Tag: fertility

Modern Menstrual Education 101

February 4, 2016
Posted by Sharon

Modern Menstrual Education 101
February 28, 2016
1:00 to 3:30
$30 per person REGISTER BY CLICKING HERE

Open to adults (defined as 18 years of age or older), men and women, who are interested in learning more about menstruation.  Workshop is experiencial and will include movement, discussion, plenty of time for questions and lecture.  Yoga instructors will receive a certificate as evidence of participation and valid for 3 CEU credits towards maintaining Yoga Alliance registrations.

Are you a man who was lead out of the health classroom with all the other boys by a male gym teacher while the girls stayed behind to talk about their periods?  Does your partner, wife, sister, mother or running partner say things to you about their periods that you nod your head to when all the while you have NO IDEA what they mean?  Are you a male yoga instructor that would like to feel more comfortable guiding menstruating women towards an energetically nourishing yoga practice during their moon cycles, but you aren’t even sure what is OK or not?  Can a woman get pregnant while she has her period?  Is it dangerous to have sex with a woman who has her period? How can you avoid premenstrual arguments with your girlfriend or wife that seem to happen like clockwork around her period?

Are you a woman who has no idea when she ovulates or if she ovulates at all?  Do you have cramps or mood changes or appetite shifts around your menstrual cycle that are bothersome and you don’t know how to be comfortable or take care of yourself?  Would you like to learn more about the energetic implications of your menstrual cycle and how to take advantage of parts of your cycle that enhance pleasure, creativity and inner quiet and calm?  Do you have no idea when you are going to get your period and just wander around with pads or tampons in your purse wondering when it is going to “show up”?  Do you wish you could ask for space or ask for deeper intimacy sometimes and don’t know how to communicate with your partner or friends around your cycle?  Do you know when you are most likely to conceive a baby and why?

Honestly, what you don’t know about your period is A LOT.  Both men and women need to understand the very real physical and energetic cycles around what women experience so that we can honor and enhance the presence of shakti in our lives.  Regardless of your age or sexual orientation, you live in a world of both men and women—we live together, work together and play together.  Menstruation is a part of women’s lives in a very physical way and they have to learn skills to manage the flow of menstrual fluids in a way that men do not have to learn, but energetically, men are implicated in almost every part of women’s cycles and should not remain ignorant to this incredibly powerful creative cycle.

Everyone is welcome and I ask that you come prepared for honest, open and respectful dialogue around something that many people have considered as dirty, taboo or “women’s business”.  All of your questions will be answered.  If you do not feel comforable discussing body fluids, reproductive health, sexuality, pleasure, birth control, etc. in mixed groups of men and women, then this is not the workshop for you.  But, everyone is warmly welcomed and we will benefit from the diversity of experience that is present.

Sharon Fennimore is a doula and childbirth educator with an interest in fertility and working with women and men to better understand their reproductive and creative capabilities.  She has over twenty-years of experience teaching and practicing yoga and meditation and brings all of these experiences to her workshops.

 

Is your PERIOD a SENTENCE?

February 2, 2014
Posted by Sharon
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Is your Period a Sentence

Fertility and Reproductive Health Coaching

 

Your menstrual cycle is unique and I provide individually designed programs that support your optimum reproductive health.  Whether you are trying to conceive, hoping to avoid pregnancy or if you are looking to tame symptoms that are reducing your quality of life, we will work together to bring your moon cycles into harmony with your creativity, intelligence and vitality.

Believe it or not, within six-months, you can be pain free and enjoying predictable periods.  Not only can we reduce your period-related pain and discomfort, you will find at the end of your program that you have a map for taking advantage of the various energies of your moon cycle.  You will know when you are most fertile, turned-on, tuned-in, creative and energetic and when you are most supported with an inward focus and nourishing activities.  Not only will your health improve, but your whole quality of life will evolve for the better as you find yourself more efficient, aware, responsive and confident.

With my six-month coaching program, you will feel completely understood and supported as we work towards radically reducing your symptoms, identifying patterns in your unique cycle and using proven techniques for meeting your personal wellness goals.  Although the transformation you experience will be radical, the work is gentle.  No strict diets or severe lifestyle changes.  We work from where you are and then take you where you want to go.

I know that you may feel right now that it is impossible to even imagine not being in pain or having regular menstrual cycles.  But, I KNOW that it is not only possible, but it is your right to enjoy a healthy, beautiful and pain free menstrual cycle.  I’m so sure that I can help you that I offer a 100% money back guarantee.  Start today with a FREE evaluation and a guided meditation so you can reduce your stress level immediately.  There is no obligation to work with me.

My Story

I’ve been there.  As a teenager, my doctor prescribed birth control pills to “help” correct my irregular and incredibly painful menstrual cycles.  But, taking synthetic hormones so early in my life and for so many years backfired.  By my early twenties I had cervical abnormalities that lead to painful biopsies and was experiencing large ovarian cysts.  Each doctor I would see would say that by taking birth control pills I was already doing what was “best” for my “condition”.  Finally, I had an ovarian cyst that was so large you could feel it through my abdominal wall and a doctor suggested that I have surgery as soon as possible to remove it.

No one ever asked me about my stress level, diet, sleeping patterns, satisfaction in my relationships or how I envisioned reproductive health or how my symptoms impacted my sexuality or ability to be creative and joyful in other areas of my life.  I just kept checking off the boxes “irregular periods” on the forms.

But surgery?  Surgery seemed so drastic that I woke up and started asking around.  In whispered conversations in the ladies room in my office building I heard about an amazing acupuncturist who might be able to help.  And help she did!  Within 4-weeks the cyst that was the size of a tangerine was no longer identifiable on an ultrasound.  The surgeon made me go back for a second ultrasound because she couldn’t believe that a cyst that gigantic had just disappeared.  I am sure that the acupuncture and herbs that I took were helpful, but what I believe to have changed my life forever were the conversations that I had with my acupuncturist.  Was I happy in my marriage?  Did I like my job?  What was I eating for breakfast?  How was my quality of sleep?  And each week, she would suggest that I add a little something new and delicious to my diet—-pumpkin seeds?  Walnuts? Why, yes, I like pumpkin seeds and walnuts!  I could eat more of those.  Try wheat grass?  Why not?  I’ve been pumping synthetic hormones through my body and organs and brain for the better part of 15-years.  Why not wheat grass?

Ovarian cysts–gone forever.  I re-defined what a “regular” cycle was based on my own beautiful body and connection to the earth and rhythms of the moon, oceans and earth itself.  Knowing when I ovulated helped me design a work and study schedule that respected my most creative periods.  When I was more inward focused I knew better than to schedule big presentations or force multiple-deadlines.  And, although many intelligent doctors said it would never be possible to conceive a baby naturally, I had two beautiful children.

 

Imagine

Imagine what it would be like to be liberated from painful periods, heavy bleeding, bloating, moodiness, cysts, infections and irregular cycles that keep you guessing.

Imagine what it would be like to know exactly when you are most fertile and creative.

Imagine what it would be like to look forward to your period.

 

Holistic Approach

Step One: Start Where you are

We start with where you are: your reproductive health as you experience it right now.  I take the time to really listen to your experiences, symptoms, hopes and how you envision what a healthy menstrual cycle looks like for you.  I offer some very simple to implement nutritional advice and teach you how to chart your menstrual cycle, be aware of fertility and ovulation signs and teach you some ways to relieve stress, tension in the body and address specific symptoms (for example: headaches, cramps, back and breast pain).

Step Two: Now We Know What We Know

After you take a couple of months to chart your cycles using my methods, then we have some information to work with.  This information will help you communicate more clearly with your doctors.  For example, just checking off the “irregular periods” box doesn’t help your doctor as much as you saying, “I only ovulate every 40-days.”  You may also notice things that are energy related, but within your control.  For example, you may see that you ovulate on day 20 of your cycle for 3-months in a row, but in the 4th month you have a really stressful presentation on the 20th day of your cycle and you don’t ovulate that month until day 22.  In this stage, we have real information to work with and create goals for working with this information so that we can see change over time.

Step Three: Making Change

Now that we know specific information about your cycle, we can use that information to implement changes at the right times to support you in creating a healthy menstrual cycle and optimum fertility.  Fertility isn’t just about making a baby, it is about growing into your most creative, juicy and sexy self!

Step Four: Optimum Reproductive Health

In the final stage of the coaching program, you find that you are experiencing a great reduction in pain and discomfort.  Your cycles are not only predictable, but you look forward to their arrival.  You marvel at how beautiful you feel around your ovulation and schedule time to be alone and quiet when you approach your time of bleeding.  You see the wisdom in your blood.

Begin Today

The first step towards optimum reproductive health and fertility is filling out this new client form so that I can provide you with a FREE initial consultation and evaluation.  Your response is completely confidential.  Within 48-hours of submitting your new client form, I will send you a personalized e-mail with a link to a FREE 10-minute guided meditation so that you can start to reduce your stress level today.  I will let you know if I feel that my coaching program is right for you and suggest a plan of action based on your symptoms and goals.  The price of your program will depend on the number of sessions that we determine is appropriate for maximum benefit.  Programs range from 3-9 months and payment plans are available to meet your needs.

Pain free and regular periods are priceless!  This is an investment in your health and well-being that will improve every area of your life.  You know how much you’ve already spent on doctors, diets, tests, medications, sick days, missed vacations……….instead of spending money on “something” this coaching program is an investment in YOU and you deserve it!

I believe in you.  I believe that you can feel better and have a pain free and higher quality of life.  I know it is possible for you.

 

Fertility

August 14, 2013
Posted by Sharon
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NOTE: this is a dated blog post that describes services and packages that are no longer available.  If you are interested in my optimum fertility and reproductive health services, please follow this link to the current packages. 

Optimum Fertility

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Reproductive Health and Fertility Coaching

 

Irregular Periods? PMS? Moody? Bloated? Doubled over and missing out on activities and work due to cramps, migraine headaches or back pain?  Does your period just go on and on and on?  Is “heavy” flow an understatement?

PCOS? (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome) Anovulation?  Not ovulating due to low body fat, endocrine disruption or trying to regain fertility after being on birth control pills or other hormone based birth control?

Trying to conceive for over 6-months without a pregnancy?  Miscarriage?  Unexplained infertility?  Considering IVF or other medically assisted reproduction therapy?

 

There is no reason to suffer!  I offer personalized coaching services where we address your greatest concerns, create do-able action plans for addressing your needs and all the support and confidence you need to improve the quality of your life and reproductive health.  Your action plan is likely to include:

  • Stress Management
  • Diet and Nutrition
  • Meditation and Visualization
  • Mindful Movement, Yoga and Exercise
  • Counseling on finding the best medical care providers, alternative health services and problem solving
  • Learning how to track fertility signs to either prevent or promote conception

Take the first step and call for your FREE phone consultation: 412-855-5692.  During this consultation I will work with you to determine what your reproductive health goals are and offer you an initial evaluation and proposal for our work together.  To give you an idea of the costs for this type of coaching work, here are some examples of coaching packages:

One-Time Coaching Session  $150

Before the session you fill out an extensive intake survey so I know exactly what you need before the call.  During the call we address a singular issue regarding your reproductive health and/or fertility.  You leave the session with an action plan for solving your greatest concern and I will be available to you for unlimited e-mail support for up to one-month after the session.  Our session lasts an hour and a half and is scheduled at your convenience.  You may, if it is part of your action plan, decide to enroll in my menstrual education course which includes detailed information on tracking your fertility signs for $90.  This would make the total cost for improving the quality of your life and finding real solutions to your chronic reproductive health problems for $150-$240.

One-Month Intensive $350

Before the first session, you will fill out an extensive intake survey so I know exactly what you want to work on before our first call.  During this month, you will receive weekly meal plans and nutritional advice and we will have three, one-hour phone sessions during the 4-weeks of your month intensive.  This is most likely for women with a more complex health issue or who are scheduled for an IVF cycle and want a month of support around that cycle.

Six-Month PCOS, PMS, Irregular Cycles or Optimum Fertility Coaching Program  $500

This type of program is for women that have a chronic endocrine or other imbalance that is going to require a longer commitment to nutrition, medication, and lifestyle changes in order to meet their goals.  This program includes enrollment in my menstrual education course and e-mail support for 6-months following the program.

 

Follow-up sessions are between $50-$100 depending on the type and length of session required.  All coaching programs, including single sessions, come with some period of unlimited e-mail support.

What You Don’t Know About Your Period is A LOT!

February 14, 2013
Posted by Sharon
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Asana Workshop

PERIOD.
A workshop for women facilitated by Sharon F. Rudyk
SUNDAY, April 14, 2013 from 1:00 to 3:30 pm
$35 (tuition includes a cycle tracker kit and all handouts)

Register by calling Sharon (412) 855-5692 or by sending an e-mail to: sharon@yogamatrika.com

In this workshop, you will be re-introduced to your amazing menstrual cycle on physical, spiritual and energetic levels.  The cost of the workshop includes a kit with everything you need to learn about fertility signs and tracking the length and phases of your own unique cycle.  Never be surprised by your period again!  You will learn a unique yoga-based meditation to tune into the energy your moon cycle to help you time creative projects, big decisions and times for rest and rejuvenation.  Respect your natural energetic rhythms and learn self-care techniques for PMS, painful periods and pelvic pain from the seemingly mysterious to ovarian cysts and other challenges to fertility and reproductive health for women.  This workshop is for women of all ages and in all phases of cycling.  Young women under the age of 17 may enjoy attending with a wise woman who is over the age of 25 who can support them in understanding this alternative approach to women’s health and wellness.  Even if you are entering menopause or have experienced menopause, this workshop will be enlightening and you will learn techniques for greater health that you will use each and every day.  This workshop is a beautiful way to heal your relationship with the cyclical nature of womanhood and embrace one of your greatest powers.

Location: möökshï wellness center, above Biddle’s Escape Café at 401 Biddle Avenue, Pittsburgh
www.mookshi.com   or call (412) 407-7829

Yoga for Fertility

September 1, 2012
Posted by Sharon
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Yoga Benefits that Optimize Fertility and Reproductive Health

  • stress relief
  • hormone balance
  • endocrine system support
  • increased circulation to reproductive organs
  • enhanced quality of sleep
  • decreased anxiety and fear

For IVF Support, Click HERE

For yoga for fertility that you can do at home, Click HERE

GROUP CLASSES in YOGA and MEDITATION

Yoga is a magnificent form of preparation for all creative activities and having a regular yoga practice is a beautiful way to support optimum fertility and reproductive health for men and women. Rather than think of yoga as one more thing you can do to help get pregnant or as an addition to any treatment you may be receiving for an “infertility” diagnosis, we believe that yoga should be something that you do for yourself. Enjoy!

Our classroom environment is kept to a comfortable temperature and we offer non-competitive classes that are ideal for women and men that are actively trying to conceive. All yoga and meditation classes on the schedule are excellent for supporting reproductive health. Check here for this week’s schedule of yoga classes. Tuition for group classes and private sessions can be found here.

YOGA for OPTIMUM FERTILITY

Next workshop scheduled for 5/5/2012 at 2:30pm. Register HERE.

Approximately four times a year, Sharon Rudyk offers a 2.5 hour workshop ($45 or $35 when you pre-register online) for women who wish to use yoga to support optimum fertility and reproductive health. In this 2.5 hour workshop, designed for women, we look at the creative energy of fertility and explore ways to support that creative energy through yoga. The type of yoga that supports fertility is nourishing and helps women release stress through movement, gentle stretching, breathing exercises and deep relaxation. The active poses and stretches help to release deeply held tension in the body, support the endocrine system and tone all of the interior organs. In addition to a discussion on how a regular yoga practice can help with fertility, we will practice a 45-minute yoga session together and a deep relaxation technique called Yoga Nidra. All participants will leave with a hand-out that provides a 20-minute yoga practice that they can do at home on their own and suggestions for books, CDs and DVDs that may be of help. This workshop is excellent for all women who are considering pregnancy. It may be of particular benefit to women who are experiencing or who have experienced fertility challenges. This type of nourishing practice is also beneficial to women who have irregular menstrual cycles, endometriosis, pelvic pain or pms. This workshop maintains the individual integrity and privacy of every woman participating and no one is asked to divulge their reasons for attending or to discuss their personal fertility experience or condition. The entire goal of the practice is to find comfort and joy in the body as it is, release tension and leave feeling calm, relaxed and hopeful. Absolutely no experience with yoga is required for this workshop, but all women should be cleared for physical exercise by their physicians.

PRIVATE SESSIONS

Sharon offers a variety of private session packages that might be of interest to students, male and female, that are opening their lives to the possibility of children. Please see the private sessions page for information and pricing can be found here. For a free phone consultation with Sharon regarding the right path for your specific needs and goals, please call (412) 855-5692.

E-BOOK

This e-book on yoga for fertility is $17 and contains easy to follow instructions for gentle practices you can do at home or on the go. The author is also available by e-mail for consultation if you have any questions about the practices and there is a no-risk money-back guarantee.

Why Restore?

September 26, 2011
Posted by Sharon
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This Sunday (October 2, 2011), Lisa Clark is going to be offering a Restorative Yoga workshop at Yoga Matrika, a most cozy and intimate community-based yoga studio in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh.  The workshop is just two-hours long, but the effects will last a lifetime.

You might wonder what the benefits of restorative yoga are, especially if you are healthy, injury free, athletic and tend to prefer active yoga practices with an emphasis on physical challenges.  Or, you might know that you desperately need a restorative practice, but can’t seem to justify the investment of time or money.  Maybe you aren’t even sure what restorative yoga is, but anything that might give you some peace and quiet for two hours just can’t be a bad thing………..

So, for the curious, here are some of the unique benefits of restorative yoga practices:

  • Activate your parasympathetic nervous system to fight illness and support optimum fertility, hormone balance, immune system and clarity of mind.
  • Lowers blood pressure.  Yes, even the Food and Drug Administration suggests that restorative yoga is highly effective non-drug therapy for hypertension.
  • Helps relieve chronic tension that can cause pain such as headaches and digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowl Syndrome.
  • Active relaxation improves mood and supports creativity and action sourced from intuition and grace.
  • Lower cholesterol and improve circulation
  • Better resistance to injury
  • Improve range of motion
  • Remove toxins from the body and support optimum health for liver, kidneys and endocrine system
  • Relieve sciatica and low back pain
  • Supports high quality sleep and can help relieve insomnia

The reality is that, for an amount of financial investment equal to a doctor visit co-pay, you can receive these significant benefits.  Of course, a regular yoga practice over time is your best investment for optimum health, but you will be amazed at how fabulous you feel after just one restorative yoga session.  If you would like to support your health with regular restorative yoga practices, April Lechwar teaches a one hour and fifteen minute restorative yoga class every Sunday evening from 5:45 to 7:00pm.

Here are some excerpts from Judith Lasater’s seminal book, Relax and Renew: Relaxing Yoga for Stressful Times:

 Stress Can Make you Sick

Stress begins with a physiological response to what your body-mind perceives as life-threatening.…For modern-day humans, this may be living with the fear of losing a job in a sagging economy, or the health crisis of a family member.

 

Whatever the stressor, the mind alerts the body that danger is present. In response, the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, secrete catecholamine hormones. These adrenaline and noradrenalin hormones act upon the autonomic nervous system, as the body prepares for fight or flight. Heart rate, blood pressure, mental alertness, and muscle tension are increased. The adrenal hormones cause metabolic changes that make energy stores available to each cell and the body begins to sweat. The body also shuts down systems that are not a priority in the immediacy of the moment, including digestion, elimination, growth, repair, and reproduction.

 

To his detriment, modern man is often unable to resolve his stress so directly, and lives chronically stressed as a result. Still responding to the fight or flight response, the adrenals continue to pump stress hormones. The body does not benefit from nutrition because the digestion and elimination systems are slowed down. Even sleep is disturbed by this agitated state.

 

In a chronically stressed state, quality of life, and perhaps life itself, is at risk. The body’s capacity to heal itself is compromised, either inhibiting recovery from an existing illness or injury, or creating a new one, including high blood pressure, ulcers, back pain, immune dysfunction, reproductive problems, and depression. These conditions add stress of their own and the cycle continues.

Restorative Yoga for Health & Well Being

By supporting the body with props, we alternately stimulate and relax the body to move toward balance. Some poses have an overall benefit. Others target an individual part, such as the lungs or heart. All create specific physiological responses which are beneficial to health and can reduce the effects of stress-related disease.

 

In general, restorative poses are for those times when you feel weak, fatigued, or stressed from your daily activities. They are especially beneficial for the times before, during, and after major life events: death of a loved one, change of job or residence, marriage, divorce, major holidays, and vacations. In addition, you can practice the poses when ill, or recovering from illness or injury.

 

This post was written by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the owner and director of programs for Yoga Matrika and Matrika Prenatal.  She hopes to see you soon and often at The Mat in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

January through March

November 22, 2008
Posted by Sharon
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As the days get darker and we are immersed in this late autumn freeze, here is the tentative January through March schedule so that you can dream of the warmth generated by a beautiful yoga practice in the comfort of our fabulous community:

Mondays: 10:30 to 11:45      Basic Matrika Flow   w/Sharon
                6:00 to 7:15 pm    Matrika Flow            w/Elsie
                8:00 to 9:15 pm   Matrika Flow            w/Alana

Tuesdays:  4:00-5:15           Teen Yoga              w/Sharon [*SERIES CLASS]
                  5:45-7:00 pm    Restorative Flow     w/Sharon
                 7:30-8:45 pm    Matrika Flow            w/Jessie

Wednesdays:  10:30-11:15    Me Too                 w/Sharon
                      11:15-11:45   Mother’s Kula
                      12:00-1:00     Yoga 4 Lunch         w/Leslie W.
                      1:15-2:15       Adaptive Yoga        w/Leslie W.
                      5:45-7:00pm  Pre-Natal Yoga      w/ Bethany
                      7:30-8:45 pm  Matrika Flow        w/Erin

Thursdays:  5:45-7:00 pm     Matrika Flow          w/Cindy
                   7:15-8:15 pm     Mini-Series           w/Sharon [*SERIES CLASS]

Fridays:   9:30-10:45 am      Matrika Flow           w/Katrina
               11:00-11:45 am     Toddler Yoga         w/Cathy [*SERIES CLASS]

Saturdays: 9:00-10:30 am     Matrika Flow/Intensive     w/Sharon
                 11:30-12:45        Yoga Booty Ballet               w/Aleta

Sundays: 9:00-10:15 am        Yoga Basics             w/Jen B.
               5:30-6:45 pm        Fertility Yoga            w/Tara H.  [*SERIES]

Series classes require pre-registration and payment.  You can find more information on the Series Classes page of the website.  All other classes are “drop-in” meaning that you can start anytime in these ongoing classes.  All “Matrika Flow” classes are open level, meaning that the class is a mix of levels,  and beginners are always welcome.  The basic classes provide instruction at a slower pace and the instructor will provide more detailed instructions for poses.  Basic doesn’t mean “easy,”  but it’s a great place to start.  The instructor can always make modifications for more experienced students.  There are Family Yoga workshops, Childbirth preparation workshops and a variety of professional level continuing education opportunities.  Always check the workshops page periodically so you don’t miss something FABULOUS.  This year, don’t make resolutions…..just RESOLVE…..resolve to feel as healthy and energized as possible.  Come on Pittsburgh….do yoga and have fun!

See you soon at The Mat,

Sharon