manifests in the body, it can manifest in a life and it can go out to infinity. And Chinese medicine always talks about the map. The macro and the micro so that everything is a hologram and what that means is that
The part reflects the whole, and the whole could be found in the part. So, [00:12:00] our bodies have their own ecosystem, and nature has its own ecosystem, and just like we have cycles, nature has cycles, and it can go on and on and on into the universe, and you'll see cycles everywhere.
And so basically what these medicines and this ancient wisdom is based on is this wisdom of understanding and this insight of really looking and observing nature. And it really comes down to a very elementary thing. It's not complicated as we make it to be. We actually innately understand this. because we are made of it.
So we know this in ourselves. So it really comes down to, and I speak about this also in the book is the yin and the yang, this homeostasis, this balance that the body always wants to go to. And that is what makes nature thrive. And so when we get out of balance, by overriding this intelligence.
Then that is when we start to [00:13:00] veer out of alignment. But the body's incredibly intelligent because it will let you know when you're out of alignment. It will give you symptoms, it'll give you emotions, it'll give you a feeling of discomfort. It's speaking to you all the time.
The problem is that we're not really aware. And the reason we're not aware is because we're distracted by so much of the noise outside of us. And so if you look at a lot of ancient teachings, even though you can consider them horizontal knowledge,
a lot of them will point you inwards so that you can connect to that. Vertical knowledge, and that vertical knowledge is where you go within yourself and you download the information from the source of your own intelligence and the intelligence that made you.
I'll be honest, I've known this for a long time but this knowing that I had and that I've had for a long time, didn't initially come from research. It [00:14:00] didn't initially come from the outside. It might've been inspired by some books, but ultimately a lot of it came from my own connection to that source, that source intelligence. And when I got connected to that source intelligence, it.
It guided me in my life.
So oftentimes fertility health is looked at as the manifestation so the manifestation of the body and how it is translating from the imbalance people are trying to fix
and ultimately, unless you resolve the foundation from where things emerge, then they're going to continue to emerge over and over again.
And part of that is also staying in this identification, because once we identify our minds, identify, we create a mental home.
And that too can get in the way of fertility health or really any health. And ultimately people think of it as just [00:15:00]fertility health, but fertility health is an emergence and a by product of overall health.
So I'll go back to my architecture days. before you build anything, first of all, you go to the blueprint, which is the intelligence, the guidance, and then you go to the foundation and that foundation has to hold the rest of the house. So imagine the foundation as you, as your health and your overall health that relies on so many different things and not just the physical, but also the energetics of your body and the mind and how you feel your spirit.
And so, so many people have come to me and said, I'm doing everything. I'm doing everything right. I'm doing everything and nothing's happening. And as they're telling me, I can feel, I can sense the stress. and the pressure that they feel to try to get all of the checks off the list.
So it comes down to diet and also [00:16:00] feeling really stressed out about diet and upset if they ate something bad and detoxing their whole life. And while I'm very big on Those things. And I do talk about them a lot and I have guests that come on and talk about them. Of course they're important,
but nothing is so important that it takes out your peace of mind. So if it means you're not doing it perfectly, then don't do it perfectly. allow yourself to feel ease. And then ultimately, I do want to mention that if you are connected to that divine intelligence within you, that divine intelligence will actually guide you towards intuitive eating.
It's going to guide you towards what is good for you in your life. And so the more you come from a place of being centered, so this is again from the inside out, not the outside in, when you're coming from within and balancing that internal energy and connecting yourself to that intelligence that knows your highest and [00:17:00] best good, it will guide you towards the right people, the right things, the right information, the right food.
So ultimately this book is inspired by that, by how to get back to yourself in order to live not only a fertile life, but your best life.
And so yes, this is definitely a fertility book, but it's a life book too.
So instead of focusing on all of the details, which can literally make us crazy we focus on what it means to come back home and come back home to ourselves and come from a place where we are whole and really wholeness is what healing is. So healing is wholeness. It's coming from a place where we become more consolidated so that our body. aligns to this vitality effortlessly. And part of this is living in flow and having this effortless effort that you will see [00:18:00] oftentimes in nature.
Nature doesn't hold on, it moves on. It moves and flows however it needs to go. It's not stagnated. It knows how to overcome challenges.
Even after really difficult challenges like hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, nature will always rebound and that really comes down to this intelligence within it. When we veer away from that nature, we will start to stagnate. And our emotions start to stagnate if they don't move through the way they're supposed to.
So I talk about how it is important to validate your feelings, not negate them, validate them. The more we embrace them, the easier it is for them to move.
And the importance of honoring ourselves at every moment and the importance of presence. And I share in my book, golden nuggets that I have collected throughout the years and just with my own [00:19:00]studies and learning through doing this kind of work, the powerful medicine that is love and how love can impact your heart and how even modern research is supporting that really proving that the heart does in fact, house the mind.
So I take you through a journey inward to understand your own inner terrain and to empower yourself so that you can move on through this journey with a sense of empowerment and also as a cherry on top improved fertility health.
I share some of my. My most favorite stories of clients and patients, stories that defy the predictions that lots of these women were given. I share exercises that are simple and easy to do. I share tricks that you can use to really impact the mind almost instantaneously.
I feel like this work was definitely a work of the [00:20:00] heart and I feel like not only was there research in it and information that I learned, but a lot of it was divinely guided to the point where something would emerge in my mind. I was like, I need to put this in a chapter. I knew that.
The book was not complete until I felt like, okay, I got it all out. And I would literally have these thoughts and something moving me like a little piece of the puzzle that needed to fit in to certain areas of the book. So I do believe that it was divinely guided as a message for the readers.
And even though I give lots of tips on what to do, I also discuss the importance of doing less.
I feel like this book was a sacred creation that I got to be part of, and I am so blessed to have had this experience of writing it. And I'm so excited for it to reach you.
And so I wanted to share. a couple of really cool things. At the moment that I'm recording this right now, [00:21:00] and hopefully it's not too late. If it is too late, that's not a problem. You can eventually go ahead and find it anyway. It's out. But if you're listening to this close to when I am releasing this episode,
Then you are in the window of pre order. So right now, as I'm releasing this episode, the book, the way of fertility is available for pre order. You will be able to get all of this information in the episode notes. So basically what I'm saying is that if anybody goes and pre orders the book and sends me A submission, and you'll see the form, where you prove that you pre ordered the book, and the submission will include your email.
You will receive lifetime access to the 2022 and 2023 empower your fertility summits, which has lots of amazing fertility[00:22:00] experts, as well as fertility bonuses. So that's incredible because each one is 97 and you're going to receive two just for pre ordering the book. And by the way, if you pre order the book, you're also getting money off.
It's on a discounted price, so you're not only getting a discounted price, but you're also getting lifetime access for two Empower Your Fertility Summits. But that's not all. The first 50 people who submit proof We'll be able to join a live, The Way of Fertility workshop where you will get to ask me questions and we're going to talk about the book and anything that comes to your mind, you will be able to ask me.
And of course you're thinking, okay, well, if I pre order, I'm not going to have the book. I'm not going to have the book. I'm not going to have questions. We're not going to do this workshop right away. I will wait a month after, and I will take the first 50 [00:23:00] people, send them an email, and explain exactly when this workshop will take place.
So no need to worry about that. But that's not all. I'm also going to enter. Everyone, not just the first 50, every single person is going to be entered into a draw. So whoever submits proof of their pre order in the form that I'm going to be sharing is going to be entered into a draw and the first prize Which is freaking fabulous, not just fabulous, but incredibly generous, and I've been told you're nuts, nuts for doing this, but I'm doing it anyway. So, the first prize will be getting immediate access to my signature fertility program, the Wholesome Fertility Method, of almost 1, [00:24:00] 000. Okay. And then prize number two, two of the winners that are going to be taken from the draw will get immediate access to the Wholesome Moon. So it's my cycle hacking program, which is veered towards optimizing your menstrual cycle. To help with fertility with fertility in mind. So two winners get that, and that's a value of almost 400.
So either way you win, because you will get freebies and freebies that costs. Lots of money. So
this is a no brainer like literally don't even think about it because it's like you're literally You're already gaining Tons of money right off the bat and you're basically gaining to empower of your fertility summits but you're not for just the amount of money that it costs for the pre order, which is already a discounted price on simply a book.
[00:25:00] So here's something that you might want to think about if you have family members that really want you to win and they decide to buy an ebook for you to submit their names and then they get it. So you could do that as well. So this is something that If you feel like somebody's like, okay, I really want you to get this.
And I'm going to order a book. So the books are discounted. So, you know, this is just an option,
but I know that as much as you are getting value just from submitting proof that you pre ordered the book, you are going to get immense value from the book. Itself.
And I'm going to suggest that you look into this. today because if you don't, it's, you're going to forget about it. Cause that's just the way of the world. You're going to get distracted and you're going to forget about it. So if I were you and if you're on the fertility journey and this is like a win win, I mean, really like a huge win for you, you [00:26:00] might as well just look at it today.
Click on the link. It's going to have all the details and don't wait because if you are within the window of pre order, which is the rest of March 2024, and half of April 2024, then you're going to get insane value. However, if you did miss it, you're still going to get insane value from the book itself. So thank you for taking the time and listening to this episode because I'm just so excited for this book to reach the masses because it felt divinely inspired.
It was something that I really felt called to, to the point where I feel a sense of relief now that it's out. It felt like something I needed to create.
I wanted to inspire hope. I wanted to also reawaken a belief in your own body and I also wanted it to reawaken empowerment. because I feel like we [00:27:00] are just so much more powerful than we've ever imagined. So I share so many reasons on how powerful we are that is supported by some research. And if you do happen to read it, and find something in it inspiring. You can always reach out to me. I love getting DMs on Instagram and I do my best to respond to every one of them. You can always find me on my handle at the wholesome Lotus fertility.
So thank you for spending this time with me. And I hope you have a beautiful day.