“This Shouldn’t Be a Taboo Conversation”

(gentle warm music) (birds chirping pleasantly) I'm a bit nervous. Why? Well, you know, a bit vulnerable. It's like hard to talk about some of this stuff, but I think that's why we're here. (chuckles) Being on a fertility journey can be really challenging. It's not so easy for everyone to just get pregnant or to have a family. There can be many setbacks along the way. The uncertainty, the losses, the not knowing. But there's also a need for hope, for empathy, for kindness, for ways to cultivate strength and resilience. So many people go through fertility challenges and it's not talked about, it's not acknowledged. This shouldn't be a taboo conversation. (waves crashing gently) (passersby chattering softly) I'm Eve, the director of teaching and one of the meditation and mindfulness teachers here at Headspace, which is very surreal and I pinch myself every day that I get to help people learn about this practice, manage their anxiety and their stress. It has saved me. I mean, I came to meditation because of quite crippling anxiety and think I'll be working with all my life. So we're here at our recording studio, because I am going to be recording the fertility meditations that I have written for this collection. I have to say it took a lot longer to write these because I too am going through all of this. My husband and I are on a fertility journey, which we've been on for a while. And I'm not gonna lie, it's been (exhales softly) really hard because we want a family. I think one of the hardest things about this whole process is like many things in life, we don't know where this will end. And so sitting with that uncertainty, the not knowing, can be very challenging. Yeah, I can hear you. Okay. Yeah, let's go. I'm ready. (Eve inhales and exhales steadily) So even though I teach meditation for a living, I've done years of training, it doesn't mean I have it all figured out. I wouldn't be doing this if I had it all sorted. You know, I don't. I'm a human being. I have felt isolated. I have felt the uncertainty, the stress, the anxiety, the loss. And I know everyone's experiences will be different, nuanced. You know, I'm sharing some of my journey because I hope that it helps someone to not feel so alone. (warm compassionate music) I myself have had to learn so much about my body that I'm maybe a little bit embarrassed to say I didn't necessarily know. (film reel whirring) (upbeat music) All girls are different, but some time between the ages of 9 and 16, one very special event happens to every girl. Growing up in school, sex education, reproduction, it's kind of brushed over. Maybe one science lesson or two at best, a couple of textbooks. (reserved music) I think there are a lot of societal pressures, particularly on women. "Get married. And as soon as you're married, start...