After the birth of my first son, 19 years ago, I was surprised when I began to experience incontinence.
As I slowly returned to exercise, I found that I couldn't go for a run without my bladder leaking.
The funny part is, I thought I was going to be immune to these issues. My mother experienced them and I thought it was because she had episiotomies. I didn't even tear during my births.
My assumption was wrong and I went on to learn that the pelvic floor is a group of muscles that have very important jobs and they need to be trained, just like the rest of our body.
I had been a fitness instructor and personal trainer for years and had never learned about this incredibly important group of muscles.
This was the first time I felt out of control of my body.
After learning about the pelvic floor and how it is part of our core (yes....you read that right...it is part of the core!) I was able to reverse the incontinence very quickly.
I thought that was it! Done and cured!
Not so much...
I learned about pelvic floor physical therapists and decided to go. I found out I had internal scar tissue from birth and an early rectocele ( a type of organ prolapse).
Now I was really determined to learn more and get this information out to women. Pelvic health is so much more than 'do your kegels'. I had never even heard of the term prolapse until well after my births and was also starting to work with women who had pelvic floor challenges and had never been pregnant! How could that be?
Pelvic health is multifaceted and we are simply not given any information about how to manage this vital part of our body.
Pregnancy and birth and known risk factors but so is aging, connective tissue disorders, heavy occupational lifting, hormone changes....I could go on.
Women often experience some minor symptoms and once they start the menopause transition, the minor symptoms get worse or they start to experience symptoms for the first time.
During my perimenopause I started to develop constipation (along with a whole host of other symptoms) and 'murder scene' periods. I knew something was up.
After speaking to my doctor and getting the classic 'everything looks normal', I decided I was going to find a way to overcome these symptoms myself - no matter what.
I did a lot of research - and mostly what I found was advice about Kegels.
Kegels are evidence based but I wasn't making the progress I wanted. I felt that the pelvic floor should be trained WITH MOVEMENT, not just static kegels.
There wasn't any research to support it but I didn't want to wait for research so I created my own routine and started to feel stronger, less symptomatic and knew I was on to something.
It has taken awhile but research has caught up and 2 recent papers support what I have been doing which is to combine kegel type exercises with movement.
I was still struggling with constipation during this time and was trying to navigate perimenopause and thyroid health and it took me several years to fully understand what was causing my constipation.
During that time I found out I had a stage 2 uterine prolapse but thankfully it was around the same time that I was also learning about a new technique out of Europe that was helping people improve and sometimes even reverse their prolapse.
After finding these exercises, I implemented them right away.
...Within 2 months I was actually able to reverse my Uterine Prolapse fully.
After this experience, I made a promise to myself that I would help as many women as I can overcome these symptoms as well.
This is how I became the Vagina Coach.
In the last few years, I've distilled my most effective exercises into short, simple workouts that start with the pelvic floor, but also target the whole body.
These have worked for me, and they've helped thousands of my students as well.
... And now it's your turn.
You can say Goodbye to Kegels.
You can say Goodbye to bladder medications and waking multiple times at night to pee.
You can say Goodbye to symptoms of heaviness and bulging that are getting in the way of your quality of life.
And you can finally stop searching for answers. I have them all here for you.
If you're ready to Buff Your Muff, here's a breakdown of how the method will work: