Mindful Step 1: Drop Into Your Heart

By: Janetti Marotta, Ph.D.
Private Practice
1655 Stanford Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 494-2347
info@arcfertility.com

You are the one
You've been waiting for
-Hopi Elders

Feelings of depression and anxiety are part and parcel with the diagnosis of infertility. How can you respond otherwise to a life crisis impacting every area of life? To remove the judgment we impose on ourselves and find strength and courage in the present moment, we begin by acknowledging feelings without minimizing or denying: making room for feelings to run their course or simply be.

Exercise 1:
Settle the body in a comfortable upright, relaxed, and alert position. Notice how the breath is naturally occurring. As you bring attention to the breath, notice the flow of the in breath and the out breath. Feel the rhythm of the breath, inviting the breath to slow and deepen to a waltz like tempo. As you sway with the flow of the breath, soften the eyes until they are partially or fully closed, inviting the eyes to drop from their sockets and you're seeing from the heart. As you drop into your heart, breathe into and out from this space. The heart knows no limits as each breath opens and expands its reaches.

As you're acknowledging feelings without judging them to be right, wrong, or indifferent, fill the heart with compassion. Ask yourself these questions: What is the deep motivation that leads me here right now? What is my intention? What is something I acknowledge about myself that can further me on this journey?

When your heart has spoken to you, slowly and gently open your eyes. Affirm your intention and the quality within that serves you. Write a journal entry to inquire more deeply into the impact of infertility, your intentions, and strengths for healing and renewal. Do you have, even a small sense, that you are the one you've been looking for?

If you are interested in finding the fertility clinic closest to you that has a stress reduction program please: