The Happy Pelvis

If you are Canadian and live in southern Ontario and looking for an endometriosis specialist and team who is skilled AND listens... look no further.

I listened to a great pelvic floor meditation that described a helpful way to visualize pelvic floor relaxation by pointing out 4 points, where the muscles attach: the left hip, mons pubis, right hip, and tailbone. As you breathe in, visualize your pelvic floor being pushed down and expanding. As you breathe in, visualize your pelvic floor slowly returning to a neutral state.... A few tips: 1. Start with slow, deep breathing in order to connect with the diaphragm. Once you access the diaphragm and establish a rhythm, you can switch to the piston breathing: With a piston inhale, quickly and forcefully draw the breath into your belly; with a piston exhale you do just the opposite, expelling the air as quickly and forcefully as possible. 2. When performing piston breathing, soften through your belly and focus on shooting the air into the pit of your pelvic bowl as quickly as possible. 3. When performing the piston exhales, simultaneously draw your navel to your spine and the pelvic floor (i.e. perform a super gentle kegel) at the end of the slow inhale, using these muscles to forcefully expel the breath from the body. This is how I visualize it and it is super helpful! Also, what are the cool kids using to animate things these days to share on social? Procreate? I am feeling quite old and dated as I created this stop frame animation in good ol' #photoshopedit hahaha #PelvicFloorRelaxation #PelvicFloorMeditation #PelvicFloorExercises #PelvicFloorBreathing #PistonBreathing #PelvicFloorAnimation #pelvicpt #pelvicfloordysfunction #pelvicpain #pelvicpainsupport

Let me know what your Valentine’s Day candy hearts would say in the comments Also! If you want to practice your illustration skills: choose what your heart would say and draw it out digitally or by hand I thought this may be a fun activity for other creators living with pelvic pain to do this weekend. If this is something that you decide to share, please use the #PelvicValentinesHeart and tag me so I can check it out! No pressure or timeline to do this of course! I k...now at times it can take however long to do something that seems so simple. I’ll be stepping away from social this weekend but I’ll be back on Sunday to share the winner of the Valentine’s Giveaway with you all! If you haven’t entered yet, click the link in my bio! See more

Friday Feature: Femade.ca was created to help support women or anyone who identifies as such, across Canada who are fighting chronic pain and may find difficulty in fighting alone. I was honoured to be asked to share my chronic pain journey. Check it out!

How can you move forward and improve your life if you are always scared to take a chance on what is right, for something better? Pain can change your future but... never let fear decide your future. I love this quote becauseit can apply to many aspects of our lives. ... Does fear of a flare up stop you from moving or taking part in every day activities with family and friends? Does fear stop you from trying the next medication or treatment option? Does fear of pain stop you from intimacy? Does fear of failing stop you from starting something that will help others? As humans, wetend to shy from things we fear, like pain and failure. Many of us prefer to stay in circumstances we don’t particularly like because by trying something different, there’s always the chance thatit could get worse. (Guilty!) This attitude is what limits us and keeps us from true happiness. By pushing through the fear, we can transform our experience we have with the pain. Think about this... What if you went to that zoom birthday party and your pain stayed manageableand you enjoyed yourself and connected with an old friend who is the receptionist to a top Endo excision specialist? (YAY! maybe she can help you get an appointment?) What if the treatment after next, gives your enough relief to walk down the aisle without a walker on your wedding day? (Wohoo! Without trying any more treatments, this wouldn't have been possible!) Failure is key to ANY success. By not getting to the other side of failure, you won't ever know the possibilitieswaiting for you. #fearlessmotivation #fearfree #dontletfearstopyou #fearquotes #motivating #motivation101 #fearchronic #quotesilove #quoteslove #futureisbright #dontletfearstopyou #disabilityawareness #disabilityadvocate #chronicpainawareness #fearisanillusion #fearisaliar #fearismyhomeboy #fearisthemindkiller #fearlessgirl #afraid #afraidoflettinggo #quotestoponder #pelvicfloorhealth

It’s no secret that positive thinking can boost your health! A 2015 study conducted in the United States found that optimistic people were twic...e as likely to have strong cardiovascular health because they had lower levels of stress hormones, exercised more and were less likely to smoke. Put a SMILE on Your Face That’s right, studies have shown that smilingeven fake smilingreduces heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations. Fun Fact. You can’t be thankful and stressed at the same time! Soooo... positive thoughts and emotions counteract the negative effects of stress. #sunday #reflection #staypositive #positiveenergy #letgo #stress #focus #thankful #gratitude #smile #behappy

Art therapy can be an important tool if you live with a chronic pain condition. It helps with stress relief, emotional resilience, supports cognitive functions and enhances confidence in one's own abilities and thoughts. [ 1,689 more word ] https://thehappypelvis.ca/art-therapy-ideas-for-chronic-pa/

Shining light on an important topic. Social media and the internet are a great place to educate yourself on your conditions, but keep in mind that not everything you read or hear is accurate information. Dig a little deeper and read more within your patient advocacy community. You will be surprised at what you learn. I (as someone with zero medical background), am connecting the dots yet many in the medical community or foundations/charities are still blindly turning their ey...e on patients who need better care and treatment options. All to promote their personal agenda. It's incredibly frustrating. Patients have the right to be informed by an unbiased opinion. This complacent action can lead to a slowing of innovative research, education and proper treatment that we, as a pelvic pain community deserve. #BigPharma #Gynecology #Endometriosis #EndoAwareness #OBGYN #Lupron #Orilissa #BirthControl #EndoCommunity #PelvicPain #PelvicPainAwareness #PelvicHealth #PelvicPT #PelvicFloorPT #Medicine #BirthControlPills #InducedMenopause #InterstitialCystitis #ICAwareness #pharmaindustry

Friendly Reminder This is engrained in my head now that I understand how to ‘drop my tailbone’. During pelvic PT sessions, when I use my wand, when I’m intimate, when I’m trying to have a BM or a burny/painful urination, and when my pain is high. I have had #coccydynia since childhood and I really struggle with guarding and release in my tailbone and sits bone area. I think it stems from the bad fall on a tobogganing hill, on my tailbone, when I was around 8 years old. ... #coccyx #coccyxpain #coccyxinjury #icawareness #pelvicpain #pelvicfloorexercises #pelvicfloorphysicaltherapy #pelvicfloordysfunction #pelvic #pelvicmafia #pelvicfloormuscles #pelvicfloorphysio #pelvichealth #pelvichealthmatters #pelvicpt #chronicpainawareness #chronicpainlife #tailbonepain #tailbone #endometriose #endometriosis #sacroiliacjointdysfunction #sacrum

LINK IN BIO ‘After years of being wrongly diagnosed, being told nothing was wrong with me and hearing that my symptoms were a ‘normal part of being a woman‘, I sucked it up, pushed through my pain and discomfort, and pretended to be ‘normal’. I stopped complaining about my issues and figured out how to cope with my symptoms. Looking back I now know that approach was probably the worst thing I could have done for my body and mind. I should have stood up for myself and been a better advocate for my health...’ read more... https://thehappypelvis.ca/how-pelvic-pain-becomes-chronic-/

We are happy to announce that the IPPS 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting on Pelvic Pain will take place virtually through a series of online events from October 10...-25. This year’s virtual meeting will provide the same high-quality education as the face-to-face meetings in a more accessible and cost-effective online format. Learn more here: https://www.pelvicpain.org///Meetings/Annual_Meeting.aspx See more

How many of you with IC/BPS have one or all of these comorbid conditions? Pelvic pain and it's treatment + management is almost always multifaceted and ridiculously complex. This is why we must not lose sight of the fact that with CPP, a biopsychosocial approach is needed for best outcomes. This graphic only shows the complexities behind the biomedical model of the biopsychosocial approach... No wonder so many of us get stuck in this part of the treatment/healing proces...s Look at how elaborate and entangled that is! Identifying the source or for many of us, SOURCES of pain (especially the impacts on our nervous system) is a good first step in management.

Dr. Rebecca Aronson of the Bethesda, Maryland location and Behavioral Health Specialist, Dr. Jana Scrivani will be discussing pudendal neuralgia on Instagram li...ve! They will go into the symptoms, treatment options, and answer questions that most patients ask them on this condition. They will also be answering questions from viewers as well! Only on Instagram Live. See more

Earlier this year, I was asked to be a part of something awesome and contribute pelvic health resources alongside some of the prevalent names and experts in the parenting blog world in something called The Parenting Bundle! https://bit.ly/2HuztKz If you don’t know what a bundle is, it is a temporary release of online courses, memberships and eBooks sold at a price beyond belief. They bring together the best creators and professionals in a specific field and sell their course...s with discounts of over 95% during an entire week. I know, I know you’re probably thinking: Michelle, you are not a mother and have zero experience in parenting so why are you collaborating with parenting experts and bloggers? Well at first, I didn’t want to do it because: I am not a mother or a parent I didn’t think I could handle it, as my health has not been stable this year. What can I offer as value? Well, I am not a mother BUT I am an aunt and I see my sister’s life as a mom first-hand and know the challenges that come along with it. Especially this year, as COVID-19 made parenting a WHOLE lot more challenging! And after having a conversation with the Parenting bundle team, I learned more about the goal of this Bundle, and determined that I wouldn’t have to put in a lot work (Phew! Anxiety (+ pain) decreased.). PLUS: They voiced how adamant they were on the importance of pelvic health resources for new moms and womxn in general. This, of course, got me SUPER excited. With that being said, The Ultimate Pelvic Pain Roadmap will be included in their Wellness section of the Parenting Bundle! And I wanted to share with you that they have released this bundle to the world today! Ahh! This bundle is a useful guide which will help you evolve and overcome any obstacles parenthood might bring (If that is a part of your journey). There are 70+ courses, training and memberships included! Topics include learning at home/homeschool, infant/child CPR + injury prevention, talking to your kids about racism, quick and easy eCookbooks and so much more. The total value of the bundle is over $4,000.00 And - get this - we are giving it all away for the price of ONE. ...Available for one week only for just $79.99USD If you’re interested in something like this, here is the link: https://bit.ly/2HuztKz

Life is funny, isn’t it? Happy Monday, friends! I am in rough shape after this weekend but happy I have my Pelvic PT sesh today. PS: If you’re a parent or new mom, keep your eyes open for a post from me tomorrow that may help you out during this pandemic. ... Original concept: @iamnotanartist_

MEN + INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/BPS. As we head into the end of Interstitial Cystitis awareness month, I wanted to shine light on the topic of men living with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome. Many studies show that IC/BPS is 2-3x more common in individuals who identify as women than men. However, the difference between men and women may not really be as high as we may think, as some men diagnosed with chronic prostatitis or similar conditions may actually be living wi...th IC/BPS. Real life example: When I was struggling with my pelvic pain and chronic UTIs in my 20s, a male friend of mine opened up to me about his own chronic bladder and pelvic problems. I was shocked and sort of relieved to have found someone with symptoms that I could relate to. Our pain and symptoms were incredibly similar but he was diagnosed with chronic prostatitis and I was still being told I had chronic UTIs. This month, I connected with a fellow blogger and male IC warrior, Michael (Mazoli) and was happy to hear he wanted to share his journey and perspectives on living with this condition with The Happy Pelvis community. Link in bio! https://thehappypelvis.ca/men-and-interstitial-cystitis/