Janetti Marotta

Last May, Insight Meditation South Bay hosted guest speaker Stephen Fulder, one of Israel’s foremost spiritual teachers and founder of the Israel Insight Society, in an event entitled Equanimity: Dancing with the Unexpected. Equanimity is a key spiritual faculty which allows us to face the known and the unknown, the ecstasies and the despairs, with steadiness and lightness. Check it out!
Link: https://www.imsb.org/event/weekly-sitting-and-dhamma-talk-2015-04-07-2016-01-19-2017-01-31-2017-02-21-2017-03-14-2017-04-18-2017-07-18-2018-01-09-2019-05-07/

In this recent episode of The Brighter Side with Tekneshia Day podcast, we discuss the complex network of existential paradoxes. For example, the greater our need for support, the more we retreat further and further away from help. Mindfulness takes a paradoxical approach to life’s challenges, teaching us that only until we accept ourselves for who we are are we free to change. This makes it the perfect approach to the paradoxical landmines infertility presents. Based on the teachings and practices in my book, "A Fertile Path: Guiding the Journey with Mindfulness and Compassion," these are but a few of the topics covered in the Bringing Mindfulness to Fertility episode.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bringing-mindfulness-to-fertility/id852313729?i=1000412074130

This talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center’s South Bay location as part of the series “Eight Great Thoughts” (Anguttara Nikaya 8:30). Mindfulness is the conscious acceptance of the present moment without judgement. It teaches us to accept the present moment just as it is, pleasant or unpleasant. This acceptance in turn lends us insight into the nature of suffering, impermanence, and the non-self. Additionally, awareness of our breath and body can ground us in the present moment during meditation. Visit my website and take a listen!

Link: https://janettimarotta.com/eight-great-thoughts-8-week-speaker-series-based-anuruddha-sutta/

Heather Huhman’s podcast is a invaluable resource for those facing infertility. It was my absolute pleasure being a guest and sharing what I have learned from my own struggle and the women and men I have worked with during my 20+ years of work in this field. My talk focused on how the teachings and practices of mindfulness can work with the array of challenges infertility presents, which forms the basis of my book, A Fertile Path: Guiding the Journey with Mindfulness and Compassion. It is my hope is that you listeners will find it a helpful addition to your fertility repertoire!

In this recent episode of the Beat Infertility podcast, Dr. Marotta joins host Heather Huhman to discuss how mindfulness can be helpful when confronted with the array of challenges infertility presents. Learn how stress, infertility, and the mind-body connection overlap; discover the relaxation response, visualization techniques, and how to achieve them in meditation practices. These tools will help listeners tackle difficult situations and strengthen relationships with their partners.

It was a very inspiring and healing day for all those who attended the Lokahi Retreat (Calming the Mind, Quieting the Body) hosted by Katy Barry, L.Ac. and Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. last week at Santa Clara's beautiful Dharma Studio!

Future retreats will be offered, so make sure to keep an eye out. We look forward to sharing another day of mindfulness and meditation with you!

Being confronted by infertility often means dealing with overwhelming stress. Caring for your body, mind, and spirit is not just important, it’s essential. Learning to stay present and maintain equanimity can be a gift with this journey. Mindfulness and finding emotional balance through Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles can help you navigate the complex network of emotional and physical trials.

Hosted by:
Katy Barry, L.Ac of Lokahi Acupuncture
Janetti Marotta, Ph.D., psychologist and author of "A Fertile Path: Guiding the Journey with Mindfulness and Compassion"

We will be bringing the practice of mindfulness and TCM principles to the challenges of fertility. Join us for a day of treating your whole being with others who are on the same journey. Learn practices, strategies, and tools to develop the resilience you need to stay a heart-centered course on this journey.

Who can benefit?
Individuals or couples attempting pregnancy naturally or in fertility treatment pursuing any family-building option.

How can I register or get more information?
By phone - call Lokahi Acupuncture @ (408) 279-9001
Online - visit this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/approaching-fertility-challenges-with-mindfulness-and-emotional-balance-tickets-59147664256

When is it?
Saturday, April 13th from 9:30am-5:30pm

Where is it?
Dharma Studio - 1807 Pruneridge Avenue, Suite C, Santa Clara, CA

What will it cost?
$175 Individual / $300 Couple
Cancellation Policy: 80% refund up to two weeks prior to the event date, no refunds thereafter

What should I bring?
Please bring your own lunch and yoga mat, and wear comfortable clothes for movement practices. Space is limited, so please register early!

Presented by Lokahi Acupuncture
lokahiacupuncture.com

Praise for "A Fertile Path":

“Infertility is a difficult journey and Dr. Marotta demonstrates a way to navigate through the associated stress and uncertainty. Infertility can cause an emotional reaction on par with any other serious life event such as a cancer diagnosis or loss of a loved one. Mindfulness can empower one to deal with all of life’s untoward events. You will derive strength and power through this book. Not only will it help throughout the infertility process, the techniques taught in this book will transcend infertility to help with all aspects of life. Mindfulness is more than a powerful support process; it is a way to improve your life. Dr. Marotta has both a compassionate, professional approach and the experience of someone who has gone through the infertility journey. She provides a unique and powerful perspective. I intend to recommend this book as a must read for any couple considering fertility treatment.”

—Hugh S. Taylor, MD, Anita O’Keeffe Young Professor and Chair in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine

“With such compassion and wisdom, Dr. Janetti Marotta offers in A Fertile Path an accessible set of holistic practices to cultivate deep resilience and mindful self-care to support you in all aspects of what your fertile path may bring you. It is clear that Dr. Marotta has intimately navigated her own fertility journey as her words tenderly capture not only the breadth and depth of the confusion, vulnerability, grief, and stress that this passage may contain but also the potential for deep surrender, healing, and transformation. Reading this vital book is like having a wise, loving friend and mentor walking with you, holding your hand as you find your way.”

—Deborah Zucker, ND, author of "The Vitality Map"

“The journey through the maze of infertility treatments can at times be quite overwhelming. In A Fertile Path, Dr. Marotta will provide any reader a blueprint of coping methods and practices that can help make an inevitably stressful journey more tolerable and ultimately more successful. The emphasis on a holistic, compassionate approach, frequently overlooked by patients and providers alike, underscores the importance of the mind-body connection. The methods addressed in this book may also be applied to many other stressful, challenging aspects of life. Whether you are struggling to overcome infertility, or dealing with any other stress inducing obstacles, I recommend the approaches outlined in this book.”

—Joel Batzofin, MD, FACOG, Medical Director of New York Fertility Services and author of "One Step at a Time"

“Dear reader, you are holding in your hands a treasure trove of wisdom and compassion that can help you with the extraordinary challenges of infertility. A resource like this on your ongoing journey is as precious as a life boat when your ship has struck a reef and can only be offered from the heart of a woman who personally knows the grief and despair of infertility and multiple miscarriages. If you or someone you love has been obliged to bear these burdens, you also know what enormous strength and courage it takes to try again and again. Janetti Marotta is someone who has traveled and learned to navigate well in these perilous waters, and through the years of her labors, she has gained many precious mindfulness skills like loving kindness and self-compassion as well as emotional self-regulation and resilience. She offers these treasures here to you in abundance. Many blessings for this gift of love and compassion to all who find themselves on this difficult journey. Bon Voyage!”

—Steve Flowers, MS, MFT, author of "The Mindful Path Through Shyness" and co-author of "Living with Your Heart Wide Open"

"A Fertile Path" shows you how the gifts of mindfulness can help you navigate the emotional and physical challenges of fertility.

When confronted by the often-overwhelming stress that comes from infertility and its treatment, learning to stay present and maintain equanimity is essential. Mindfulness can help you navigate the complex network of emotional and physical trials that infertility presents.

This book is a step-by-step guide that offers strategies for the challenges on the road ahead and support to develop the resilience you need to stay the course of your fertility journey. It speaks directly to anyone attempting to conceive naturally and/or participating in fertility treatment. Drawing from the lessons of her own journey through infertility, and those of the women and men with whom she has worked, Dr. Marotta brings the teaching and practice of mindfulness to this incredible challenge.

Applying the teachings, practices, and exercises in A Fertile Path will help you to develop the resilience you need to stay the course of your fertility journey and realize your dream of parenthood. With the guidance of this mindfulness-based approach, you will discover how to:

- Develop present-moment “non-judgmental” awareness
- Turn on the relaxation response and self-soothe
- Rejuvenate physical health holistically
- Work with thoughts skillfully and emotions compassionately
- Approach challenging interpersonal situations with equanimity
- Find support in your intimate relationship
- Open yourself to family-building options
- Learn to see obstacles, challenges, and crises as opportunities

This book was developed for anyone depleted by infertility, trapped in self-judgment, overwhelmed by interpersonal stressors, confused by treatment decisions, and motivated to seek health and healing. Applying these teachings, practices, and exercises will help you develop the resilience you need to stay the course of your fertility journey.

Available now on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Fertile-Path-Guiding-Mindfulness-Compassion/dp/1975859154/

"When we place our full attention on the breath, we pull ourselves out of the past, away from the future, and directly into the present moment."

Two Breathing Exercises to Steady the Mind Before Meditation These breath meditation exercises are especially helpful for those who feel anxious or feel tightness in their chests and air passages. Both practices can bring equanimity to the breath and a sensation of expansiveness to the chest.

"Accepting the impermanence of life cultivates qualities to serve on the journey: non-judgment, patience, acceptance, non-striving, trust, letting things be, compassion, equanimity, and beginner’s mind..."

A Reflection - Parallel Universes - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. We reside in two parallel universes. One universe is manufactured from a time warp. It has boundaries, prescriptions, and a mechanized view of how it all should work. Movement is linear, reaching between the far reaches of the galaxy and back into its nucleus; a self-perpetuated feedback loop from o...

“Concentrate not on the results,
but on the work itself.”

Loss of Control – Why Mindfulness is Helpful for Infertility - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Infertility is a life crisis because every area of life is impacted. As well, the typical coping mechanism of control is ineffective, as effort does not equate with success. More than anything, infertility feels like loss of control. However, the very need to gain control over a situation that exten...

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“Life blooms In the midst of suffering.”

A Personal Failing – Why Mindfulness is Helpful for Infertility - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Womanhood and fertility are intrinsically linked. When not able to create or carry a child, it’s not uncommon to feel defective, broken, or inadequate. Infertility is not viewed as a medical condition but rather a measure of self-worth—an indelible personal failing. The tendency to personalize a...

“No matter how vast the darkness
we must supply our own light.”
– Stanley Kubrick

Hardwired for the Negative Effect – Why Mindfulness is Helpful for Infertility - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Because we’re hardwired to be on alert for danger, our minds are naturally biased toward the negative. According to Rick Hanson, the author of Buddha’s Brain (2009), negative experiences stick to the brain like Velcro and positive experiences slide off like Teflon. The fight/flight response is c...

Here are the compelling reasons to give a try:

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“Do what you can,
with what you have,
where you are.”
–T. Roosevelt

No Time for the Present - Why Mindfulness is Helpful for Infertility - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. The recurrent monthly cycle and conversely the delayed or absent cycle keeps the mind tethered to the “object” of fertility. Because infertility is often paired with painful emotional experiences, the mind is swept into the loss, regret, or guilt of the past and the anxiety, dread, or fear of th...

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world
until we make peace with ourselves.”
-Dalai Lama

Outside vs. Inside - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. Infertility is a catastrophe in every sense of the word. Yet, it is the very struggle of infertility, its diminishing of reserves in every domain that can ultimately replenish and further. It requires us to look for happiness not on the outside but on the inside. The...

"Physical barriers to pregnancy should be ruled out before you and your health care practitioners focus only on your mental and emotional state."

Here's What Science Has To Say About The Whole "Relax & You'll Get Pregnant" Thing The moment you decide to try and conceive, waiting to hold a positive pregnancy test can feel daunting and, sometimes, frustrating. With that frustration comes, inevitably, stress. There's plenty of conversations going around about how mental health …

“It’s not what you look at that matters,
it’s what you see.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Depth vs. Breadth - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. Advanced Reproductive Technology (ART) gives us an ever-expanding range of choices in our efforts to bring a child into our family, and we are required to understand, in depth, what these choices mean. A year in infertility treatment is like a year in graduate school. We need...

"Our conditioning inclines us to seek stability. We believe that when we get all our “ducks are in a row” we’ll find the security, relief, or validation we’re looking for... Mindfulness uses awareness rather than control to meet life’s challenges."

Slowing Down vs. Moving Quickly - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. Infertility is often a race against our biological clock. We must make difficult decisions under time pressures whose consequences may be life-long. How can you be patient while needing to move forward quickly? How can you slow down when expected to move faster and try harder...

"If you take a few minutes to meditate before bed, it'll help set the stage for a peaceful night of rest by allowing you to focus on the present moment, rather than on worries from earlier in the day."

How Meditation Can Help You Get The Best Sleep Of Your Life, According To Science If you take a look around you, you'll see that meditation is pretty trendy lately. However, the powerful ancient practice is so much more than just a trend. Setting a few moments aside for stillness and mindfulness each day can have such an incredibl…

“I have found the paradox,
that if you love until it hurts,
there can be no more hurt,
only more love.”
-Mother Teresa

Complimentary vs. Competing - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. The repeated failure to create a child together can become disaffirming to our primary significant relationship. It re-ignites issues we thought resolved or magnifies issues we thought insignificant. Rather than sharing in a joint venture, couples often struggle with each oth...

An author event celebrating the publication of my new book 'A Fertile Path: Guiding the Journey with Mindfulness and Compassion'

A Life Affirming Path - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. An author event with Janetti Marotta, celebrating the publication of her new book A Fertile Path: Guiding the Journey with Mindfulness and Compassion Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 7:30-9:00 PM Presented by: Insight Meditation South Bay Location: St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 2094 Grant Road, Mou...

"Mindfulness teaches us to lean into the skid, welcome uninvited guests, and move toward that which is difficult... Each stressful encounter can be understood as an exercise to strengthen mindfulness."

Reaching Out vs. Retreating Within - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. We often experience innocent comments from the uninitiated, however close to us in other ways, as insensitive and uncaring. The joyful advent of a friend’s pregnancy, even a friend who has struggled to conceive, can cause your heart to sink. The mall full of baby strollers ...

“There are only two mistakes
one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way,
and not starting.”
-Buddha

Expectations vs. Needs - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. As we pour effort into demanding infertility treatments, our work lives can become unmanageable. Our careers are threatened at a time when we need them as a source of self-esteem and income. We need to slow down even as we are expected to try harder. If you...

“Most of the time, we operate on automatic pilot without much awareness of what we are doing, why we are doing it or how our thoughts, feelings and other external stimuli are influencing our behavior.”

This One Thing Makes You a Nicer Person Mindfulness can increase your empathy

"When you accept things as they are, you are better able to assess yourself and the situation, understand choices, and take wise action."

Letting Go vs. Holding On - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. A near-universal experience of infertility is the feeling of being “out of control.” The world is broken. What has always worked, no longer does. Trying harder brings greater failure. We are in a fight for our lives, but we don’t know the rules. At every turn, we...

“There is nowhere to go, nothing to do, nothing to attain, but to be here in the present moment….We need to practice mindfulness because we practice mindlessness all day.” ~Jon Kabat-Zinn

Gain vs. Loss - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. For most people, the more prolonged the struggle with infertility, the greater the costs. Over time, infertility can erode our relationships: to our partner, friends, relatives, and the community at large. We become strangers to ourselves, with traumatic consequences to our h...

" Perhaps the most common misconception about meditation is that it's an exercise in freeing your mind of all thought, as if it's a quest to find an on-off switch in your brain. Instead, meditation is a practice that lets you hone control over your thoughts by coming to the realization that you can choose to empower specific thoughts while ignoring others."

Meditation is taking over Wall Street and Silicon Valley — here's how to start a daily habit Meditation may be trendy, but that detract from the fact it's a scientifically proven healthy habit. Getting started is easier than you may think.

"Paradoxically, change is only possible when you’re able to accept yourself."

Needing More vs. Having Less - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Paradox of Infertility. Why is infertility so alienating for so many of us? We often feel that bringing a child into our primary relationship is the ultimate affirmation of shared affection; and bringing a child into the world can feel like our one true bond to the (tribe or progress)...

Mindfulness challenges our assumptions about infertility. This mindful fertility series uses the wisdom of Buddhist Paradox to work with the paradoxes of infertility.

Paradoxes of Infertility - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. Infertility is so poignant because procreation is our strongest drive, hard-wired into our species, and fathering a child or becoming pregnant is viewed as our birth rite. Though infertility is a medical condition, it is experienced as a redefinition of self, challenging our core identity of what it...

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"In a fast-paced world, slowing down is the new luxury, and is a tribute to this. It has every reason to be a new addition to your life that you can look forward to this coming year."

Trusted Meditation Experts Explain Why You Should Start Meditating In 2018 I believe that everyone can benefit from meditation. For that reason, I reached out to six trusted and respected meditation experts and asked them why you should start meditating in 2018.

"The Namaskara mudra is the gesture of prayer."

Namaskara Mudra - Janetti Marotta, Ph.D. The Namaskara mudra is the gesture of prayer. It is also known as the gesture for greetings, devotion, and adoration. Hands are held close to the chest. The palms and fingers are pressed together and pointed upwards. The Namaskara mudra is made when saying “Namaste,” which means: “May the good...