Fertile Frequencies
What if fertility is about more than hormones, lab work, and perfectly timed cycles?
Fertile Frequencies Radio is a mind-body fertility podcast exploring unexplained infertility, IVF, spirit babies, reproductive medicine, subconscious patterns, pregnancy, and motherhood through the lens of The Fertile Energy Field™. Hosted by Lindsay Goodwin, this show bridges science, intuition, and the deeper emotional and energetic journey of conception for women who feel there has to be more to the story than “everything looks normal.”
Fertile Frequencies
Episode 28: Boost Fertility Over 35: Detox Toxins, Balance Hormones & Elevate Egg Quality
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Proof matters—and so does how you feel. Today, we pair evidence-backed tools with soul-level support, so you can move from waiting to creating.
Episode Summary:
In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Susan shares her journey into the field of fertility support, emphasizing the importance of holistic health and the integration of Eastern and Western medicine. She discusses the impact of lifestyle choices, nutrition, and emotional well-being on fertility, and introduces her comprehensive online fertility program designed to empower individuals on their fertility journeys. The discussion also highlights the significance of the five elements in Chinese medicine and the need for a supportive community in the fertility space.
Key Takeaways:
- Dr. Susan's journey into fertility support began with her own health struggles.
- The connection between emotional health and physical health is crucial in fertility.
- Nutrition plays a vital role in improving fertility health.
- Detoxification can enhance overall health and fertility.
- The five elements of Chinese medicine provide a framework for understanding health.
- Integrating Western and Eastern approaches can lead to better fertility outcomes.
- Empowerment and agency are essential for individuals facing fertility challenges.
- Community support is important in the fertility journey.
- Self-care practices can significantly impact fertility health.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Fertility and Healing Journeys
03:43 Personal Stories and the Call to Fertility Work
07:22 Understanding Fertility Health and the Impact of Lifestyle
11:13 Nutrition and Detoxification for Fertility
14:39 Creating a Comprehensive Fertility Program
18:11 The Role of the Five Elements in Fertility
24:58 Integrating Western and Eastern Approaches to Fertility
31:38 Empowerment and Agency in Fertility Health
37:05 Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Fertility
Dr. Susan Fox's Bio:
Dr. Susan Fox, DACM, LAc, FABORM, is a reproductive health expert with 23+ years in integrative fertility care. A Fellow of the Acupuncture & TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine, she blends East Asian medicine with modern research to create measurable change in whole and fertile health. She's the creator of Your Fertile Health at Health Youniversity, an at-home program that teaches the 5-Element model for emotional alignment and uses TEAS—TENS-based acupoint stimulation—plus cycle-specific Qigong, guided mind-body tracks, and practical detox/sleep/nutrition pillars to prepare you for natural conception, IVF, or egg freezing—without endless appointments.
www.healthyouniversity.co, https://www.facebook.com/drsusantfox, https://www.instagram.com/dr.susan.fox/, https://www.youtube.com/@healthyouniversity, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanfoxlac/
https://yourwholehealthhub.knowewell.com/topics/46116/page/event
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Proof matters, and so does how you feel. Today we're pairing evidence-based tools with soul level support so you can move from waiting to creating. We're going deep on why fertility obstacles are often chronic, subfertility, how toxic load plus stress alter follicular fluid and hormones, and the unique daily pillars that restore your body's symphony. I am so thrilled to welcome Dr. Susan Fox, my guest on Fertile Frequencies Radio on this episode. Dr. Susan Fox is a licensed acupuncturist, doctor of Chinese medicine, and also a certified fellow on the acupuncture and TCM Board for Reproductive Medicine. She has been practicing in reproductive health for over 23 years in integrative fertility care. She's the creator of Your Fertile Health at Health University, an at-home program that teaches the five-element model for emotional alignment and uses the tens-based acupuncture stimulation plus cycle-specific qigong guided mind-body tracks and practical detox sleep nutrition pillars to prepare you for natural conception, IBF, or egg freezing without endless appointments. So hit play and let's dive into creating your miracle. Welcome to Fertile Frequencies Radio, the podcast that's here to revolutionize your fertility journey by going beyond hormones and cycle tracking. We combine science, spirit, and mindset to help you finally achieve success. If you're done with the same old fertility advice, you've come to the right place. This is where we celebrate every fertile win and empower you to view your fertility as so much more than just your physical body. Get ready for powerful stories, expert insights, and interviews, and endless amounts of encouragement to uplift and inspire you every step of the way. Welcome back to Fertile Frequencies Radio. I am so excited. I have Dr. Susan Fox on the show today, and she's absolutely wonderful. She is a colleague of mine, a fellow of the Acupuncture and TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine. Welcome, Susan.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Thank you so much for having me, Lindsay. I'm really happy to be here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. So is it okay if I call you Susan? Please. Yes. Okay, perfect. Um, so well, let's just jump right in. I'm really interested to know how you got into this work and more about what drew you to fertility support. Tell me more about your story, too.
SPEAKER_00It's kind of magical, actually. And I know that you like this in particular because I thought I was going to go into well, I first discovered Chinese medicine and acupuncture for myself back when I was 17 years old or 18 years old, and dinosaurs roamed the planet because I was having some sort of mind-body issues that back then it really wasn't identified. So I was having GI issues that really, as we came to find out, were stemming from some grief that I was experiencing with the passing of my father. But in conventional medicine, I was being bounced back and forth between gastro and psychiatry because each of them was saying, you're fine, go to the other. Um and it wasn't until a colleague of mine said, you know, would you want to try acupuncture? And I said, gosh, I'll try Eye of Newt at this point because I'm really struggling. And I had my first treatment, and and I experienced viscerally through a you know a release of emotion, tears, grief, how how that was linked, connected, the the cause of my GI issues. And of course, fast forward 20, 30 years later, and more and more autoimmune became kind of you know aware, come conversant. And so really this kind of developed into autoimmune because it hadn't been addressed in the Wayback Machine. But positive outcome of that is with Chinese medicine, I've been able to keep that autoimmune in remission for forever now. So that's my personal story. And then how I got involved in Chin in Chinese medicine for fertility was that I graduated and got my master's. They weren't even offering doctorates back then. That's how far back it was. And um, and so I wanted to commemorate my licensure and say, okay, I'm no longer a student, I'm now gonna go into the workforce, so I'm gonna go get a tchotchki, something that, you know, some memento that you know identifies I'm I'm ready to go. And I walked into a place called the Tibetan Culture House, and I was pulled, I mean, lit truly, I almost felt as though I didn't have feet, to the back of this store where a lot of tankas were were on display. And and I was placed in front of this one particular tanka, and as it was Green Tara, the goddess of compassionate healing, and I just found myself crying. And so I turned to the monk who owned the store and said, What is happening here? And he said, Well, this is the goddess of compassionate healing, and clearly she's calling you. So my little choski turned out to be about an eight-foot tanka that I then put in the back of my of my car and thought, okay, I'm going home now. But once again, was compelled to drive to the location that became my first office. I mean I was truly, it was it was really miraculous. And as it happened, the location of the first office was across the hall from a fertility clinic. And so I walked into that fertility clinic saying, there's an empty office across the hall. Who's the landlord? I need to connect with this person, and thus began my work with in the fertility field because at that time the polis protocol was just being sort of uh shared for its success. It was in 2003 or something like that. And so it was patients coming across the hall to me saying, Do you do this? Do will you work you know for fertility? And I said, Yes, I will. And I got to do a deeper dive so that I know what I'm talking about. So fast forward another 25 years later, and or 20 years later, and here I am, you know, fully immersed in the field of fertility for 23 years. I became a fellow of Aborm at its inception. Um, and I'm so grateful to have this group of colleagues.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Susan, that's really beautiful. I love that story. It's so amazing. I mean, the fact that you were drawn to that deity is so incredible. I mean, that is just I but it just gets chills all over my body hearing you talk about that because it's so it was put there for a reason to wake you up. It's like the the the autoimmune. And I'm curious to know if you mind letting us know what autoimmune was it that you I don't mind at all.
SPEAKER_00It was ulcerative colitis.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah. It's some, and what we know about fertility is that gut biome, a lot of, you know, if we're not absorbing our nutrients, what we know from Chinese medicine that we're don't have great blood quality, and it's just the body is not in a longevity state. So the blood is really important, digestion is really important. Without um, yeah, and so there was a lot going on in your life, and you were able to find an anchor for that.
SPEAKER_00That's really thank you. It was it was it was my blessing, it was my path, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then fertility, and it should it was there anything had you had a connection with anything with with infertility in your own experience?
SPEAKER_00I had not, and that's that's also very unusual, right? Oftentimes people who get into this field have their own origin story of struggle. No, mine was really to be of service. I mean, here here I was again, placed across the hall from this IVF center, small center. And so um I I just pivoted, I just said yes to whatever creative force was saying. Actually, Susan, this is what you're doing. You thought you were gonna do gastro because that's your origin story, but this is what you're doing. And of course, as we know, Lindsay, it's it's never one thing, right? You know, as you just mentioned, you know, the microbiome and and the health of the gut and assimilation and elimination of toxins is crucial to a healthy, fertile soul.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And you know, it's interesting because I have a similar uh, I won't talk too much about it, but uh I wasn't going to do fertility either. And I don't even have any kids. Um, I know that you do.
SPEAKER_00I have a 33-year-old daughter.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Um, I just the universe chose for me too. And it really was at that, you know, near-death experience that I had that the spirit baby started coming in and communicating and saying, hey, look, you need to be helping us with acupuncture, Chinese medicine, also the spiritual side and now working through the subconscious mind. So it is really interesting how we're directed. And we don't necessarily have to have a fertility uh journey to, you know, with obstacles and trying to get pregnant to be able to do this work.
SPEAKER_00So we have to be uh of East Asian descent. Because early on, people would say, but wait a minute, you're not Asian. I was like, no, no, I'm not. But we're all one. So maybe in a prior life I was Asian. Who knows?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Yeah. I um I was. I was, I was. I have a past life memory of that, that I was at some point. Um, but yeah, I love it that you said that. You know that this podcast is so much about spiritual too. So those things will pop up. Um but that's a beautiful story. It's absolutely incredible that you followed that and you didn't try to resist that because you listened and that made it so that you could reach and continue to reach the people that need you and your message. And we really have to listen to our intuition on that. It's, you know, I think far too often we were taught to resist and be very logical about things. And not saying logic doesn't have a place, but you have to listen to that internal voice, which is your soul. And that's what you did. And that's really absolutely beautiful. Well, thank you so much for sharing that and just leading into. I'm really interested if you could talk more about uh you say that you can change your fertility health, and I know you've created a whole program uh and also the health university uh as well. And I really am just really curious to learn more and have you talk with the listeners about that as well, because I'm sure that there's some wonderful information that you're gonna be able to do.
SPEAKER_00Sure. Well, I purport and that, and I'm sure you would agree that this one in five statistic of infertility, using the word infertility is inaccurate. I think we have chronic sub-fertility, and much of it is due to our lifestyle. And and you know, we are, you know, we're we're under a lot of toxic burdens, we're under a lot of emotional stress. All of this is going to have an impact on the communication, the symphony of communication between our brain and our hormones and our blood flow and all of that. And then over time it will have an adverse effect on our fertility because the follicles and the eggs growing in those follicles are part of the whole. So, as we know, uh, you know, the research has even shown that there's you know evidence of microplastics and inflammatory markers in the follicular fluid within which that egg is growing in a cycle. And so, if we can do the things that we can do, and there is much we can do to clean up our our bodies, minds, and spirits, that will have the benefit of cleaning up our ovaries and follicles and eggs within so that we can ovulate or have retrieved healthier eggs, make healthier embryos, make healthier babies, make healthier families and futures, because these babies, listeners and viewers, are they are the future. They're our future leaders. So we want them to have all of the resources of good health so they can make good decisions on behalf of the the planet and their communities when they're when they're grown. It's not just about us having someone to hug.
SPEAKER_01Right. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. That's a great point. When you talk about clean up, and I know what you mean, but for the listeners, talk a little bit more about what do you mean about clean up? Like what can they do to clean up?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Some simple things is uh obviously nutrition. Clean up your nutrition by choosing organic, pesticide-free, you know, foods, fruits and vegetables, and then grass-fed, grass-finished, wildcot, free range, all of those, you know, proteins if you are uh, you know, a flesh-eating person. Uh, and we like that in Chinese medicine for the fertile crowd. Um, you know, we are make sure you're drinking clean water. So have the proper filtration that can assure that the water you're drinking isn't riddled with bacteria and drug residue and and all of the things that can sometimes pour out of the tap because we need a lot of hydration for our whole health and our fertile health. Clean up our personal care products. Oh goodness, if I could, if I had a nickel for every time, I would ask someone to you know, share with me what you know, what cleansing products are you using? What hair care and toothbrush or toothpaste products, or toothbrush for that matter, because the brushing your teeth with plastic is going to put plastic right in your bloodstream. So just take a look at these things. And it can feel overwhelming if you take a look and go, oh my, everything's toxic. So, and it is. So just do one thing at a time, whether, and depending upon your timeline, maybe that's one thing each day, maybe that's one thing each week, maybe you finish a product and then don't replace it. Um, it would be my my wish for you if you if it's within your affordability to be able to just really do a clean sweep. And then your personal um, you know, household cleaning products, you know, uh what are you what are you cleaning your house with? Is it off-gassing toxic fumes that you're breathing then all night? And even your your bedding. Is it is it you know, organic cotton bedding, or is it wrinkle-resistant, you know, polyester fabric that means you're breathing xenoestrogens all night, and and all of this accumulates in your in one's you know, liver and in one's body and in one's fat. And and thankfully, you know, the body will try to sequester that, but then but then what? You know, what where's the opportunity to really detox from these things? So I often will recommend you know, at least a 28-day gentle detox to just really help clear and get the best foundation you can get.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. That's great. Thank you for explaining all that. And you know, it's interesting because I generally with my clients, I try to put them in a direction that they're not feeling so overwhelmed, which I know it can get very overwhelming to have all these different tasks that you're trying to do, like remove all the cleaning products, change all your cosmetics, you know, clean out the pantry. And are these, and of course there's more things, are these very important? Yes, but also manageable because we know that with stress, if we're stressed out that we're trying to do everything right, then that's going to create hormonal issues as well as digestive problems, like things like autoimmune digestive issues, like what you had, um, because that does relate a lot to emotional factors.
SPEAKER_00We need an emotional detox as well. Yeah. And we know this in our five elements of Chinese medicine is that if we're if we need an emotional detox, our our emotions will tell us where to start.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. So, how would you, when you work with your um clients or someone listening to you talk about this, what would you recommend for them as far as if they wanted to clean up? How would that be manageable for them so they're not feeling so overwhelmed about having that A-type personality of trying to do everything right?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think I would just say let's look at some of the you know the pillars of health, right? So start with your nutrition. If we're taking something into our bodies every day, that's probably in the the the easiest place to start, right? Because you're literally consuming either something that is going to be nutrient dense or what I call creating twinky blood. You know, so so so stop with the processed foods, the sugars. Personally, I like to have people be gluten-free as well, because so many of us, with all of these other exposures, you know, don't have the barriers, if you will, to then deal with gluten, which is a highly inflammatory protein, the gliadin protein. So I would say, you know, start there. Again, a water filtration somehow. Just, you know, do what you can. Maybe it's not time to replace you know the water filters for your entire home. And if you're renting, you just you know, just get a something other than a plastic filtration system so that you can really be sure you're having clean water. Um, so you know, just start there. Sleep. That's something that doesn't cost anything, right? To get to implement proper sleep wake hygiene, you know, put put dim lights when the when it's dusk. Do not be staying in front of your laptop or blue screen until it's bedtime because your brain needs at least an hour to change the the messaging in it that it's no longer high noon, because when we're on the screen and watching TV, our brain things are through our retina that it's still high noon and it's and it's still releasing cortisol, as though we need to be, you know, out and about. By the way, I I do want to put a little uh a little pin in the in cortisol. It's it gets a bad rap. We hear cortisol, oh, so bad. We need cortisol as we need it, it is what gets us up in the morning and motivates us through the day. What we don't need is continuous excess secretion of cortisol to keep pushing ourselves through when our bodies are trying to tell us, hey, it's it's time to wind down a little bit. So I could go on, but I don't want to overwhelm the listeners.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I know. I I'm thinking too, as you're talking, you know, two two uh acupuncturists uh thinking about Eastern philosophy. Right. Um yeah, it's it's just like if you don't have enough yang in your body, you know, it's uh you're you're not gonna want to get up. You're gonna feel very uh draggy. And so yes, I think it is absolutely a balance here. And it's it's it's like it's like trying to say that you know you shouldn't ever eat something. It's the same kind of thing, you know. We we we have to we have to balance. We have to have homeostasis in our body. And it is, it is the uh the education there on that, you talking about that I'm sure with people is is is great. I love that that you that you mentioned that.
SPEAKER_00And sometimes I simply say, Lindsay, you know, feed yourself as though you're feeding, you know, your your baby who's able to eat, you know, foods. You know, you wouldn't be feeding that baby, I don't know, pizza or or you know, you you'd be you you'd be looking for, you know, the avocados, the broccoli, the the carrots, the things that they really love to eat, the the the the healthy proteins. So you're doing that already when you're feeding yourself and feeding your ovaries and follicles and eggs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00If you're if you're right, a sperm producer out there listening.
SPEAKER_01Right, absolutely. 50%, right? 50% of the equation here. Um, well, thank you so much for sharing that. I think it's really powerful to um definitely talk about nutrition as well as what we can do to clean up our lifestyle if we are trying to conceive um, or even pregnant too, like you just mentioned that as well. Um, really powerful stuff. So more about uh tell me more about really what motivated you to create your online health university, uh, your fertility program. I I I want to to know more about that. That's I'm sure there's a great story behind that.
SPEAKER_00Well, it it it it it it was born of uh the the increasing numbers of infertility, and there's only so many who can walk through my door, and there's only so much frequency with which they can get acupuncture, and the need is greater than than even coming once a week. And so I designed the program so that anybody can use it in the comfort of their own home. It's acupint stimulation using a TENS machine, and they refer to it as TES, transcutaneous electrical accupoint stimulation. And so there are protocols that that were designed by my colleague, and she is on she's in my Your Fertile Health program as faculty Lee Hollander Rubin, who's an amazing researcher and published, you know, published researcher. So she's the the teacher for for this. Um and it and it takes three different protocols every other day that you apply, you know, the the little pads to. These points and turn on the machine for 20 to 30 minutes. So morning or evening, it's a great ritual as well for reminding ourselves that yes, we have agency for this self-care. Um, and so the the data out there for these the teas, and the data is using frozen embryo transfer as the data point, for more than 3,000 women, the results were that women over 35, who we also know then are kind of typically diminished ovarian reserve, you know, patients, their live birth rate was increased by 42%, which is phenomenal, right? So we're not talking positive pregnancy tests, we're talking live birth rate for a cohort of people who we already know were at a disadvantage, if you will, in their fertile health. So I'm I'm so excited about this. And because I I really want agency, I want your education out there. I don't, I don't want you to need to come to me. I want to talk myself out of a job here so that you can do everything that you can do in the comfort of your own home. And, you know, and it's and it's not just for again that positive pregnancy test. This is really to encourage you to remember that, yeah, these seemingly subtle changes have a profound impact. In the program, we also have mind body. So a colleague up in Canada, a medical doctor who does uh guided meditation, has meditations for the five phases of the four weeks of the menstrual cycle, and she uses binaural beats as background to really help shift the brain pattern into, you know, into so-called imagining, um, so that we can really create as we do from our imagination. It also includes qigong, uh, five phases of the four weeks of the menstrual cycle, as taught by Dr. Randine Lewis, one of my mentors and one of our esteemed colleagues. She wrote the first book for Chinese medicine and fertility back in the early 2000s. And then, of course, it's got the nutrition, hydration, sleep wake kind of thing as well. So it's a comprehensive program for 120 days. It includes the devices that one needs. So I really want to just make sure that people have access to it. First, that they have the knowledge that this is accessible to them, and then have access to doing this again as it works for them in the comfort of their own home.
SPEAKER_01That's really amazing. I love all that. It's very integrative, very, very holistic. Um, and you have such a background in the science side too. So I find that's really powerful when communicating with clients and patients is understanding what they're going through on the science side as well. So when we only talk about holistic medicine, sometimes or talk about the spiritual side, people are kind of looking at you like, what does that mean? So the fact that you can talk in the language that they really understand and teach them some new things too is amazing. Um I just snickered a little bit when you said talk yourself out of a of a job, because that's exactly what I talk about. And that I'm here to empower people to wake up and and be able to know that they're powerful. And you know, that probably does make it so people see you for a while and they they become empowered and they leave, you know. But there's a ton of people that need us. So it's never that there's not enough to go around or um we're just we're just create we're just creating what we're here for, and it is not a job, it's a mission for us.
SPEAKER_00I think that you and I come from a place of service, right? So we're we're we're not I didn't design this program because I'm so great. I designed this program because the work is so great. The ch you know, the Chinese medicine is so great, and I need it to get out there. So, you know, again, the task was on me to, in my own experience, to deliver, create and deliver something like this.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Couldn't agree with you more. Well, this is absolutely incredible. I'm so excited to hear that you're teaching people about how to do their own. It's not an acupuncture, but it is giving them the opportunity to be able to. Is my connection okay?
SPEAKER_00Uh something weird is happening. I I just noticed that as well. I've got all my bars. Yeah, it looks like it's fine now. Okay. That was weird. Yeah, um, okay. I I look like something out of a MTV video.
SPEAKER_01I know. Like, where is um it's okay. I I I want to be able to use this as video. I try to do video too. Um so yeah, okay. So um well, that's all really wonderful. Um, and talking about the acupuncture part, are you still doing acupuncture or is you doing it?
SPEAKER_00I I have a practice, a private practice, two and a half days a week. And the other two and a half days I'm working on both this course and for the same person, actually, you know, there's there's a fertility course, but then there's also the pre-perimenopause plan because this the same woman, ages, you know, 35 to 45, has not only found herself with her her hormonal pants down for fertility, that she's anticipating based upon what she's hearing her seniors, her older sisters, talk about the the prison of perimenopause, that she's she's like, I'm not going there. You know, it does not have to be, it should not have got, I should not have found myself in this predicament, and I'm not waiting to find myself in that predicament. So while the um the messaging is a little different, while the prescription, if you will, is a little different, the pre-perimenopause focuses more on you know blood sugar dysregulation and and regulating hormones that way, and whereas the fertility one is really focused, well, it's all incl it's all encompassing that there's a greater focus on targeted circulation to the ovaries and uterus. It's it's the same story, right? It's a story about helping to you know clean up our internal, and by internal, I mean, you know, our physiological but also our emotional uh landscape so that we can, you know, enter whatever is our next phase of life tomorrow, today, um, you know, better, better prepared, better equipped to, you know, to have a full, rich, healthy life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's um it's it's uh I feel like I keep saying it because I love it. It's powerful stuff. I mean, what you're doing is just absolutely incredible. And I'm so excited that this exists for the people that you are here helping. Um thank you.
SPEAKER_00And I know you mentioned, Lindsay, that you know, we we, you and I have a um we have the ability to sort of you you know access and and and uh share science to back up our claims. And I think that when when someone feels comfortable with like, oh, this makes sense in my Western mind, we then have a portal to say, okay, now let's talk about things that using a language that maybe might sound a little odd, a little poetic. Let's talk about your emotions, let's talk about your, you know, your your innermost thoughts and and how you relate to yourself and others in the world. Um, I think that that's a missing piece in certainly in the IVF world. I mean, they'll send you off to a counselor to make sure that you're you know emotionally stable, but I think they're not um that well, they're not trained to address the whole person that way, and and we are with our five elements.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And I love that you brought up five elements because that is something that I want to talk about today. So thank you. You have talked about it, you brought it up a couple of times. So universally, I'm feeling feeling okay, it's time to talk about the five elements. So tell us more about why you designed a program that's filtered through the lens of the five elements and really what that means.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you. I designed it that way. I chose that filter because as you know, we can use organ systems or whatever. But the beauty of five elements is that the the the student, if you will, really viscerally understands, it makes sense. So when we talk about the five elements in Chinese medicine, we and we acknowledge we are made of all of these. We are no different from you know the trees or the birds or whatever else is in our environment. We just have a different composition, but they we all are made of these five elements. And so, you know, they are wood, which is about growth and development and impetus, like, oh, I'm gonna go learn to play the piano, or you know, I I want to have a baby. That's an impetus. We're made of fire, you know, what like our our real vitality and our life force and our, we refer to it as our shen, our spirit. It's the it's the light in our eyes that we recognize when we when we meet each other. We're made of earth, right? We we take in our nutrients and eliminate our waste, and that's the earth element. We're made of air. We inspire, we exhale, we we grieve and let go, whether it be through our breath or through our body, and then we're made of water, duh, right? We're made we're made a lot of water. And so we I use those elements and I use the emotions of those elements because again, we are emotional creatures where we're able to understand and express our emotions. And so, for instance, that wood element that is all about that growth and potential and can-do personality is also the one who, when that energy, that qi is suppressed, repressed, depressed, that creative life force has a grr, I you know, I've got to break out kind of thing. And so that person is more likely to have angry outbursts or, you know, or or even you know, something like a PMS before her period, because there's that accumulation of energy that's not flowing smoothly. And when we're and we we've got a preponderance of fire, we can really feel manic. We can be the person who's saying, Oh, everything's fine. And uh it just means somebody needs to look at you for a second and say, Oh, no, it's not, honey. You need to, we need to cool you down because you're too hot. When we've got too much earth energy, we can get bogged down and you know, kind of almost soggy. And we use the term phlegm accumulation. And in our mind, that can lead to sort of overthinking, you know, that the dog with the bone can't get off the Google search, don't going through all the rabbit holes to try to, you know, to try to accumulate as much as possible when then that accumulation just you know weighs you down. When we've got too much of the air element, we can really find ourselves-stricken. We're not inspiring as much as our life is designed to have us do, so we can kind of collapse. And we see that with people when when they're going through, you know, that first drop of menstrual blood, it can be feel very collapsing. Um, and then when we've got too much uh water element, it's sort of we're we're underwater, literally, and we can really feel like like you know, the that dread of, oh, when is that other shoe gonna drop? Like life is just not serving me. I can't get my head above water kind of thing. Now, none of these is wrong. All of these are part of the human experience. But if any one of those is your preponderance, that's your portal, that's your your way to get, you know, to begin your emotional healing. So if you're if you're angry and irritable, you know, that maybe it's a dance party in your living room that you need, that you need to just like find ways to shake it off. If you're feeling manic, then you want to maybe be the one who's doing a little bit more quiet meditation to sort of cool and soothe yourself. If you're feeling like that dog with a bone and you can't get off the Google search, then you want to do something that's really more warming, if you will. So that person, you know, maybe a you know, a brisk walk or a warm cup of cinnamon tea, something like that, even. If you're feeling more grief-stricken, you want to find ways to, you know, maybe maybe breathing exercises, whether they be qigong, tai chi or meditation or guided imagery. And then if you're feeling like you're really underwater, you just want to find ways to acknowledge the grief that that is that is having you feel underwater, and then trust, right? In whatever is your find a way to trust. And we all can find a way to trust that life is working in our favor. We just need to look around us and say, okay, uh I woke up today, the sun is shining today, you know, my dog loves me. You know, what whatever those kind of things are that help you lift that sense of dread will will help begin to balance your five elements. And it's just all about harmony and homeostasis. We're always going to be in flux because that's life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I have a question. I don't know if you're gonna be able to answer this, but curious to know um, is there a particular element that you see more common than others that you feel is not balanced?
SPEAKER_00There are two. Well, there are three. So I know I was thinking about that two of like I would say, I would say uh I'll explain it differently. So the ones that are imbalanced or out of balance that are earth element tend to be the ones that are maybe, you know, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, accumulations. They've got this sort of accumulation of stuff that's that is showing up in their body. The person, usually with the unexplained infertility, is can often be the uh wood element, the liver system, because there's just not enough qi flowing. You know, the the impact of stress is insidiously impeding the you know the fertile symphony, um, but but there's no diagnosis in the conventional model yet. The the the water element is typically um I see that with you know diminished ovarian reserve or advanced maternal age kind of thing, because we do have live in a time-space continuum, and we do have a reality that you know if if we are 25, things are probably looking pretty much in our favor if we want to have a baby. If we are 45, things, it's a different story. It's not impossible, but it's a different story. So that's kind of how I think about the elements insofar as the patient profile.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And that's great. I mean, thank you so much for explaining that. Um, I think when you're hitting, just like we talked about earlier, when you're hitting some of those Western medical diagnosis words that people are hearing, that then they can link it up more with Chinese medicine and five element theory. Um, so thank you.
SPEAKER_00If I may, Lindsay, that these diagnoses are not a sentence, right? They are literally describing what's going on, and you participated in them getting to the place where that it's going on. So you can do what you can do to reverse that and restore your own health.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and thank you. That's really powerful because I think people often blame themselves and think that it is a death sentence and we're not gonna get I'm I'm in this, and how do I I'm stuck here essentially? And so it is. We we do have to not blame ourselves when I say this, but we do have to realize that we got ourselves into it, we can get ourselves out. So thank you for saying that. There's two parts to that, just like the yin and the yang, you can't have one without the other. Um, so yes, the part of healing is admitting that, okay, I'm here, this is where I'm at. Okay, let's move forward now. Um, so yes, and it's the same thing with infertility, that word, you know, it it's really we just need to figure out what needs to be restructured to figure out how to get you to a place where you can um have a healthy pregnancy. Right.
SPEAKER_00And this is not to say don't go get advanced reproductive therapy help with your IVF center, because there's much that there's much of value in getting some of these diagnostic testing, because if there's a structural impediment, you know, there's pretty much little that that that is going to move the needle on that, and you would be the perfect candidate for cleaning everything up and then going through IVF if you've got you know blocked tubes. Sperm will not meet egg, so we can, you know, the of the reproductive endocrinologist IVF doc can help sperm meet egg in vitro, but let's have that sperm and that egg be as healthy as possible nonetheless. So you you are not your diagnosis, your diagnosis explains what's going on. And and for m many of us, not maybe not all of us, much of this can be reversed. Right. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and it it is about the integration. It's it's that's why you and I align so well because we're all about the integration. Versus I hear some people, I've heard some acupuncturists talk about well, we don't care about what your hormone tests look like. That's not that's not the world. I mean, that's not how you and I do it. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Like, and and I'm not if that's the response you're getting, right? Please find an expert because those of us who have dedicated time and resources and education into understanding the value of those of those results and the importance of those results. Um, you know, yeah, we're working with your team. We're not we're not saying don't go see your IVF doc for a year because that would be irresponsible. We could we could be responsible for having you miss that important window. We need to work in concert with the the entire team, with, you know, and especially, of course, in fertility, it's oftentimes the IVF doc, the reproductive endocrinologist.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more. And it it's just it's I cringe when I hear those things or see that stuff. And people can practice the way that they want to, but it goes on both sides. It goes on the Western side and it goes on some of the holistic providers that people want to like try to talk this way about one side or exactly. It's like, no, we're supposed to be integrating together. We're all here for the same reason, and we should be at least to get our client or patient in a position where they're having the results that they're looking for or they're healing, and it's not about trying to fight who's right and who's wrong. So um, yes, absolutely. Integration, integrative medicine, integrative healing is the way that uh in my opinion, I know you're on board too, the way that we need to do it.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And and yeah, you I agree. The same holds true for the IVF doc. If they are telling you, you know, acupuncture is is silly, except for maybe it's going to give you some stress relief, maybe get a second opinion because that's putting you kind of in a position of discomfort, and you know, you know, because now you've got a so-called authority saying that your own inner authority is incorrect. Mm-mm. I don't buy that. You know, in March, I had the good fortune of bringing together 40 experts in the field of fertility to come together for a summit. It's you can find it over at the Know We Well platform, and I'll give you that for the show notes. Yeah. But my impetus for that was that I was getting my knickers and a twist around seeing on social media all of this, you know, IVF bad, natural fertility good, natural fertility bad, IVF good. And I thought those of us who really know the field would not speak that way. So I so I wanted to just have this five-day event of talks with reproductive urologists, reproductive endocrinologists, psychologists, you know, uh acupuncturists, naturopathic doctors, uh, I there I can't even the even dance therapy teachers were were all you know, sort of in in sync. I call it called it arms linked in our message that all of this is part of you. And so we all work together for you. We work for you.
SPEAKER_01Right. Exactly. And I will definitely check that out. I'd love to learn more about that. Absolutely. Share it with the listeners in the show notes. Uh, that's amazing. It it is. It's just we need to integrate with each other, we need to be community just overall. Um so, yes, I it's very nice to know people like yourself, Susan, that is integrative provider. Um, I am the same and I tend to be more on the spiritual, kind of more of that unseen energy side. Um thank you. Thank you. Yes, yes, and thank you.
SPEAKER_00Because anything that has has ever been proven, air quotes, in science, existed before it was proven. So it's just a matter of time before this energy, you know, this this so-called woo-woo stuff becomes proven, much as a lot of our, you know, we we kind of giggle to ourselves when when science discovers something that Chinese medicine has always described and worked with. So um, so you know, it's it's it's just a matter of time before, you know, science proves the importance of energy work. And it's beginning, actually. We even see it in the fields with you know people like Lynn McTaggart and others who are actually doing science experiments that are proving the power of intention.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Love it. Such a great conversation, and you know, uh leading into thinking about who would be your ideal person that would be listening to this podcast, and who are you speaking to?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you. That's actually a very good question. I would say the ideal. The person who can most benefit from what I'm offering here at Health University is the person who doesn't have time to run to another series of appointments. Perhaps it's secondary fertility challenge. And you know, you got a toddler at home, you're working, you just don't have time or otherwise resources to have this in-person regular check-in. Oftentimes, if the if people can get in the door, they'll do a hybrid of my program and be in person. And if you happen to live in a part of the country, I am, I am, I'm containing myself to the US at this time. But if you happen to be in a part of the country where you're like, I don't know any acupuncturist fertility specialists, then come see me. Let's talk because you don't need to have an acupuncturist. You can do this all on your own in your own time. I recently got a text from a woman that said, Oops, I forgot to email you, I forgot to notify you. She's in New York. We met once. She did the program and she wanted to text me and notify me of her beautiful seven-month-old daughter. Oh, he had one embryo left after several failed transfers. And so, and now this one embryo left, she was 43, I think, was able to, you know, bring, fill out her, complete her family.
SPEAKER_01Wow, that's absolutely incredible. Thank you for sharing that. I I I usually ask people to share stories of uh something incredible that's happened is for inspiration people listening. So thank you for sharing that.
SPEAKER_00I'm so happy for her that she was and there are tons of testimonials of people being told that you know that they were told donor egg is the only way to go, and then they got pregnant naturally and and then got pregnant again naturally because they you know they changed the fundamental things that were impeding their their fertility. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01It's just about finding the tools, what really needs to work for you. And people also need the people that they're meant to work with, too. I always encourage people, I might not be the right person for you, or so-and-so might not be the right person for you, even though they have great results and success rates. Maybe your energy doesn't link up with them in some way, it doesn't make them bad, or that they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. Um, it just means that we have connection with certain people and it's about finding those people. So that also is a really powerful part of people. Without a doubt. Yes.
SPEAKER_00You know, there is something really important about valuing rapport. If you are walking into or out of an office going, oof, this, you know, I'll do it, but it doesn't feel right, then just give yourself at least a second opinion somehow, somewhere. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01So, Susan, how can people find you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, the website is healthuniversity.co, and uh, and it'll be in the show notes. And it's the university is spelled y-o-u. So it's healthyouniversity.co. And then uh within there, there's an email, conceive at healthuniversity.co. All of the programs are spelled out. There's some a free masterclass on this 28-day gentle detox, a fertility quiz that you can identify what is your the preponderance of your uh your your five-element constitution, if you will. Again, we're made of all of them, but we tend to have a constitution. So all of those things are free. And then and then I can get you, we can have a fertility assessment call as to determine whether or not this program is right for you, because there may be a population for whom it's not right. If if someone has metal in their body, well, we don't want them running electricity through their body. If someone is, you know, presently struggling with perhaps a cancer diagnosis, we don't want to be, you know, uh proliferating um cellular activity. So but for the most part, uh it it's it's accessible to to most.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely amazing. So I heard you say too, um, are you not are you not supporting people currently that are outside of the United States?
SPEAKER_00Correct. I'm I'm sorry to say at this point, it's it's it's it's just a matter of having I've yet to figure out how to best do that in in terms of shipping and all of that kind of stuff, because there are devices that are are part of it. But if you're out of the United States, we can at least talk, because if there's a way to make it happen, I I want to make it happen for you because it's you know, while the United States is a big, uh, a big piece of land, the need extends beyond our our borders for sure.
SPEAKER_01Right, absolutely. Because I know there's quite a few people that listen from all over the world to this podcast. So definitely um Yeah.
SPEAKER_00We can get on a Zoom call. You know, there's a fertility assessment call. That's a Zoom call. So no matter where you are in the world, you can schedule that.
SPEAKER_01Perfect. Well, I love it. Thank you. And then Susan, I will make sure that I put everything in the show notes, all of the information, your website, as well as your program, so that people can check you out and connect with you. And I always like to do this at the end. I'm just wondering if you could share some last inspirations that you might have for the listeners that are working through their fertility journey.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you. I think that I really just want to reiterate the message that you are the driver of your bus. And of course, there are no guarantees in life. There never were, there never will be, but there are probabilities, and you can increase the probability of your fertility success by increasing the experience of your whole health. Your fertile health is a microcosm of your whole health. So do the things that you can do. You'll feel like you'll feel a sense of agency, you'll feel a sense of empowerment over this, and that begins the positive cascade. Oftentimes, by the time someone's beginning the conversation with me, they've been in a very negative cascade. So let's kind of just you know change the momentum of that. You've got it within you, and we've got your back and your ovaries and uterus. Yeah. And your heart.
SPEAKER_01And mind. And your heart. Yes, we've got it. Yes, yes. Well, thank you so much. It was absolutely a pleasure. Yes, absolutely pleasure to have you on today. And we really appreciate you sharing all of your wonderful knowledge. Thank you so much, Lindsay. It's been a delight to talk with you. Imagine closing your eyes on transfer day, feeling prepared, peaceful, and held. That's where we're taking you next. On the next episode, we're going to be talking about IBF Embryo Transfer Success Checklist, an evidence-based prep plus spiritual rituals. We're going into from eating what to eat and how to breathe. You'll leave with an IVF plan for success and a simple altar practice. If this all supports you, please leave us a five star review. It helps more women discover these tools and keeps this podcast thriving. We cannot continue without your support. Share this episode with a friend on the IVF path, and I'll see you in the next episode.
