After trying to grow their family for a year, Lisa Pineda and her husband were told what no one wants to hear: their chances of conceiving were very slim, even with IVF. Determined to prove this wrong, Lisa used her knowledge and experience to deepen her daily yoga practices, working on breathwork and meditation alongside fertility tests and medication to improve her chances of a successful IVF cycle. Today, she’s mom to an adorable son and the creator of Yoga for Fertility, offering programs, classes, and personal consultations for those trying to conceive. And the list goes on. She’s also the host of the Dismantling You podcast, a two-time TEDx speaker, executive producer of the documentary The Yogi, author of the book FINALLY F*CKING FERTILE, and a global retreat leader. While I’m not quite sure how she found time to answer our questions, I do know that we loved getting to know Lisa recently and we’re thrilled to feature her here! Check out the interview below for Lisa’s story as well as her insight and advice for those trying to conceive.

You tried for over a year to get pregnant and after some time were told you’d only have a 10% chance, even with IVF. Can you share more about your journey and how you eventually welcomed your son into the world?

I met my husband later in life.  I call myself a serial monogamist.  I was really into my career and having kids wasn’t on my mind. When I was finally ready to start a family it was a struggle for me.  Being the natural girl that I am, I was reluctant to go down the IVF path. 

After trying to get pregnant for over a year, my husband and I were given the kind of devastating news no couple who is trying to start a family wants to hear ‘You have about a 10% chance of getting pregnant – even with IVF treatments. But I knew in my heart this had to be wrong. I conceived and miscarried before, so I knew that my body was capable of becoming pregnant. 

After a year of undergoing fertility tests, medications and stress – I finally got pregnant. Today, I am the proud mother of a boy!  To this day I credit yoga with helping me become a mom.

With over 20 years experience as a certified yoga instructor now focusing more on infertility, you’ve built an incredible offering and community. Tell us more about how both yoga and meditation can help women on their TTC and IVF journeys.

Whether you’re trying to conceive naturally or using fertility treatments, yoga, meditation and breathwork can help in so many ways.  Consistent yoga practitioners know what a calming practice it is and this is exactly what a woman needs when she is trying to get pregnant. Yoga builds confidence which helps us rely on ourselves and trust our body.  It helps us stay present and in the moment by each breath. It is low-impact and great for opening up the hips and bringing blood flow to the pelvis. When trying to conceive, you want to avoid deep twists, as your ovaries are stimulated. Most poses are safe and effective for balancing out the hormones and helping with stress and anxiety. If you’re trying to conceive naturally, these poses will help open up the pelvic region and bring blood flow down to the genitals.

Yoga can be an incredible complementary care method for aiding women along the process to getting pregnant. It connects us back to our source and helps us find a calm, centered place where we can slow down, breathe and be kind to ourselves. We start to respect our bodies and do the best we can for them while also learning that some things are just not in our control. We can’t force our body to always do things biologically but we can work on how we react to certain life circumstances and upsetting processes and experiences.

“FINALLY F*CKING FERTILE” published just a few months ago – congratulations on that! How was your writing experience and how do you look forward to this helping women on their fertility journeys?

Thank you for asking this! Writing the book was an amazing experience. I wrote the book to help support anyone on their fertility journey. It offers the best guidance I have based on both my own personal experience with IVF, along with helping hundreds of women overcome their fertility struggles and achieve successful pregnancies.

What piece of advice or words of wisdom would you share with new fertility patients just beginning their own family building journey?

It’s important to keep in mind living a fertile life is more than just getting ready for pregnancy or parenthood.  It’s about taking a good hard look at your life and making a conscious decision to let go of things that no longer serve your purpose so that you can focus on those areas that really need more attention. 

Thank you for sharing your story Lisa, and for everything you do — supporting so many women on their own ttc journeys! Learn more about Lisa Pineda at lisapinedayoga.com.