Rosanne interviews bestselling author Michelle Oravitz about her new book 'The Way of Fertility.' They explore ancient Chinese medicine wisdom for fertility, the importance of balancing yin and yang energies, nervous system regulation, and how the body's natural blueprint for reproduction can be restored through holistic healing approaches.
Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner
Key Insights
Actionable Advice
Michelle Oravitz shares the inspiration behind her book 'The Way of Fertility,' explaining how Chinese medicine's focus on flow and balance offers a different paradigm from Western medicine's part-by-part approach. She introduces the concept that the body has an innate blueprint for reproduction.
The conversation explores how excessive yang (active, masculine) energy without adequate yin (receptive, feminine) balance leads to nervous system dysregulation and fertility challenges. Michelle explains why modern women often get stuck in yang-dominant states that block conception.
Michelle reveals research showing the heart's electromagnetic field extends further than the brain's, validating ancient Chinese medicine teachings about the heart's primacy. They discuss how returning to heart-centered states of love may be more important for fertility than purely mental approaches.
Both women share how taking ownership of their internal states was the most empowering step in their healing journeys. Michelle describes how this shift enabled her to resolve 12 years of menstrual irregularity, while Rosanne connects this to the fertility mindset work that helped her conceive at 43.
“If you're the kind of person that can't relax, and I'm not saying this in a demeaning way at all. If you get bored easily, you can't, like, be in a place of, like, of peace or quiet. If you have a hard time falling asleep, you can't turn it off. Or you wake up in the middle of the night, your mind's just going off. That's basically your dysregulated nervous system.”
— Michelle Oravitz▶ 29:48
If you can't relax, get bored easily, have trouble falling asleep, or your mind races at night, your nervous system may be dysregulated. A healthy nervous system can smoothly transition between active and restful states, like how children can be active then fall asleep easily.
“yin is basically more receptive. It's more feminine. It's more inert. And yang is more active, more fire, more energy, and so it's more male dominant energy. So we need both. We need both in all of nature.”
— Michelle Oravitz▶ 6:21
Yang energy is active, fire-like, and masculine - it's about doing and forcing. Yin energy is receptive, feminine, and restorative. For fertility, you need both, but too much yang without yin balance burns you out and prevents the rest and hormone balance needed for conception.
“Chinese medicine doesn't heal. It's the body that heals. All it does is it facilitates a place of, an environment that is conducive to healing. It allows the body to get into a state of healing.”
— Michelle Oravitz▶ 17:07
Yes, Chinese medicine helps restore the body's natural flow so it can heal itself. It doesn't heal you directly, but creates an environment where your body's innate blueprint for reproduction can function properly again.
“the heart's, frequency extends further. The electromagnetic waves extend further than the brain. We put so much emphasis on the brain, which again is more of the yang, and then we don't put enough on the heart. And so the heart might be even more important than the brain”
— Michelle Oravitz▶ 9:58
Research shows the heart's electromagnetic field extends further than the brain's. Chinese medicine has always taught that 'the heart houses the brain,' and returning to a heart-centered state of love may be more important for fertility than purely mental approaches.
“you are actually born to reproduce. Your body has a blueprint. It's like it's done. That was the intention from the beginning. So, like, what got out what got out of alignment?”
— Michelle Oravitz▶ 17:18
You are born designed to reproduce - it's your natural state. Every living thing in nature has a seed and reproductive capacity. Fertility problems mean you've gotten 'off track' from this innate blueprint, but you can get back on track through proper healing approaches.
Simple ways to determine if nervous system dysregulation might be affecting your fertility
Check your relaxation ability
Notice if you can actually relax or if you constantly feel the need to be doing something. Healthy nervous systems can shift into rest mode.
Evaluate your sleep patterns
Assess whether you can fall asleep easily and stay asleep, or if your mind races when you try to rest.
Test your tolerance for quiet
See if you can sit in peaceful quiet without getting bored or restless, as this indicates nervous system balance.
Observe your transitions
Notice how smoothly you move from active to restful states throughout the day, like a child who can play hard then fall asleep easily.
Listen to your body's signals
Practice tuning into what your body is communicating rather than overriding or ignoring these natural signals.
Your body has an innate blueprint for reproduction - fertility is your natural state, not dysfunction
Michelle Oravitz experienced 12 years of irregular menstrual cycles that completely regulated through Chinese medicine and remained regular for decades without continued treatment, demonstrating the body's ability to return to its natural reproductive state.
Chinese medicine facilitates the body's natural healing - it doesn't heal, the body heals itself when flow is restored
Michelle explains that Chinese medicine works by creating an environment conducive to healing, allowing the body to get into a state where it can heal itself, just as a cut naturally creates a scab without medical intervention.
Nervous system dysregulation blocks fertility - you must be able to oscillate between active and restorative states
Michelle describes seeing women who are doing all the supplements and protocols but their nervous systems are 'out of whack' as they speak, preventing the body from achieving the balance needed for healthy hormone function and reproduction.
Excessive yang energy burns you out - fertility requires balancing active fire energy with receptive yin energy
Michelle explains that constant yang energy (active, fire, masculine) without yin balance (receptive, feminine, restorative) prevents proper rest, nervous system regulation, and hormone balance necessary for fertility.
The heart's electromagnetic field extends further than the brain's - the heart may be more important than we think
Michelle references HeartMath Institute research showing the heart's electromagnetic waves extend further than the brain's, and Chinese medicine's ancient teaching that 'the heart houses the brain,' suggesting the heart's primacy over pure mental focus.
Elevated emotions plus focused thoughts create physical changes in the body, not just thoughts alone
Michelle references Dr. Joe Dispenza's work showing people with stage four cancer going into remission and paralyzed people walking again through the combination of heightened emotional states with focused thoughts, not just affirmations without feeling.
Taking ownership of your internal state is the most empowering step you can take for your fertility
Michelle shares that when she healed her 12-year menstrual dysfunction, the turning point was taking responsibility for her thinking, actions, and inner terrain, which initially felt like admitting defeat but became her greatest source of power.
Your attention is like a laser beam - where you focus it determines what you create
Michelle explains that consciousness and awareness feed life force energy into whatever you focus on, citing the media industry as proof of attention's power, and Dr. Joe Dispenza's energy blessing work showing how focused attention alone can release blocks in the body.
Conceiving requires receptivity - when you're in hardcore yang masculine mode, you can't receive
Rosanne connects Michelle's yin-yang teaching to fertility, explaining that conception is about receiving but excessive masculine energy creates defensiveness and control rather than the creative, receptive state needed for conception.
Fertility challenges often involve three-way cocreation between you, your partner, and your future child's spirit
Michelle shares stories of patients receiving incredibly specific signs from their future babies, including meaningful names appearing on magazines that connect to year-long conversations about baby names, suggesting spiritual communication in the fertility process.
Your body has an innate blueprint for reproduction - fertility is your natural state, not dysfunction
▶ 17:37Chinese medicine facilitates the body's natural healing - it doesn't heal, the body heals itself when flow is restored
▶ 17:07Nervous system dysregulation blocks fertility - you must be able to oscillate between active and restorative states
▶ 5:30Excessive yang energy burns you out - fertility requires balancing active fire energy with receptive yin energy
▶ 6:21The heart's electromagnetic field extends further than the brain's - the heart may be more important than we think
▶ 9:58Elevated emotions plus focused thoughts create physical changes in the body, not just thoughts alone
▶ 13:54Taking ownership of your internal state is the most empowering step you can take for your fertility
▶ 23:13Your attention is like a laser beam - where you focus it determines what you create
▶ 41:21Conceiving requires receptivity - when you're in hardcore yang masculine mode, you can't receive
▶ 25:27Fertility challenges often involve three-way cocreation between you, your partner, and your future child's spirit
▶ 35:59“Fertility problems are permanent conditions you have to accept based on your history”
CONSIDER: Your body has an innate blueprint for reproduction and can return to its natural fertile state regardless of past dysfunction
“Success is just luck or randomness when fertility treatments work”
CONSIDER: Fertility success comes from real changes in your internal state, not luck
“you are actually born to reproduce. Your body has a blueprint. It's like it's done. That was the intention from the beginning.”
“Chinese medicine doesn't heal. It's the body that heals. All it does is it facilitates a place of, an environment that is conducive to healing.”
“conceiving is all about receiving. When you're in a super hardcore yang masculine mode, you're not open to receiving.”
“That was the single greatest, most empowering step I've taken in my life... finally taking ownership of my shit.”
“when you bring awareness, you're actually feeding life force energy into that place. When we have blocks in our body, it's because that area of the body is not conscious.”
“Lucky, I got four years of suffering behind this, bro. You know? Like, let let's look at this and let's look at the changes.”
EP204 Chinese Medicine, Mindset, + Manifesting Your Baby: A Conversation with Michelle Oravitz, Founder of Wholesome Lotus
Discover how Chinese medicine helped one woman regulate her period after 12 years of irregularity and why treating your whole body is the key to fertility success.
EP279: Spirit Babies: Is That Sh*t Real? A Conversation with Nancy Mae
What if your future baby is already trying to communicate with you through energy, signs, and intuition?
EP172 The Negativity Purge Meditation
Release the negativity weighing you down and reclaim your power with this transformative guided meditation for your fertility journey.
Chinese medicine works for fertility because it's based on the laws of nature and promotes what the body already knows how to do - heal itself
Michelle had irregular periods for 12 years from age 13-25, then got her period the same day after her first acupuncture treatment and again 4 weeks later naturally.
Reproductive health is a reflection of your overall health - you can't fix fertility issues by only treating reproductive organs
Michelle explains using the analogy of fixing water flow by removing the rock in the back of the hose, not just treating the front where symptoms appear.
Conceiving requires shifting from masculine doing energy to feminine receiving energy
Nancy Mae experienced this shift firsthand when Walter McKitchen told her to stop trying to think herself through fertility, leading to her successful conception after struggling to get pregnant with her second child.
Spirit babies communicate through subtle energy signs like warmth, peace, song lyrics, or animals rather than verbal dialogue
Nancy Mae explains that spirit babies speak through the heart space using sensations like someone's hand on your shoulder, buzzing in ears, waking up singing songs, or messages through butterflies and animals.
