Dao Flow Yoga for reproductive health & fertility is a practice that I developed to help boost the whole menstrual cycle by doing very specific yoga practices that act directly on the Chinese medicine fertility acupuncture meridians. Dao Flow also works by aligning your moon cycle with the fluctuating yin and yang rhythms of nature, all while banking Kidney Essence/Jing (hormones) deep into the pelvic bowl, where you need it! You are guided to practice from a peaceful and present mind-state, one of open awareness. How you think, feel, believe, and perceive the world around you has a great impact on the secretions and receptivity of your reproductive tissues.
Every cycle, including your menstrual cycle, has both a Yin and a Yang phase.
And as an acupuncturist, treatment decisions are made relative to where you are in your cycle and how well that phase of your cycle is functioning. Practicing the four Dao Flow yoga sets in sequence mirrors the changes in your cycle and acts as a mini acupuncture treatment. The poses, breath-work, and techniques are specific to each phase to support the natural hormones being secreted, while also harmonizing the most common ways your body goes out of balance.
I began designing Dao Flow during my 16th year of Chinese medicine gynecology practice. The goal was to develop a companion practice, a form of self-care that my patients could use at home between treatments, to continue the efficacy of their acupuncture sessions and herbal medicines. And Dao Flow yoga was birthed into Being.
How it Works
The Dao Flow Yoga Method is a set of practices that braid together the hormone meridians of Chinese medicine, the fluctuations of Yin and Yang, with specifically targeted endocrine glands responsible for optimizing the whole cycle: the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, ovaries, adrenal glands, and the uterus. True to its Daoist root, the postures connect Heaven and Earth inside the body, acting as self-acupuncture, and providing the interface to directly experience where your body is strong or weak, spacious or blocked.
According to Daoism and Chinese medicine, when Heaven and Earth connect inside the body, the Heart qi and blood descend to fill the Kidneys to energize the uterine and ovarian centers: the tissues and glands responsible for fertility, balanced hormones, and healthy aging. And in turn, the Kidneys nourish the Heart, enabling shifts in consciousness, self-concept, and values. You begin to think about yourself, your health, and your life in a new way. Heaven and Earth meet inside the womb center where the spark of life can take hold.
Gathering, coordinating, and harmonizing the interplay of Yin and Yang energies, hormones can be reset and optimized. As human beings become more synched with the rhythms of nature, resisting the urge to push, fight and control, the body gets healthier and stronger just by going with the flow. This is a central key idea to stop stress in its tracks, slow down the aging process, and return the pelvic bowl to a verdant, rain forest, where life comes through all on its own.
Dr. Saraswati Markus, Daoyogini, and Chinese medicine gynecologist, is a thought leader in natural hormonal balance and fertile health maintenance. Dao Flow Yoga for Women’s Health has recently been featured in LA Yoga Magazine, Integral Yoga Magazine, Mantra Magazine, Spirituality & Health, and The Acupuncturist. Her work combines Chinese medicine with yoga to ignite self-healing and vitality naturally. Visit her website for information about her weekly teaching schedule in Asheville, NC, DVDs, workshops and teacher training programs.
