Happy Valentine's Day, friends!!

Whether or not you celebrate this holiday, know that I love all of my clients and I'm celebrating you!! (cheesy enough? 💗😎) When I asked you on Instagram whether today's email should be about how to love your pelvic floor or help for painful sex, it was clear that both were needed, so let's talk about both! And get excited for my new mini-course that launches today!

How do you love your pelvic floor? It's kinda like having a relationship with someone....

• Get familiar with it: bring awareness with breathing. I've talked so much about breathing, but it really is that important! Inhale to expand through your belly, ribcage, and see if you can let your pelvic floor open and let go of tension. This is easier said than done! Exhale through rounded lips, and see if you can add in a slight lift and squeeze of your pelvic floor, as if you're picking up a blueberry with your vagina. Then repeat this 10 times!
• Understand it: know what's normal and what's not! Pelvic floor dysfunction used to be taboo. You didn't hear about incontinence until you gave birth and all your mom friends nodded along in solidarity when you admitted you sometimes leak when you sneeze or jump on a trampoline, and they probably said something like, "Welcome to the mom club." THIS IS NOT NORMAL! Leaking, strain, pain, pressure downwards, and especially pain with sex are all signs that your body is trying to tell you something is not okay. Don't push through assuming it's fine. Understand it, then go seek help. This is also easier said than done, but your 80 yo self will thank you. Then go back to your mom group and spread the good news that you don't have to just put up with leaking for the rest of your life.
• Start treating it well: bring it along with you to the gym and be kinder to yourself. This one is huge. When you're starting to work on pelvic floor wellness, it's easy to want immediate results. Remember that good things take time, and you'll build a stronger and more resilient pelvic floor if you first speak kindly to your body, and then intentionally move and incorporate the breathing into your exercises and daily life.
• Trust it: learn to take risks while trusting your pelvic floor! Returning to jumping, running, and other activities after having had pelvic floor issues can be so scary. But we don't grow and get stronger unless we add more load and tension. So over time, we need to test out our new limits by doing a jump or seeing if we can lift heavier. One rep where you leak or have symptoms won't hurt you; rather, it will let you know your new upper limit! The research supports this. Go trust your body, and you just might be surprised how strong you are.

Help for painful sex!

• Know that you're not alone. So many people deal with this and assume it's normal. Again, it's not. Any amount of pain is a sign that your body is trying to tell you that things are not optimal.
• Understand the different types of pain, so you can talk about it with your care providers. There are a lot of V-words!! Is it vulvodynia, which is pain in the general vulva area? Is it vaginisimus, where the vagina involuntarily closes when you're attempting insertion? Is it vestibulodynia, where you have burning pain at just the vestibule, the bottom half of the entrance to the vagina? There's also the word dyspareunia, which simply means "painful sex" and so it can help to have an idea of when you feel pain, is it just with arousal, deep, shallow, burning, stabbing, dull, achy, only after sex? Being able to pinpoint where and when you're having pain will help you get relief and help so much faster!
• See a pelvic health physical therapist if you can! I also talk about this a lot, but honestly you should be able to see changes and get relief in as little as 2-3 sessions. If you've been working with someone for weeks or even months with little change, that's not the right pt for you.
• Communicate with your partner: don't just grin and bear it, but let them know what hurts, to go slower, or find something else that helps you be intimate without penetrative sex.

Phew that's a lot! There really is a lot to know about the pelvic floor, but it doesn't have to be so complex that it's impossible! I am committed to providing you guys with quality information that is empowering AND accessible. So I decided to make a little treat for you....drum roll please...

Introducing my brand new mini course! I've put together some videos from my signature course into a little sweet bundle that will help you love your pelvic floor better. I'm offering it for $14!! What better Valentine's Gift than to treat yourself to something that will help you feel better and empower you to tackle the pelvic floor symptoms you've been ignoring? It's short and sweet and shouldn't be overwhelming. 💗

Purchase the mini course here and start loving your pelvic floor today!



Much love,

Natalie