Today on the Pelvic Rehab Report, we hear from Dustienne Miller. Dustienne wrote and teaches the Yoga for Pelvic Pain course, which is available in Cleveland, OH on July 18-19, and in Boston, MA on September 12-13.

"It feels like my pelvic floor just sighed."

Grounding in Mountain Pose

As musculoskeletal professionals, we have a sharp eye for postural dysfunction. We explain to our patients that the ribcage is sheared posteriorly to the plumb line and how gravity magnifies forces at specific structures. Some physical therapists perform the Vertical Compression Test (VCT) to allow the patient to feel the difference between their typical habitual posture and a more optimally aligned posture. This works well to “sell” your patients on why their newly aligned posture allows for more efficient weight transfer through the base of support. In addition to the VCT, I utilize Tadasana, or Mountain Pose as an additional kinesthetic approach to postural retraining.

Last week in the clinic, I was teaching my client postural awareness using Tadasana. I asked her to close her eyes, or lower her gaze if she was not comfortable closing her eyes. Working from the ground up, we started bringing awareness to her base of support. She noted that she was standing with her weight mostly in her heels. When I encouraged her to bring her weight forward, hinging from the talocrural joint, she had an “aha moment.” She said, “It feels like my pelvic floor just sighed.” She was unaware that her habitual posture was to stand with her weight mostly posterior to plumb line, thus encouraging her posterior pelvic floor to remain in an overactive state. Once she balanced her body from the ground up, she felt a major release in her holding patterns.

H&W instructor Dustienne Miller, CYT, PT, MS, WCS wrote this post.

As specialists in pelvic health, we have the honor of being trusted with very private information. Our patients trust us with their secrets, their emotions, and their bodies. Sometimes patients reveal traumatic personal stories, both past and present. Even if our patients have not suffered emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, we can assume that the diagnosis of pelvic floor dysfunction is traumatic itself. Bouncing from clinician to clinician and inability to share their pain and experience with coworkers and friends is enough to increase baseline anxiety and depression levels. Yoga has proven to be an effective method in helping to heal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental comorbidities associated with pelvic floor dysfunction. But where do you start? How do you make your patient feel safe?