Master Fertility Mindset with Qigong and TCM - Maria Isabel Bühler Granados

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In today’s Qigong podcast, Maria Isabel Bühler Granados’ exploration of fertility didn’t begin with a medical diagnosis, but with a deeper longing to “create space for life” in every dimension. As a dedicated TCM practitioner and mother, she first turned to herbs, acupuncture, and dietary adjustments—but it was her curiosity about energy medicine that led her to Zhineng Qigong and Hunyuan Qi Therapy. Through these practices, she reframed fertility as far more than biology and discovered how profoundly energy work can influence conception and wellbeing.

In her clinical practice, Maria guides patients through daily Level 1 Qigong movements - La Qi techniques, pelvic rotations, and Qi squats - woven together with personalized herbal formulas and occasional acupuncture. This holistic protocol nurtures both the body’s reproductive system and the mind’s emotional state. By cultivating clear intention and embracing complete surrender, her patients learn to release stress, trust their innate rhythms, and invite the natural flow of Qi.

“Energy work transforms not just our bodies, but our minds, relationships, and life purpose,” Maria says. She encourages patients to let go of rigid expectations and to co-create with life’s cycles, whether that means conceiving a child, launching a new project, or simply living more mindfully. 

Join Maria as she reveals how Zhineng Qigong and Hunyuan Qi Therapy can help you Master Fertility Mindset with Qigong and TCM!

Mindful moments:

• Qigong for Fertility: Aligns mind, body, and energy to support conception.
• Level 1 Movements: Builds awareness and opens energy flow.
• La Qi Technique: Enhances reproductive energy and circulation.
• Intention Setting: Focuses the mind for effective practice.
• Surrender Practice: Teaches letting go and trusting the process.
• Qigong + TCM: Combines energy work with herbs and acupuncture.
• Emotional Healing: Transforms stress into fertile calm.
• Couples’ Practice: Builds connection and shared energy.
• Hunyuan Therapy: Deepens mind-body-spirit harmony.
• Online Access: Flexible support through virtual platforms.

Links & Resources:

📧 Connect with Maria (Linkedin): https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-isabel-b%C3%BChler-granados-b894951a9/

🌐  Book an online session with BeFertile: www.befertileonline.com

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Transcript

Creating a fertile ground is Maria Isabel Bulagranado's specialization as a TCM doctor. While the focus of her practice is to support couples get pregnant, her discoveries go beyond that of parenthood. Everything she teaches is about creating a space for life, whether it is in the realm of babies or any other vision we have for our lives. My name is Torsten Lueddecke and this is the Wisdom Qigong podcast.

Hello everyone and let us welcome today my very special friend, Maria Isabel Bulagranado. Maria is a TCM doctor and she has specialized on fertility. So today, before you say, well, this is not for me, everything we are talking about will obviously apply to other areas of your health and well-being as well. So we are using fertility as a great example of how to be your best and how to use a holistic approach for overall health and well-being.

Welcome to the show, Maria, and maybe you would like to give us a little introduction into your work and what you are doing here. Okay, first of all, thank you so much Torsten for the invitation. I'm really happy to be here and have this conversation with you. I also get inspired by social postcards. That's why I continue even to listen at the night. So it's very inspiring, the work that you are doing.

And yeah, from my side, I... I am a TCM practitioner or doctor. Since the last 15 years I have been specialized in treating everything, all kinds of disease for women's health and especially since 10 years now, fertility. So in the topic of fertility, especially when women have like a last round in the fertility playground or something like that, we can call it like that, and they are coming with me or the doctors send her to me or the patients to me to enhance all the woman's or the body resources in order to have a healthy baby at the end.

Now the first thing that comes to mind, you say you're working with women, but fertility is not limited to women, right? It's a topic for men as well. But this is not something you are working with. Yes, also like, yeah, sorry, I tell women, but yes, especially so the couple. When I am talking about fertility, I'm talking about the couple. As maybe you know, the sperm quality has gone down since the last 10 years.

And then we have also guys or men dealing with this kind of diseases or these infertility issues too. All right. So now in my naive worldview, I would assume that if I want to conceive or if I want to get a child, it is a good idea to be at my best because then the child will get the best start or the embryo will get the best start.

So basically, you know, what you are teaching people in a way, one could say, is to be in their best health and mental state. So that... yeah, that the chances and the possibilities to conceive are the highest and that the baby and the embryo will get the best start. Is that so? Yeah, that's it. Exactly that. So we create a space for life. And I see here, like align with the principles.

For example, we're going to talk later on about Qigong, and because for the couples, one of the intentions or one of the goals of the Qigong practice is to make every day as a new day. It's like a new point of life. And exactly that is what I discovered with my patients who are coming. So they have really to choose a new point of life. It means they need to address all the lifestyle things that they are not doing well.

For example, they quit smoking, they start to exercise, or they start to relax in order to achieve a better hormonal balance in any way. Also, they look more at what their priorities are. They, like, work is not a priority now. Building a family or the intention to build a family is a priority. So they change really everything related to the lifestyle so that they become like vessels of life, you know, so it's just incredible.

And I also get very inspired by my patients because I name them. They are like my samurais. They get through the emotional, mental, and body, let's say, challenges that the old fertility could represent to them. And they have this big intention, this fire intention to go through all the hormone treatments or all the herbal therapy that I am prescribing, describe it, and schedule the appointments and dealing with this in normal life, when they have also a hundred percent job and they have also other responsibilities, is like a really great intention for me.

They are like a source of inspiration and are like my samurais. They don't... they got used to, with this clear intention and clear mind. And so they built a place for life. So, where does Zhineng Qigong come into that picture? So actually, Zhineng Qigong, I'm gonna go into my personal and then I'm gonna expand into my patients. I had been going through a very challenging time in my life.

So I was having the clinic, which is super successful, having a lot of consultations a week, then building a startup, and being able to communicate in many flows in my life. And at some point, I felt like overwhelmed. So like one of the biggest things I wanted is to be fit to continue to serve humanity. And I was not able, so in this concern or in this, not to go into details.

I met... well, I am working with Heather at the clinic, and Heather introduced me to Zhineng Qigong, and she was super inspired by the teachings. So I get kudos, and then I started, that is when I started with the Hunyuan Qi therapy program. And I was amazed. I was so moved. So luckily, last year I had the foundation module, and I went to China to deepen the practice of Zhineng Qigong.

And I noticed the positive impact of the methods in my life, and not only in my body, but also the boost of energy, also the relaxed mind, and the feeling of going with the flow and trust that everything, that if I pursued my intention, absolutely the Qi Field will support me in doing that. So I don't have to fight every time to get into the goal. But I can just, just relax, practice, and let go with this mindset.

So I noticed the changes in my own personal life. So, and I also, from the practice, I wanted to give my patients also that they can stay home and practice in order to enhance not only fertility, but also enhance the well-being, the emotional and mental relaxation. And so that was a really good tool to give my patients. And since then, I started to give them some of the La Qi techniques or Qi Squats or rotating the waist, especially for patients with gynecological problems.

That's very interesting. And immediately when you say the turning waist exercise, I can imagine that this is good for the sexual organs and it helps the overall health of that part of the body, which is obviously key to being able to perceive. So, but your, your story was then, it's a very personal story. So you met Zhineng Qigong and you experienced what it did for you and how it supported you in your vision for your life.

And then you thought, okay, how can I integrate that for my patients so that they also benefit from it? Is there anything in particular where you feel that this is, you know, linked to fertility and not just to the overall health and well-being? And actually, everything is linked to life, because for me it's like fertility, it has another dimension. It's not only the potential to create babies or to make space for happy parents, it's also the way we nourish ourselves to become fertile for, for, let's say, projects or for dreams or for inspiration.

So for this reason, I think the concept of fertility is not only into the reproduction or into the sexual organs. It's everything involved. So for this reason, I find that the teachings of Qigong are one-to-one connected or linked with all the therapies we do here at the clinic. So we don't only do fertility or women's health, we also treat other diseases or other conditions. For example, dealing with trauma.

Also, in order to deal with trauma, you need to become fertile to accept another mindset or to go to the pain of the trauma, to let go of burnout. In order to fight burnout or to reduce the symptoms of burnout, you need to become fertile to change your mindset and to let other people help you. The issue that I see or most commonly deal with patients with burnout or depression is that they are not willing to let people help them.

So it's like a real transformation we support here with traditional Chinese herbs and acupuncture and now the technique of Zhineng Qigong. I must say, I think it's a beautiful metaphor when you take the idea of fertility to that level. So if I understood you correctly, you are basically saying fertility is not just about conceiving babies. It is really having a fertile ground for anything to grow. So a new idea, for example, or if I look at the success of your clinic now, this is also a question of fertility because you have to be fertile in a way to be able to receive.

And that was when you, when you spoke about support. You have to be willing to receive support. You have to be willing to receive all the good that you know, the universe has to offer. You have to be willing to receive and to see the opportunities that are there to make your life, the vision a reality. So from that point, I think it's, it's a really beautiful metaphor, and I didn't have this in mind when we started the podcast, but I really love the idea because it is, it is, you know, it is true for the actual fact of receiving babies, but it's also true for all other areas of life.

And obviously, it reminds me very much of the core, or core principle of Zhineng Qigong, which is the open heart, open mind idea. So this openness basically is, yeah, is fertility, isn't it? Yes. And also with fertility, we are entering the space of surrender, totally surrender. All the couples who are dealing with fertility issues, they have a particular problem or mindset, let's see it like that. They think, okay, I was able to do my studies very successfully.

I have this job, I have the job that I wanted. I got the money that I wanted, the husband or the wife that I wanted, the car, what I wanted. And now when I want babies, I cannot make it by myself. It's like the natural say to me, I cannot. So for them to deal with these fertility issues is they enter in the surrender mode, the surrender to the natural.

So for me, fertility had these two aspects. One is actively trying to follow your intention, but on the same part, you just surrender to nature. And also, not only in the fertility field, but also, you know, Thorsten, how important it is to surrender to what it is? It's the full acceptance that we cannot change things, but we can participate actively and try to make our way better, or more fertile, or produce babies in this case.

So for me, these two important components for a fertile soil are to follow your intention, but also to surrender and accept what it is. My name is Torsten Luddecke, and I have news for you. You can now access our podcasts in a very different way. If you would like to go back to any of the episodes and you just remember a certain topic or you have a certain question, please use our new bot and ask that question.

Not only will you get an answer based on all the episodes we have produced before, but you will also be able to directly access the very episode at exactly the point your topic and your question were mentioned. Please use this bot and make sure you don't miss out on this wonderful new feature of our podcast. That is something that a lot of people find challenging to understand.

So how can I have a very clear intention, which usually implies, you know, I've set my eyes on one particular thing, and at the same time surrender to what is, which might be that I'm not there yet? How do you explain that to your patients and your students, especially when they come for the first time and I do this TCM consultation where I ask all the information I need for prescribing herbal masks, but also adjusting the lifestyle?

I ask them a particular question that most couples are a bit surprised about. This question is: Why do you want to have babies? For me, it's important to know what moves people because, you know, our work is kind of in trouble in a way. If you see, then how can I, as an adult person, recreate the idea of bringing a human being into this world when the world is in trouble at the moment?

But I discovered that the wish for life, the desire to celebrate one's own life, is most important. That's, for example, whether the world is in trouble or not. So what I do with my patients is say, "Okay, we're going to work, but we need to really work together." It becomes a team effort. We become like a team. And then they start to make the changes in their lifestyle.

They start to take the herbs. And then when happen the wonderful life, of course there is. Everyone is happy, even the doctors and patients, everyone involved. But if doesn't happen, I don't feel from my part so arrogant to say it is because the natural ones like that or life ones like that, I bring them not to the life ones that. Natural ones that like in the process of what the life wants from you if doesn't want kids.

And then of course they are the most very difficult or challenging cases that the people continue to fight and not to accept and to fight and not to accept. And suddenly sometimes when they don't fight, suddenly the wonder happens. I have patients that they really don't fight anymore. They just let go. And then they actually say goodbye to the idea of having babies. And the wonder of life happens because it's no more.

My intellect, my mindset, my will is just I surrender. Yes, yes. And other cases doesn't happen. And I think this is. Yeah, that reminds me of people that. That are fighting a serious illness. Now sometimes the actual fighting can be in your way of the healing process. So it is this. It's on one level you are very clear that you're choosing life and that this is the direction you want to go.

You're choosing health, you're choosing life. But at the same time, on one level you're perfectly fine if it's not happening with that mindset, with that relaxedness about it and with this, you would call it surrender. Maybe because we've spoken about that word before where that mindset then that Qigong can do the work. Now if I'm holding on to something and trying too hard and applying force upon myself to kind of force the healing, it's very, very difficult.

So I need kind of both sides. I need a clear vision and be very honest and humble about that. But at the same time, on one level have to be perfectly fine with whatever happens. And that's what I kind of get from your example here of the parents that are really trying so hard. And at the point when they say, okay, I surrender to whatever life has to bring up, that then it happens, but they're not surrendering so that it happens because that again is applying force and trying too hard people.

It's just, you know, it's some kind of acceptance that they're going through. And then we see. Not always, but then we see these results, right? Yes, we see those results. And also an important part of going through this fertility journey is to accept also the own emotions and mental state. I often experience in the clinic, that women and men feel like, for example, guilty or ashamed when they cannot be naturally pregnant.

They don't talk about that. It's like a taboo that people feel ashamed that they cannot get pregnant in a natural way. Or also they feel guilty because they cannot be happy for the sister who is getting pregnant now. And she loves the sister, but she cannot be happy for the sister. And this creates like a mixture of a monkey mind all the time between emotions, chain fear, feel guilty and then feel ashamed and guilty again.

And also there I invite my patients to accept what it is, even if it's not comfortable in the soul, even if they accept the guiltiness. And it's normal to feel guilty, it's normal to feel jealous. The thing is, what can I give my mindset to try to transform those emotions, what those emotions are there to tell me and so initiate the process of transformation. But actually, this process of transformation, what I often see in the clinic, is that it happens organically.

When they know even to try to shut up the mindset and say, no, I am not jealous against my sister, I'm not feeling guilty, it's organically in the moment, they accept that they have these emotions, the whole nervous system relaxes, and they can. And then suddenly the mindset changes. So, I mean, I admire my patients, you know, like, this is a job, especially the ones who are fighting for theirs.

It's an extra job on the side, you know, they have to go through hormonal stimulations which are not so good for the body, as we know, due to the hormonal impact. They have to go through appointments, schedules, and pregnancy tests. Then, two weeks after that, not pregnant again, or you lost the baby. You know, this kind of very, very challenging situations that they are confronted with in daily life, knowing that everyone has a life when we are working hundred percent and have this on the side.

It's really... I am very... I feel very inspired by my patients. Yes, right. I understand that now I have to ask you that question. Do you also have patients that come to you and say, look, Western medicine, it's not possible for me to conceive. Can you help? Do you have that? Yes, yes, I have. Let's see, 80% of the patients are coming from themselves, not remitted from a doctor or something like that.

They want just to try with the help of TCM. And then for me, the herbal prescriptions, the individualized herbal prescriptions are very important in the process. And yes, we have really good successes only with traditional Chinese medicine, and only that, you know, Torsten is very new. I was in, as you know, I was having the holidays with one of the gynecologists. I was working, so we were having.

Talking about patients, and she discovered why this patient is doing really good. Since the last two, three months, she's doing really good. She's producing eggs and this kind of stuff. And then, and then she said, what are you doing now? Because it's something like paranormal that she's producing resources. And I say, okay, she's doing 200. She squats 50 minutes, rotating the belly to the right. 50 minutes, rotating the belly to the left.

And she was like, what is this? I said, this is Qigong. This is Hunyuan Qi Therapy. This is what the patients have started to do. And she was very inspired and she said she wants in the clinic to do one session of Zhineng Qigong for fertility every week. So it's amazing. It's really. I think that's wonderful because if. Yeah. And we know that from other fields where people come with diseases that are incurable, and we've got many, many examples on the podcast here that through Zhineng Qigong and Hunyuan Qi Therapy, you can actually heal and you can recover your health.

So I'm not surprised that you say, okay. There's also medical miracles when it comes to suddenly a woman producing the eggs, suddenly that nature is back to its natural state. And you've achieved this with relatively simple exercises here, if I hear you correctly, it's not rocket science, it's really some basic exercises of Zhineng Qigong that your patients follow. And then you suddenly have these results. And I'm very glad that you're.

That your colleague, who seems to be more on the traditional Western side, now is curious about that and would like to integrate that, because this is something that's just wonderful and it doesn't do any harm because these exercises are good for you in any way. It's not like a medication or a chemical you put into your body. So I'm glad that your colleague is open to that and that you're going to introduce that and include this in.

In their practice. Now, now, before, before we get to the, to wrapping up, I'd just like to get a clearer idea of how the order is normally, say a couple comes to you, I understand you start with a conversation and one of the questions is this important question, like, why would you like to have Children. And then if I understood you correctly, the first steps usually are linked to a herbal therapy.

So, so you prescribe them the right herbs, the right combination of Chinese herbs, you use a little bit of acupuncture. And during the course of your consultations, how much of that is actually more coaching because you talk to them and you open their mindset and create new possibilities for them? And how much is actually treatment in the sense of doing something with them? Yes, that's true. So one of the most important jobs for me is to listen.

To listen, to listen and to, you know, support. I think the presence that they, that you can offer for the conversations with the patients. And also, they come to a cozy place where they can talk about everything without shame. Because when they enter the clinic, I am not doing a judgment why this woman wants to have babies at this age or why this woman decided to have a...

Well, we have these homosexual couples who are supported also here. So I think the main point is, does the woman or the couple feel listened to and without judgment? And this is like a lot of coaching, a lot of coaching, but more the presence, the presence they need to talk about everything that they are experiencing during the day. And I don't, I don't talk too much. I just listen to them and then give them with the gesture or with a hold of the hand or whatever, the feeling that they are not alone, then even if I don't, I don't feel in that way because luckily I have my son or I have a kid.

I was happy to become a mother, but I understand in which situation she is. And also a part of the job is to get into the mindset of becoming an open vessel for life and becoming trustful. You know, I mean, if those couples are going since 10 years, always with failure, no pregnancy at all, and they come with a kind of "you are my last hope," that induces a lot of pressure for us when they come with this.

You are my last hope. So then we try to change the mindset, you know, that I am not the one who is giving the hope. They have to enter the vessel of being or feel like totally in hope and in trust. And it's difficult at first to become then in this trust mindset because they are like having those 10 years before or five or three years before.

So listen and be present and give them the feeling that they can trust themselves. So these are the two components of the mindset here. I think it beautifully creates a loop to what you said at the beginning, because even the way you approach your patient is what you said right at the beginning, which I love, when you said you create a space for life. And you're doing this not just for the patient who creates a space for life, you're also creating that space for life.

You are doing that with him or her. So I think this is a great closing word. But before we leave, I would like to know whether the consultations that you do can also happen online because not everybody is in a position to come and see you on a regular basis or whether you do your consultations in your practice only. Actually, we have a platform. The name is Be Fertile Online.

And this is, for example, when we treat patients from abroad. It's in four languages now, I think Spanish, English, German, French, and Italian. We have therapists who are doing the work. And on this platform, you find not only us as case managers of TCM, but we also have nutrition, we also have a coach. After November, because many projects are going on a roll now, I have the intention to open a Zhineng Qigong for fertility practice on Zoom.

But it could be the next stage after November. Wonderful, wonderful. Maria, we will obviously link your resources into the show notes so that, for very practical reasons, if somebody, you know, would like to get in touch and benefit from the platform, they know where to find you. Thank you. So, thank you so much for this conversation, Maria. I think it's a fascinating world that you are dealing with, and I can see how much your patients inspire you.

And I must say you've inspired me, and hopefully the listeners as well, whether their topic is fertility because they want to get pregnant or whether fertility in a broader sense because they want to learn some kind of idea or want to achieve something in their life. I think this was a wonderful conversation, and I would like to thank you very much, Maria. Thank you so much, Torsten. It was very nice to have this conversation with you too.

And as you say, we are fertile, so our body is permanently producing cells. Our body needs, wants to, life is celebrating life all the time. And life is not only this fertile, or this celebration of fertility is not only related to kids, but it's also related to our own projects, ideas, and inspiration. And as you said, Torsten, it's a good moment to close the conversation, and I'm very thankful for this.

Thank you very much, Maria. We trust you enjoyed this conversation and we invite you to subscribe to our podcast so we can stay in touch and notify you of future episodes. We will end today's episode with the Eight Verses Meditation performed by Qigong teacher Katrien Hendrickx. Enjoy. To get your free eBook on the Eight Verses Meditation, please check the show notes below.