Birth Journeys: Lifting the veil on the birth experience
Did your childbirth experience go as planned? Then The Birth Journeys Podcast® is for you! We share powerful and transformative birth stories that illuminate the realities of childbirth. Hosted by a labor nurse and prenatal coach who specializes in transformational coaching techniques, this podcast goes beyond traditional birth narratives to foster healing, build trust, and create transparency between birthing individuals and healthcare providers.
In each episode, we dive into essential topics like birth preparation, debunking common misconceptions, understanding hospital procedures, and promoting autonomy in the birthing process. We also bring you the wisdom and insights of experienced birth workers and medical professionals.
This is a safe and inclusive space where every birth story is valued, honored, and deserves to be heard. Join us in exploring the diverse and unique experiences of birth givers, and discover how transformational coaching can empower your own birth journey.
Contact Kelly Hof at: birthjourneysRN@gmail.com
Birth Journeys: Lifting the veil on the birth experience
Breastfeeding Ergonomics with Christina Walsh: Support Your Pelvic Floor While Nourishing Your Baby
Ever found yourself questioning what correct positioning during breastfeeding looks like? How it impacts not only the baby's nourishment but also the mother's well-being? Come join the rich conversation we have with Christina Walsh, a physical therapist specializing in integrative manual therapy, as we unveil the answers to these queries and more. Christina brings to the table her wealth of wisdom on how to use pillows creatively for body support, tips on focusing on the baby's latch first, and the significance of posture while breastfeeding.
Navigating the intricacies of women's health, we discuss with Christina the benefits of integrative manual therapy for overcoming pelvic floor issues, abdominal separation, and back and hip tightness. With this holistic approach, traditional solutions are knocked out of the park, paving the way for each woman's unique healing journey. We bring to you compelling stories of women who have found remarkable healing through this method, reinforcing its validity and the hope it brings.
Get ready to explore the influence of Instagram on health and relationships, and delve into the importance of engaging in activities like yoga. Christina addresses common issues like rotator cuff injuries and provides advice on looking after your body during the breastfeeding period. She also highlights how her members program can make this protocol a part of your daily routine. This episode is replete with wisdom and practical tips, making it a must-listen for anyone seeking to improve their overall well-being. Be part of this enlightening conversation and discover the path to a healthier you.
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FREE at-home Decompression Position (to relax back, hips, and pelvic floor): https://www.tightenyourtinkler.com/backandhiprelief
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Kelly Hof: Labor Nurse + Birth Coach
Basically, I'm your birth bestie! With me as your coach, you will tell fear to take a hike!
Connect with Kelly Hof at kellyhof.com
Medical Disclaimer:
This podcast is intended as a safe space for women to share their birth experiences. It is not intended to provide medical advice. Each woman’s medical course of action is individual and may not appropriately transfer to another similar situation. Please speak to your medical provider before making any medical decisions. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that evidence based practice evolves as our knowledge of science improves. To the best of my ability I will attempt to present the most current ACOG and AWHONN recommendations at the time the podcast is recorded, but that may not necessarily reflect the best practices at the time the podcast is heard. Additionally, guests sharing their stories have the right to autonomy in their medical decisions, and may share their choice to go against current practice recommendations. I intend to hold space for people to share their decisions. I will attempt to share the current recommendations so that my audience is informed, but it is up to each individual to choose what is best for them.
Hello, today I have with me Christina Walsh, a New Orleans mama of two. Christina is a licensed physical therapist specializing in integrative manual therapy. Christina and her business partner, jen Lormand, known together as the Tinkler Ladies, have a combined 36 years of experience supporting women through prolapse, diastasis, recti and pelvic floor dysfunction. Today, we're going to be talking about breastfeeding ergonomics and how to support your pelvic floor while nourishing your baby. Christina, welcome and thank you so much for joining me. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Kelly, these are topics that are so near and dear to my heart, from personal experience, and I love to geek out and make sure mamas have all the information they need to feel as good in their bodies as possible.
Speaker 1:I agree, I am so excited about this episode. I live this well, I don't live it, but I help my patients every day, try to get positioning that's going to work and not end up causing even more problems later while they're breastfeeding. I literally did this yesterday, where I'm trying to push their shoulders back and down and get them in a position that is sustainable and comfortable, and when I heard that this was even a thing, I was so excited. This is going to help me and all the nurses I work with and the new mamas.
Speaker 2:This is amazing.
Speaker 2:I'm so excited it is so cool and it's so simple. That is the thing I think that Jen and I have loved about the work that we get to do, because when you approach something from a more pull back the viewfinder, holistic standpoint, it doesn't have to be hard. Simple little nudges in the right direction make all the difference. It's like when you just can support what the body was trying to do anyway, tenderly and gently, with that simple little nudge in the right direction, it's like your body knows your body has so much wisdom and we can tap into that.
Speaker 2:That's where the power comes, but it doesn't have to be hard. Exactly.
Speaker 1:I am so here for your wisdom today.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:So what are the first things that you like to help moms with when they're breastfeeding? What are the things that you want moms to know?
Speaker 2:So, first of all, don't take this as like one more thing, you know, because when you are learning to breastfeed, especially if it's your first time, your priority has to be on the latch, is baby getting nourished? So please don't hear us giving you one more thing to worry about. Focus on the latch, make sure baby is getting nourished and then, once you've got that established, then you can tune into these other things. That really will look. I think I've read numbers you can correct me, I'm sure, as a nurse, but I've read numbers that we spend 1800 to 2000 hours per year feeding our infants. So I mean, when we think about that, the position that mom that you are bought your body is in for all of those thousands of hours really is cumulative and it really does matter for the long term. So simple little things you can do include okay, you just had, you were just pregnant, you just gave birth, your core is going to be weak, and so I remember, when I was trying to imagine what breastfeeding would be like before I'd had a baby, I thought, okay, well, this baby is going to be like what? Seven or eight months, like what? Seven or eight pounds, like this is going to be so easy, right, but your body has just been stretched to oblivion and you're weak and it's impossible to imagine how hard it will be to just sit up straight. You do not have the strength and that especially in the early postpartum. Your core doesn't have the strength. This is nothing you did wrong. It's been stretched. So just sitting up straight is going to be a challenge. So give yourself some support. Have pillows all over the place. I did First start with one, so this is the first, the first piece.
Speaker 2:Start with a pillow, like long ways up and down, ways behind your back, maybe more than one, depending on the squishiness of the surface that you're sitting on. So first prop up your trunk, your upper body, your mid, your middle body, because you don't have the strength to hold it to yourself. So first start there. Then the next step is to prop your feet up. So, especially if you are a shorter lady or you're sitting in a higher chair and your feet are dangling, dangling down there, it's going to just pull on your back and your hips and your pelvis and pelvic floor and it's not going to do you any favors. It's going to cause strain and discomfort. So prop your feet up. I know they make cute little breastfeeding stools and whatnot, but it doesn't have to be that. It can just be the kid's stool, or I mean. Look, I mean this is really going to date me all, but I remember my mom used to use a stack of phone books for like all kind of. She would take duct tape and take them. So get creative, you don't?
Speaker 1:have to buy anything fancy. I was thinking yoga block, but I really like yours better.
Speaker 2:The phone book anymore, Look y'all, I'm kind of I'm 40.
Speaker 1:Every once in a while they show up at our door and I'm like what is this?
Speaker 2:I mean, my kids would not know what to think. Well, they'd be like Mom. My legit did that.
Speaker 1:Anyway okay.
Speaker 2:So to get your feet up. Your feet up, mama. It's going to save your back, your hips and your pelvis and pelvic floor from a lot of pulling and strain and discomfort. The next piece, which is hugely important like you were talking about the whole shoulders positioning thing, pillows again, the boppy or the my breast friend or whatever your favorite breastfeeding pillow is, is not remotely enough. So you have, the goal here is not to bring breasts down to baby, it's to bring baby up to breast right.
Speaker 1:In my case that's not even possible. No, go toath far down.
Speaker 2:Am I too either? I always feel like I have to disclaim when I discuss this topic, that I do not have. I'm not well down. I do not have large breasts, so maybe, if you do, you need less pillows. I don't really know.
Speaker 1:Right, If you can lean back and feed your baby. Props to you, man, because like I sure can't.
Speaker 2:But then look, you also have to deal with gravity later in a way that we probably know.
Speaker 2:That's true. So trade-offs, always trade-offs, yeah, anyway. So look, take the pillows and have them all over the house wherever you know you're going to be breastfeeding. Leave extra pillows because you want to take enough pillows under that elbow, whichever arm inside you're holding the baby. Wedge enough pillows under that elbow such that you can relax your shoulder muscles, your neck muscles You've got the pillow behind your back already so you're not straining to sit up. So you, once you get that elbow properly propped up so baby is brought up to breast and you are not leaning over, hunching over, you can relax your shoulders, your elbow, your arm, your wrist as much as possible. Look, I'm telling you, this is game changing. The number of women, like you said in the beginning, I also have a body work practice that I still work in and I treat so many moms for like. This is for the long term.
Speaker 2:Again, 2,000 hours a year or some such wild number of being in this posture really can be detrimental. If you don't have the right support for your body so it can protect you, it gets things like carpal tunnel, like tennis elbow, sorts of things. You can get all kind of discomfort in your neck and shoulders and then look if you accidentally get too used to that rounded posture, you know what's going to happen. You're going to be driving and you're going to have one of those moments where the toddler is screaming for a snack or the baby the pacifier fell out of their mouth and you're like doing the backseat reach right. We all know the backseat reach If we've been get the passing back in quick, pick up the sippy cup so you don't have to scream for 40 minutes on the way to wherever we're going. If you've gotten weak in that rounded shoulder forward posture, not only are you going to have neck pain, you're also going to be more likely to be the one to come into my clinic or someone else's with a rotator cuff shoulder injury because of the backseat reach. Yeah, so I mean, this stuff has far reaching consequences, on top of which if you're hunched and and pressure that pressurizes your abdomen, which causes increased pressure down on your pelvic floor, which is not going to do you any favors in that area of recovery either.
Speaker 2:So right again, latch comes first, nourishing baby comes first. When you've got that established, please take these simple, simple action steps to take care of you and I love. Okay, this is a really great thing to give dad as homework. Right, the men are their problem solvers, their action takers. They want to help, so tell the give that this is their chore list. Whenever you see me breastfeeding, make sure I have enough pillows. Check my posture, bring them to me if you don't see me with them. Not only do you need the cup of water there, always with the breastfeeding.
Speaker 1:That was going to say, bring the water, bring the water.
Speaker 2:But dad bring all the pillows to to protect mom's shoulder. She needs to have a lot of baby carrying to do, a lot of diaper bag carrying to do, a lot of backseat reaching to do, and we want shoulder snack and and core protected in this tender, vulnerable recovery time?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I just want to also put a plug in there for hospital administrators. This is why we need an increased pillow budget in the hospital.
Speaker 1:Please cheers to that More pillows Come on More pillows, because one like some days I will walk into and granted. Part of the reason that labor and delivery doesn't have pillows is because they all end up on postpartum rightfully so. But we but we do our first breastfeeding on labor and delivery. So it is imperative to be able to have enough, and there is no such thing. It's too many pillows in a hospital, so please increase the hospital budget to that.
Speaker 2:Yes, these little things make such a difference, because I mean especially labor and delivery. We're talking about immediate postpartum. So, like you've never been weaker, I mean I should really speak for myself how I felt after 26 hours or 40 hours of labor. Right, I mean, you've never needed that support more. So, yes, hospital administrators, please get more pillows to labor and delivery, for breastfeeding and postpartum.
Speaker 1:Yes, all of it. All of it. Just on the women's and infants line All the pillows we just need a pillow funnel is what we need, Like just shoot them in, you know, like the thing at the ballpark.
Speaker 2:The pad sickles and the pillows.
Speaker 1:The pad sickles and the pillows.
Speaker 2:That's what we need. Yes.
Speaker 1:I love it, Definitely I love it Look there are other things you can do it.
Speaker 2:That's the initial setup, right, but then right something as simple as getting down on the floor to do a cat cow, a good afterwards or a good child's pose, to open up those shoulders, stretch all around those shoulder blades, to gently mobilize the low back and hips, because you are going to be more likely in a kind of a still position like breastfeeding, because your core and pelvic floor are still going to be weak. You're going to be more likely to feel that kind of compression from gravity, even if you're well supported. So give yourself the gift of two extra minutes. Plop down on the floor, put baby down next to you and give yourself a cat cow and a child's pose stretch or some trunk rotation. I mean, something that simple is a game changer to keep you feeling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tummy time for baby and stretch time for mom, absolutely Unless after eating. I don't know if tummy time is the most. Yeah, I know, good point, burp first. All right, burp first Good burp.
Speaker 2:If any of you spit up as much as mine did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember, I never left that, that upright time, and then tummy time.
Speaker 2:I would never put mine down on their backs without a burp cloth underneath their head, like because no matter I always. I just said, but the pillows I also have the burp cloths everywhere, right, and evidently you put them down on that one piece of furniture. That's your favorite and it's like shh there.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's why we had leather. I was like, as soon as I knew we were going to have kids, I was like everything has to be wiped down. I'm sorry I'm not doing that laundry.
Speaker 2:That's strategic. And I found the opposite way. I just kind of gave up all hope of salvaging. So I just stuck with the really old, dilapidated furniture because I'm like I can't justify buying anything new. It's going to be crumbs and greasy fingers and spit up. And then I talked to Jen. My best partner is like well, girl, I got to tell you like it doesn't get any better when they're teenagers they come on with their shoes on, they jump on the couch, they leap over it. I'm like, oh, so I should never get new furniture. Is that what?
Speaker 1:and for like 18 years. I just want you to know that. No, and hopefully when they put you in the nursing home, they'll have the pretty furniture for you, right?
Speaker 2:Or like my Pilates teacher she is, finally she's got empty nesting and she just got this gorgeous new white couch and it's like oh, that's when you do that, ok, taking it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, ok, great, nothing to hope for in the near future. Ok, so I just thought of when we can do that exercise. Okay, so I remember I have to go back like four years to remember the order of operations after breastfeeding. Right, it's that eat activity, sleeps like this oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So if we're eating right, baby's eating and then I'm just gonna go ahead and assume your baby has a reflex, because you know Spit up happens Right, spit up happens. So you burp your baby, you do your little 10 to 15 minutes of upright time right and do some activity there, and then you can get on the yoga mat and then do your cat cow. While your baby's doing that tummy time, you've already got your Boppy or your my best friend where they're gonna be like leaning up on that, and then you just do your cat cow and your stretches and everything then. So that solves everything.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Look, yeah. So now that we've solved the world's problems, oh look, and there's one more tip I forgot to mention. Okay, so the bonus tip is look, I know sometimes I'll speak for myself. Sometimes, when I was breastfeeding, I wanted to just like be so fully in the Zen with that oxytocin rush going to my head and just like bliss out with my baby.
Speaker 2:Other times I needed that time to be like, okay, what's the rest of the world doing? I need to connect with people who have a life outside of this and I would wanna get on my phone and scroll social media and just vicariously tap into what outside life looks like. And so if you need, if it's one of those breastfeedings where you need to be on your phone, I get it, do it. But make sure you have now you need pillows under the other arm, because the worst thing for the base of your skull up there there's little, two little lumps at the bottom of your, at top of your neck, bottom of your head is that kind of craning forward, Like that thing that happens when you're looking at the computer screen and you can't read it and you're like in your 40s now and you're realizing you probably have that thing.
Speaker 2:Or like the street signs you need reading glasses, the street signs just too far away and you're like that thing.
Speaker 1:When did that happen, yeah?
Speaker 2:that's not gonna happen to us. When you slide your head forward which can happen if you're having that phone time that compresses the base of your skull and look, there is a myriad of stuff that comes from that your fight or flight nerve comes out from the base of your skull right there.
Speaker 2:So, and then you're also that the cranial nerve that goes to your upper traps comes out there. So if you start getting that compressed back there, it's going to make you feel more spun up. Nobody needs that as a as in the survival state of new motherhood and it's gonna further contribute to that neck and shoulder tightness. So add a pillow for the other arm where you're holding the phone, and make sure you've got the pop socket or the loopy so you can keep your wrist in like a neutral position instead of like craning or cranking it, and on that side too. So you're protecting both arms, both shoulders so that you can get the most out of it without hurting yourself.
Speaker 1:Amazing. That is some great advice and I just want to say that I love my loopy that I have See. There you go. I was a pop socket girl until I found the magnet on the back, and that was it's the little things I mean, like it really is. I can't hang onto my phone. I can't see and I can't hang onto my phone, which makes life hard. Yeah, no, of course.
Speaker 2:Or, the worst, dropping your phone on your baby. Oh gosh, I'm trying to think. I'm sure I did it. I was probably too tired to remember. I do remember.
Speaker 1:I drop it on my face all the time, oh well, completely.
Speaker 2:I do remember the first time my daughter. She was like nine months old and right. We didn't have this stuff growing up. I'll speak for myself. I remember she took my phone and she swiped to unlock it and I was like, oh my God, I'm so tired. Was that an accident? Surely she didn't know how to do that yet and I, like, locked it again and handed it back to her and she did it again. So that's not proof. I do not have proof that she could unlock my phone at nine months old.
Speaker 1:But just found a fun swipe. I don't know.
Speaker 2:It kind of looks like she could. I'm like holy moly mackerel, this is a whole new journey with kids, with all this tech. Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's crazy. So I mean it's also scary. So I'm gonna have to make sure that I'm gonna be watching my kids and make sure that they're like, not hunting. I try to get them to lay down when they're using their iPad.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, and prop your, your arms up, prop the device up. These things, yeah, they matter for our kids too, absolutely, and there are chiropracties to work on kids, you know that's another thing. One of the one of the things for new moms that we recommend the most is Making sure you get to see some kind of skilled provider who can check your alignment. The ones we love to refer to, I mean, I do kind of integrative or craniosacral therapy. That's a great gentle body work, yeah, option for you. But we also refer to Webster certified chiropractors. So do you love, are they right?
Speaker 2:So they have a special skill set where they can check and adjust the joint at the front of the pelvis, the pubic joint, and that is absolutely imperative for pelvic floor health and healing Because, look, pelvic floor is just a bowl of musculature that holds your guts in. Okay, there are no bones holding your organs in from below. That is all Pelvic floor. It's muscles and soft tissue and it's been through a lot after childbirth and whether you I don't care how you delivered, if you deliver via C-section it's still been through a lot because it basically carried a bowling ball on it for 40 weeks, right? So full term caring, full term pregnancy happens either way. So we need to give our pelvic floor Gentle grace and time to heal, and part of that can be Breath.
Speaker 2:Work is wonderful and I love the way I heard. I heard you talk about expanding. Somebody else, and you're sure, talked about expanding the rib cage in three dimensions. That is hugely important because, though your weight goes so far forward, we often end up shallow, breathing into the, just the front of our ribs and flaring. Yeah, part of rebalancing the pressure and the well-being of your whole abdomen and pelvis is Breathing into the sides and back of your ribs. Again, I'm getting way off track. That's a great thing to practice with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that is something that I would repeat over and, over and over Along.
Speaker 2:So back to the, but the Webster certified chiropractor has the training to adjust that pubic joint. Your pelvic floor muscles connect in the front on your pubic joint. So what we see all the time and this is you will not hear this, anyone else, no one else is talking about this especially if you have urgency or frequency with pee or you have any groin or inner thigh pain either during pregnancy we're really at any time postpartum getting in to see that Webster certified chiropractor to get your pubic joint checked and adjusted Is an incredibly powerful way to help reset pelvic floor so it doesn't try to go into spasm, holding your joint in the right place, causing more bladder issues, but it also helps relieve that groin and inner thigh pain. So, like so many simple, accessible things you can do that are game changers, and that is one of them for postpartum and beyond, yeah, these things are super important but hopefully accessible to most people. I know Webster certified chiro's are way more prevalent than they used to be and and it's just a great, easy option.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean you go before you have your baby, because right and after right, because you. Know for, and it's not.
Speaker 2:It's not scary. So it's nothing, nothing internal, nothing invasive, nothing aggressive. It is all gentle and they have that special training to work on pregnant and postpartum bodies. And, yeah, and everything Jen and I teach is always from a holistic standpoint. It's always pulling back the viewfinder, giving the body that gentle nudge it needs to go in the direction that it was already trying to go, and that is our approach to pelvic floor Health as well. We ended up in the journey that we did, starting tight your tinkler so organically, like either one of us had this path planned out at all. Right, I'm sure, much like you. You know, you're brought, now guided here, and you, you, you find yourself, you're like I was, I was meant to be here, but like, wow, I never right, picture this and Never thought coming oh.
Speaker 2:Through our own, you know, postpartum healing journeys. We had very different birth experiences. Hers were more traumatic, mine less so, but we both still needed Care to heal afterwards and we did not like the options we're being offered of. We tried the kegels. They didn't work.
Speaker 2:You know because that doesn't even make sense. You're squeezing. You do strengthen any other muscle without movement? No, the only reason these things are being recommended is because it's the best anyone had thought of. But we went on.
Speaker 2:You know, we were like, okay, jen was pitched a pelvic floor reconstructive surgery at 36 and was like, absolutely not. She got diagnosed with prolapse and I was having pelvic floor issues and we were like we, we're gonna find a better way. And we went to a continuing education conference and sure enough we did. And we started using this protocol with ourselves and we were like, wow, this is life altering. So we started using it with our clients and then we got the harebrained idea that we needed to turn all these data points into Publishable research so we could make a big splash, like this is gonna be our mark on the world. So we, partnered with the professor, did three years of a university research study to test and validate the protocol we'd come up with, because it was working so well. We're like we've got to get this out there and no dreams at that point of creating a business out of it at all. We're like. We were clinicians and we were like this is gonna be our, our big splash. We did it.
Speaker 2:It was wild and the the article was published in the Journal of Women's and Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. So it is out there. But the women in our research kept coming back asking Can you make a video of this? Like this has changed my life. I need to share this with my sister, but she's in Virginia and my mother-in-law actually really needs this and my cousin and they're in Different states and we're like we have to listen to these women. So you know, we've been led here and we're like we've got to do this. We've got to get this out there faster than the slowly churning cog wheels of Research in Western medicine. The research is out there, so that that was important to us, yeah, but then it also that research also allows us now to say we have a solution. Here's how we know what can work. We've tested it.
Speaker 2:So, yes, we have testimonials, we have our personal stories, but we also have the data and for us, that was really important so that we knew that is really right we knew what we were putting out there, we could fully stand behind and say no, exactly what we could promise and what we couldn't, because the approach we take is Outside the box compared to what else is out there.
Speaker 2:But it's an absolute honor to connect with and serve women in this way because it you know, what we offer is an alternative to what else is out there.
Speaker 2:And every woman has to turn inward. When you're dealing with something as personal as pelvic floor issues or prolapse, you want to heal that diastasis, that abdominal separation, or you're dealing with the back and hip tightness that you didn't have before, how you address that is so personal and you really have to turn inward and see what feels right to you. And if in-person therapy is the right fit, that's great. But I also know a lot of moms who don't have access to that, or it's too far away or they can't get out of the house and we're able to offer an at-home solution that is validated to work and that's accessible that way. And so it is truly an honor and a gift to be able to put that out into the world and reach women who that is aligned for and who want exactly that approach and are like so grateful when they found it, and we're just overwhelmed with gratitude that we've been led on this crazy path.
Speaker 1:Yeah you know, yeah, it's so important too because I just remember with my first I didn't do anything except for chiropractics after delivery and I was in Pilates before, but then we moved and I couldn't get back in and I was by myself in a new town, stayed at home mom at the time and just like, okay, I guess I'm just going to let this kind of play out the way it plays out. But with my second I was like I can't deny this, I have to do something. And I know I wasn't sitting right, I know I wasn't. You know I tried, I tried all the pillows and all that stuff that I think.
Speaker 2:you know I have always had pelvic dysfunction, not necessarily pelvic floor but just a weird tilt to my pelvis and I don't think that helped anything Right, and so it can make it more challenging.
Speaker 1:Yes, but I had what were the options that were given to me? One of the practices that I worked with does laser reconstruction and I asked my dad, who's a surgeon, what that was all about and he was like I think that means scar tissue. They're basically healing you by forming scar tissue. He's like that might cause more dysfunction.
Speaker 2:I completely agree. Well, look here, and this is exactly what I was talking about. There are so many options out there. And to Jen or I, we were like we had read about all that stuff and we were that was not. We had absolute clarity. We were not interested in that, right.
Speaker 1:That doesn't sound very pleasant. Anyway, no.
Speaker 2:And we tried the kegels. They don't work and for some women it helps a certain degree, but what you really need is something functional to get the muscles that turned back on working without it being a conscious thing, and I guess the only reason I believe those other things are still taught and used is because people don't know there's a better way yet.
Speaker 1:I just know that I couldn't even connect. Like my brain and my lower abdomen, right above my pubic bone, were not connected. They were like not in the same body anymore. It was the weirdest thing and I couldn't like. I remember going to an exercise class and they were like okay, you're going to slowly lower your legs to the floor while you're laying supines, you're laying face up right, and I got to a certain point and my legs would just fall.
Speaker 2:Yes, or for so many women. You get that coning If you have the abdominal separation yeah, I had that too, yeah. So don't push into anything that causes that right.
Speaker 2:That's your body saying no, not yet, please, but you know our research also proves, through the same protocol that heals the pelvic floor issues, if your DR is three finger widths or less, you can heal it at home conservatively through the same series that also heals the pelvic floor and bladder issues, because truly it is about like tapping into the body's innate healing capabilities when you give it the right nudge to go where it was trying to go anyway.
Speaker 2:It is just phenomenally powerful. So many women join because of leaks or pressure and they're looking for the relief there, and it's really telling how deeply we've, as society, have accepted some of this dysfunction as just the way it is, because they come back two weeks later and they say, okay, all that stuff I joined for is getting better already. But the thing that's really blowing my mind is that I'm sleeping through the night again, I'm not getting up to pee, and they're like I did not think that was possible and we talk about it and we tell them it's possible, but it is so ingrained that this is stuff we just have to live with. But it is not true.
Speaker 1:I think I'm going to sign up for your program just for a refresher, because it is super cool.
Speaker 2:We teach relief techniques and we teach the movement series. That's the exercise piece. So it's not, it's a toolbox of self checks, relief tools and the movement series. That's the real gold, because it's not just because, as you're building strength, you're going to have setbacks. That's how every recovery happens.
Speaker 2:For me it's like okay, well, I remember we went on vacation and my four year old needed to be carried on a hike way longer. I thought he was well rested, well fed, he wasn't getting, but I ended up having to carry him for way longer than I thought. That's just one tiny example, but especially with kids, these things happen and you're going to have those moments where you're like okay, man, I was really making progress here, but now I'm really flared. But when you give, when you strap on a toolbox, a tool belt of things you know make you feel better at home right away, then you can keep building the strength. It takes the fear out of it. To look, jen and I have lived this and we have said this, and the women who come work with us have said this when you're dealing with these issues you start to it has a cloud over your whole existence. You start to feel like my body is broken. My body has betrayed me. I thought I was built for this, and it is a huge weight to think. Is there help? I don't know if I'm ever going to feel confident in my body again, but you know, what I want more than anything is for all women to hear a message of hope that it that does not have to be the end of your story, no matter who told you what else I promise, and if you're not certain, we have a quick five minute quiz.
Speaker 2:We call it our root cause quiz. What we did is take the research validated questionnaires that we used to track progress in the study and turn them into an online quiz. All the just, the whole set of questions, so that what women have shared with us, though, is that going to take that in five minutes? You start to quickly realize how connected so many issues that women are kind of splicing into separate little boxes this well, this is this thing over here, but this is this other issue are actually all connected. They share a common root cause and they can be fixed all at once, so taking that quiz is very eyeopening in that way very quickly.
Speaker 2:That's on our website, our Instagram, and the other thing I want to make sure everybody has access to is our free decompression technique for at home. It includes breath work, teaching, like the rib cage expansion I talked about, but it's just a position you put yourself in at home. This is great for after breastfeeding, to let the neck and shoulders it puts gravity on your side. It's like giving yourself a little self adjustment in 10 minutes at home, with no equipment required. You put yourself in a position that allows the back, the hips, the pelvis, the pelvic floor to relax, release and down, regulates your fight or flight system all at once. This is like rest, multitasking at its finest.
Speaker 1:I feel like I need to do that a lot. Oh, it's amazing. It's incredible.
Speaker 2:It's an absolute gift, so make sure you have a link to that as well.
Speaker 1:Yes, definitely. I'll put that all in the show notes and I'm going to have a. We're going to come up with a coupon code as well. Yes, absolutely, For your problem.
Speaker 2:Absolutely $50 off. And you know, if you are a mama who's listening to this and you haven't had kids day and you're like I would like to prevent this from becoming my story we're getting more interest of that nature, and so we did create a prevention program for healing from home after birth, so that you don't end up needing the signature program that we offer to heal. So we have that as well, that coupon codes for $50 off, and it will work for either one of those offerings. So whether you are already dealing with issues and you need to heal or whether you're like proactive prevention, I don't want to end up there we have an offering to guide you through that as well.
Speaker 1:My one question is so when I went to, I did pelvic floor physical therapy. Let me just tell you that was a challenge.
Speaker 2:That is why we are glad to provide an alternative.
Speaker 1:Let's just say thank you. I, first of all my pelvic floor physical therapist, loved her, but she wasn't a mom yet and she was always teasing me because I literally would walk in every day in my brain boots.
Speaker 2:It didn't have to be raining, I was always wearing my rain boots and my gigs and I had my son. The fact that you made it there was a miracle. I was like girl, I'm here.
Speaker 1:I mean high fives all around for actually getting, because my infant son was with me oh my gosh, see, so that's hard, which I thank you to her for allowing me to bring my child right. That is because otherwise I would have had to get a babysitter and I wasn't ready to give him the babysitter, but I was like you know, I'm just wearing shoes and that's what I'm happy about today.
Speaker 2:And just made it out of the house. Yeah, whoo, I did.
Speaker 1:I digress. My biggest thing was she would ask me did you do the exercises this week? And I'm like nope, because I couldn't work it into my day. No, and so yeah, and and. But she did work with me to help me with that. So I'm assuming you've probably taken the guesswork out of that part.
Speaker 2:I'm assuming you thought of that, absolutely, we just did, actually, so our when for members of our students program. It is in some ways a DIY program, but it is also accompanied by membership in our members only private community, which is an incredibly special place of women who are on their healing journey, supporting each other but also receiving coaching from us. To really dial in the details and we just did we do two challenges a year. We're actually just finishing our back to school challenge, where it is all about how do we fit this into our lives, how do we prioritize this? It's routine coaching and that sort of thing, and that's what we do for the coaching, because that is a piece of success here.
Speaker 2:Like and Jen and I designed this protocol as moms, so it had to fit into our lives first. So that is why I can confidently say you can fit it into your life and it's absolutely incredible. It's a 10 minute movement series Truly makes it's unbelievable. And the thing is, when you start to feel changes as quickly as this will do, you are very. It's amazing. You develop this internal motivation to fit it into your life and all the positive change. You're like, oh, I'm going to keep doing this and it's not the kind of exercise that you have to force yourself to do because you feel the change happening so quickly. You're like Whoa, all right, I'm going to fit this in.
Speaker 1:That sounds amazing. That's exactly what I need to do because, honestly, like when I look at what's going on in my life first of all, that rotator cuff thing that I'm living, that it's getting better, but I'm living it.
Speaker 2:Shoulder stuff is hard to rehab. I've been there and done that. And it is the shoulder is so complex. I mean like I can geek out about any of this stuff, but like the shoulder has very little bony support. Like our hip is like this really deep socket. The shoulder is like well, it might not be mine. Sockets are different all designed differently in different angles, everything but the shoulders, like a golf ball on a T. So in order for the mechanics for the shoulder to be reset, it's all about fine tuned muscular balance.
Speaker 2:And it is really complicated. So I yeah I do hope you're with a very skilled professional helping you with that.
Speaker 1:I am with a Webster, Webster Technique.
Speaker 2:Hierobrecker. Oh how wonderful, okay girl.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's the one that got me through my second pregnancy, and all that I'm preaching to the choir then. Honestly, it's a labor and delivery nurse thing also because, if you like, the reason that my rotator cuff is so messed up is because I put people's foot when they're pushing. Oh my gosh Right here, which was the stupidest thing I could ever done. I'm learning how to like redo my mechanics.
Speaker 2:Well, but it's also as we get older we have to treat our bodies a little differently. I don't know. I'll speak for myself at 40.
Speaker 1:I am going to be 45. So you feel me Mid 40s? Yes, so maybe it wasn't all of the things that falling apart, maybe it wasn't that idea at 25, right?
Speaker 2:But this is part of our all, of our journey, like our body tells our whole story of our, of our life's journey. So we start to accumulate these little things and realize like, hey, what worked at 25 may not work at 40, but we can find a different way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, for sure. So I'm excited to learn more about what I can do in this program and I'm going to be adding, for sure, links to the show notes and the coupon code and all that fun stuff, and I'm probably going to be putting it on every podcast because the girl absolutely is very important. Well, and look we are everywhere.
Speaker 2:If you're like, if your interest or curiosity is peaked, you're like I really want to see what these girls are about, and or you have some questions, the kind that you're like I'm a scared to Google, go to our YouTube channel because we have spent so much time and energy. Any question, we got like a lot like we need to make a teaching on this. So we have almost I think we have like a hundred YouTube videos. But if you can also email us, if you're like I really just need some direction to know where to start. Hello at tighten your tinglercom, of course, tighten your tinglercom website, but you can find us on YouTube.
Speaker 2:We're tighten your tingler there with tons of like deep dive kind of rabbit hole sort of stuff on anything pelvic floor, core prolapse related. We go into bowel function and exercise and intimacy and all these areas that are important and related to the functioning of that area of our body and are on Instagram. Tighten your tingler. We're all over the place. Find us, check us out, reach out. There's no such thing as TMI. That is our specialty.
Speaker 2:And like if we don't have the answer, we'll direct you to where, the best place we know of where you can find it, because this mission is truly heart centered and it came from our own struggles with these issues first, and we love nothing more than helping each woman find the path that they feel called to, whatever that is to find relief.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's so important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, was there anything that we didn't touch on?
Speaker 2:I think, girl, I think we covered it all, and if anybody's listening, thinking like I'm not sure that you did, I have some more questions, let us know. We'd be happy to answer them.
Speaker 1:Send it to both of us, because you know what, we could have another episode on that. Have we forgot something?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We'll circle back All right.
Speaker 1:Well, christina, thank you so much for joining me. That was amazing and I am going to. I'm going to check out your program. Thank you so much for joining us.
