Our Memorial Day weekend retreat, Retreat to Your Root: An Immersion into Pelvic Health, is filling up fast, but Dustienne Miller of Your Pace Yoga and I want to continue to share previous retreaters' experiences.    

Today's blog features Sophia's experience which she has graciously offered to share as a glimpse into the retreat experience. 

Ok, nobody's vagina NEEDS to go on retreat...but then again, nobody really needs to travel to the world to find themselves or do 100 vinyasas a day to find enlightenment, either. We practice because we know and value the benefits it brings to our daily life. Well, as a CYT and Doctor of Physical Therapy (PT) with a specialty practice in pelvic health I have found that together, yoga and PT can heal and radically improve the lives of patients and yogis alike...and I can tell you with professional certainty that your vagina is an important part of the Mind-Body-Spirit equation.

My greatest apologies for those of you have been waiting for Part II of Amy’s story!  Exciting things have been happening over here in sunny Southern California with the new practice and lots of amazing professional opportunities.  If you can recall a couple of weeks ago I began a case study about a former patient named Amy*.  Amy had a two year history of pelvic pain associated with some gastrointestinal issues and a stressful lifestyle.  Check back to Mind-Body Case Story Part 1 if you haven’t yet read her history or my objective findings.  Today we'll cover my assessment, treatment plan, goals for recovery, and most importantly, how a mindful approach to physical therapy helped to heal Amy's pelvic pain!

After posting my first two blogs How'd I End Up Here? and How'd I End Up Here Part 2, I now see how important it is to connect to community through story.  My story spurred not only an outpouring of support for me and my journey, but it empowered others to share their stories with me.  It provided a safe space for people to identify and openly discuss a variety of "pelvic floor secrets" with me and it created a container for many of these stories to be heard for the first time.