How will Dr. Lewis be able to interact with the participants?
Each retreat participant will be asked to summarize her fertility journey and send via e-mail after she registers. Dr. Lewis will read the synopsis of your fertility process before the retreat begins. As well, she begins each retreat by asking participants to provide their intention for retreat. Of course each participant would like to become pregnant, but what other issues are part of your hopes? What represents healing to you? How has your life changed because of your fertility journey? There are the patterns of imbalance that cause the inability to conceive, but on top of that are the pains of being unable to conceive - lost joys, unexpressed grief, relational difficulties, etc. So, if you could come up with a radical intention for what would represent true healing to you, to ease some of the pains of the infertility journey, how would that look to you?
During the retreat process, each individual will be able to type questions directly to Dr. Lewis. We will also do some exercises together that will ask for your interaction.
Who does the TCM diagnostic evaluation and treatment plan?
Fertile Soul practitioners have been hand picked and trained by Dr. Lewis. They specialize in fertility and have worked closely on retreat with Dr. Lewis for a number of years. Theresa Johnson will be meeting with the first retreat group. Theresa is Randine's eldest daughter, who works closely with her as she evaluates you and establishes a treatment plan. She is very well versed in fertility treatment with TCM, whether you are only using Chinese medicine for your fertility, or if you are working concurrently with Western reproductive medical treatments. Your TCM diagnosis will include an individualized herbal prescription, and dietary and nutritional recommendations. The TCM consultation, valued at 250, is included in the price of the retreat and if you would like to add on a consult for your spouse at "special retreat pricing"
please click here. Once registered for the retreat you will receive a link to sign up for your consult via our online scheduler.
Is there an age limit?
No. Dr. Lewis works with women of all ages, and if a woman is still menstruating she is a candidate for natural fertility enhancement. As well, she stresses the importance of working with women wherever they are on their journey. A women in her mid to late forties is addressed differently than a woman in her early thirties. There are nuances that we must be responsive to when a woman is older. On top of that, there are also so many "prohibitions" that an "older" woman has been given by reproductive medicine, that we address some of the ways women in their later reproductive years have been mentally and physically discriminated against.
I recently gave a seminar to acupuncturists on treating fertility with Chinese medicine. A practitioner in the audience wrote a question to me about a patient who was 49 years old, and moving gracefully into menopause, when she unknowingly became pregnant. Why? What happened? How was this potential activated? The answer is quite easy; she was moving along the trajectory of her life as it was, not trying to force anything out of it. She had no fear of not conceiving, and life was thus able to manifest its remaining potential.
Can you attend an online retreat if you have been to retreat before?
Absolutely. While the online retreat process will be a little more educational and informational in format, each retreat process will be fine tuned for the participants. Some of the exercises we do will be new to each retreat group, so you are welcome to attend as many online retreats as you wish.
What if we can only attend one day or only a portion of the online retreat?
Your retreat group process will be recorded and you and your group will have access to the recorded online retreat indefinitely. You can replay the recording, and go over the material any time you need a refresher.
Can we also receive a nutritional consultation?
Yes. A nutritional consultation is provided by Kathryn Flynn, who has worked closely with Dr. Lewis for many years. She has studied TCM nutrition with Paul Pitchford. Kathryn authored the book, Cooking For Fertility. This add on nutritional consultation will be provided at a "special retreat pricing" for those who attend the online retreat. To register for a nutrition consult at $75, discounted from $125,
please click here.
Are there going to be any more live retreats?
We do hope to have some live retreats back on the schedule later this year, but these retreats will go into much greater depth. We will require that participants have already attended at least one live or online retreat before signing up for the live retreats in the future. Returners only.
