These W.O.W. Chats are candid, clear, and concise Words of Wisdom gathered from people I respect and admire: professionals and friends I have connected with throughout my travels across the globe. This compilation is Part 6 of 7 of the 2018 interview collection of brilliant and binge-worthy tidbits of insight, information, life lessons, and more.
Hope you enjoy!
These W.O.W. Chats are candid, clear, and concise Words of Wisdom gathered from people I respect and admire: professionals and friends I have connected with throughout my travels across the globe. This compilation is Part 5 of 7 of the 2018 interview collection of brilliant and binge-worthy tidbits of insight, information, life lessons, and more.
Hope you enjoy!
Your pelvic floor plays an important role not only in bladder, bowel, reproduction and sexual function, but also in hip function, breathing, core strategies, standing balance and more. The pelvic floor is also known to be intimately connected to the feet and the floor of the mouth. Pelvic health issues related to these many roles are commonly poorly addressed or often left untreated in both women and men.
Join Shelly Prosko, PT, C-IAYT, PYT, CPI, physical therapist and yoga therapist, for her 16 hour, Live In-Person, yoga therapy course focusing on pelvic floor health that offers a combination of inspiring, empowering, educational and valuable theory and practice. This course explores the evidence surrounding the biopsychosocial factors that influence pelvic floor function and integrates this evidence with yoga practices and philosophy that can be safely and effectively used to address and maintain optimal pelvic floor health in both men and women in an accessible way. Read more →
Well folks, I get up close and personal with Diane Lee, one of the world’s most influential physiotherapy educators. In this W.O.W. Chat episode, I ask Diane a personal question and she graciously accepts the invite and shares her story of struggle and how yoga (including the meditation aspect of yoga) has been instrumental on her healing journey and helped her reconnect with her Essence. She realized that she could still be well, even with a physical injury. She discusses the irony of a physiotherapist such as herself experiencing what it’s like to have unexplained pain and how it helped her be more empathetic towards her patients. This was a great chat filled with insights and inspiration.
Watch the 10 minute W.O.W. Chat HERE or read the full transcript below: Read more →
In this WOW Chat episode, Shelly sits down with Professor Lorimer Moseley, one of the world’s leading and most respected pain researchers and co-author of the ground breaking books “Explain Pain” + “Explain Pain Supercharged” with David Butler.
In this WOW Chat, Lorimer talks about the difference between ‘pain science education’ and understanding pain and how he is somewhat apprehensive about the way ‘pain science education’ is becoming a stand alone modality. So much wisdom to unpack in this chat!
He also shares his perspective on passion vs clarity for clinicians and all humanity and cautions Shelly and everyone to be open to challenging our own biases and not always surrounding ourselves with people who only agree with us.
Enjoy this delightfully light hearted, inspirational, informative and value-packed 13 minute WOW Chat video OR read the full transcript below:
Shelly: Welcome to my WOW Chats! Words Of Wisdom with people I admire and respect and whose work is in line with making this world a better place.
Lorimer: Thanks – well, was that a compliment to me just then?
Shelly: Yes, because you’re my Wowser. Read more →
Dustienne Miller. At risk of sounding a bit creepy, I will admit that I have a huge “girl-crush” on this phenomenal woman. I remember about 5 years ago I came across her brilliant work as I was starting to travel around to teach PhysioYoga workshops for optimizing pelvic health.
Dustienne is a board certified women’s health physical therapist, Kripalu-certified yoga teacher, AND a professional dancer. She integrates her love of movement with physical therapy and yoga to help men and women who suffer from pelvic floor pain and dysfunctions.
Dustienne is the creator of a video series that uses yoga postures and breathing techniques to navigate pelvic pain and incontinence: Your Pace Yoga: Relieving Pelvic Pain and Your Pace Yoga: Optimizing Bladder Control. I have been tremendously inspired by these videos and I recommend them to my patients and students regularly.
Dustienne and I had the opportunity to dig deep into the inspiration behind her videos, their impact and if she’d do anything different:
Me: Let’s start with your inspiration. What prompted you to create these videos?
Dustienne: The videos were really born out of a true need for my patients. In 2011 I was working in NYC at Beyond Basics Physical Therapy, and I found myself giving my clients yoga home programs in stick figure form. I realized there was a massive void in video programming available and recognized the need for something to work with at home. Carryover between sessions and after discharge from physical therapy is sometimes a missing link in rehab. Yoga can be an important aspect of the patient’s home program and used for maintenance. I created a program my patients could use at their own pace, in their own space. Read more →
Case Report: Physio + Therapeutic Yoga for an Individual with Persistent Pain
When I was invited to write a patient case report for the International Association of Yoga Therapists’ Spring 2016 special In Focus issue of Yoga Therapy Today magazine on Yoga Therapy in Pain Care, I was honoured, but knew it would be challenging to include all aspects and details of an individual’s assessment, planning, treatment, and outcomes within a word count limit.
I have been working with people suffering from persistent (chronic) pain for over over 18 years, using a combination of my skills, knowledge and experience as a physical therapist and medical yoga therapist. I am pleased to share this concise and brief review of a case report in hopes that it gives the reader a sense of how and why therapeutic yoga in conjunction with physiotherapy can be a safe and effective approach to helping an individual who is suffering from persistent pain.
The article outlines the individual’s assessment (history, subjective interview, physical observations, goals), treatment plan and outcome. There are some specific examples of techniques and methods used, as well as the patient’s testimony in his own words.
I hope you find this valuable and worth sharing with health care professionals, colleagues, patients, family, friends, and anyone suffering from persistent pain. Part of my mission is to help healthcare professionals understand the profound efficacy and value that yoga has to offer when combined with rehabilitation in an evidence informed manner.
Enjoy the article and please feel free to comment below with any questions or comments that you think would serve or add to the reader’s experience! Access to the article is below:
Case Report: Yoga Therapy for an Individual with Persistent Pain
This entire Spring 2016 YTT issue focuses on pain rehabilitation through yoga therapy. Contributors to this issue include a variety of yoga therapists and healthcare professionals that have studied and teach about pain, pain science and that have trained and worked with people suffering from persistent pain for decades. It is a solid issue that explores a variety of options (and consequently, offers HOPE) for people in pain. You can access the full issue HERE
Other resources related to this topic:
“The Truth About Back Pain: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Treatment”
“Overcome Pain with Gentle Yoga Videos Now Available”
“Yoga, Neuroplasticity & Pain: New Hope for Self Empowerment + Healing” Webinar
“Neil Pearson: Blending Optimism + Scientific Research” by Sunlight in Winter
“Yoga for Pain” Blissology Talks interview
Well, I am finally dedicating an entire post to all these pelvic floor health Physio Yoga resources I’ve been creating and accumulating over the years: writing, filming, interviewing, sharing!
I will keep this post updated and current, and add any resources I find valuable to share. This information is targeted towards people like you who are interested in learning more about and optimizing pelvic floor health through yoga: the general public, the yoga teacher, yoga therapist, health care professional, or anyone simply looking for more quality information and resources on creating pelvic floor health for both men and women through Physio + Yoga.
The first resource is a great place to start: an article I wrote in the Winter 2016 Issue of the International Association of Yoga Therapists “Yoga Therapy Today” publication. It’s a concise summary of roles of the pelvic floor, factors influencing pelvic floor function, and how yoga fits in: Read more →
I recently wrote an article that was published in the International Association of Yoga Therapists Winter 2016 Issue of “Yoga Therapy Today” publication titled:
“Optimizing Pelvic Floor Health Through Yoga Therapy.”
The purpose was to review the role that a yoga therapist has in helping people create and optimize their pelvic floor health. The article is also valuable for yoga teachers, health care professionals, or anyone interested in or requiring more knowledge about the pelvic floor. Pelvic health physical therapists have provided me with positive feedback, stating that the article is an accurate and valuable resource for their clients and also for educating other physical therapists who may want to learn more about the pelvic floor:
“Excellent article. Well written and one of the most accurate I’ve read. So needed.” Diane Lee, PT
In this article, I explain specifically what ‘is’ pelvic health and the pelvic floor, the many roles of the pelvic floor, the numerous factors that influence the healthy functioning of the pelvic floor muscles, and the role that yoga therapists may have in working with people with pelvic floor dysfunctions, with examples of some techniques they may use. I also discuss what some of the research is saying about yoga and certain pelvic health conditions.
There are 27 citations included in this evidence-informed article.
**Above Photo credit: Raymond Long www.bandhayoga.com
You can find the article here: “Optimizing Pelvic Floor Health Through Yoga Therapy”
Please also review the 4 min trailer of the videos, “Creating Pelvic Floor Health with PhysioYoga” that I created for you to download that include many of the techniques discussed in the article!
**This article and video is not meant to diagnose, treat or act as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider for clearance and guidance before following or participating in these activities**
Yoga for Ankylosing Spondylitis
Shelly Prosko, PT, PYT, CPI
I recently had a physical therapist colleague ask me for advice about some ‘yoga poses’ that may help her client who has ankylosing spondylitis (AS). I explained that there are certainly some poses I would share with her that could potentially address some of the ‘general’ commonalities of the symptoms of AS and how people with AS may present in similar ways, but I also explained I thought it was important for her and her client to understand that:
1) therapeutic yoga is so much more than prescribing ‘poses’ for a particular dysfunction or special population
and
2) the statement, “yoga for ankylosing spondylitis” (or any diagnosis) tends to suggest (in my opinion) that we are using a reductionist approach and falling into the trap of treating/addressing a diagnosis instead of a person who is a living, breathing, moving, thinking, feeling and reacting being that is connected to and affected by the surrounding environment. A being that consists of complex systems and layers: each one influencing the other; including the nervous systems, digestive system, musculoskeletal system, hormonal system, immune system, integumentary system, emotional, social and spiritual layers, just to name a few.
That being said, there are certainly some common physiotherapy exercises + yoga methods that can be used for people looking to optimize spinal and rib mobility and alignment, maximize breath pattern, improve pain management, and/or calm the nervous system. But I suppose that would be a really long title for this article. Read more →
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