Movement for Fertility with Marta Han and Zsofia Jamieson

In today's episode of Health Youniversity, Dr. Susan Fox sits down with Zsofia Jamieson and Marta Han — co-founders of The Fertility Class and certified teachers of the Aviva Method — for a conversation about something most fertility conversations completely skip: movement.

Zsofia was diagnosed with severe PCOS as a teenager and told she might never conceive. She healed naturally through movement and nutrition, eventually bringing the Aviva Method from Hungary to the UK and the US. Marta navigated hypothalamic amenorrhea and years of infertility tied to over-exercising and undernourishment, yet restored her cycle through holistic practice. A decade after meeting in a London playground, they built The Fertility Class — a cycle-synced, pelvic-centered movement platform now reaching women worldwide.
This episode is about what rhythmic pelvic movement actually does to the reproductive system — and why it's one of the most underused tools in the fertility conversation. Blood flow. Hormonal axis regulation. Reflexology point stimulation. Nervous system support. Emotional release. All from 30 minutes of movement, three times a week.

You'll learn what the Aviva Method is — a therapeutic movement practice developed by a Hungarian physiotherapist and ballet dancer in the 1960s with over 25 years of research behind it, why pelvic-centered movement is categorically different from yoga, kegels, or cycle-synced exercise — and what it actually does to the follicular environment, how rhythmic contraction and release of the lower belly muscles increases blood flow to the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, why the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis responds to specific movement and reflexology point stimulation, why sitting 8 to 10 hours a day is quietly affecting your fertility markers.  And why the fertility class also has a men's program — (because male factor accounting for 40% of infertility).  

This episode is for you if you've been doing "all the right things" fertility-wise but haven't addressed how you're moving — or not moving, if you have PCOS, irregular cycles, painful periods, or hypothalamic amenorrhea and want to understand what movement can do, if you're heading into IVF and want to improve your markers and your outcomes before your first appointment, and if you’re  ready to start relating to your body as something worth moving for.

💻 About Susan Fox: https://www.healthyouniversity.co/about

Take your 5-Element Fertility Quiz:  http://yourfertilityquiz.com/

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Learn about our program entitled Your Fertile Health: https://www.healthyouniversity.co/programs

Schedule a Fertile Health Assessment: https://www.healthyouniversity.co/your-fertile-health-call

Let us journey with you as you navigate your fertile health. Connect with me:

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Hello and welcome to today's episode of Health University, where we talk all things fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause, the bridge that a woman crosses. Today we're going to hone in on fertility and preconception care. And I have with me today two amazing guests. I cannot wait to hear that you know what you have to teach us. It is Sophia Jameson and Marta Hahn, and they are the co-founders of the fertility class. And this is a movement type of, I'm going to say class, exercise class, that really they have discovered helps to hone in missing elements in the fertility journey. So I'm so excited to hear about it. I'm going to turn my head to the side a bit and read your bios. So Sophia is a certified Aviva method teacher, an entrepreneur, and a former fashion executive. Diagnosed with severe PCOS as a teenager and told she might never conceive. I'm sorry, that was you should never have been told that. She healed naturally through movement and nutrition. After leading global strategy for brands like NetApporter, she introduced the Aviva method from Hungary to the UK and the US. And today she dedicates her work to helping women worldwide reconnect with their bodies and their reproductive health. Marta is a health coach, certified yoga teacher, and Aviva method instructor. We're going to want to learn more about what that means. After navigating infertility and hormonal imbalance herself, she restored her health naturally through movement, nutrition, and holistic practices. With over a decade of experience and a background as a competitive ballroom dancer, Marta combines specialized knowledge with deep body awareness to help women restore hormonal balance and support fertility naturally. So welcome, ladies. And I love this idea that the importance of really understanding being in one's body when one is going through a fertility struggle because so often we detach ourselves from our bodies. So let's start with but whoever wants, we're going to ping pong this Aviva method. What is Aviva method?

SPEAKER_02 3:37

So Aviva method uh comes from Israel from Aviva Gabriela Steiner, a Hungarian-born ballet dancer, physiotherapist, yoga teacher, and she is ultimately the godmother of fertility exercises. She came up with these exercises back in the 1960s. Oh wow. And it was, there is basically 25 plus years of research behind these exercises. She developed them over decades long. And you know, it's a beautiful evidence-based uh practice, healed and helped so many women, you know, back in Israel. And then it moved to Hungary, where both Zofia and I were certified, and we've been teaching these exercises, you know, Zofia, as you heard, in the UK, then on the East Coast, and I'm here in LA on the West Coast. And that's, you know, how we started up back in not too long ago in 2023.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Okay. All right, that's not too long ago. Uh and you met so you met each other through this Aviva method training or or or or work. Is that how that happened?

SPEAKER_02 4:51

No, so we we met back in London because we have same-age kids in the playground, in the sandpit, and Jopia were already uh a viva um teacher and practitioner. I was in the yoga world back in the day. And she, you know, introduced me like, have you heard of a viva matter? Because I was complaining about, you know, I had irregular cycles, I struggled with infertility for many, many years. I had hypothermic amenorrhea, so I didn't ovulate or menstruate unless I was medicated. And the reason for that, because I had decade-long uh struggle with eating and over-exercising, undernourishing. So my body was in uh survival mode. So, you know, you kind of have to be your your own advocate and and heal your body. And Zofia were telling me her own story around PCUS, and that's how we met and started a business oh decade later together.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

I love that. Yes, yes, yes. So tell us about the fertility class. So you know, it I it it it incorporates a Viva method, is it but but give us sort of the 30,000-foot view and then what happens in a class.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

So the fertility class was born out of, you know, initially these health struggles that we had. And, you know, even even thinking back to that day for me, it was 15 uh years ago, where you know, it was just so incredible to find healing through movement. And it was something that I think both Marta and I were skeptical about at first because it just wasn't something that was part of the psyche, you know, the healing hormones, healing your cycles or your fertility through movement. And so it was such a revelation for both of us. And so we both became certified teachers of this method and were teaching it more as a hobby. Um, I was still in the fashion world, Marta was in her yoga world, and this is just something that we felt like we had a responsibility to pass on. And so we just kind of, you know, it was something that we taught over the years, but it was always in the back of our heads that this needs to be known about. This is something then women need to be able to learn and find and practice. And it just wasn't possible if you know no one was spreading the word. So I think for many years we were hoping that someone would come along and and teach this method to women, but then you know, it took us 10 years to realize that if we don't do it, then it's just not going to happen. And so that's that's really how the fertility class was born. And you know, the method that we learned was very basic and was taught in person, and you were kind of left to your own devices to practice on your own. And for us, you know, growing up in the world of technology and and online, it was um we knew we knew how to build a tool so that uh we could teach this method, but teach so much more because we had so much more knowledge that we um acquired through teaching the method ourselves, but also learning through nutrition and um and mental health and and you know everything else that's necessary for fertility. And the fertility class is a platform that you can come to and and primarily learn fertility exercises, and we can talk about more what that means. Um, but it's a place where you uh where you get guided help to learn this movement method and practice in a way, and this is where the fertility class is so much more than the viva method, because it's cycle based. It's uh it's a cycle synced exercise program that is really tailored to each phase of your cycle, and not just tailored, but it we work to enhance each phase of your cycle, and in addition to that, help you learn about nutrition and and uh mindfulness and you know why sleep is important, all the things you know that that you teach as well as at at health university, the foundations of fertility. But so so really the fertility class is a platform where you come to move for your fertility and hormonal and psycho health.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

I love that. To move into, to return to your fertility. And I also love the sort of the legacy impetus for this. It was you know that that this needs to get out. You you can't just you know have this knowledge on your own and and spread it only to the people who you might be able to uh have come to an in-person class. The need is so much greater. And yes, we've spoken before, we share such like-mindedness around you know, that's that's how our our online courses came to be. And listeners, viewers, the fertility class is available through the uh we we I've complimented the first month. You can try it what you know if you're in the preconception uh plan with with the health university as well. Um, and then I have no doubt that people will continue long after that first month is done, and and because I'm I the value is there.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

So which is what we're seeing. Yes, absolutely. That's what we're seeing on our platform. Is you know, people come and try it out, and I quote from our community, our our uh fertility class community, you kind of become obsessed with the exercises that you know that's what the women are saying, which is wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

That's a fantastic obsession to have being connected to your body and being uh committed to movement and and movement and and forward regression into reproductive health and freedom. So, yeah. Exactly. So, what are the exercises? Can you describe some of them to us?

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Yeah, so these exercises are very unique and nothing like you ever done before. They're pavic-centered uh functional movements, right? They're able to regulate your cycle, boost your revelation, is PMS, perimenopausal symptoms, but most importantly, what we really want to get out there, that they are able to prepare your body for conception. And the reason why these exercises can do this, because with um rhythmic pelvic movements, we contract and release the lower belly pelvic muscles, and we are able to improve the blood flow, increase blood circulation. And that's really important because blood transports, all the vital nutrients, vitamins, hormones, oxygens. So when that gets your uterus oversphalopian tubes, the functioning becomes much better. And in addition to this, also um, you know, all circulation, everything, every fluid circulation improves in the body. And we also tap into refluxology point stimulation, most notably the hypothalamus, the thyroid, the uterus, ovaries. So we are able to improve that communication between the brain and the organs, and especially the hypothalamic, pituitary, ovarian axis, that's really, really important. So um that's basic the basically the basis of our exercises.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

And these aren't cagles, we're not talking cagles here. I just could I want to make sure that the listeners and viewers understand that uh you know, but you don't know what the what this fertility class but yeah, because cagles is more about the pelvic floor muscles, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:17

The perennial muscles, we're working the muscles surrounding your reparative organs, right? So that's between your belly button and the pubic bone, that area that we really contract and release, the pelvis moving, you know, tilting and releasing. So it's really actually not only brings in better circulation, better blood flow, but this kind of movement is very soothing for the brain. So that it helps with nervous system regulation also, moving the body from the parasympathetic nervous system, you know, to the rest and digest. So it has so many lags, this method, and that's why I really, really love it. And it also seems like usually oh, excuse me, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

I was just going to add that usually the feedback from people who are new to the method, they usually say, I've never moved this way before, I've never felt these muscles moving before, I felt that little bit of tingling, that warmness, which means that that increased blood flow is happening in the pelvis and around your reproductive organs. And so there it is possible that you don't move these muscles ever, or you don't you haven't really moved them before. So that's just from a kind of a newcomer perspective. Um, that that's feedback that we get often. And you know, I think because we've made the classes quite beautiful and fun and it's it's really nice music, it's uh it can be misleading that it's just a fun movement class. But actually, we always like to remind people that this is a therapeutic movement method. So you are really this is something that you want to be fairly consistent with uh so that you can reap the benefits over time. Um, but it is like Marta said, it's you know, for a lot of people, this is a kind of movement that you may never have done before. You may have never felt that sensation of um, you know, being able to, in a way, work out your reproductive system.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

That's amazing. It also seems to me that it is it will help uh women be a little bit more in touch with the their femininity, right? If they're I I was watching how you were moving your hands, moving the pelvis. I mean, we we also don't get invited to move our our our pelvic region for fear that it's going to be, you know, you know, looking too too promiscuous or something like that. So to to to kind of reconnect with this very important part of our our body and our life experience, it I I almost get a little teary at the thought of like what how this must transform beyond getting blood flow to ovaries and uterus. How it must transform your heart and spot on there.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Yeah, it's you are spot on there because you know, with with fertility exercises, we're releasing this area, and so many women hold tension right there in the pelvic area, not just because emotionally we hold tension usually in the belly area, but also by lifestyle, we're sitting eight, ten hours a day. So there's like this pelvic congestion, pelvic stagnation, and you know, no blood flow, no circulation. So when you start to move things there, there is like a physical and emotional release as well, right? So, you know, as we say, like it's so different from any other exercise. Like it's not yoga. Yoga, it's you're stretching and toning and yes, nervous system regulation. But these exercises really massaging your ovaries, your uterus, right? And with that, you know, the uterus holds life, able to hold life. So that's where you know women hold um emotions. And we also love to define fertility because people usually just say, like, you know, oh, fertility exercises, I don't want to get pregnant, so it's not for me. But yes, good. Fertility is for everyone, right? Because fertility means feeling good in your skin, feeling empowered, right? And being in touch with that feminine energy that you were talking about.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Yes, I would say, you know, if I just compare it to nature, you know, being a Chinese medicine doc, I my mind always goes to nature, fertile soil is not pregnant yet, with right. It is about it is about getting ready for whatever, whatever expression next comes through nature. So whether or not you're wanting to get pregnant, you want to, like life wants to express through us. And so just again, being able to tap into this most intimate, vulnerable part of being a fem having a female body sounds precious. It sounds truly precious.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I love your perspective on it.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

It's exactly what it is. Yeah. Yeah, that's amazing. Okay, so we talked, you know, we talked about it's, you know, it's sort of we're massaging the the ovaries or massaging the uterus. Is there anything else happening in the fertility class exercises that the viewers and listeners want to go, oh wow, that that I relate to that, and and so you know, I want to learn more.

SPEAKER_03 17:15

I think a big part of it is just that body awareness, you know, because we're so busy going on about our lives. Um, you know, a lot of women are expected to be um, you know, live in quite a masculine way and the way that they work and rush and stress and and just its society these days and its expectations of us. So when you move in this kind of specialized way, you can't help but pay attention to how your body is working, the signs that it's giving you, what it can do, the emotions that it can hold, or the empowerment that it can give you. So I think for a lot of us, and and this is me included, when I started with this, it forced me to, in a very good way, to get in touch with my own physiology and my own emotions and you know what my body is is telling me. And I think that can be incredibly empowering, especially when you can impact it and address some root cause issues that you may have tried many things for, or this may be the first thing. But the fact that you can you have a tool that you can address these things with, or or you know, to to have awareness um of your own body, I think that's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

I love what your body is telling you. Because so often we we use our frontal cortex to you know to think and and filter and you know collect data and interpret when our body actually has all the wisdom in it, and it's been it's been given a rear, you know, a back seat to our intellect, uh, especially in in the realm of fertility. And if a person is trying to conceive naturally or through IVF, you know, all the all of a sudden she is, and forgive me, I'm using the pronoun she, um, but but we know it's it's anybody with ovaries and uterus, however you identify, um, is given you know a just a download of data and statistics, and you must, you know, eat this and don't eat that, and and take this and don't take that, and hurry up and get your eggs frozen or get your embryos, you know, uh frozen, tested and frozen. We we're it's a truly an out-of-body experience because everybody else outside of us is dictating how we are to live our lives. And it's so uh demeaning, really, and uh disempowering. And you know, again, if as as female bodies are are designed to produce life to diminish that wisdom before like I almost want to get teary before we then ask this person to become a mother, like what are we doing?

SPEAKER_02 19:56

Yeah, I agree with you. And I think you know, we are Hungarians, we are Europeans, and for me, when I came to the US, what I noticed this incredible work culture that actually got the US where it is. So I I understand, but like this push, push, push, go, go, go, um, that translates into regular exercise classes as well. So when a woman walks into an Equinox class, it's like full-loaning courage to push harder, do more. High intensity. And that is very depleting. So a woman who is already having fertility struggles, hormone imbalance, that is not not nourishing, not supporting. And what I love about the fertile exercise is that it really meets the woman where she is, really fully nourishing the reproductive organs, supporting the woman as a whole and holding space for her. So that's the biggest difference, really, between regular exercise and fertile exercises. And, you know, so many women say that, and it's a positive thing that they're aware of, like, you know, cycle-based exercises, which is, and then they sometimes get confused that oh, I'm doing fertile exercise because I do cycle-based exercises. But that only means that you are aware of your four phases of your cycle. As estrogen goes up in the first half, uh, you have more energy, you can go more all out. In the second half, as estrogen tapers off, you you should suppose to, you know, slow it down. It's great, it's it's lovely if somebody does that, but the first-day exercise is way more than that, right? It's it's all about your reproductive system, it's all about your preserving your nervous system and supporting you know your uterus and ovaries, and making sure that if your choice is to conceive, you will be ready for that.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

And even if it's not, you will be ready for how for the regular cycle, which you're ready. Please connect with us for a fertility assessment call at the link below. We'd love to learn a bit about you and share our resources. And make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you never miss an episode. You know, we we mentioned briefly about you know how our lifestyle has us now in Zoom all the time and sitting down, I'm standing, um, but but not moving the way we're we're designed to move. So if someone is is you know, have their their life is about meeting after meeting after meeting, how long does it take to get through a fertility uh class exercise? Can one like take a five-minute break and do some exercises that are appropriate to the to the cycle? Or is it better really to just, you know, kind of just as though you're going to a class, like just dedicate X number of minutes or hours to um to get through the program?

SPEAKER_03 22:50

I like to say that any movement better is no is better than no movement. So, you know, it is important to to get up and move around every hour if possible, just for your general well-being. When it comes to your fertility and fertility exercises, you really want to dedicate some time to get your overall blood flow going so that we can get this uh pelvic blood flow centered around your reproductive organs. That takes a bit of time. So in five minutes, you won't be able to do that. Our classes are 30 minute classes, so we've been very conscious to keep the classes to half an hour. Because we know everyone has a lot of demands on them and busy. And so we've consciously made them half an hour, but they're created in a way that they give you a 360 attention to your entire reproductive system, but of course, depending on where you are in your cycle. So it focuses on different things depending on where you are and what your goals are. And so we generally say practice three times a week times 30 minutes. So it's really just an hour and a half out of your week to dedicate to your fertility.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Exactly. I I to your again, to your whole health. So yes, I love that. And it and it can be done at any time of the day because it's it's online. Or do you have recommendations as to, you know, is there a time of day that's better to do it than others?

SPEAKER_03 24:12

It's quite stimulating. So preferably we recommend women practice in the morning or first half of the day if possible. And um and again, you know, it's really important for us that people can practice anywhere. So wherever you can prop up your phone or your laptop, um, really if you're traveling, if you're at your in-laws house, if you're, you know, wherever you may be, you can practice these exercises on the platform. So anytime, really, anywhere, and it's an hour and a half out of your week, I think that's uh accessible to everyone.

unknown 24:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:48

Are there any like devices or props or anything like that that are are required or recommended for take when you're taking a fertility class?

SPEAKER_02 24:58

No, you just come as you are, you just need your phone and computer as over that, basically. You just want to log in, but you don't need anything else. So your body is your prop. Your body is your prop. And even though we say it's it's pelvic centered, it's a whole body exercise. You're moving your arms and legs, everything as it's really a first-addy dance more than anything. Um it's gonna be my next question. It sounds very dance-oriented. It is, yes. It is, I mean, it is an exercise with dance elements in it because you're moving your your pelvis, right? So um there is a little, you know, uh sensual element to these exercises, which is really good if you feel you're very closed up and and and you need to open up in every which way it's possible.

SPEAKER_00 25:48

I love that. And and and to I want to highlight the word sensual. It's not we're not talking sexual, we're talking about getting in touch with your own body and your own body's wisdom, the sensory nature of our bodies. Exactly. Thank you for clarifying that. Well, no, I don't I I I I probably everybody, you know, interpreted it that way, but I wanted to just really highlight it because it is so important. We become so desensitized to the messages our bodies are trying to give us, you know, even if it's screaming at us, we're like, oh, I gotta get I gotta get this email done first, and then I'll deal with my shoulder ache or something like that. Um so I I I just yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

I I would just love to mention that this exercise method is for everyone. We have so many women who sign up with us who who don't exercise, it's just something that hasn't been, you know, part of their toolbox. And and so this really is the first time that they're starting any type of movement and they're able to practice with us right away. You know, we're very conscious about teaching you the method in a step-by-step way so that you understand why you're doing what, and we want you to take your time and and learn it and do it correctly. So it's not prohibitive, really, for anyone. And if it is for some reason, then then we're here to give you guidance because we, you know, we want you to practice this and and commit to it for a little bit so that you can really feel the benefits. So it really is for whether you're a beginner in any type of exercise or or advanced, this movement method is absolutely for you if you're someone with ovaries or uteruses.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Thank you for saying that because it because having mentioned that it feels very dance-oriented, if someone were to say, Oh, I don't dance, this is not a dance, this is movement that that has that has sort of the elements of dance to it because of the because of the flow. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

Yeah, it's really, and you don't need much space either. Like, you know, you can do this in a tiny space because we usually moving the legs, right, and standing in one place or step four steps to the side and back, but it's all about really just uh awakening the pelvic area and the muscles around the reproductive organs, right? And then we tap in various reflexage points on the surface of your hands and feet, again, just stimulating that brain organ communication. The 30 minutes goes by so fast. And you know, if you love music, if you love rhythm, it's it's definitely a lot of fun. And people usually have that feedback that they feel so much better after, and they they notice the changes, you know, they notice that oh my god, uh my ovation sign was better, my cervical mucus was more abundant. Um, and all fertility markers usually improve within a few weeks to a few months.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

I love this, and I'm all of a sudden I'm thinking now of you know, sort of the the person who has the diminished ovarian reserve diagnosis, um, mostly because she's you know sort of on the on the older side of the fertility, the reproductive range. Um, but we all know that you know our ovaries are communicating with every part of our body long after baby making time is over. So I could really see that this is a lifelong uh uh opportunity to a healthy reproductive lifespan.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

I agree. Like, you know, I came across the first exercises in my mid-30s, and the goal was to bring back my cycle because I just never had a cycle, and we achieved that goal that I had a regular pain-free ovulatory cycle. And now I'm 46 and I still show up for myself and do this two to three times a week in order to stay away from the perimenopausal symptoms, in order to have not a flood but a flow. In order to have no cramps, but like maybe a little tingling. So it's amazing, and you can reuse this tool various parts of your uh journey, right? From your teens, 20s, all the way through and beyond menopause.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

I think I need to sign up. Yeah, I think I need to sign up. So I I I've been so engaged in the conversation, I'm I'm I'm not even looking at my questions, and I want to make sure that that I'm not missing anything. Okay, the here's one. What are some common signs that women overlook that their body may need a different kind of support in in their fertile health, their their reproductive health?

SPEAKER_03 30:26

I believe the difficulty is that we have very little awareness that there are tools that exist to address some issues that you may have. So, you know, going off of my example that you read off in my bio, I had very severe PCOS with very painful acne, with three cycles, menstrual cycles a year. I was putting on weight and I was put on the birth control pill. I I wasn't given any awareness of other tools that I can use. And I I had to advocate for myself to find those tools. And and so I don't think women overlook things because their your body is giving you such strong signs when there's an imbalance, let it be, you know, these symptoms that I had or very painful periods. Some, you know, some of our members used to spend several days in bed and off work because of their menstrual pain, or, you know, that their the the list unfortunately is so long. Um so it's not necessarily overlooking. I think it's it's you know, we like to say that we're this space that exists between doing nothing and going for invasive medical treatments. And and and there's this wide space, certainly when it comes to movement, that we just don't know about. And so that's you know, that's our goal to fill, so that you know that if you are that person who has incredibly painful cycles or or that acne or um uh debilitating, it can be perimenopausal symptoms, you know, these these uncomfortable signs, uh, there is a lot in between. And and it's not to say that medical invention might not be necessary, but even with that, you want to build out those foundational tools that are that are available so that you can feel better. No, not at all. And and really there is there are incredible tools. There's also a lot of noise in this space. So I think it's easy to get caught up in, you know, what what is that magic tool? I don't think, you know, I don't think there's a magic tool. There are they're just incredible lifestyle um tools that are available um that are quite basic. And and I think fertility exercises is one of them. It's one of the lesser known tools, but it can address so many of these of these signs that your body is giving you that that something is imbalanced. And I think that's a wonderful thing.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Yeah, my my my thought is uh listeners, viewers, if there is a concern that you have that would have you think, oh, maybe I should take this up with my OBGYN, or should I go into get a consultation with an IVF doctor, that's probably a time to also consider taking the fertility class or just start now. You don't have to don't wait for those signs and symptoms to appear so that you don't have those diagnoses that then put you know straight into the uh-oh, we have a problem and now we have to go into IVF straight away. And of course, I have no problem with IVF. I'm always I'm oftentimes recommending IVF, especially if a woman you know is of a certain age, wants multiple children in her family. You know, there there are times in which uh the IVF or same-sex couples, all of that. There's so many ways and reasons for which an IVF is like a miracle. Yet I think our culture, as you say, has has kind of turned our head to okay, go straight to IVF when when we can improve our whole health and our fertility, so that if IVF is the vehicle, we're gonna have better results.

SPEAKER_02 33:59

Yeah. Well, you know what? I always um I I think about it. Why is that? And uh why is it that women are told that try for a year and see whether you can get pregnant? A year is a very long time, and by the time that year passes, they're so impatient they wanted to get pregnant yesterday, right? So I think testing is always great, but being the advocate of yourself and seeking out natural, holistic, complementary solutions to IVF, let's say, like you can always, you know, check what you are eating, how are you eating, how are you moving, are you sleeping enough? We have a questionnaire on our website, and we see it when women, you know, fill it out that an average woman sleeps five hours a night, which is not enough. Like right there, there are gonna be some issue with your menstruation. And menstruation is your period as a fifth vital sign. So when you're not ovulating, when your cycles are irregular, when you are exhausted, bloated, fatigued, those are the signs that you know you don't have to run to the IBF doctor. You're just like, what did I eat? Right? How much I slept, how did I hydrate? Did I move? Did I move too much? Or did I not move at all? And and that's what I would uh start, like foundational level, like back to basics. And when you sorted out your nutrition, your sleep, your your exercise uh pattern and and and habits, I guarantee you that you're gonna be in a better place without and you may or may not need that IVF um consultation. It couldn't hurt. And we now see a trend even with IVF doctors, that they advocate for uh advocating for you know better nutrition, exercising. So, you know, there are some amazing doctors out there who who understand the benefits of that too.

SPEAKER_00 35:57

Absolutely. The ones who really understand the importance of integrative medicine, because here again, we I think that it's important it's important to have all the resources available. You know, it it is helpful to get our labs done. Yeah as early as I'm in my opinion, our late 20s, just so you kind of know like what does it look like? And to your point, uh Mark Marta, you can you can improve those labs. The labs are not the you know, are not the sign that you know my AMH is is really low, I have to go run and get IVF, because that's a the that is a fluctuating number. Yeah, all of the components, all of the variables, of course, if your AMH is low and you know you're 37 years old, we're gonna have a different conversation. But it's it is not an either or, it's an and. Because if you find yourself like needing to go through the IVF process, let's improve the outcome beforehand or during, you know, but by the time you have your first call to the IVF center, you've got a couple of months at least before you're then beginning you know, a cycle. Use that time for something like the fertility class or the preconception plan at Health University so that we can really help you have a better outcome, have a better, have better agency over the experience yourself.

SPEAKER_02 37:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

It's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 37:18

Yeah, to be alive, because Sophia always says it's like, can you imagine if we had these opportunities like back in the day, like 15, 17 years ago? Oh my God, that would have been amazing. And and today, more than anything, you know, there are so many alternative options to boost your fertility.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

And we have, I mean, we have so much evidence. We have so many women members that have gone through IVF, and I can tell you that there's no exception. We see better outcomes. They have better markers and they see incredible outcomes once they've done this preparation and of these pillars and practiced the exercises. We have we have lots and lots of examples. Um, so it's uh not much effort, but a lot of reward.

SPEAKER_00 38:11

That's beautiful. Certainly. That's beautiful, yes. Similarly, you know, uh women who were told donor egg was the only option end up getting pregnant naturally because they're they're they're taking just a little bit of time to improve blood flow to ovaries and uterus, to improve their nutrition, because the blood flow must be nutrient-dense blood flow. Otherwise, you know, what do you what are you what are you sending to to the ovaries and uterus? Clearing out some of these inflammatory markers through diet and lifestyle. And one thing I would I want to just also highlight as it pertains to the fertility class is the emotional component. Again, the I I get a little chills. The movements as you describe them are are going to help release and relieve some real pent-up negative, if you will, emotions, which they have, they're communicating with our neurotransmitters and our hormones and all of that as well, and are having an impact. So if by doing something as as simple as three times a week, and oh, by the way, can it be done more often than three times a week? Or is it recommended that it be, that there be a break between?

SPEAKER_03 39:16

We recommend that people practice no more than every other day. So that works out to be about you know, no more than four times, depending on you know how your practicing schedule, but um three times a week. If if you can commit to three times a week for the next few months, you will feel the difference.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

Yeah, I I love the similarities in our in our protocols because with mine, with the with the transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation protocols, it's every other day because we really want the body to have a chance to like integrate and assimilate the messages that had just been given with with this additional sort of support and input.

SPEAKER_03 39:53

So yes, I mean, you know, there's there's research in physical therapy for this that practicing three to four times a week is where patients start seeing a difference in uh in different modules. And so that applies, I think, to all of this kind of movement and stimulation method where you keep reminding the system to try to get itself back to to balance or um you know that um that happy place, uh, whatever that is for you and wherever you are in your cycle or or with your body. And it works. You know, we've we've both seen it in our programs. And and uh just on that mental component, what we see a lot is that you know, once people arrive to us, they almost don't believe that this could happen to them. You know, it's almost too hard to believe that this is a possibility for them. And then when they succeed in whatever it is, getting their cycles back, pregnancies, or you know, lessening their debilitating pain, it's it's hard for them to believe because they didn't think it was possible. And uh and so that in itself is a journey. Um, but I do want to say to your listeners that you know, if it's the it doesn't feel like big things because they're not, it's just the consistency of that nutrition, that movement, that stress relief. And and beautiful things can and will happen. You know, we we have so many examples. Um so I really encourage people to practice, you know, sign up healthy diversity fertility class. You know, we we have so much evidence, um real life evidence and and member feedback that this is.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

I like to say that it's like it's incremental, exponential improvement. So you don't you don't you're not seeing improvement or changes necessarily, you know, from one week to the next. But then all of a sudden you're like, whoa, I I I I feel better, I I move better, I I feel more confident in my in myself and my abilities to be a healthy female.

SPEAKER_03 41:57

So absolutely, absolutely. Anxiety, I think, is one of those things that you know, some people live it with it every day. And after a few weeks, you can wake up and that's the first time you haven't had that anxiety and could be years, you know. Again, it's your body giving you signs, and then as you say, it's it's then exponential because then everything improves, and it's just there's no better feeling.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Yeah, I think the creative flow is just on the other side of whatever is the wall that is that is the the the menstrual issue, the diagnosis, and so forth. And and and creative flow includes pregnancy, it but it also includes I'm gonna write that book. It also includes I've got I've got something important to advocate for. So um it's it's this is not just a getting pregnant conversation, this is uh a being a being a healthy female conversation, yeah, and creating beautiful things.

SPEAKER_02 42:52

Yeah, and just to that point very quickly, that you know, when you sort out the endocrine system, it has a ripple effect on every other system in the body. So it addresses the gut, the nervous system, the immune system. So overall, your entire health will improve, right? It's not just solely uh the endocrine system, they they're not siloed exactly by goodness, and and we're we're made to believe that it's all siloed, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:19

So but it's but every the the reason we are a whole being is that all of the systems are working as a symphony. So I I've been kind of directing some questions and I've I've learned so so much. But is there before we wrap up? Because I always want to be mindful of um everyone's time, but people listening and viewing, thank you for your time. It's we know it's precious and you could be anywhere. Um, but we are grateful that you're here and we are hoping that you're getting a lot out of it. But are there any passing pearls of wisdom that you'd like to make sure that we impart before we wrap it up?

SPEAKER_03 43:50

I'd also just love to mention that we have a men's program. So we tend to talk a lot about women and women's fertility, but men's fertility health is just as important. And you know, all of these things that we talked about are just as relevant for men. But we also have a men's uh program that is completely focused on men's fertility. And uh it is also a very unique program, very easy to do because of men's physiology. They don't actually have to do 30 minutes, they can cut it into smaller, uh, you know, kind of bite-size exercises. Take it off the book all the time. Um, yeah, but smaller bite-size. So it's um so so encourage your men or men if you're listening. It's uh there's so much that you can do for your sperm health, for your fertility health. Um, and so we we have a program for that as well. And um, and they of course see changes even faster because just you know, everything happens.

SPEAKER_00 44:49

Their system is a little less complex, if you will, so that uh they the the changes can be um can be made probably more simply, if you will. So yes, yeah. So I just I'm so glad you said that because I I didn't know that there was a men's program as well. And male factor is you know 40% of the cause of infertility. So um, and you know, I know my program is is only for women. I haven't I've haven't gotten around yet to get putting one together for men. So thank you. I can just pass them pass them along to you.

SPEAKER_03 45:21

Absolutely. I'd be happy to have them. Always love to have the Have the men and and couples can do our women's program together as well. It's it's beneficial for again, just as a movement program, but also it's it's a wonderful activity for a couple to do together.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

And and so often, you know, men are kind of left in the backseat saying, you know, well, you know, good luck with that. Here's a vitamin. Um, so be able to really engage with their their loved one, their partner, and say, you know, I'm doing this, I'm doing this with you, either doing your program, or I think it would be more ideal if they did their program. Is that correct? Since it's designed for men.

SPEAKER_03 46:00

If if there are issues um with their fertility, then absolutely do the men's program. Um yes, absolutely. Yeah. Uh but men can do the the women's program, and that can also be beneficial. But also for the woman, it can just be so motivating and wonderful to have the male involved. We hear this all the time for the couples who practice together. And the guys usually say, you know what, this this is actually a good workout.

SPEAKER_00 46:26

So I love it. Um, so it's fun. That's great. Marta, anything that you want to make sure that you add before we wrap it up?

SPEAKER_02 46:33

I mean, nothing you I just want to remind everybody that, you know, if you're a woman who has a sedentary lifestyle and and sit many, many hours, just that a 30-day class and a 30-day exercise is a great spot to start. It's very gentle, very doable. And if you're someone who loves exercising and is always in the gym, just kind of you know take a step back and see whether it's really serving you, maybe depleting you. And if you can, maybe switch out one running exercise to support your system and being being had properly.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

I love that. I love that, yes, because some people are going to be pretty committed to their gym workout. They've, you know, and so we don't want to take take something away from someone that is really, you know, that they love. But if you can mix it up and add this, you're just going to enhance the workout that you think you want to get at the gym. So I love that. Ladies, thank you so very much. I mean, I I could keep going, but I again I need to be mindful of everybody's time. Um, so I I I I'll have all of your information in the show notes so people can find you and register. And then you you can register through uh Health University as well. Um, if if you're doing the preconception plan, the first month is is complimentary. Um, but it's it's not an either or, it's a both.

SPEAKER_03 47:52

So we're so thankful for you having us on. And and we love, as we've told you before um in our private conversation, we love listening to your podcast and and all the wisdom that you impart. So thank you for having us. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 48:05

Yeah, it's it's it's uh it's legacy time for all of us, right? We need to pass it along. Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks so much. All right, my pleasure. Thank you. And listeners, viewers, until next time, what we always close at Health University with class dismissed.