The Core Connect Podcast

Earlier return to running.

Later return.

Symptom-free standards.

Mental health.

The guidelines for postnatal women keep shifting - and so does the debate.

In this episode, Dr. Rachel Selman helps us ask smarter questions.

What are signs to look out for to ensure that physiological healing and mental health are respected? 

Are women's requests still dismissed?

Is the push for earlier postpartum return to impact truly empowering women?

Dr Rachel Selman is a physiotherapist, strength and conditioning specialist, and published clinical voice in perinatal return-to-sport.

In this episode, Rachel and Marianne discuss the concept of mismatch - what happens when the demand placed on a postpartum body doesn't match where her tissues actually are in recovery.

They dig into the research and clinical expertise together, highlighting the need for excellence in both so new mothers are better served.

They also discuss what it truly means to advocate for yourself when the system doesn't yet do it reliably for you.

And the question everyone wants answered: how do you actually know when your pelvic floor is ready to run?

Rachel gives us the clinical signs - not a date on a calendar, but a set of real, simple markers.

You might also enjoy: 🎙 ⁠GLP-1 Medication, Breathwork & How to Create Lasting Change — with Rose O'Donovan⁠🎙 Breathing, Bracing & Motherhood: What Most Postnatal Guidelines Miss with Brittany Williams

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/breathing-bracing-motherhood-what-most-postnatal-guidelines/id1766482868?i=1000741298970⁠

------Did this change how you think about your recovery - or a client's? 

♻️ Share it with one person who needs to hear it. And if Rachel's answer sparked a question of your own, send it our way - it might just become the next episode.

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🔗 Connect with Rachel: 

⁠https://www.instagram.com/dr.rachelselman/⁠

🔗 Connect with Marianne 

⁠https://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/⁠

Are breech births inherently riskier? Or could loss of skills be an even bigger issue?

How does one turn a baby naturally?

And what about ECVs: how successful are they?

In this episode, Marianne sits down with midwife and author Red Miller to talk about the female body and what it really means to let women birth on their own terms.

Raised in a communal living community, Red was steeped in this world long before she claimed it as her own in her late twenties.

Over the past twenty years, Red has worked across Asia, from running a birth centre in Kerala, India, to supporting home births in settings ranging from dense urban centres to remote rural communities.

You'll enjoy the conversation if these topics matter to you:

• What actually puts a breech birth at higher risk and what doesn't
• The physical and mental "blocks" that may keep a baby breech
• Options for turning a breech baby: TCMs, movement, optimal hydration and ECVs
• The bigger picture: how a society lets women birth is a mirror of how it treats women more broadly

Connect with Red for antenatal support

Get Red's book

Connect with Marianne for optimum prenatal movement

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a review or share it with a friend! ⭐

We think you might also enjoy: 

⁠Is it evidence or is it culture? The science of Babywearing and Breastfeeding with Emily Little⁠, PhD

In this episode, Marianne sits down with Stephanie Fritz, a mountain-based midwife who has supported over 600 home births across her career.

Along the way, Stephanie discovered the profound impact scent and essential oils can have in the delivery room, from calming women who had experienced past trauma or abuse, to supporting mothers facing the fear of premature labour.

Today, she's a leading voice on using essential oils for physical, mental, and emotional health throughout the perinatal period.

If you're interested in the following, press play: 

• Which essential oils are genuinely helpful for combating nausea in pregnancy
• Whether peppermint oil is actually safe to use during pregnancy
• The top 4 oils for labour: Balance, Frankincense, Clary Sage, and Wild Orange
• Why approaching oils with curiosity - and asking for guidance - matters more than following a rigid formula
• Stephanie's stories of supporting mothers

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📚Stephanie is gifting the Core Connect community 20% off her book, Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth & Babies.

Use code: SAVE20

https://theessentialmidwife.com/

🔗 To connect with Stephanie

Instagram

Facebook Community: TEM

If you found this helpful, please consider sharing with your friends and family.

It helps us reach more like-minded women with this content 🙂

How much of postpartum recovery is about the body… and how much is about the systems around us?

Can recovery truly happen when healthcare, fitness, and support systems are working in separate lanes?

Why are women still being underserved, unheard, and overlooked in the perinatal space?

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In this episode, Marianne sits down with physical therapist and Dr. Lashonda Jones for a conversation that goes far beyond exercise prescriptions and rehabilitation protocols. 

They discuss the gaps that can exist between healthcare, rehabilitation, and fitness, and what that means for women navigating recovery after birth.

They explore C-section recovery and low back and pelvic concerns, but also spend time on a much bigger conversation: the realities of racial disparities affecting Black and Brown women in the perinatal space.

Last, they move into a more personal space, discussing faith, surrender, and what it means to release the pressure of controlling every step of the healing journey.

This episode is a reminder that recovery is not simply physical.

It's influenced by the systems surrounding us, the communities supporting us, and the beliefs that carry us through difficult seasons.

This episode is for you if you're interested in:

• Bridging the gap between rehabilitation and fitness • C-section recovery and postpartum healing considerations • Low back and pelvic concerns in the postpartum period • Racial disparities in the perinatal space • Advocacy and improving support for all mothers • Faith, surrender, and navigating uncertainty • Supporting the whole person, not just the diagnosis

🎙If this topic resonates with you, you might enjoy:

Tackling C-Section Overhang, Avoiding Surgery and Reclaiming Mobility with Scar Treatment Specialist Emma Holly

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/tackling-c-section-overhang-avoiding-surgery-and/id1766482868?i=1000672460863⁠

Crunches or No Crunches for Diastasis Recti? What the Research Really Says

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/crunches-or-no-crunches-for-diastasis-recti-what-the/id1766482868?i=1000747334957⁠

Is It Evidence or Is It Culture? The Science of Babywearing and Breastfeeding with Emily Little, PhD

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/is-it-evidence-or-is-it-culture-the-science/id1766482868?i=1000746297978⁠

🔗 Connect with Dr. Lashonda

On Instagram  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/ptrainershonda/⁠

Get Dr. Lashonda's C-section resource for professionals

⁠https://www.coreelevationfitness.com/clinical-professional-c-section-recovery-guide⁠

🔗 Connect with Marianne 

On Instagram 

⁠https://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/⁠

On LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannetafani/

More squeezing, more exercises, more control.

We’ve been taught to “fix” our core with more effort.

But what if better core function and aesthetics didn’t come from doing more, but from doing a few things differently, consistently, throughout your day?

In this short solo episode, Marianne shares 3 simple shifts thatcan support:

• Reduced lower back discomfort
• Better pelvic floor function 
• Improved abdominal connection
• And yes, better tummy aesthetics as a result

These are not workouts.

They’re small, practical adjustments you can integrate into your everyday life. The kind that change how your body functions between sessions.

If your core feels inconsistent, disconnected, or like it’s notresponding the way it used to… this is a powerful place to start.

Go deeper with these episodes 👇

🎙️ Beyond Kegels: 3 Simple Pelvic Floor Exercises –Marianne’s solo episode

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-core-connect-podcast/id1766482868?i=1000674250480⁠

🎙️ Healing Your Pelvic Floor - A conversation with Claire Sparrow

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-core-connect-podcast/id1766482868?i=1000684337595⁠

🎙️"I am 41 and I wear pads at the gym" The Core Clinic

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/im-41-and-i-wear-pads-at-the-gym-understanding/id1766482868?i=1000751857272⁠

Please help support other women ❤️

Help us raise awareness.

♻️ Share this episode!

📩 Contact Marianne at [email protected] orsend a message on ⁠Instagram⁠.

In this episode, Marianne is joined by Dr Margie Davenport to explore themes ranging from preconception to postpartum timelines, including how women can best return to running after childbirth.

One of the world’s leading researchers in women's health, Margie has played a pivotal role in advancing evidence-based guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy and postpartum. 

While her work is often referenced in athletic populations, thisconversation highlights why all mothers, not just athletes, benefit from better preconception education, realistic timelines, and more supportive models of care.

Together, they explore:

• Why the idea of being “fully healed” before returning to running or impact is outdated
• How perinatal fitness research is shifting beyond tissue healing to include psychological and social readiness
• The limitations of the traditional 6-week postpartum check-up
• How research can both inform practice and, when misused, lead to rigid or dogmatic rules
• Why some traditional beliefs around postpartum recovery are harmful, while others may reflect helpful wisdom developed over generations

📑 Studies & resources discussed in the episode 

Returning to Running Postnatally: Guidelines for medical, health and fitness professionals managing this population (2019)

⁠https://www.absolute.physio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/returning-to-running-postnatal-guidelines.pdf⁠

Get Active Questionnaire for Pregnancy

⁠https://csep.ca/2021/05/27/get-active-questionnaire-for-pregnancy/#:~:text=%20HOW%20THE%20GET%20ACTIVE%20QUESTIONNAIRE%20FOR%20PREGNANCY,as%20one%20part%20of%20the%20pre-screening...%20More%20⁠

Delphi Study on Return to Running Readiness after Childbirth (2024)

⁠https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38148108/⁠

🎧 More episodes: Is it Evidence-Based or is it Culture? TheScience of Babywearing and Breastfeeding with Dr Emily Little

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-core-connect-podcast/id1766482868?i=1000746297978⁠

Bracing, Breathing & Motherhood: What Most Postnatal Guidelines Miss with Brittany Williams

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/the-core-connect-podcast/id1766482868?i=1000741298970⁠

🔗 To Connect with Margie Davenport ⁠https://www.instagram.com/drmargiedavenport/⁠⁠https://www.exerciseandpregnancy.ca⁠

🔗 To Connect with Marianne Tafani

LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannetafani/⁠

instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/

Should everyone who can take GLP-1s… actually take them?

What do these medications really change and what do they leave untouched?

And how can busy families practice breathwork?

In this episode, Marianne sits down with weight management specialist Rose O’Donovan to bring nuance back into a conversation that’s quickly becoming black and white.

Rose has recently completed research on the use of GLP-1 medication as part of a multidisciplinary approach to weight management.

With a background in the military, a childhood shaped by the demands of the hotel industry, and years of hands-on experience in weight management, she understands discipline, stress, and adaptation from the inside out.

In this episode, Marianne and Rose also touch on the deeper links between addiction and weight management, the role of therapy in creating lasting change, and how the nervous system-particularly the vagus nerve- shapes everything from cravings to emotional regulation.

From humming and prayer, to a simple, gamified breathing practice that even busy families can integrate into their day, this episode is about doing the work in a way that feels possible.

You can’t medicate your way out of disconnection.

But you can build your way back.

One small, consistent practice at a time.

🔗 Connect with Rose 

On Instagram 

⁠https://www.instagram.com/rosebodonovan/⁠

On LinkedIn 

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-o-donovan-3a215a48/⁠

🔗 Connect with Marianne 

On Instagram

⁠https://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/⁠

On LinkedIn 

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannetafani/⁠

What does it really take to build a Pilates business with integrity?

How (and why) has Pete Pallai made Pilates more accessible to men? 

What does it mean to be "a real man"?

In this conversation, ever so slightly interrupted by the conflict in Dubai, you’ll hear how a former athlete found Pilates at a time of both personal and professional crisis, and how that moment quickly reshaped the course of his life.

A central theme of this episode is Pete’s mission to make Pilates more approachable for men - challenging perceptions, breaking down barriers, and creating spaces where more people feel they belong.

As he puts it, “being approachable is inspiring.”

Together, they explore:

• The transition from corporate and events into a purpose-driven career
• The role of authenticity and continued education in teaching
• Why accessibility is not a compromise, but a responsibility
• The beautiful influence of Peter’s father on his life and values

This episode is a reminder that meaningful businesses aren’t built overnight but can happen quickly.

And that sometimes, the most powerful growth happens when you stay close to who you are.

Whether you’re a teacher, studio owner, or simply someone navigating a turning point, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about what it means to build a purposeful business that lasts.

And possibly what it means to be a strong, healthy man.

More Pilates legends and their journeys below  👇

🎙Mobility, Motherhood, Master with Ava Rodriguez

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mobility-motherhood-mastery-with-ava-rodriguez/id1766482868?i=1000728588133&l=vi⁠

🎙 Jill Harris on 30 Years in Pilates, Building FitSprings, andResilience in Entrepreneurship

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/studio-owner-series-jill-harris-on-30-years-in-pilates/id1766482868?i=1000676912363⁠

🎙 Mobility, Instructor Burnout, and The Mc Donald's Era of Pilates with Mila Aleshina I Studio Owner Series

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mobility-instructor-burnout-and-the-mc-donalds/id1766482868?i=1000749545729⁠

🔗 Connect with Peter

⁠https://www.instagram.com/mypilateslondon/⁠

⁠https://mypilateslondon.com/⁠

🔗 Connect with Marianne

⁠https://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/⁠

⁠https://www.coreconnectstudio.com/⁠

How much of what parents are told is “normal,” “best,” or “necessary” is shaped less by evidence - and more by culture, productivity, and pressure?

What does the research actually say about co-sleeping and sleep training?

Breastfeeding?

Babywearing and carrying?

In this episode, Marianne is joined by Emily Little, PhD, infancyresearcher, myth-debunker, and founder of Nurturely, a platform dedicated to ending perinatal disparities in the US and beyond.

Emily has spent years researching infancy and caregiving practices across more than 30 countries, including Guatemala, Vanuatu, Bolivia, and India, examining how babies are fed, carried, soothed, and supported, and what happens when cultural wisdom collides with modern systems.

Together, we explore what the evidence actually says about:

• Breastfeeding
• Babywearing and carrying
• Co-Sleeping and infant sleep
• Responsive caregiving and infant needs

…and how many dominant narratives around “best practice” are shaped less by biology or research, and more by capitalism, productivity pressures, and the expectation that care should fit neatly around work.

This conversation goes far beyond individual parenting choices. We discuss why policy changes alone are not enough to address perinatal inequities, and why grassroots, community-led work is often more effective. 

At the root of many systemic issues, including racial disparities in maternal and infant outcomes, lies how motherhood is viewed, (de)valued, and (often) poorly supported.

This episode invites a wider, more humane lens on infancy, care, and what it truly means to support mothers and babies.

To connect with Emily Little, follow her on LinkedIn:

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilylittlephd/⁠

Download the Baby Myth Buster Brief:

⁠https://emily-little-phd.kit.com/6087629ced⁠

For any perinatal movement questions, connect with Marianne:

⁠h⁠⁠ttps://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariannetafani/

Are vasectomies truly reversible? What really changes after the procedure? How can women bring up this, and other men’s health topics, without conflict or pressure?

In this myth-busting episode, Dr. Tracy Gapin, men’s health specialist, urologist, TEDx speaker, and bestselling author, joins Marianne to bridge a crucial conversation between men’s andwomen’s health.

Dr. Gapin unpacks the real science and misconceptions around vasectomies, explores the cutting edge of peptides for sexual function, and dives into how modern performance medicine, and mindset work, is reshaping care.

Discover the truth about the 10-minute procedure that Dr. Gapin has performed on thousands of men, including himself, and how you can support the men in your life to care for their health as intentionally as they do their performance.

🎁 Free Resources from Dr Gapin

Get your Performance Guide and a Complimentary Discovery Call here  👉  ⁠https://peaklaunch.com/free-resources/

🔗 Connect with Marianne

⁠https://www.instagram.com/marianne.coreconnect/⁠

⁠https://www.coreconnectstudio.com/⁠