your great life

Hello to ICLW Friends, Old and New

I felt slightly disoriented about the date, having had the children home for Easter break for 2 1/2 weeks.  They just went back to school yesterday and I can now find some breathing room to do a few of my favourite activities, one of which is reading other people's blogs. I'm ready to jump right in to the April list tonight.

I have a few interesting things going on here in London and while I know that many of you live thousands of miles from here, I'm glad I can share them with you.  While I continue to coach private clients internationally by phone and locally at Stanmore Chiropractic Clinic, I have been busy creating a series of group programs based around different fertility statuses: fertility health, trying to conceive, healthy pregnancy, menopause and early fertility, from menstruation to first sexual experiences. 

TTC from infertility and after miscarriage - Beginning in May, I'll be running 6-week fertility workshops for individuals and couples who want to maximize their chances of conceiving and carrying a healthy baby. There will be experiential taster sessions of different complementary therapies, including acupuncture, reflexology, massage, chiropractic care, fitness, hypnotherapy and, of course, my fertility coaching, tied together by group discussions on issues such as self-awareness, asking for support and decision-making. 

 

Some folks are more "sit-back-and-watch" kind of people, but I always think that you establish comfort and understanding more easily when you get involved.  I want everyone on the courses to go away with the knowledge that there are tools they can use to relax, centre and focus, restoring their confidence and control.  This program will repeat throughout the year, to include new members.  To also provide value to returning members, I'll be bringing new practitioners in each time, so attendees can get a chance to find the right practitioner for them.

 

I will use the same principles in two other workshop series this year:

• A mother/daughter workshop that will promote better communication and understanding of the stage of fertility they each find themselves.  We'll address the younger women's issues relating to changing body, emerging fertility and sexuality. We will also address the mother's issues, which depending upon her age, will include diminished fertility, slower metabolism, concerns about attractiveness and aging. They will be treated to sessions with a nutritionist, reflexologist, yoga instructor, personal trainer and image consultant. We will give these women activities they can do together and feel good about without the pressure of direct conversation in an empty space; and
• A menopause workshop for women in peri-menopause or menopause who are concerned about how they feel and look. While it isn't strictly uniform, women begin experiencing changes in their weight, energy levels, annoying memory lapses, relationships, sexuality and sleep habits. They will be involved in group discussions, create a "patchwork quilt" of their fertility history and re-examine their identity, style and ability to make significant contributions to family, work, community. It's about being clear about their quality of life each step of the way

Circle + Bloom - If you don't already know, I am the fertility coach for Circle + Bloom, the  American company that creates extraordinary audio programs to relax you and enhance your fertility through mind + body principles.  Common issues for women who become pregnant after infertility, fertility treatment and/or recurrent miscarriage, are fear, stress, lingering anger, relationship difficulties and lack of support. Their customers have been great coaching clients, because they are enthusiastic about and committed to doing everything they can to help themselves.  C + B are developing a program aimed specifically at IVF-assisted conception, to add to their popular 28-day program that syncs with your menstrual cycle and ovulation, a relaxation program for husbands, and sessions for pregnancy.  I'm proud to be associated with Joanne and Susan, the women who founded Circle + Bloom, and I'm committed to providing another dimension to their work through fertility coaching. Please head over to my the blog page explaining the benefits of our work.

Finally, I am delighted to announce that I have been invited to be a regular blogger for the American Fertility Association's (AFA) Blog.  I've been a fan of theirs and their dynamic Program Development Director and writer Corey Whelan for quite a while. Their mission statement is a commitment to preventing infertility whenever possible and to helping people build families of choice, particularly when faced with infertility.  Their website, blog and programs in the community educate and support thousands of people, regardless of sexual preference or marital status, whose greatest wishes include good health and a family. I hope to provide the AFA, and you, with newsworthy, thought-provoking and interesting reading.  You can find my first article, "It's Your Body; Know it to Own It," here.

Whew! That's it folks. I invite you to read the posts I've put up during my first year of blogging.  It's not all fertility-related, as I also have a family life and an abiding interest in people, fun, love, injustice, good food, giving and living.  Please leave comments. I depend upon them to keep me inspired to write, learning about all sorts of things and feel connected the people for whom I write. Having "0 Comments" after my posts makes me look like "Nancy No-Friends."  I intend to be better this month about answering your comments. Have fun!

A Little Late, But I Made It - Welcome ICLW

I was halfway through my chosen blogs for the first evening of March's ICLW before I realized that I hadn't posted anything on my own blog today to welcome you. Sorry for the faux pas, and welcome. I love reading your blogs and hope you will love mine.

I'm Lisa, the mother of two children who seem to be growing up in triple-time. As proud as I am of my 10 year old daughter and my 6 year old son, I can't help but think that I miss their 2 or 3 year old selves sometimes. I'm not broody, and thank God for that, because it's extremely unlikely I would be able to have another child now anyway.  Having Honey and Pip seemed miracles enough, coming between and after 4 miscarriages, a few years of secondary infertility and an unsuccessful IVF cycle.  When Pip was just 3 years old, I started experiencing symptoms of peri-menopause; several months at a time without a period, then a hell-ish one, insomnia and hot flashes, repeat, repeat, repeat.  Most of the other mothers dropping off at nursery school had a younger one too or were contemplating whether to have another child.

I'm a fertility coach, working with issues ranging from uncivilized PMS to stressful fertility treatment, heartbreaking miscarriages to confidence-stripping menopause.  Through Your Great Life, I'm about to launch a series of hands-on workshops introducing infertile women and/or men to a variety of supportive complementary therapies, as well as a mother/daughter fertility workshop.  At the same time, roughly, that I trained as a coach, I also trained and began working as a helpline volunteer for the Miscarriage Association, a UK charity that provides support for anyone suffering from pregnancy loss. I now run the North London Miscarriage Support Group, a free monthly meeting that enables women who have experienced similar experiences, and their husbands, to share information and support in a safe, positive environment.

Some of you will know that I am also the fertility coach for Circle + Bloom. I'm delighted to be associated with Joanne Verkuilen and Susan Cooke; the producers of wonderful relaxation audio programs aimed at improving the chance of conception, the success of IVF, the pregnancy experience and, even one for a chilled-out husband.  I wish that my husband Brian and I had had such informative, sensible and relaxation-inducing sessions during our own years trying to conceive. If any of you plan to purchase The Complete Fertility Package for yourself or a friend, you will be offered a coaching session with me as one of the perks. I hope you will take us up on it.

I really appreciate comments on my blog.  They help me learn and laugh.  Please have a go.

Lisa

BTW, I'm an American Jersey-Girl, living in London for 15 years!

February 2010 ICLW

It's that time again and since you clicked on #34, Your Great Life, I welcome you to my blog.  I'd like to explain up front that I'm no longer in the TTC space, but in keeping with Infertility's Common Thread, I'm committed to making people aware of infertility, as a fertility coach and advocate. If you want to know more about my experiences with miscarriages, secondary infertility, IVF and the births of my two healthy children, you can read it here, in my Oct. 22nd ICLW post. 

I am a fertility coach with a face-to-face practice, Your Great Life, in North London, UK and internationally, via phone or Skype. The parameters of my practice are the onset of fertility to the loss of fertility (the onset of menstruation to menopause; however my focus is largely on people who are on the path to, and experiencing difficulty with, family-building. Quite simply, if you want to create a family and life with children, I want to help you.

If you have visited my blog before, you'll notice a few small changes that will help you find what you want. I think I have now fixed all the hyperlinks!  I now have a navigation bar across the top. Click on Fertility Coaching to find out how I work with clients and what the benefits are. Miscarriage & Men is a self-coaching exercise to help you understand why your male partner isn't responding to your miscarriage the way you are or you think he "should." Circle + Bloom provides high quality, mind/body audio programs proven to enhance your ability to conceive, including relaxation sessions for you and husband. I'm working with Circle + Bloom's founders Joanne Verkuilen and Susan Cooke to support your efforts to conceive and help you achieve and sustain emotional wellbeing. It's an empowering gift you can give yourself, or a friend. Download a free relaxation program to sample C+B's Mind/Body philosophy and relaxing music. Then, please come back to Your Great Life to order your MP3 download or CDs. ( Please note: I am an affiliate as well as their fertility coach.)

I have been indelibly touched by my experiences with infertility, miscarriages and IVF. They ignited my desire to help other people have what, in the end, I have: a family. Some of what makes up this blog is educational, some is hopefully thought-provoking and some might be funny. Even when sad or heartbroken, we know we are alive and will come through when something makes us smile or laugh, however small.

Thank you for stopping in, commenting (please) and subscribing, if you are moved to do so,

Lisa

Fertility Coaching with Circle + Bloom

  
I've added a new page to this blog about my association with Circle + Bloom as their fertility coach.  If you look just above this post, you will see Circle + Bloom on the Navigation Bar. Click on it to learn more about how I fit into their mind+body focused program.

I have been exploring different ways to enhance my coaching practice and the experience of my clients. A lot of people are talking about infertility, but I haven't come across so many practical services and products available that I would be willing to stand behind.  I immediately identified with what co-Founder Joanne Verkuilen has experienced herself, her commitment to helping people conceive and her effort to produce a quality self-help program. It's a "small-world" coincidence that Joanne lives very near where I grew up in the U.S. and we have a mutual connection at the fertility clinic that I used for my IVF.  It seemed meant to be that we would find some way to collaborate. Happily, Joanne, her co-Founder Susan Cooke and I all felt the same.

The Circle + Bloom program's benefits include relaxation, mindfulness, better knowledge of how your  body works and its ease of use. It only takes about 15 minutes a day and can be used over and over, each month, as you try to conceive.  I am really looking forward to coaching Circle + Bloom customers, knowing that they are people who are taking control of their fertility, willing to make changes and committed to taking action in their quest for a family.  In other words, they will make good coaching clients.  I hope that's you.