What IVF Does to Your Body — And How Ayurveda Can Help You To Reclaim Peace

I had read about IVF.
The appointments. The hormones. The stress.
But nothing prepared me for what it would truly feel like — in my body, my mind, my heart.

Struggling with fertility complications I turned to IVF after exhausting many other paths. And while I’m deeply grateful for the medical advancements that make it possible for so many women to fulfill their dream of becoming a mother, the emotional and physical toll it takes is something most people rarely speak about openly.

Here, I’m sharing my personal experience. What helped me may not help you — but my intention is not to scare or overwhelm. I believe we’re lucky to live in an era where science gives us options our ancestors never had.

📊 Did you know?
As of recent data, nearly 1 in 6 couples globally face infertility issues, and over 2.5 million IVF cycles are conducted each year worldwide — a number that keeps growing. In Europe alone, about 5–6% of births are now supported by ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) such as IVF.

🎥 A recent film, “Joy” (based on the true story of the world's first in vitro fertilisation baby Louise Brown, highlights this journey — with a devoted nurse, Jean Purdy, playing a central but often overlooked role in history. It’s a moving reminder of how far science has come — and how deeply human this journey still is.

The Part “Modern” Science Couldn’t Explain

Even with all this progress, there are still thousands of women like me:

• Women who experience loss without reason

• Women who undergo treatment after treatment, only to face failure — without explanation

• Women who are told their results are “normal,” and yet… nothing works

This is what the hardest for me personally.
Not just the hormones, the anesthesia, or the invasive treatments — but the not-knowing.
The lack of answers.
The emotional rollercoaster of hope and heartbreak.

We humans are answer-seeking beings. And when we don’t get them — especially when it comes to creating life — it crushes us.
As a woman, I found myself pushing through every cycle with robotic determination, exhausting strengths I didn’t know I had, until I hit rock bottom.

After multiple cycles, countless needles, a disrupted career, and the emotional weight of constantly being told to “just relax”… I couldn’t continue like this.

“I needed a different perspective. A different language. A different way of seeing myself. And that’s when Ayurveda entered my life.”

Where I Found a New Language: Ayurveda

I started to look for more holistic ways of treatment and finding a “cure”. From Acupuncture to Herbal Medicines and taking a ton of Supplements… And I started becoming curious about the old-schol Indian remedies my mother, grandmother and my aunts would usually offer. Something inside me told me to listen to what they say and try to understand it. This is when I found Ayurveda. Or rather — it found me.

For the first time, I encountered a healing system that didn’t treat me like a broken machine.
I was seen as a whole person, not just a reproductive organ with a malfunction.

“Ayurveda didn’t promise me a child. But it gave me something even more precious in that moment: peace, perspective, and presence.”

The Dhatus – Our Body’s Tissues

In Ayurveda, the body is made up of seven tissue layers called Dhatus.

Each Dhatu is responsible for nourishing and supporting the next — like a waterfall cascading downward. If one layer is depleted or out of balance, it disrupts the healthy flow to all the layers that follow.

Here’s a quick overview of the 7 Dhatus:

1. Rasa – Plasma, lymph, hydration, emotional nourishment

2. Rakta – Blood, circulation, oxygenation, passion

3. Mamsa – Muscle tissue, physical strength, resilience

4. Meda – Fat tissue, insulation, lubrication, softness

5. Asthi – Bone and cartilage, structure and stability

6. Majja – Bone marrow and nervous tissue, communication, memory

7. Shukra / Artava – Reproductive tissue (semen/ovum), fertility, creativity, regeneration

The last and most refined dhatu is Shukra Dhatu — the reproductive tissue, associated with fertility, vitality, and creative potential.

But here’s the revelation:
➡️ If any of the six dhatus before Shukra are weak, unstable, or poorly nourished — it can directly impact fertility.

So the issue might not be with your uterus or ovaries at all.
It might start at the level of:

• Rasa (plasma) – your hydration, nutrition, and emotional flow

• Rakta (blood) – your circulation, hormonal heat, and drive

• Mamsa (muscle) – your core strength and physical stability

• And so on...

This holistic lens blew my mind.

Because modern medicine often focuses on the symptom, not the system.
Ayurveda helped me step out of the tunnel — and see the whole terrain of my health.

Each Dhatu is responsible for nourishing and supporting the next — like a waterfall cascading downward. If one layer is depleted or out of balance, it disrupts the healthy flow to all the layers that follow.

The Invisible Layer: Mental & Emotional Health

In Ayurveda, your mind is not separate from your body.
Your thoughts affect your tissues. Your emotions affect your hormones.

This is where the concept of the three Gunas comes in — the mental energies that shape how we think, feel, and act:

• Sattva – clarity, balance, wisdom, peace

• Rajas – agitation, striving, restlessness

• Tamas – heaviness, depression, inertia

When we live in chronic Rajas (anxiety, pressure) or Tamas (hopelessness, despair), we’re not just emotionally tired — we’re depleting our Ojas, the life essence that fuels immunity, fertility, and joy.

So yes — stress is a critical factor.
Not because it causes infertility directly.
But because it weakens the foundation from which our body builds health, clarity, and resilience.

When I understood this, I also understood why I could no longer afford to stay angry, bitter, or in despair.
It wasn't about being positive all the time.
It was about reclaiming my energy.

Ayurveda Did Not Cure Me — But It Saved Me

No, I’m not writing this as someone who magically conceived after sipping turmeric tea.

I’m writing this as someone who…

• found peace without an answer

• began to trust her body again

• saw that motherhood is not only biological, but creative, emotional, and spiritual

Ayurveda helped me see the interconnectedness of everything —
my food, my thoughts, my environment, my past… my sense of identity.

It brought me back into my body.
Back into presence.
Back into trust.

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Ayurveda & Everyday Health: How Modern Illness Connects to Ancient Wisdom

Here’s a simplified overview of common conditions we see frequently in modern life — from hormonal imbalances to mental health struggles and lifestyle-related diseases.

While these conditions are usually treated in isolation in Western medicine, Ayurveda invites us to look at them through the interconnected lens of the Dhatus (body tissues) and Gunas (mental-emotional energies).

This list isn't meant to diagnose or label, but to help you reflect:
✨ Where might my body be depleted?
✨ Which emotional patterns am I feeding?
✨ How can I approach healing more holistically?

1. Type 2 Diabetes

• Likely Dhatus involved: Meda (fat tissue), Rasa (plasma)

• Gunas commonly active: Tamas (inertia), Rajas (overstimulation)

2. High Blood Pressure

• Likely Dhatus involved: Rakta (blood), Majja (nervous tissue)

• Gunas commonly active: Rajas (excess drive, restlessness)

3. PCOS

• Likely Dhatus involved: Rasa (plasma), Rakta (blood), Meda (fat), Shukra (reproductive tissue)

• Gunas commonly active: Tamas (stagnation), Rajas (irregularity)

4. Depression

• Likely Dhatus involved: Majja (nervous system), Ojas (vital energy)

• Gunas commonly active: Tamas (heaviness, despair)

5. Bipolar Disorder

• Likely Dhatus involved: Majja (nervous tissue), Manas (mind)

• Gunas commonly active: Rajas ↔ Tamas (emotional highs and lows)

6. Heart Disease

• Likely Dhatus involved: Rasa (plasma), Rakta (blood), Hridaya Srotas (heart channels)

• Gunas commonly active: Rajas (overexertion), Tamas (blockage)

7. Disc Herniation

• Likely Dhatus involved: Asthi (bones), Majja (nerves)

• Gunas commonly active: Tamas (stagnation, heaviness)

8. Ulcerative Colitis

• Likely Dhatus involved: Rasa (plasma), Rakta (blood), Purisha Srotas (colon pathways)

• Gunas commonly active: Rajas (inflammation), Tamas (fatigue)

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If any of these resonate with you, or if you’re dealing with unexplained symptoms that don’t seem to fit in neat boxes — Ayurveda can offer a new path forward. One that listens deeper. One that sees more.

Let’s Talk – From the Heart, With Ayurveda

Whether you're struggling any of the above, with painful cycles, hormonal imbalance, anxiety, burnout, depression, or just the feeling of being disconnected from your own body — Ayurveda offers a map back to yourself.

🌿 My 1:1 Ayurveda Consultations are a gentle, holistic space where we look at:

• Your physical symptoms through the Dhatus

• Your emotional patterns through the Gunas

• Your inner strength through daily rituals and lifestyle shifts

• And your healing journey through compassion, not perfection

You don’t have to walk this tunnel alone.
Sometimes, the most powerful direction is not forward — but inward.

Let Ayurveda remind you of what’s already within you —
Life. Wisdom. Strength. Hope.

With love,
Mamta Rana
Founder, Soul Veda

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