I walked into the lecture hall at the well-renowned Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, MA last week and I paused to soak in and feel what was about to take place. I found out about “A Chronic Pain-Management Conference for Healthcare Professionals: Shifting the Paradigm” randomly through a colleague's facebook posting and as soon as I read the program I knew I had to be there. I’d been wanting to visit Kripalu for quite some time and the content of this conference was EXACTLY what Enlighten PT is all about! The week was a passion project for Denise Barack, Director of Programming at Kripalu and it was the perfect integration of western research meets ancient holistic practices-- with a nod towards a retreat style experience addressing the self-care needs and burnout problem in health care professionals like myself. 

In light of the intense stress and fear in these unprecedented time I think it’s important to draw a connection between the physical and energetic bodies. Anatomically the pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sits at the base of your body lining the bowl of your pelvis. Energetically the pelvic floor sits in and surrounds the first (root) chakra of the energetic body. To boil it down really briefly the root chakra represents our basic instinctual survival needs. It deals with things like safety, boundaries, security, our ancestors and family, how supported we feel.

It’s always nice to attend a continuing education course that involves savanasa (or “lying on the floor resting pose” for you non-yogis).  It’s even nicer to be part of a pelvic floor continuing education course which doesn’t involve everyone disrobing from the waist down and practicing on each other.  For you pelvic floor therapists out there, I know you know what I mean.  For the rest of you, let’s just say our education is experiential!   I have to say that it’s refreshing to trade the usual lube and gloves routine for yoga mats and practice breathing!

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!