Articles Index >> Enhancing Fertility with Reiki and Mind-Body Techniques
Editor’s Note: As with all integrative therapies, you should ask your physician if they are right for you. Reiki professionals do not diagnose or cure disease and do not interfere in the treatment of disease by physicians or licensed healthcare professionals, but rather offer a support to use in conjunction with traditional medicine. Clients are encouraged to speak with their physicians before pursuing any complementary treatments.
Enhancing Fertility with Reiki and Mind/Body Techniques by Ulrike Dettling, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Reiki Master Teacher
We have seen tremendous changes in the recent past regarding new fertility technology, the changing roles of women in society, environmental changes affecting both men and women (and animals) and their reproductive functioning, childbearing at a later age for many women, new opportunities for lesbian women to bear and raise children with or without the use of reproductive technology, international adoption etc. The focus of this article is to present a program of mind/body techniques and Reiki which I have developed in my practice to support women/couples in their quest to become parents.
An estimated 25 % or more of all pregnancies are unsuccessful, ending in miscarriages. One in four women experiences miscarriage, 1 in 300 women experiences 3 or more miscarriages in a row. This miscarriage loss does not receive the same kind of social support nor are there the same kind of societal rituals, as when a death of a loved one has occurred even though a miscarriage is an equally devastating loss to the couple(1). A lot of the tension for the couple stems from the lack of emotional support around this issue and the ongoing emotional ups and downs of the cycle of hope and despair, as the couple is trying to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term.
I developed this program in my attempt to help women/couples with the stresses of the struggle with fertility. My intention was to help these women/couples cope with the stresses, to relax and find peace, to deal with the trauma of multiple losses, the grief, the anxiety and distrust in one's own body that comes from unsuccessfully trying to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term.
I worked with the tools that I have at my disposal: counseling skills, mind/body techniques, hypnotherapy and Reiki which is deeply relaxing and removes trauma from the cellular consciousness in the body (2). A few years later, I found confirmation of the approach that I had been using with clients in Niravi Payne's book, The Language of Fertility. Ms. Payne, a psychotherapist, had developed a holistic approach to fertility called the Whole Person Fertility Program™. I believe that clients can benefit from this work greatly even if it doesn't lead to the birth of a child. Learning to cope with the stressors of the struggle with fertility in itself is a great gift to these highly-stressed couples.
Clients have given me permission to share their stories in public.
One client had been suffering from severe endometriosis. She had surgery, but developed it again a few months later. She was afraid of having more surgery and not being able to bear children. I offered to do the Body Dialogue with her, a process in which the person is guided into a deeply relaxed state and into a dialogue with the part of their body that needs healing. In that dialogue, the person connects with and listens to the wisdom of the body and what it needs to heal(3). After just one session of Body Dialogue, in this case, the endometriosis disappeared and the person is now the biological mother of a happy 2 1/2 yr. old.
(BODY DIALOGUE is described as guiding the client into a deeply relaxed state. While the client is in this deeply relaxed state he/she is guided on a journey through their body focusing on organs and dialoguing with them to find out what needs to be healed.)
Another client who also suffered from endometriosis (for which she had had surgery), severely debilitating painful periods and clinical depression, became the mother of twins with the help of reproductive technology, the use of a relaxation tape and supportive psychotherapy.
In both cases, for the first time in years, the women maintained their pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy child. There had been no other complementary intervention, in addition to the regular medical IVF treatments that they had been undergoing.
The cases described above made me wonder whether the healing power of the subconscious mind and Reiki are underutilized in the treatment of infertility. The following case history convinced me that the subconscious/body mind (in conjunction with Reiki) can be beneficial.
Another woman revealed a long history of unsuccessful IVF treatments, miscarriages, and a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. Both allopathic and holistic doctors had told her that she would not be able to conceive naturally as her left fallopian tube had been removed after the ectopic pregnancy and her right ovary had become atrophied and dysfunctional. This client had a poor prognosis of conceiving and giving birth without IVF. She had utilized mind/body programs at the hospital, meditation, self-hypnosis tapes, group support and the like prior to her session with me. When she came to me, she was at the end of her rope, severely traumatized and discouraged from the losses and medical interventions. It affected her entire life, the relationship to her daughter, her husband, her family, friends, medical professionals, with her self and her own body. She was determined to have another child, but she was now shaking going into the IVF treatments - the trauma was lodged deeply in her body and her psyche.
This woman had come to me as a last resort. I wasn't sure I'd be able to help her have another child, but trusted that we would find out by doing the Body Dialogue, listening to what her body had to tell her.
During the Body Dialogue, to our mutual surprise, her right ovary told her to trust that it could help her conceive naturally and carry a healthy pregnancy to term. I told the woman to sit with this information from her subconscious mind and not make any rash decisions. In my hands-on Reiki work with her, I sensed that the left and right ovary showed an imbalance(4).
The woman decided on her own, despite her doctors' recommendations, to take a break from and stop the hormones and IVF treatments temporarily and to try to conceive naturally. She would try this for one or two cycles and then return to conventional therapies. As a Reiki Professional, I of course directed she speak with her doctor first. After she determined that it was OK for her to do this, she came for weekly Reiki treatments and learned how to do self-Reiki. Together we developed visualizations to help her conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy to term, leading to the birth of a healthy child. She listened to the relaxation/healing tape(5) and visualized her pregnancy in three steps and did self-Reiki twice a day, while lying down with her daughter for a nap and before going to sleep at night. During our Reiki sessions, we also worked with the mental/emotional healing process using affirmations pertaining to her situation. Within a short period of time, the woman calmed down, was able to relax and became more optimistic. She got back in touch with her spirituality and practiced prayer according to her spiritual tradition. After a few Reiki treatments, I sensed that her ovaries balanced out and that her right ovary was getting stronger. Within only 2 months, she became pregnant. Now it was a matter of sustaining this pregnancy through the first trimester and to full term, as she had a history of repeated miscarriages. We continued to do weekly Reiki sessions, twice daily self-hypnosis/visualization and self-Reiki.
After the first trimester(6), we reduced the Reiki treatments to once-a-month through the end of the pregnancy when the client gave birth to a full-term healthy baby girl. I gave the client one more Reiki session at home after birth and got to hold the beautiful newborn "Reiki baby" as we affectionately called her.
Since then I have been helping numerous women/couples in their struggle with fertility with mind/body techniques and Reiki. I work with some women over the phone, guiding them through the Body Dialogue and preparing a customized self-hypnosis tape that helps them relax and visualize their pregnancy.
My treatment protocol is customized based on the needs of each individual client. In addition, I often suggest individual, couples psychotherapy and support groups. As we all know, Reiki and hypnotherapy are adjunct therapies, never substitutes for psychological or medical care where that is needed.
1 According to research by L.G. Peppers and R.J. Knapp, there is no difference in the intensity or patterns of grief among women who experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death. Dr. J. Sher states that losing a pregnancy equals losing a child, an anticipated child and that scientifically, i.e. hormonally, maternal feelings are strongest in early pregnancy. See Niravi Payne, ibid., p. 189. 2 It is believed in energy healing that traumatic memories are stored in the cellular consciousness of the body. Reiki releases trauma from the cellular memory of the body without the person having to consciously relive or remember the traumatic experience. See Libby Barnett et al, Reiki Energy Medicine, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT, 1996. Also see my article on Reiki as Adjunct Treatment for Depression in: Arlington Reiki News, 1998 3 I learned about the Body Dialogue in my training with Peggy Huddleston on how to conduct Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster (TM) workshops. See Peggy Huddleston, Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster, Angel River Press, Cambridge, 1996. I have developed this Body Dialogue further in my practice for uses with non-surgery clients. 4 Reiki practitioners do not diagnose, perform or interfere with medical treatment. What I am describing here is an intuitive sensing while doing Reiki. Practicing Reiki enhances one's intuition. 5 see above Peggy Huddleston, relaxation audiotape. 6 The majority of miscarriages occur in the first trimester.
