Ovulation Pain. I Blame Bikram.

Three years ago when I hated my job and was trying for a baby, I had a discussion with one of my Bikram teachers back in Boston.

"We've been trying for a few months and nothing," I said. "Maybe it's a sign I'm not ready?"

"Could be," said the teacher. "Maybe your body isn't ready. I bet when you master Eagle pose, you'll have no problem getting pregnant. You'll be ready then. You'll wrap that leg around the other, and it will happen."

Well, shortly after that, I found a job I loved. And while I continued to dabble with the "baby path" I discovered that I was indeed not ready for a baby. I wasn't ready to stay home with a kid. And more importantly, my body wasn't ready. I wasn't mastering Eagle pose.

Until this year.

This year, I began to be able to wrap my leg around on both sides of Eagle. It took nearly five years of practicing, but I got there. And once I got there, I noticed something happen in my body once a month with precise regularity...

Ovulation pain.

Every month, right around the time of ovulation, I get side pain. Right around the hip. Always on one side. The only other time I experienced this pain was when I was on a round of the fertility drug Clomid two years ago. There wasn't anything wrong with me fertility-wise, but the doctors in Boston were aggressive with pumping me full of a nice juicy dose Clomid to "pump up my ovulation."

"But," I argued, "You said my tests checked out really well and that I appear to be ovulating already. Why do I need Clomid?"

"Well," the doctor said, "This is just one way to REALLY get you super fertile. And just so you know, you will have an increased chance of multiple eggs being released on Clomid."

After two months of Clomid, which included super bitchtastic moods and wreaking havoc on my skin, I said, "Fuck this. I will never do fertility drugs again."

And I meant it. But I learned a lot about my body when I was on those drugs. The difference between my body during ovulation on it and off it keyed me into what I needed to work on to probably get pregnant naturally.

The ovulation pain dwindled away after I went off the drugs. But then it picked back up as soon as I mastered Eagle pose, which helps stimulate and balance out your reproductive system.

I am not trying to get pregnant right now. (I have a few things I need to focus on before I can commit to a baby.) But I am mentally feeling very fertile. And it appears my body is telling me the same.

Always listen to the body, people. If Bikram has taught me one super valuable thing, it is that. Fuck what the mind says. Pay attention to what your body says.