The process of preparing for birth, giving birth, and recovering can be described in many ways. Some might say incredible, others might say life changing, and still others might say horrific. But whatever someone’s experience is, one thing is for sure. It always helps to know a bit about the process before the day you welcome your bundle of joy.

Jen Buice joins us today for a deep and meaningful conversation around all things childbirth. Jen has been supporting families as a childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and birth doula for 15 years in and around New York City. Jen came to this work after the births of her two children, which brought her to an understanding of the essential role of caring support and empowering education before, during, and after childbirth. Today she chats with us on how important it is to know the physiology of birth, what is normal/not as normal, what is medically SUGGESTED versus medical NECESSARY, and all the possible ways that birth can happen. 

She believes that even if you are planning for a home birth, knowing hospital birth-related information is key, in case you need to go down that route. She emphasizes the importance of partners advocating for the birthing individual and to always make sure the birthing person is a part of the decision-making process. 

Jen is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) and Evidence Based Birth® Instructor, committed to helping people gain the skills and knowledge they need to feel prepared, confident, and respectfully supported as they bring their babies into the world. She teaches childbirth classes through Evidence Based Birth®, Birth Day Presence, and boober, both virtually and in person.

Connect with her:

yourpreparedbirth.com

@yourpreparedbirth

Pelvic floor dysfunction is present across all age groups and anatomies. Particularly during the pregnancy and postpartum time in a birthing person’s life, pelvic issues often don’t get the attention they need. And sometimes, too much attention may be given in certain areas!

Our guest today is Rachel Parrotta, a pelvic health physical therapist in New York. Today she discusses how we don't talk enough about topics such as prolapse and pain with intercourse after birth. She feels there has been too much fear mongering with Diastasis Recti and it has made people scared to move for years after birth. She promotes evolving clinical care with research and highlighting how PTs can be stuck in archaic ways of treating. 

Rachel has over a decade of experience supporting men and women with a wide range of pelvic pain conditions, as well as supporting people through all phases of conception, pregnancy, post-partum and menopause. She loves helping pregnant folks understand the changes that occur to their bodies in pregnancy, prepare for birth (in the ways that are in our control) and give context and guidance for postpartum recovery. 

Rachel earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2008. Prior to attending graduate school, Rachel worked as a Certified Athletic Trainer with a men’s professional hockey team. Her background in athletics gives Rachel a unique perspective in helping clients return to the sports and activities that they love.

Connect with her:

rachelparrotta.com

@rachel.parrotta.dpt

For too long, women’s health problems have been a mystery in the medical field. Often they are under-researched or just brushed off as part of the normal female experience. But with the help and expertise of our wonderful guest today, Dr. Andrew Goldstein, we are gaining massive insight and making large strides towards solving many of the issues that affect women’s bodies. 

Dr. Goldstein is the Director of the Centers for Vulvovaginal Disorders and is currently a Clinical Professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine. On the show today, Dr. Goldstein chats with us about the plethora of research and clinical work he has done over the years on vulvar and vaginal pain. He discusses his diagnostic tool, his treatment options, and how a collaborative team approach can help catapult a patient's recovery. 

Dr. Goldstein is the Past-President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). He is the founder and President of the Gynecologic Cancers Research Foundation. He has co-authored/co-edited 8 books, is actively involved in research and has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and book chapters on female sexual dysfunction, sexual pain disorders, lichen sclerosus, vulvodynia, vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (vestibulodynia), and cervical cancer. 

He has lectured extensively on the subjects of vulvodynia, vulvar disease, and female sexual dysfunction, and has been interviewed by many media outlets and publications including 20/20, The View, Dr Oz, Good Morning America, Katie, Dr. Drew, The Discovery Channel, BBC, local affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox, New York Times, Washington Post, Allure, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Women’s Health, and Prevention.

Dr. Goldstein has a strong commitment to global medicine and in 2015-16 spent a year in South America and South-East Asia volunteering, along with his family, with 11 different NGO’s providing medical care. He frequently travels to rural China, Cambodia and Peru where he is collaborating with the National Cancer Institute to develop a rapid, high-volume, and low-cost cervical cancer screening protocol. 

Connect with him:

www.vulvodynia.com 

Buy his latest book:

https://www.amazon.com/When-Sex-Hurts-Understanding-Healing-ebook/dp/B09ZB714DQ?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Resources:

https://www.isswsh.org/ 

Being human is more than just running your day-to-days. How can you find joy and meaning in it all? Well, maybe the answer lies in some confusion and… magic! Today we have the opportunity to chat with the renowned Mark Fisher, an international speaker, consultant, and entrepreneur. Mark is the co-founder of Mark Fisher Fitness (MFF), one of the most unusual gyms in the fitness industry. He’s also the co-founder of Business for Unicorns, a company that trains gym owners to achieve financial success and personal freedom.

Mark has a lively discussion around why his companies are successful and how MFF has transformed people’s lives not just from a physiological standpoint, but also in their overall lifestyle and mindset. With a reputation as the fitness home of choice for the Broadway community, Mark and MFF have been featured in Forbes, the NY Times, the NY Post, the Huffington Post, and the Wall St. Journal, among others. MFF has made waves in the fitness industry for its unprecedented success and unique approach to culture. Living their mantra of “Ridiculous Humans, Serious Fitness,” MFF provides progressive fitness protocols in a delivery system of subversive humor, fantastical imagery, and outrageous antics. They also inexplicably talk about unicorns, call their clients Ninjas, and treat fun, community, and personal growth as core values.

MFF operates a physical location in midtown Manhattan and an online “virtual” location. MFF was recognized as #312 on the 2015 Inc. 500 fastest growing companies in America, as well as one of Men's Health's "Top 20 Gyms in America." Mark's newest company, Unicorn Wellness, is an investor in an emerging fitness franchise brand Alloy Personal Training. 

Connect with him:

https://www.markfisherhumanbeing.com/

https://www.businessforunicorns.com/

https://youtube.com/c/markfisherhumanbeing

@markfisherhumanbeing

We are busting some myths on pregnancy, postpartum, and fitness here folks! Tune in today to gain exclusive insights into what we really need to focus on moving forward to optimize pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Spoiler alert - it is not recommended that you are inactive during your pregnancy unless medically necessary!

Our guest today is the Director of Education for PROnatal Fitness, Carolyn Appel. Carolyn is “the brain” behind the company’s innovative Performance-Based Education Programs, leveraging the latest research and evidence-based strategies to teach fitness professionals how to train their clients for pregnancy and the postpartum period like they would train for any other major athletic event. In addition, this Performance-Training approach lies at the heart of all of PROnatal Fitness’s consumer programs.

With a background in competitive tennis, Carolyn has built a career on her passion for fitness and athletics over her two decades in the fitness industry. She received her master’s degree in Motor Learning and Control from Columbia University and continues to spread the message about the importance of the teaching and learning process in client skill development when presenting at national and regional conferences for the NSCA, ACSM, and fitness facilities big and small. As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA, Carolyn spent several years on the faculty of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute and used to consider teaching her number one joy, until having her son, who shot to the top of the rankings in 2015.

To learn more about PROnatal Fitness, head to pronatalfitness.com. Explore their programs and services for those who are pregnant or postpartum, or their comprehensive education for health & fitness professionals. For a great FREE resource to get you started, you can download this guide on The 5 Pre & Postnatal Changes You Need to Know.

Do you want to know the secret to long lasting fat loss? No, it’s not just dieting. No, it’s not just cardio. No, it's not just strength training. It is a combination of the three and strength training tends to need a bit more focus for most people! 

Our guest today is Sarah Currie, MS RDN CDN, a Registered Dietitian, personal trainer and co-owner of Physical Equilibrium, a gym and Pilates studio with locations in Midtown Manhattan and East Hampton. Sarah chats with us on how to lose weight properly, and permanently. But she dislikes the word weight loss and prefers body composition because sometimes the scale does not accurately reflect progress. She encourages that you truly can change the way you look with a tailored workout and nutrition plan, but this takes time and patience.

Sarah has been a trainer for 19 years and a Registered Dietitian for 14 years. Her specialty and passion is helping clients get strong and lean by combining proper strength training and nutrition strategies. Sarah received her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound in Washington State while also competing on the track and field team as a short sprinter. She earned her M.S. in Clinical Nutrition from New York University and completed her Dietetic Internship at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital. Sarah is an avid weightlifter who has one figure competition under her belt and is currently training for a second. Additionally, she has completed more than 10 triathlons, two marathons, and one century ride.

Connect with her:

www.physeq.com

C-Section? Epidural? Hypnobirthing? Hospital gown? Midwife? Doula? Oh and hopefully the bassinet comes in time… Wait or is it better for the baby to sleep with me?

So many thoughts, so many things, so many conversations to be had when it comes to pregnancy and birth! If you are overwhelmed or remember a time when you were, you are certainly not alone. Being a birthing individual in America today can be a lot. Well, maybe it was always a lot. And maybe we are just talking about it more now. Is social media making it better or worse? Maybe we have more choices (rightfully so!) with research on things that “science” didn’t specifically support before like the use of breathing techniques and a doula during birth? 

Today we have a wonderful chat with Ashley Brichter, an educator, speaker, consultant, entrepreneur, and the founder of Birthsmarter, which provides unbiased, inclusive, and award-winning practical wisdom and guidance to the next generation of families. Ashley discusses how we don’t need to follow predetermined paths that dictate how our birth goes. Rather, we should understand the physiology of birth along with the current society we live in and choices that the birthing family wishes to make. Despite her experience with hundreds of families as a doula and birth educator – like so many, her first birth did not “go as planned.” Ashley is an advocate for education above all and has a plethora of knowledge when it comes to assisting families navigate through the challenging space of birth and postpartum care.

Ashley was born and raised in New York City, though she’s temporarily relocated to Salt Lake City, UT and is enjoying the mountains and Red Rocks of The West with her husband and two amazing kids. She is a Certified Fair Play Facilitator, and sits on the board of ProNatal Fitness.

Connect with her:

Birthsmarter.com

instagram.com/birthsmarter

You belong! Your body and the way you move belongs anywhere you want it to, whether it’s at a big gym, a small yoga studio, a group Pilates class, or a bootcamp-style intense training session. If you feel limited with your exercise because of fear of judgment, tune into today’s episode with Kirsten Adler. 

Kirsten is an interdisciplinary movement instructor and the founder of Explore Movement, an integrated yoga, Pilates, & Gyrotonic studio in Portland, Maine. Kirsten talks to us about how she personalized her own movement practice to reduce her aches and pains. She believes in getting into a practice that works for you, not against you. 

For over 17 years, Kirsten has been helping people improve strength, reduce pain, and increase flexibility. Kirsten's inspiration draws from a professional dance background, personal experience with injuries and pain, studies in somatics, and motherhood. Kirsten also hosts the podcast, Mainely Wellness, where she talks to wellness experts about movement, nutrition, fitness, and health. 

Connect with her:

exploremovement.com 

@exploremovement

There are different ways of looking at trauma, or the harm you have experienced in your life (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally). Sometimes it can feel like a long and daunting road to overcome this trauma, or various microtraumas, to live a fulfilling life. But what if we could shift our mental framework around trauma to serve us better? Instead of “overcoming” it, we could instead “understand” and “integrate” it. What if we were to step away from the concept of needing to “repair” ourselves, because we are not broken to be fixed in the first place?

Our guest today is Haylin Belay, a pleasure-based sexual health educator and trauma-informed bodyworker who teaches people of all ages practical skills for a healthier, more pleasurable life. Haylin uses various methods of pedagogy to help her clients and students with trauma-informed care. She understands that there is NO one-size fits all approach to understanding one’s health especially when there is trauma involved. So her work is customized to help each individual achieve their personal goals, whatever that looks like for them.

In addition to over a decade of experience in facilitating research-based health education and professional development for clinicians, educators, and activists, Haylin has worked in K-12 schools, sex shops, yoga studios, and everywhere in between. She currently offers workshops, trainings, and one-on-one coaching from an integrated mind-body-spirit perspective.

Connect with her:

@haylin.co (Instagram) @haylinco (Twitter)

www.haylin.co

It’s not just about knowing exactly what the diagnosis is, what treatment to provide, or in what dosage. In order to optimize a patient’s health, we must go beyond that. Whether you are a medical doctor, physical therapist, acupuncturist, or any other clinician that offers care to patients, there is a deeper level to patient centered care that involves mindset, communication and empathy. By becoming cognizant of this as healthcare practitioners, we can not only serve our patients better, but we can also gain more satisfaction from our work.

John Woolf is our guest today, tackling this very interesting conversation. He is a physical therapist and athletic trainer who is currently completing a PhD in Performance Psychology.  His journey from physical medicine into psychology was inspired by a desire to better understand the influence of the patient-provider relationship. He is the CEO of Patient Success Systems, a company that provides training and consulting to improve clinical outcomes through patient connection and engagement. John additionally offers services in executive coaching, working with several business owners who are keeping a lot of plates spinning. Performance psychology is about helping people perform in a healthy and effective way.

Connect with him:

www.patientsuccesssystems.com