Posted on  Apr 15.11

Listen to your body.  Yoga, Pilates, meditation, acupuncture, psychotherapy, art, etc… find a way to have an ongoing dialogue with your body.  Cultivate ways to listen to the messages it sends you.

Keep track of your menstrual cycle.  Right it down!  There are many new phone apps out there that make this easier then ever but the old fashioned way of marking it on your calendar works just as well.  The important thing is to be consistent.  Having a history of your cycles is a valuable tool by which to determine future fertile times.  Tracking can also help point out days when emotionally and physically you might need to cut yourself some slack. (I will address how to balance PMS in a later post.)

Eat right.  Pretty simple task in theory but when it comes down to choosing an apple over a cupcake, we all know who usually wins.  Proper nutrition, which consists mainly of whole foods, fruits and vegetables, organic dairy and free ranged meats and seafood, provides the building blocks for healthy blood supply.  Women tend towards blood deficiency and the increasing lack of quality produce and food contributes to this deficiency.

Exercise, but not too much.  It’s difficult to find the right balance of physical exercise.  Your muscles and brain are dependent on healthy blood supply.  When you exercise rigorously, blood circulates throughout your entire body.  It feeds your muscles, tendons and ligaments.  The more you exercise, the more proactive you should be with how well you supplement the energy you expend.

Don’t burn the candle at both ends.  Exhaustion seems like a pretty common part of modern day life.  But borrowing from your reserves will only leave you lacking in the future.  Especially if you think you might put off motherhood till later on.  Make a regular sleep schedule and unstructured time a part of your day to day life.

Take a break from oral contraceptives.  Many people I work with have been taking birth control for up to 15-20 years. When it comes time to conceive, it can take some time for your body to start a regular menstrual cycle on its own if you have been taking oral birth control pills.  It is a good idea to let your body remember how to cycle on its own from time to time using other forms of contraceptives such as condoms.

Have a healthy sex life.  All of the above mentioned points contribute to a healthy libido. Taking care of your self feels good.  When you are well rested, exercising and eating well, you tend to have more sexual energy.  When it comes to preserving your fertility for the future, being in touch with libido is a very important tool.  The less sex is on your mind and the more it feels like a chore or work, the more you need to slow down, take a look at the overall picture and take steps to rebalance your life. Exhaustion is a major factor in a lowered sex drive.