What if the thing you’re waiting for … is simply the courage to begin?

In this heartfelt and inspiring episode, Lynn Schulte sits down with Occupational Therapist Stephanie Smith to talk about the unexpected journey that led Stephanie from being a new mom experiencing leaking postpartum … to launching her own thriving pelvic health practice.

Stephanie shares the vulnerable story of the moment she realized something in her own body wasn’t right after childbirth – she never expected it would become a major turning point in her life. That single experience eventually introduced her to pelvic health therapy and awakened what she now calls her true calling.

But this episode goes far deeper than business-building.

Together, Lynn and Stephanie dive into:

• Why so many practitioners feel stuck or disconnected from traditional treatment models
• How intuition and presence can completely transform clinical outcomes
• The importance of truly listening to the body instead of forcing protocols
• The profound shifts that happen when practitioners trust themselves enough to begin before they feel “fully ready”

One of the most powerful moments comes when Stephanie shares the story of sitting at an airport gate after attending Lynn’s live Holistic Treatment of the Postpartum Course. She kept hearing an internal nudge to “just do it” and posted a simple offer for free sessions in a local moms group. She boarded her flight with no expectations … and landed to 15 women asking for help.

This conversation is packed with encouragement for:

• Pelvic Health Practitioners
• OTs and PTs considering starting a practice
• Clinicians struggling with imposter syndrome
• Anyone longing to practice in a more intuitive, holistic, and deeply effective way

If you’ve ever questioned whether you’re ready…
If you’ve ever felt the pull toward something bigger…
Or if you simply want to hear an incredibly honest and inspiring story about following intuition and creating meaningful impact –

this episode will stay with you.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit:InstituteforBirthHealing.com

About Today’s Speaker

Stephanie Smith, OTR/L

Stephanie Smith is a pelvic floor occupational therapist and the founder of Everbloom Pelvic Health in Sanford, North Carolina. She specializes in pregnancy, postpartum, and pelvic health care through a trauma-informed, whole-body approach. Her work focuses on helping women reconnect with their bodies, improve core and pelvic floor function, and feel confident through every stage of womanhood.

She created Everbloom to be the kind of care she wishes existed-where women feel seen, supported, and educated in their bodies. Through a blend of hands-on therapy, movement, and nervous system support, Stephanie provides deeply personalized care that goes far beyond traditional pelvic floor therapy.

Website: https://www.everbloompelvichealth.com/

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

Pelvic health clinicians are trained to assess muscles, fascia, joints, and organs – but one powerful system influencing pelvic function is often overlooked: the lymphatic system.

In this episode, Lynn is joined by pelvic health therapist and certified lymphedema specialist, Mary Ellen Kramp, to discuss why lymphatic function deserves more attention in pelvic health care.

The lymphatic system plays a critical role in fluid balance, immune function, and tissue health, yet it’s rarely emphasized in traditional PT training. When lymphatic flow becomes impaired in the abdomen or pelvis, it may contribute to symptoms clinicians commonly see – such as bloating, pelvic heaviness, tissue congestion, and urinary urgency.

Mary Ellen shares how practitioners can begin recognizing lymphatic involvement through tissue quality, palpation findings, and clinical patterns, particularly during pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and after surgeries like C-sections.

This conversation invites clinicians to expand their lens and consider how lymphatic congestion may be influencing pelvic symptoms they treat every day.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

In this episode, Lynn explores how a baby’s position in the maternal body can directly influence pain patterns during pregnancy and impact the progression of labor. Through a compelling case study of a client at 39 weeks with a high, mobile fetal head, this conversation highlights how skilled palpation and targeted bodywork can help facilitate engagement into the pelvis. Lynn shares the common areas of tension that may prevent the baby from descending and how to address these restrictions to support more efficient labor mechanics. 

Learn the importance of palpation skills and understand fetal positioning to improve the success of your own work with pregnant clients.

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners

• Palpating the fetal head and how it reveals why some labors stall before they even begin.
• Look beyond the pelvis - learn what else can quietly prevent a baby from engaging in the pelvis.
• Learn why the pelvic floor may act like a “stoplight” for the baby’s descent.
• Discover the hands-on treatment that can shift outcomes.

If you work with pregnant clients, this episode offers practical clinical insights into how assessing and addressing fetal positioning can influence both pain presentations and birth outcomes. Learn more in Pregnancy Pain and Beyond.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

YouTube: 

Pregnancy Pain and Beyond: https://instituteforbirthhealing.com/pregnancy-pain-and-beyond/

Message me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instituteforbirthhealing/

Message me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InstituteForBirthHealing/

Email Me: [email protected]

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. 

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

In this episode, Lynn explores an intriguing postpartum case that reveals how birth mechanics can influence hip pain decades later. A clinician shares the story of a colleague whose leg was tractioned off the bed during an epidural birth – creating long-term pelvic alignment changes that eventually led her to consider a total hip replacement. The discussion highlights how unresolved pelvic positioning from birth can alter hip mechanics, including internal rotation and load through the acetabulum. This episode encourages pelvic floor and orthopedic practitioners to look beyond symptoms and evaluate how birth and postpartum pelvic alignment may be driving chronic hip dysfunction.

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners

• Birth mechanics can have lifelong effects: Traction on the leg during epidural births may contribute to sacral flexion, ischial splay, and ilial outflare that affect hip function years later.
• Pelvic alignment influences hip mobility: Ischial splay and ilial outflare can change acetabular orientation, limiting internal rotation and contributing to chronic hip pain.
• Assess more than the pelvic floor: TFL tension, pelvic bone position, and sacral mechanics can all play a role in postpartum hip symptoms.
• Address both tissue and experience: Combining pelvic mobilization with trauma-informed approaches to unresolved birth experiences may unlock lasting changes for clients.

This episode offers clinical insights that may change how you assess chronic hip pain in postpartum clients – and why evaluating pelvic alignment after birth can be essential for long-term outcomes.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

Are you considering the bone itself (and not just the muscles) when postpartum patients come to you with persistent pelvic pain, adductor tightness, or tailbone symptoms? In today’s podcast episode, Lynn Schulte, PT introduces the concept of osseous lesions in the pelvis, subtle hardening of pelvic bones that can occur during childbirth and continue to drive soft tissue tension long after delivery. She explains how birth mechanics, baby positioning, and prolonged pushing can create trauma in key pelvic structures – and how skilled palpation can help clinicians identify the difference between healthy bone and hardened bone. 

This conversation opens the door to a frequently overlooked contributor to postpartum dysfunction. If you treat postpartum women, this conversation can help enhance your assessment of the pelvis.

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners

• Osseous lesions are areas of hardened bone created by trauma or compression during birth, often affecting surrounding muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
• The most common pelvic locations include the lower sacrum (S3–S4), coccyx, pubic rami, and medial ischial tuberosities.
• Persistent muscle tightness - like recurrent adductor tension - may actually be a reaction to a bone lesion rather than a primary soft-tissue problem.
• Skilled palpation can help clinicians differentiate normal bone mobility (“tree”) from hardened bone (“telephone pole”).
• Gentle compression techniques may help restore softness and mobility to affected bone and improve symptoms.

This episode will challenge practitioners to start listening to the bones, not just the muscles, when evaluating postpartum pelvic dysfunction.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit:InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

The importance of postpartum care is no longer just an afterthought – and this conversation shows exactly why that matters for your practice. Today, Lynn Schulte is joined by Rachelle Seliga, a Midwife, Educator and the creator of INNATE Postpartum Care. Together, they unpack the dramatic shifts that have occurred in postpartum care over the past decade, the direction this field is going next, and what we can do as practitioners to keep up with the changing tides.

You’ll hear how pelvic health directly impacts mental health, why more moms are seeking care even when they don’t have symptoms, and what it really takes to close the gaps still leaving many women underserved.

From unexpected innovations to powerful collaborations across disciplines, this episode will expand what you believe is possible – and your role in it.

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners:

• Where the gaps in postpartum care still remain.
• The connection between pelvic health and mental health.
• Your role and steps for supporting the full spectrum of postpartum needs.
• Innovation and diversity that is leading the shift beyond traditional postpartum care.
• The keys to thriving as a practitioner in today’s evolving healthcare landscape.

If you want to stay relevant and deliver deeper, more impactful outcomes then this is an episode you do not want to miss.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

About Today’s Speaker

Rachelle Seliga, CPM and Educator

Rachelle Seliga is a mother, midwife, and educator who is dedicated to midwifing a cultural shift through her teachings, trainings, and hands-on experiences. 

She is the creator and director of INNATE Postpartum Care, a globally recognized certification program that has trained thousands of practitioners who now support families around the world.

Her work is rooted in the belief that our physiologic design IS our divine design, which IS our "blueprint," which ARE our "original instructions" as humankind. These different ways to say the SAME thing acknowledge that there is an order, a structure, a map to LIFE that supersedes human will; it is Nature's Design. Through her teachings, Rachelle brings traditional knowledge to modern care practices, offering a deeply integrative approach to postpartum care.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of her INNATE Postpartum Care Training. It is the last year she will be teaching it as she has been, so if you are interested in joining – this is a great year to do so. As a member of the IBH Community, she is extending early-bird pricing to us even past the deadline of May 5th. For 11% off the full-price tuition, use coupon code: BIRTHHEALING

To register and for more information on INNATE Postpartum Care Training: https://www.innatetraditions.com/innate-postpartum-care-certification-training

Rachelle’s website: https://www.innatetraditions.com/

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

This episode is our final in the series on clinical mastery and dives deep into what clinical mastery means – it’s likely not what you’ve been taught. Rather than focusing solely on knowledge and techniques, Lynn reframes mastery as how you show up as a whole practitioner, blending presence, intuition, and connection. 

Drawing from conversations with Birth Healing Summit speakers, she shares how mastery is layered, personal, and developed through both ongoing inner work and clinical experience. Lynn shares a powerful breakdown of the five dimensions that influence every session – and why neglecting even one can limit your outcomes. This episode also challenges the idea that therapists must “have all the answers,” instead emphasizing humility, client-led healing, and intuitive guidance. 

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners:

• Clinical mastery spans five dimensions: physical, emotional, energetic, spiritual, and mental – and all 5 must be cultivated.
• Your presence and energy can either regulate or amplify your client’s nervous system (be the “biggest pendulum in the room”).
• True mastery involves humility and collaboration, helping clients access their own inner knowing rather than “fixing” them.
• Intuition is built on experience and knowledge, but guided through a deeper connection to self and spirit.
• Doing your own healing work is essential to showing up powerfully and creating better outcomes for your clients.

If you’re ready to elevate not just what you do – but who you are in the room – this conversation is one you don’t want to miss.

Learn with Lynn Schulte during the 2026 Birth Healing Summit – attend live online May 2 - 3, 2026 or catch the sessions after with the VIP Lifetime Access pass that includes session recordings and transcripts.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

Clinical excellence isn’t just about doing more – but about showing up differently. In this episode, Shelly Prosko challenges traditional rehab thinking, revealing why evidence alone isn’t enough, and how the real driver of outcomes may be something far less tangible. She uncovers the hidden power of therapeutic presence and why the connection you build with patients can outweigh the techniques you use. 

But there’s a catch – what most clinicians think is empathy may actually be leading them toward burnout. Listen in to learn a different approach that can unlock better results and resilience. 

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners:

• Clinical excellence = integration of research evidence, clinician experience, and evolving patient values
• Therapeutic alliance and presence are critical drivers of patient outcomes
• Compassion (not emotional empathy) supports better care and prevents burnout
• Self-compassion is a trainable skill that enhances clinician resilience and effectiveness

If you’re ready to rethink how you practice while protecting your own well-being, this is the conversation for you.

Learn with Shelly Prosko in the 2026 Birth Healing Summit – attend live online May 2 - 3, 2026 or catch the sessions after with the VIP Lifetime Access pass.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

About Today’s Speaker

Shelly Prosko, PT, CYT, Author and Educator

Shelly Prosko is a Canadian physiotherapist, certified yoga therapist, educator, author, and pioneer of PhysioYoga. Since 1998, she has integrated yoga into physiotherapy, focusing on chronic pain, pelvic health, healthy aging, compassion in healthcare, and professional burnout. 

She teaches and presents internationally at medical and yoga conferences, contributes to research and academic writing, and mentors healthcare and yoga professionals. Her professional courses are widely respected and sought after across multiple disciplines. Shelly is a Pain Care Aware Lead Trainer and co-editor/co-author of the textbook Yoga and Science in Pain Care: Treating the Person in Pain. She is also recognized for her TEDx talk on pushing boundaries in physiotherapy. 

She maintains a clinical practice in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, and believes compassion is central to effective healthcare and well-being. Outside of her professional work, she is a former professional figure skater who values connection, creativity, nature, and joy as essential elements of healing. https://physioyoga.ca/about-us 

https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Science-Pain-Care-Treating/dp/1848193971

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

How does doing your own inner work help you as a practitioner? 

In this powerful conversation, Nari challenges the traditional, performance-based definition of mastery and reframes it as deep alignment, boundaries, and self-trust. She shares how honoring your unique style, rather than copying others, allows for more authentic and effective patient care. The discussion dives into blending intuition with clinical reasoning, meeting patients where they are, and releasing the pressure to “fix” everything. This episode is a refreshing and thought-provoking invitation to evolve your practice from the inside out.

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners:

• Be you, fully: Clinical mastery comes from embodying your unique voice and approach.
• You’re not for everyone: Clear boundaries and aligned clients lead to better outcomes and less burnout.
• Meet patients where they are: Tailor your approach to their readiness – one meaningful step is enough.
• Do your own inner work: Your ability to hold space, stay non-reactive, and create transformation is directly tied to your personal healing.

Join Nari Kaur for the 2026 Birth Healing Summit: Inner Work to Clinical Mastery taking place live online May 2 - 3, 2026 or as a recorded offering when the timing works for you with the VIP Access Pass.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

About Today’s Speaker

Nari Kaur (Clemons), PT and Educator

Nari Kaur has been a pelvic therapist for 18 years. She has been teaching for Herman Wallace Pelvic Rehab for 10 years and loves merging science and anatomy with softer skills. For Herman Wallace, Nari teaches the pelvic floor series, courses she has authored on manually treating the nerves of the lumbar and sacral plexus, and a course on boundaries and self care for health care providers.

Nari’s passion is helping empathic healers to be well as they work. Her interest in this field came from being an unknowing empath, picking up too much from patients, over-functioning and living the archetype of the wounded healer, before finding another way.

She owns Portland Pelvic Therapy, a boutique practice where she combines highly specific visceral, neural and fascial work with the intersection of spirit and held stories in the body. Most of her patients are unknowing empaths who finally heal when they release held stories, often that were never theirs to carry, in their tissues. She also works at a conventional hospital and enjoys the full realm of health care.

Speaker’s Website: https://www.portlandpelvictherapy.com/

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

What does it mean to find your true clinical calling? Is this the key to clinical mastery?

In this deeply insightful and heart-opening conversation, Lynn Schulte sits down with Suzanne Scurlock, founder of Healing from the Core®, CST-D, author and educator, to explore these questions and what it truly means to evolve as a pelvic health therapist – not just in skill, but in presence, clarity, and purpose.

With over four decades of experience, Suzanne shares a perspective that many clinicians feel, but have yet to name. Mastery isn’t about doing more. It’s about refining who you are in the treatment room.

This conversation gently challenges the belief that more certifications or techniques will lead to fulfillment. Instead, Suzanne reveals the subtle but powerful shifts that create sustainable, meaningful careers.

✨ Key Takeaways for Practitioners

• The surprising trait that separates skilled clinicians from truly masterful ones
• Why “feeling off” in a session is actually your greatest clinical cue
• How knowing who not to treat elevates your results and prevents burnout
• The grounding practice that transforms how you show up in every session
• What to do when your own triggers disrupt connection

Perhaps most powerful is Suzanne’s invitation to trust that when you align with your gifts, the right clients will find you – and the ones who aren’t meant for you won’t.

What you’ll hear may challenge how you’ve been taught to practice and open the door to results that finally feel aligned and sustainable. 

This episode isn’t just about becoming a better therapist. It’s about stepping fully into your calling to become the practitioner you are meant to be.

Don’t miss Suzanne Scurlock’s session in the 2026 Birth Healing Summit taking place live online May 2 - 3, 2026 and as a recorded offering with the VIP Access Pass.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? Message Lynn on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Lynn.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

About Today’s Speaker

Suzanne Scurlock, CST-D, Author, Educator, Founder of  Healing from the Core®

Suzanne Scurlock is one of the world’s leading authorities on conscious awareness and its transformational impact on the healing process. She is one of the original instructors personally mentored by the late Dr. John E. Upledger. She also collaborated with the late Emilie Conrad for almost two decades. Together they integrated Emilie’s Continuum Movement with Suzanne’s Full Body Presence® to teach other practitioners how to accelerate and deepen the healing process.

Check out her website at https://healingfromthecore.com/ for more information about her courses, including a class to help teach people embodiment. 

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE