Never, in the last 10 years of learning and researching the art of movement have I heard one instructor, professor or teacher talk about the importance of the pelvic floor. Yet, within my own experience and with many of my clients I saw time and time again an imbalance of the body that wasn’t making too much sense. Issues surrounding our reproductive organs are somewhat of a dirty secret. Unfortunately these taboos prevent clear and relevant understanding of the human body specifically of the female. This has caused tremendous fear, guilt and shame for many women all around the world in relation to their pelvic floor, or what Denise Conway expresses as the Empowered Flower. The dysfunction many women experience throughout a lifespan has truly been my mission to get the word out and allow women to have an appreciation for their amazing, quite magical bodies.
So, let’s take a step back for a moment to understand the WHY behind all of this taboo. Think back to your childhood. As a young child there was always that uncomfortable laughter when you heard the words, “private parts”, “penis”, or go forbid “vagina”. This conditioning does a toll to our relationship to the most essential and sacred parts of us. There were many religious beliefs that propagated corrupt views in relation to women and female sexuality. For example Tertullian, known as the father of Latin Christianity once quoted, circa 200AD, “Women is the gate to hell and her gaping genitals the yawning mouth of hell.” These harsh words are at large the start to a corrupt mindset around the female flower.
As a child, we were programmed to conform to this taboo and agreed not to talk about our genitals or sexuality. Now as adults we can’t help but body shame and find ways to look a certain way, airbrushed, slim and polished. My gosh, as simple as using Snapchat filters is disguising the true beauty beneath this modern obsession. The time has come for women to embrace the body they are graced with; lumps, bumps and all.
The fundamentals to taking the first steps towards appreciation is changing our beliefs around the reproductive organs. As I work with more clients who express hip, knee, back etc pain I’m constantly taking a step back to ask them the uncomfortable questions about their pelvic floor history. This region of our body, that I like to refer to as the Pelvic Bowl, is truly malleable. The problem is, we can’t see it and many can’t feel it. In order for us to truly start understanding this mysterious part of our body we first have to reprogram our mind. Changing our beliefs is not always easy, but if we can approach it like an engineer, questioning the logic behind them, we can begin to understand the foreign parts of ourselves.
The body is a self-healing organism. It is constantly expressing its needs as it surrenders to human expression, movement and desires. I believe education is everything when it comes to understanding our personal unique mind, body and soul. Through my practices as a Functional trainer, cancer exercise specialist, yoga instructor and now a pelvic floor coach, there’s always one thing that ALWAYS needs to be addressed no matter your age, gender or ability: the core! This complex structure deserves the attention and by gosh we all need to take a deep dive into the magic it can bring into our lives. Which is why I am offering a Core Awakening Workshop so that women can get to the root of their problems or simply have a better appreciation for the vessel that carries us through this wild ride of womanhood.
If you’re interested in joining me and have questions, please contact me directly: ari.ridgelinehealth@gmail.com
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