Tackling the mysterious Pelvic Floor with Madison White

Trauma, Pleasure, and Awakening the Goddess

[This is also an episode of Friday Free Talk on The Tranquility Tribe Podcast on iTunes. Listen here.]

Hello, Tranquility Tribe! Welcome back to the fourth episode of the Tranquility Tribe podcast.  Today, Hehe sat down with Madison White, who is a Pelvic Floor Therapist focused on holistic healing and the promotion of women’s sexual and overall health.  Together, Hehe and Madison discussed everything from painful sex to methods for healing after having a baby, as well as the huge role that the pelvic floor plays in women’s health and everyday life.

Nurse turned Pelvic Floor Healer 

Madison began her career as a nurse, but felt that she was lacking the opportunity to connect with her patients on a deeper, more emotional and spiritual level.  She recognized the understanding that she had of her own body and began to look for ways in which she could promote this understanding within others.  Influenced by the alternative medicine ideal that the mind and the body should be treated as a single entity rather than an assortment of distinct systems, she began to focus on energy healing with a particular interest in the pelvic floor.  Madison’s work in the field of holistic pelvic care therapy is centered around the idea that the pelvis can have a large impact on overall health.   

Don't Talk About Your Vagina in Public 

For many, the pelvic floor and the area surrounding it can be really embarrassing to talk about.  This is largely because we as a society tend to avoid any talk of genitalia, periods, or other related ideas.  However, the shame that people feel when it comes to these topics can manifest itself physically by causing tension in the pelvic floor, which can lead to feelings of stress and other symptoms in the body.  So what can we do about it? 

One of the best ways to promote pelvic floor health is to see a pelvic care therapist, like Madison.  Pelvic care therapists can help you dig deep into the mental, physical, and spiritual stressors that could be affecting your pelvic area.  Pelvic floor care is especially important for expecting parents – your pelvis goes through an extraordinary amount of change throughout the birth process, and taking the time to prepare it beforehand and allow it to recover afterwards can have major benefits to both your physical and emotional wellbeing!  Giving birth is the biggest thing that your pelvic floor does.  Just like the training and rest that a professional athlete must do before and after a big competition, your pelvic floor works best if it is healthy and is given time for its muscles to return to their original state. 

When you have a baby, your body is forever changed by the birthing process.  It can take some time to reacquaint yourself with your new body (as well as to figure out how to care for your other new body – your tiny human!).  But you’re not alone in this process, which is why this topic is so important!  Birthing is a miraculous event that reflects the intrinsic strength and power of women.  We’ve been taught that the birth process is dirty, and therefore we feel ashamed or embarrassed to talk about the struggles that come with it.  But mothers and women in general have so much knowledge and support to share with one another. 

So be brave and ask for the help that you need!  By sharing our stories and talking about our bodies, we can empower women to understand the incredible accomplishment of birth and to grow through the transformation of their bodies rather than feel ashamed or confused.  Together, we have the opportunity to change our approach to the birthing process to focus more holistically on the connection between the mind and the body as well as to ensure that women feel heard.  As Madison explained, every woman has an inner gut instinct, a “root voice,” that grounds them and provides them with knowledge and strength.  The more that women support each other, the stronger these voices become. 

Sex After Baby.

Speaking of raising our voices…let’s talk about sex!  Most people already know that having sex while being pregnant is perfectly fine.  But what about after giving birth?  According to Madison, you should wait 6-8 weeks before having sex after a delivery in order to allow your body to fully recover.  If you feel pain or numbness during sex (regardless of whether you’ve had a baby), Madison recommends speaking to a pelvic care therapist to find ways to improve your pelvic health.  Sex should be enjoyable!

If you are interested in learning more about Madison’s work and how she can help you, you can find more information on her website at www.madisonwhite.net or you can contact her via email at healing@madisonwhite.net or via phone at (339) 201-1346. Madison offers exclusive discounts for Tranquility by HeHe clients to ensure you are pampered in your journey to parenthood! 

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"Welcome to the Tranquility Tribe"

Written by our Guest Blogger, Kyra Shreeve. She is a Biochemistry, Health Policy, and Music student at Brandeis University.