TEST CASES

Polycystic Ovaries/Spontaneous Pregnancy

At the age of 18, like all her friends, Noa went on the Pill. After a few years, not wanting to risk the long-term side effects, she came off it, only to discover she had developed an irregular menstrual cycle – sometimes bleeding would disappear for months at a time. An ultrasound confirmed polycystic ovaries.

Her doctor explained that the only solution to her lack of ovulation was to go back on the Pill. She was told a lack of menstruation only mattered if she wanted to get pregnant, and that this would regulate her cycle. Noa returned to the Pill, using it for the next decade or so.

In her early 30’s, Noa got married and tried (unsuccessfully) to fall pregnant. Physicians said that without hormonal treatment she would not be able to. Noa began the long, painful and tiring process of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Two boys were born with the help of IVF, a year and a half apart from each other. Though Noa was told her pregnancies and breastfeeding would regulate her menstrual cycle, this did not occur – and at no stage was Noa offered another option of regulating her cycle once and for all, unrelated to falling pregnant.

Noa wanted a third child. This time, instead of taking pills – as she had done for almost 20 years – she decided to change her way of thinking and was open to what the Aviva Method offered. When her second son was nine months old, she began practicing the Aviva Method in order to normalize her periods. A month or two later, she began menstruating naturally – for the first time in 20 years. After so many years on the Pill and several IVF treatment cycles, just a short time practicing the Aviva Method brought her the results that all the physicians she’d consulted had declared impossible: a spontaneous pregnancy.

Polycystic Ovaries/Spontaneous Pregnancy

Hilla used birth control pills for years – by the age of 15 she had never experienced a regular menstrual cycle – and was advised by her gynecologist to go on the Pill in order to regulate it. She was told she would have difficulty getting pregnant, but that it was not “completely impossible”.

Just after she got married, Hilla stopped taking the Pill. But her periods did not become regular, and after a few months she returned to the gynecologist. She did not want the advised hormonal or IVF treatments; she wanted to go a more natural route and trusted her body to heal itself and regain vitality.

After nine months of trying to fall pregnant naturally, Hilla was sent to one of the country’s leading fertility physicians. As soon as he heard about her PCO he told her nothing was to be done – that only fertility treatments would work in such a case.

Eventually, Hilla decided to try the Aviva Method. She practiced without really believing in it. She practiced for four months but her period did not arrive. However, she was advised to monitor her ovulation nevertheless and in an ovulation home test, she discovered she was ovulating. That same month she felt a change in her body: a pregnancy test confirmed she was pregnant, and nine months later a healthy son was born.

Polycystic Ovaries & Continuous Bleeding

Yarden was running between doctors, taking pills and hormones to regulate her cycle. Four years before, at the age of 16, while taking birth control pills, her periods had become irregular. Every month, two weeks of bleeding would be followed by two “clean weeks”.

Her physician prescribed her different drugs, but nothing helped. On the contrary, she suffered from nausea, tiredness, acne and other uncomfortable symptoms.

In her late 20’s, Yarden began feeling helpless. Her periods were irregular and overly long when they arrived and doctors had no solutions. When she went to see an endocrinologist, she was diagnosed her with polycystic ovaries and prescribed hormones. Consequently, her side effects returned.

Seeing no other solution, Yarden tried the Aviva Method in order to balance her entire system. During the first session, she immediately sensed a – her body needed it. In fact, the exercises were already changing her hormonal makeup.

After much frustration and a long and difficult journey, finally she’d found a solution. Three sessions with an Aviva Method coach changed her life!

Today, Yarden’s periods come every 27 days. She practices the Method three times a week, for 40 minutes and says that the days on which she practices feel totally different.

Polycystic Ovaries

Like any other girl of 12, Sharon felt she was transitioning from childhood to adulthood when she got her period. However, a few weeks afterwards, Sharon gained considerable weight. Her mother did not attach much importance to it, but simply watched her daughter’s eating and encouraged a healthier diet and more physical activity. The situation did not improve.

At 13, Sharon’s periods became irregular. They would disappear for months, return for a month or two and disappear again. Then she experienced massive hair loss, and body hair growth at the same time. Her mother realized something was wrong and took Sharon to a physician who tested her for PCOS. It came up positive and as an irregular menstrual cycles can impair quality of life even if one isn’t planning a pregnancy that the physician recommended hormonal therapy.

Sharon’s mother did not want that as an option, and instead took her to learn the Aviva Method to regulate her period. Sharon performed the exercises with commitment and devotion.

The change came within a week. Her period reappeared after months of no show. A few weeks later, Sharon noticed that less hair was falling out. She still had to cope with her weight gain, but her female hormonal system was beginning to function in a regular and healthy and regular way.

Pregnancy / infertility

When a woman reaches a certain age and is not in a relationship, she has a decision to make: to give up motherhood or become a single parent. Shani went to a leading fertility physician who checked her out and told her that if she wished to get pregnant she would need an egg donation. Her tests showed a high FSH value of 23. He suggested two inter-uterine insemination (IUI) procedures as protocol, but said the chances of success were low. She was told she’d need a miracle and predicted a result only with egg donation IVF treatment.

Shani decided not to give up just yet, and in looking for another way became acquainted with the Aviva Method.

Contrary to the doctor’s opinion, her Aviva Method coach did not think Shani’s chances were so low. She’d had enough experience of women who had managed to lower their FSH values using the Aviva Method exercises – and then become pregnant naturally.

Shani began in earnest, and practiced three times a week. For two months she practiced a sequence of exercises, modifying it according to the time of her menstrual cycle and to her ovulation.

Then she returned to her physician. Her doctor recommended she go through two consecutive IUI’s, to increase her chances. Shani did not bother to go through the second IUI – the first had been a traumatic procedure for her and she wasn’t optimistic about her chances anyway. When a fertility specialist tells you your chance of getting pregnant (even via egg donation) is close to zero you lose hope.

Usually Shani’s period was as regular as a Swiss clock, but even when her next period was late, Shani did not do a blood test. Two weeks later, after just one IUI procedure, she discovered she was pregnant. Her physician remembered his prognosis, and declared it indeed a miracle.

Unexplained infertility/IVT Pregnancy

At 40, Yonit had already gone through three IUI’s and three IVF cycles – all were unsuccessful.

Her infertility fell under the category of “unexplained”, though her age might have been a partial reason. But Yonit wanted to be more active in the process and discovered the Aviva Method.

She had always liked movement and sports. She learned the exercises quickly and began to practice with devotion. Contrary to simply being a patient in a fertility clinic where one does exactly as told, she became very proactive – guided by her Aviva Method coach – in working alongside the medical procedure.

Although the results were not immediate, Yonit felt a change as soon as she began her exercise routine. After two or three exercise sessions she described her female reproductive system as “awakening” and “moving” – the conscious focus on the area where pregnancy occurs left her feeling very different from before. Soon her menstrual cycle became regular.

Yonit practiced conscientiously for 6 months, and a “beta” test after her third fertility treatment showed she was pregnant. Hers was a winning combination of complementary and conventional medicine.

Secondary Infertility, Early Menopause

After giving birth to two healthy children, Sharon decided to try for a third. Having had no problem falling pregnant spontaneously, she didn’t envision any complications. But at the age of 38, Sharon discovered she was experiencing early menopause: no ovulation, high FSH, and a very low chance of falling pregnant.

Sharon started the routine course of hormonal therapy: follicle treatment, blood tests and two IUI’s. But she came no closer to the awaited pregnancy, and Sharon felt it was not the right direction. Her body didn’t respond well, and her menstrual cycle was not only increasingly less regular but had all but disappeared. The two physicians she consulted were not positive in their prognosis.

Sharon switched doctors and went through another IUI procedure. It failed. This physician gave her a new medical protocol that included an even more intensive hormonal treatment. But her period just continued to dwindle, while her FSH values increased: from 12 to 49.3. She was given hormones for a year – but was unable to receive IVF as her follicles were too small.

Feeling desperate, she sought the advice of one of the best fertility specialists in the country. When he saw her FSH values he advised egg donation. Sharon was shocked – this was not what she had expected, but the doctor left her no hope. At 40, she almost quit, until she came across the Aviva Method.

Her situation: six months without a period – not even random bleeding. She was suffering from menopausal symptoms, and her FSH levels had peaked.

Sharon started practicing the Method. After just three weeks, her period returned. It was only a few drops of blood – but those few drops proved she was headed in the right direction. She felt something changing deep within her body, but it took another menstrual cycle for the wonder to occur. After her next period, Sharon ovulated – and got pregnant.

Secondary Infertility, Cysts, Hormonal Sensitivity

Like Sharon, Miri’s first two pregnancies were easy – she never imagined getting pregnant a third time would be so difficult.

A few years before, Miri had suffered acute abdominal pain due to an ovarian torsion. She had a laparoscopy and her ovary was successfully returned to its correct place, but her periods became irregular. She was told such surgery could cause hormonal disruptions, which could be balanced by hormonal medication. Some gynecologists claim that hormones prevent cancer. Surgeons, on the other hand, claim they might cause cancer. Miri knew that in her case they were causing cysts.

For two years, Miri suffered hormonal imbalance: her period disappeared for months, returned for a few months only to disappear again. Then a cyst was found in her ovary. Her physician believed that if her periods returned, the cyst would disappear. Despite her history, he prescribed hormones to regulate her period. Miri took the drugs; her period came back and the ovarian cyst disappeared. But then a large cyst appeared in her breast. She went to her doctor who again prescribed hormones. This time she wasn’t about to take them.

Right now, getting pregnant didn’t matter. She just wanted a regular cycle and balanced hormones. She was suffering mood swings, pains, weight gain, heaviness – and felt desperate. She’d been sent here and there, from center to center, had fertility tests and ultrasounds – all to no avail. Her hormones remained imbalanced and she was unable to get pregnant.

Then she found the Aviva Method. Miri persisted in her practice, and after just one month – she fell pregnant spontaneously. She still finds it hard to believe that everything happened so fast. Two and a half years of trying, and here, after only one month of practicing the Aviva method she became pregnant!

Ovarian failure, High FSH

At the age of 22, Sara began trying to get pregnant. Three years later, after trying both conventional treatments and alternative methods, her gynecologist discovered after a routine checkup that her body was producing higher than average FSH levels – so high, in fact, that she had an almost-zero chance of a spontaneous pregnancy. She was told that the values were very rare at her age, and she was put onto hormonal therapy right away.

Sara began with the routine Menogon, in increasing dosages. But after a year of hormonal treatment, and the side effects she suffered: mood swings, heaviness and frustration, she realized there was no point in continuing. It was a painful time in her life and she shared it with no one: she felt as if she were “on the edge”, cried at the tiniest thing, felt sensitive and anxious and out of control as to when the treatment would end and whether it would even work. In fact she didn’t even ovulate, and no follicles were found in her tests.

Sara had heard about the Aviva Method, but was skeptical. How could exercises get her pregnant? So she went to a herbalist: for six months she took the formula the herbalist gave her, but there was no change or progress and she soon started looking for another alternative treatment. She tried a strict food regime – and felt great, but didn’t get pregnant.

A year later, she decided to give ‘that exercise method’ a chance. Sara took a few lessons, understood the basic principles quickly and felt it was right for her. Her goal was to regulate her ovulation and to shorten the duration of her periods. She practiced devotedly every day to begin with, and very intensively. The exercises were fitted to each phase of her menstrual cycle – she did 10-30 minutes daily, and gradually, the frequency decreased, as per her coach’s instruction.

After only six months, during which she didn’t check her FSH levels, monitor her ovulation nor do any tests… Sara got pregnant.

Many women tend to start with the conventional way because they are told to and it is “what everybody does”. But the conventional way is not always the best, fastest or the most efficient.

Early menopause & Secondary fertility

At week 12, Hadas had a medically advised abortion. Three months later, her periods stopped, and she began experiencing hot flashes, pimples and vaginal dryness. She was told that her body had gone into early menopause and she had no chance of getting pregnant again, should she have wanted to.

After further tests, her hormonal profile showed extremely high FSH values – around 86 (normal is between 0 and 10.)

Wanting a big family, Hadas started Googling the subject and learned that high FSH values were irreversible – you can always go up, but you can never come down. Conventional medicine was not going to give her the solution, the doctors had already told her that – no one would offer her hormonal or fertility treatments with FSH values above 20.

Despite all this, Hadas was even more determined to have another child. When she began a further search, all the websites she found offered ways to avoid menopausal side effects, but none dealt with how to get pregnant if menopause arrived early – except for the Aviva Method website, which claimed that even if you were experiencing early menopause and your body didn’t produce eggs, you could still be helped.

The Aviva Method coach told Hadas that given she had been pregnant just three months earlier, meant she wasn’t really in full menopause. That the body does not suddenly become infertile overnight. The coach added that Hadas’s body had undergone some trauma and it was possible the lab results weren’t final or didn’t really reflect Hadas’s hormonal profile. She smiled, saying: “Even if this is the last train, we will catch her!”

After that, everything happened fast. Hadas learned the method and practiced: regularly, like a clock, not missing even one session. The first mission was to bring her period back. After a month of practice, it did! Hadas recalled: “Within less than a month after my second period arrived I did a lab test to check my hormonal profile, and the results showed FSH levels of 11!

That was a dramatic decrease in FSH levels – in black-and-white. After that, every physician she consulted with said there was no way back. A follicle test showed the ovary was functioning again and producing fine follicles.

After less than a month of practicing the Aviva Method, Hadas’s FSH values had decreased radically – and in another month, she became pregnant.

6 years in Fertility treatments/ OR Infertility & Early menopause

At the age of 36, Shira married and felt anxious to get pregnant. For six months she tried, and then began the routine tests and treatments: ultrasound, hormones, IUI’s and finally IVF. After six long years, there was still no result.

The doctors made changes in her medical protocols, the hospitals she attended, and even her only pregnancy (achieved in the 11th treatment) which ended after a few weeks. After that abortion, she was broken. So many years and so many expectations had led up to that one pregnancy, which ended suddenly.

After Shira had healed from the abortion, she turned to an Aviva Method coach. Even during the first session she felt a new, deep relaxation entering her, something she never felt before.

After six years of treatment and 15 IVF’s, Shira became acutely aware of the importance of preparing one’s body for fertility treatments. The Aviva Method’s role was to get her ready for her final treatment – and combining both approaches is what allowed her to get pregnant.

Shira’s real journey began with learning the Aviva Method and ended – after just one year – with the birth of her first daughter.

Endometriosis & IVF Pregnancy

Miri, at 39, had been married for four years. Around the age of 30, she was diagnosed as suffering from Endometriosis, a gynecological condition in which endometrial cells ‘migrate’ out of the uterus and settle in different areas of the body. Endometriosis is an incurable and chronic condition, accompanied by severe side effects.

Besides living with continuous discomfort from the condition, Miri also knew that getting pregnant wouldn’t be easy. Already, six months of spontaneous trying had led to nothing.

Advised by the fertility doctor, she started taking Ikaclomin. This pill took her off balance, hormonally and emotionally, but did not help her.

Miri then began a series of painful and humiliating tests, she changed physicians and tried different kinds of hormonal drugs in shots, or ‘mixed and matched’ hormones. And each month, her period arrived, ending her hopes – again and again.

She felt weakened with every failure, but also determined to try everything! Having always believed in alternative medicine, she decided to try an alternative treatment alongside her conventional treatment. She began with shiatsu, acupuncture and homeopathy. Something had to work! Six months later, she came across the Aviva Method.

Miri began to practice the Method at home, after working with a coach, following the instructions with precision. It demanded a great commitment. Miri describes it: “Unlike a shot that you come to get and then go home, the exercises require that you invest in your body, making your dream of becoming a mother reality”. After just a short time practicing the Aviva Method, her third IVF treatment produced twins!

Only women who go through IVF understand the levels of frustration and disappointment experienced. Miri believes that had she known the Aviva Method before she started with all the IUI’s, pills, shots and treatments, she may have saved herself a great deal of emotional and hormonal turbulence.

Fertility treatments, Recurring miscarriages, Poor responder

After four years of unsuccessful treatments Michal realized she needed to be more active in order to get pregnant and started practicing the Aviva method. Five months later she was pregnant.

Two years after she got married, Michal and her husband started wanted a baby. Soon, she fell pregnant. It led to her first miscarriage. Her disappointment was great, but after a while she continued trying. A year and a half later of unsuccessful attempts turned her towards conventional medicine for fertility treatments.

Her tests showed normal FSH levels, and no other problems were diagnosed, so Michal began with IUI route. After the first one was unsuccessful, she added hormonal therapy to the next three treatments. When those failed too, she decided to stop taking hormones: her body was not responding and her mood swings were doing her no good.

At a second doctor, she did another hormone test that showed a higher FSH level than she had had before her treatments. Her new doctor convinced her to start taking hormones again, and she started another round of IVF but her body, once again, did not respond. Her follicles were empty – in fact there weren’t even any follicles to extract. On another occasion she only produced two follicles. Her doctor sent her to do an AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) test to check her ovarian reserve. The result was extremely low: it showed she had almost no chance of getting pregnant, and Michal was starting to think about an egg donation.

Michal returned to her former physician, who decided this time to try non-hormonal IVF treatment. She conceived, but had to terminate at week 17 after her waters broke.

After four years of endless treatments and drugs, Michal decided to be more active: she wanted no more treatments, experiments or IUI’s done on her.

She had heard of the Aviva Method, but only now decided take the driver’s seat and try it. The Aviva Method coach taught her how to feel her body and to move it in the methodical sequences. Michal began to feel her pelvic area coming to life.

Michal practiced for five months, with real devotion. After the five months, she had another non-hormonal IVF. This time it ended in a healthy pregnancy going to full term.

Secondary Amenorrhea

At the age of 26, just a few months before her wedding day, Nur’s doctor told her that her body was going into menopause. She wouldn’t be able to have children...

All her life, Nur’s cycle was regular, so when her period was late, she was surprised. Perhaps it was the stress of the wedding arrangements.

Her next period didn’t come at all. Nur’s doctor gave her birth control pills to regulate her cycle. They helped for while, but then her periods stopped again. Nur wanted to know what was at the root of the problem. Her subsequent hormonal profile couldn’t be more clear: she was beginning menopause. The doctor was adamant that she couldn’t have children, as she wasn’t fertile anymore. The second opinion fertility specialist she went to see confirmed it, explaining that modern medicine simply couldn’t help women in her situation.

Nur knew that neither her family, nor the community she lived in, would never accept her having an egg donation. She’d never be a mother!

But Nur was determined to find a solution, and after doing her research set up a meeting with an Aviva Method coach. They met only three times. In each session Nur learned six exercises from the Method. They were hard for her, since she was not used to doing physical exercise. Nonetheless, she was determined to give it a chance and did them with devotion.

After a month of practicing the exercise sequences, Nur got her period. For three months, her period came right on time. Then she celebrated her wedding day. In the fourth month, her period did not arrive – and Nur was happy. She knew that she was pregnant. A pregnancy that, according to all the doctors, should never have happened!

Unexplained recurring miscarriages

“Unexplained” was the medical term given by the doctors to Shirley’s and her husband's lack of ability to conceive for a year. All the tests they took had come back normal. Then Shirley took her doctor’s advice and began taking hormones. After two cycles and one IUI, she conceived – but the fetus did not develop. This sad story repeated itself more than once. Within two years, Shirley had four IUI’s and two pregnancies, neither of which came to term.

Shirley met with an Aviva Method coach when she was in the middle of her next treatment cycle. Although her coach recommended Shirley stop the treatment before starting the Method practice, Shirley was too anxious to get pregnant, and did them concurrently.

Shirley practiced the exercises to encourage ovulation between her period and embryo transfer – and then she did the routine blood tests. Unlike her previous treatments, a large amount of follicles was found – and all of them big.

Although that treatment did not end successfully, her doctor suggested she stop taking further hormones, as her ovaries had responded well and she had sufficient eggs.

During her next IVF, Shirely practiced the Aviva Method sequences diligently and got pregnant. Two years after trying with no result, the Aviva Method prepared and balanced her body enabling her to respond well to the fertility treatments, and conceive.

Secondary amenorrhea

Maya was 20 and single when she first approached an Aviva Method coach to bring back her periods. She wanted to prepare herself for the day that she’d become a mother. It worked.

When she was 12, Maya came first in her country’s Judo championships. For eight intensive years, Judo was an inseparable part of her life. She was in the Israeli team, and won the girls’ National championship twice. It was a busy time for her, and no wonder she paid little attention to the irregularity of her period, which first appeared when she was 14. Her period came every couple of months and she thought that was okay.

Looking back now, she wonders if the intensive physical routine had something to do with it, and could have damaged her body in some way.

When she was 17, Maya stopped getting her period. She admits that it was very convenient at the time. But, after those two years she finally decided to take care of it. At the age of 20, she saw a gynecologist for the first time, who advised she begin a course of birth control pills to regulate her cycle. Maya’s mother was against it, as it felt unnatural, and Maya followed her advice.

Not long after, Maya came across the Aviva Method and felt that it was just for her. Her coach taught her the exercise routine and she practiced routinely. After a short period, Maya began menstruating again and knew she was on the right path. Slowly her menstrual cycle returned, and was almost completely regulated. She was well on her way to achieving hormonal balance!