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Many patients at The Fertility Center experience symptoms related to stress while they are trying to get pregnant.  Stress reduction techniques can help in managing overwhelming feelings.  Meditation is one helpful technique that many people have heard about but often don’t know how to implement in their daily life.

 Meditation is simple practice.  To start, find yourself a quiet place and sit in a comfortable position.  You can close your eyes and might try to listen to soft music.  Spend about five minutes taking deep breaths.  On the exhale, find a word to repeat to yourself like “peace”, “calm” or “soft”.   Your mind will wander, especially if you are just learning to meditate.  Keep bringing your awareness back to your breath.  At the end of five minutes, slowly open your eyes and pay attention to your mood.

 It may take several weeks to get used to meditating and feel that this practice is part of your normal self-care routine.  Once or twice a day is best.  There are many ways to practice meditation, feel free to explore other ways that might work for you.   Don’t give up, even if this feels a little “weird” at first. 

 For more information about meditation you can go to: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ01070 or look at the book:  The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson.   “You tube” has other information from Herbert Benson and has various meditation segments to assist you. 

 Feel free to schedule a counseling session at the Grand Rapids office to talk about this and other stress management techniques in more detail. 

 Submitted by:  Kristin Blackwell, LMSW (The Fertility Center counselor)