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All right, y', all, picture this. It's the end of a long day. Your phone is finally on, do not disturb, the lights are low, and you've slipped into that version of yourself who actually prioritizes your rest. Maybe you're doing a little light stretching. Maybe you got your journal open. Maybe you curled up reading a book or listening to an episode of the podcast just fully in your soft girl era, right? The secret to a good nighttime routine is not just the candles and the skincare and writing your journal and all that stuff. It honestly is the mattress that you're ending the night on. And there is nothing quite like my Avocado Green mattress, y'. All. Avocado helps you turn your bedroom into the calmest, coziest, healthiest sanctuary possible. Their mattresses, pillows, and bedding are made with certified organic and sustainably sourced materials. So while you're getting that cloudlike sleep, you can also feel good about what you're bringing into your home. I've told y' all this in the past. I absolutely love my mattress. I have the plush version of the ma. Feels like a warm hug. Y' all know I'm single, so I don't really get a lot of hugs from people. So my mattress hugs me in all the right ways. And I have not gotten such good nights of sleep in years. I'm so glad that I got this mattress. It has honestly been the biggest game changer in my sleep health. And if you're hosting this holiday season, your guests will sleep like royalty if you have this in the guest room. So consider this your sign to give them and yourself the gift of restful mornings and slow, cozy nights. And rest peacefully, knowing that Avocado has easy options through a firm to make it a little more accessible. Because I'm gonna be honest, I already know the price tag on these mattresses. But the investment of these mattresses, y', all, it's been worth every penny for me. Prioritize, rest, and recharge with Avocado's organic comfort. Head to avocadogreenmattress.com today to create your natural oasis and save big during their holiday sale. Avocado dream of better. So let me ask you guys a couple of serious questions. Do your joints feel older than you? And do you really know what's going on inside of your body? Yeah, me either, y'. All. Now, y' all know whenever I go home to Louisiana, family time is everything to me. When we're all together, I'm always so grateful for that quality time. It always reminds Me to take care of myself so that I can keep making memories with the people I love for years to come. And I'm ready to get even more serious about that. So I just learned about True Diagnostic and their true age plus true health test, y'.
B
All.
A
This ain't nothing like a grade school test, okay? But the more research I do on it, the more I'm interested. Did you know that a single painless finger prick at home can lead you to over 180 personalized insights into your health and how you're aging? On one hand, True Health runs tests to look over 100 biomarkers, which is stuff like your vitamin levels and nutrient balance, your immune system, and even stuff like gut and cognitive health. On the other hand, True Age goes even deeper, y'. All. Their test shows your biological age, which is the pace of your aging. And it shows shows how important organs and systems like your heart, your brain, your liver, and your immune system are aging. Which means I'm 30 years old, and my biological age could be more than 30, or it can even be less than 30 years old. And this test will help to show me where I'm at. So this is a full snapshot of how your body's really doing on the inside. And with an easy to read report and personalized recommendations, I honestly feel like this is a tool that can help me actually stay on top of my health and put energy into the right habits where not just guessing all the time. So if you want to dig a little deeper, and if you're serious about living healthier and longer, visit truediagnostic.com and use my code affirmations for 20% off your entire order or subscription. That's true diagnostic.com code affirmations for 20% off YOUR future self will thank you. I gotta be honest. So many of us ignore the signs. We push through the pain, or we just hope that things will get better on their own. And for black women especially, there's a whole other layer to that. We're taught to be strong, not to make a fuss or just to keep it pushing. And to put it plainly, we are uncomfortable with talking about what's going on down there. There's trauma. There's dismissive comments like, you'll be fine from the people around us. And far too often, even doctors do not take our concerns seriously. So today, I am sitting down with Dr. Janelle Frederick, who is a pelvic floor therapist who works with black women every single day. And we're getting into the stuff that most of us avoid. Specifically pelvic floor dysfunction and reproductive health and why it is so important to understand your body before things get worse. So this is part one of a three part series where we break down what's happening, why it matters, and how to start taking care of yourself in ways you might have been avoiding. So let's go ahead and get into it. What is up, beautiful people? Welcome back to the Affirmations for Black Girls podcast. Today we have another pep talk Wednesday and I am your host, Tyra the creative, your virtual cheerleader for the day, delivering a midweek pick me up that you have been craving. And y', all, today we are going to the doctor and I have the wonderful Dr. Janelle Fredericks with me and we're going to be talking about all things women's health and all things pelvic floor health. So, Dr. Janelle, thank you so much for joining me today. How are you?
B
Thanks for having me. I'm so good. I can't believe I'm here.
A
I'm so glad that you're here.
B
I've been listening to your podcast on and off for years. Oh, my God. When I found out I was going to be in Los Angeles, something told me, ask to be on this podcast because you have nothing to lose. And so I'm super excited to talk about women's health, especially as black women and our pelvises and just all the things that we don't typically discuss. So thank you for allowing me to join you and get into the convo today.
A
Of course, of course. I'm so excited. And it just happened so perfectly because when you DM me, I was like, oh my gosh, my daddy gonna be in town. I want to be able to do this because we don't talk enough about health on my show. And I have thought about that because I don't really have a lot of guests, as you know, like, I don't have a lot of guests on the show. So I don't want to talk about things that I'm not an expert in, especially when it comes to our health. So I'm super excited that, well, I'm.
B
Definitely ready to talk about it. So I'm excited. And I'm sure that I hope that your audience and your community will found, will find value from this, especially because we can just carry so much in our bodies and not really have the words for it or not feel comfortable talking about it. So we're gonna get into it.
A
Yeah.
B
And I can't wait.
A
I'm excited. Yeah, y', all, it is. Giveaway time. Happy holidays, beautiful people. It's your girl. Tyra and I have some super exciting news. We are hosting our very first affirmations for Black Girls holiday giveaway and it is officially live. So we are gonna have three winners at this time. Our first place winner will snag a super, super cute Coach bag. Y', all, y' all know how I feel about Coach. Okay? It's a Savannah small carry all and I got it in the color stone, which is a really pretty khaki color. I really wanted it to be, you know, a bag that could be your everyday bag.
B
Right?
A
Plus, I also have some extra goodies in there as well. And you can go to our Instagram to see what I've included. I created a little video to show you everything that's in the giveaway basket. And we will also have two runner ups who will get $30 gift cards to our Merv shop. So you can shop till you drop, baby. The giveaway ends on December 10, 10th, 2025 at 11:59pm PST. That's Pacific Standard Time. And we'll be picking the winners bright and early on December 11th. The winners will only be contacted through the email that you use to enter the giveaway. So make sure that it's an email that you check faithfully because if we do not hear back from you within 24 hours, we will have to move on to the next winner. Okay, There are tons of ways to enter. You can follow us on Instagram, Tik Tok, or even subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast. Everything is done through the link that I have included down below in the show notes of this episode. There are more actions that you can complete than what I just mentioned. And the more actions that you do, the more interest you get. So you can go to Tyra, the creative.com podcast that is the link to the giveaway, or you can click the link down below in the show notes. So go ahead and enter and make this holiday a little extra special for you. Good luck, everybody. So before we even talk about how we avoid our health as a whole, I do want to understand, like, the basics of, like, being a woman and the things that we deal with that the other genders don't be dealing with. You know what I mean? So a lot of women don't even realize that they have symptoms of something because they have normal. And I have definitely been the type of person who has done something like this. So what is pelvic floor pain and how do we know it's not normal?
B
Yeah, That's a great question. So before we talk about pain, I think it's important to talk about what the pelvic floor is and also what pelvic floor muscle dysfunction is. So our pelvic floor muscles is something that everyone has, all genders, but as women, one in three women have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.
A
Oh, wow.
B
And so what dysfunction of those pelvic floor muscles mean is that the muscles that support your pelvic organs, so your bladder, your rectum, and your uterus, it attaches from the front of your pubic bone and then attaches to the back at your tailbone. And so these are the muscles that control your bladder control or give you bladder control. So if you feel like you have a little bladder leakage, if you sneeze, cough, laugh or jump, or if you feel like you have to push your pee out, or if you have pain with urination, even just the frequent urination, because I have a lot of friends, when we go out every 30 minutes, they run into the bathroom.
A
Yeah.
B
And in my head, I'm like, girl, you need to see a pelvic floor therapist.
A
Me.
B
So that's one of the symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. Another thing that's really common is, like, bowel dysfunction. So if you are frequently straining to poop, if you have pain, bleeding. When you have bowel movements, especially if you have a decent diet and you're not severely dehydrated, there are muscles that surround your anus. And so if those muscles don't know how to relax or if they're holding too much tension or if they're uncoordinated, meaning because I'm uncoordinated with.
A
I'm, like, uncoordinated. What?
B
Listen, I don't have the. I know I'm black, but I don't have the coordination for dancing, which means lack of coordination means you're moving when you shouldn't be moving, or you're clapping on the offbeat.
A
Yeah.
B
And so imagine your muscles contracting or tightening when they should be opening. And so that can lead to constipation as well.
A
What?
B
Yeah. So then. And lastly, you have the dysfunction around the vaginal opening. So dysfunction there could be you have pain with tampons, or when you go to your OB gyn, they're trying to do that Pap smear and they can't get it in, or you're flying off the table. You know, just a lot of pain and tension with those exams. Huge sign of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. And then lastly, we have pain conditions. So pain with intimacy, pain with sitting, tailbone pain, even low back pain, a lot of times is driven from pelvic floor dysfunction.
A
So have lower back pain.
B
Yeah.
A
And the doctor doesn't know what it is. Well, I've been going to a physical therapist.
B
Okay.
A
About it.
B
Exactly. It could be pelvic floor. So. And here's the thing. I've worked with so many women that have low back pain, but as a pelvic floor therapist, they also have pelvic floor dysfunction. And I can't tell you how many times it's happened where I'm releasing their pelvic floor muscles and their back pain goes away. I haven't even looked at their back. Their back pain goes away because the bottom of the spine is essentially the pelvis.
A
Yeah.
B
So those are the muscles that help control the pelvis. And so with vagina rehab doctor, we focus a little bit more on, like, pain conditions and painful intimacy, but it's really the whole pelvic floor that supports so many of the things we do on a daily basis. And this podcast is important because if you have anxiety, unmanaged stress, history of trauma, those things can contribute to more tension in your body and pain. So we truly are one system, you know, so the healthier our minds are, our relationships are, the easier it is for us to remain relaxed, you know, around the pelvis and not have the pain. So that's pelvic floor dysfunction. It's all treatable. These are not conditions you have to live with forever. And so I'm sure we'll get into that later on. But that's essentially what pelvic floor dysfunction is. It may not always be painful, but it can turn into pain if it's not addressed.
A
Oh, my gosh, y'. All. Hosting my daddy in LA last week taught me one thing. My apartment was not as holiday ready as I thought it was. Nothing will expose your space faster than hosting a parent. Okay, so I did what any responsible girl would do. I grabbed my laptop and I ran straight to Wayfair and baby. They understood the assignment as they always do. Wayfair truly has everything when you're doing that last minute holiday sprucing and trying to finish your gift list at the same time. Amen. I'm talking about bedding and linens for the guest room, functional furniture for the living room, kitchen essentials for hosting dinner, storage solutions for seasonal decor, kids room updates. All of it, y'.
B
All.
A
You can shop by vibe, by room, by budget. Okay? And I think you'll find something for your every need. This season, one of my friends just refreshed her bedroom with a Wayfair headboard and a cozy comforter set. It was fast shipping, it was great quality, and apparently the price was too good to pass up. I need to ask her for the details on that, so maybe it might be time for me to do a bedroom refresh too. What do y' all think? What do y' all think? Anywho, get last minute holiday essentials, gifts for your loved ones and decor to celebrate the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W-A Y-F A I R.com Wayfair every style every home okay y' all picture A candle is lit, your favorite book, and a story that sweeps you completely away. Suddenly you're at a lavish Regency house party surrounded by corsets, champagne and secrets, and somehow you've caught the eye of not only one, not two, but three very eligible men. Now what's a girl to do? If that sounds like your kind of chaos, baby, you need to grab His Grace. The Duke by New York Times best selling author Emily Rath, who is also known the Second Son series. Okay, so boom. This book follows Rosalie, someone who is rewriting the rules of high society for herself. It's smart, sexy, and gives you all the emotional payoff. Re releasing with a gorgeous new cover, this deluxe limited edition printing is a stunner. We're talking stenciled edges, exclusive character art, and elegant design elements that'll make it the crown jewel of your bookshelf. Available while supplies last. And y', all, I got mine and baby, I'm keeping it front and center. Okay, now it officially goes on sale on October 28, 2025, so this is your sign to add it to your fall reading list right now. So if you've been wanting to mix up your reading routine and dive into a new genre that feels rich and romantic, do not sleep on this book. Especially with the series getting a stunning new set of covers with limited edition sprayed edges and character art. His Grace the Duke is on sale October 28th and is available for pre order and purchase wherever books are sold. The older I get, the more I realize that taking care of my financial health is just as important as taking care of my mental or physical health. And yes y', all, it is that serious. With the way things are going in the world right now, and y' all know what I'm talking about, being financially grounded may be one of the few things that we can control. And I can't be the only one who wants tools that make me feel prepared and in control, but not stressed. Baby Chime is changing the way people bank. With Chime, there are no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no overdraft fees. That alone removes so much unnecessary day to day anxiety. You can also get paid up to two days early with direct deposit. And in times like this, having access to your money sooner can make a real difference in keeping your finances balanced. At a time when everything feels a little all over the place, choosing a banking experience that actually supports your financial wellness and goals isn't just smart is necessary. This year. I'm choosing stability, I'm choosing tools that help me plan ahead and I'm also choosing habits that bring me peace. Chime is not just smarter banking. It is the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. It just takes a few minutes to sign up. Head to chime.com affirmations that's chime.com affirmations. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services that secure Chime use a credit card and my pay line of credit provided by the Bancorp Bank, NA or Stride Banking A. My pay eligibility requirements apply in credit limit ranges $20 to $500. Optional services and products may have fees or charges. See chime.com fees info advertise annual percentage yield with Chime+status only. Otherwise 1% APY applies. No minimum balance required. Chime card on time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Results may vary. See chime.com for details and applicable terms. So one thing that you mentioned for me specifically is the lower back pain and how it can be. It can be because of pelvic floor dysfunction. But what are some of the other signs that we should pay attention to and how long should we let a symptom go before going to a doctor? Like for example, my lower back pain. I'm like, okay, I need to stretch. That's, you know what I'm thinking. So what are some other things that we could possibly be doing that to when we're, when we should be going to see a doctor?
B
Great questions. I think three major things. One is any type of bladder abnormality. I think a lot of times, and especially after having a baby, okay, if you've had a baby, the likelihood of you having pelvic floor muscle dysfunction is pretty high. So instead of being like, oh well, I just gave birth, this is just, you know, how it's going to be. Or I'm getting older. That's. That's. That's not good. So if you have been. You're in the postpartum period and you feel like you can't control your bladder anymore, or you feel like you're always running to the bathroom, and this is for whether you've had a baby or not. Normal bladder function is this. You can go at least two to four hours without needing to pee. You can go throughout the whole night, no more than one time, getting up during the night to urinate.
A
Okay.
B
There should be no need to push urine out, and there should be no pain with urination. So if you're outside of those parameters, then usually there's something going on with the pelvic floor that's contributing to that bladder dysfunction.
A
What do you mean by push the.
B
Urine out the way you push poop out? There are people that have so much tension around their urethra because their pelvic floor muscles are holding on so tight even when they should be relaxing. And so if your muscles are too tight, then a lot of people feel like they need to push to get it all out, to get all the urine out.
A
Oh, wow.
B
And so that's a clear sign that the muscles are not functioning in a way that's supportive of your pelvic health. Okay. The other thing is just pain. Any type of pain down there that's regular. It's not just, oh, it happens once every two years. But it's something that is a pattern. So maybe every single time you sit for more than 20 minutes, you have shooting pains in your vagina or your tailbone always hurts when you're in church, or maybe you're being intimate and you have pain with insertion or thrusting. That one of the first things we need to clear is pelvic floor dysfunction. So a lot of people will assume, like, oh, maybe I'm in pain because let's say for tampons, I haven't been sexually active, so it's hurting because I'm just tight down there. But really, that should not be hurting, regardless of whether you're sexually active or not. So I would say those are some of the bigger signs that we typically ignore is the pain and the bladder dysfunction. Same for bowel. Bowels a little tricky because if you're not eating right, that could be the cause of dysfunction, even if your pelvic floor is normal. So I would say knock out the water first. Make sure you're hydrated. You're getting at least half of your body weight. In ounces. That's how many ounces of water you should be getting daily. And if you're not eating, you know, flaming hot Cheetos and fried chicken at every meal.
A
Yeah.
B
You don't have to be like a health nut, but just fairly mindful. Then bowel movement should not require a lot of straining. It shouldn't feel like it's painful, and you should feel like you're getting all of your. Your poop out. So those are some big signs that I think are ignored mainly because either we don't know that there is a solution for it.
A
Yeah.
B
And we don't know who to talk to about it. A lot of people haven't even heard of the pelvic floor or heard of a pelvic floor physical therapist.
A
And that's what I was about to ask you. So they should go to a pelvic floor therapist. They shouldn't go to. Or not shouldn't. But try to find a specialist in this versus your. What is it called?
B
Your obgyn.
A
Yeah. Your primary care doctor versus going to your primary care doctor.
B
Yeah. So when. When the symptoms are specific and localized to the pelvis, the primary provider that will help you overcome it non invasively, meaning not needing a surgery, not needing a medication, is us pelvic floor physical therapists. Okay. And so you can either ask your primary care doctor for a referral or you can even go straight to a pelvic floor therapist. So now you can come straight to us. You don't actually have to wait on that referral.
A
Okay, cool.
B
Yeah.
A
Okay. Now what about. So there's a lot of people now. You just, you just brought up yoga. What about Pilates? Because Pilates is like so popular now. Everybody's doing it. I was thinking about doing Pilates. I was like, you know what? I need to get nimble.
B
Okay.
A
I need to be nimble. So what about Pilates for. Does that help with pelvic floor dysfunction? Especially if people don't know that they have it.
B
Yeah.
A
Or what?
B
So this is a great. The rave is crazy right now with Pilates. Like, it's all over.
A
Yep.
B
I even consider going myself, but I actually need to be doing more stretching. So, like, if you know that you have symptoms of pelvic pain, whether it's period pain, endo sexual pain, even low back pain, Pilates is okay. If you are looking to mainly strengthen. But those movements can tighten the pelvic floor even more. So if someone already has pelvic floor muscle tension, or let's just say that you're always under a lot of incentives, anxiety. You can go ahead and assume that your muscles are probably holding more tension. And so Pilates could potentially just add more tension because whenever your core contracts, your pelvic floor contracts as well. Okay. So if you're doing a lot of abdominal work, your pelvic floor is just squeezing even more, which could then just make it harder for you to feel less pain with the activities you want to enjoy, you know, So I would say be mindful. And it's not that you can never do Pilates. You. But I would first work on down training, so yoga, breathing, stretching, meditation. And then when you feel like your body is starting to open and lengthen and decrease pain, it may be more supportive to do Pilates at a later time when your body has let go of some of that unnecessary tension.
A
Okay, I have one more question. So earlier you mentioned when you have your patients come to you, you help release. What. What do you do?
B
Okay, that's a great question. So everything that we do is completely virtual.
A
Yeah.
B
So I worked in Chicago at Northwestern for two years.
A
Oh, wow.
B
Before that, I was actually here in California doing traveling physical therapy. But currently what we do is we actually teach our patients how to use tools that help them to relax tight pelvic floor muscles. So one of the primary things that they want to do, we work with a lot of wives that are not able to have pain free intimacy with their husbands. Also just women, even if they're not married, let's say they want to get a pap smear or a vaginal ultrasound without pain and fear. So releasing can be done with tools called dilators, pelvic wands. We also guide on exercises, pelvic floor relaxation exercises, hip mobility stretches, spinal movements that open the spine, and a lot of breathing and nervous system work because a lot of us are in fight or flight, like all the time. And so helping them figure out how to calm their body and also get those muscles to open up, it's like pelvic floor tension is like your. Your hand being in a fist all day long. Imagine how that would, like, not just tighten everything, cause pain. It actually weakens the muscles too. So we don't do Pilates. We want you to unkiggle and, and not do Pilates for a little bit.
A
For a little while. All right? Right.
B
Yeah.
A
Y', all, this has been such an important conversation. I was actually telling Dr. Janelle that these are exactly the talks that we need to be having. And I want to have a lot more about our reproductive health and the parts of us that makes us feel, feel like women and how to truly take care of ourselves. This conversation honestly has empowered me to listen to my body more, to pay attention to the signs and not ignore what matters. And again, for black women especially, these topics aren't always easy to talk about. Again, we've been taught to just push through everything, to dismiss our discomfort and sometimes even ignore our own bodies. But listening, learning and asking questions, and that is how we take our power back. If you'd like to get in touch with Dr. Janell, all of her information is down below in our show notes. And in our next pep talk, which comes out on December 17th, we'll continue with part two with Dr. Janelle Frederick, where we go deeper into what your pain might be trying to tell you. We talk about how you can ask the right questions and the steps you can take without fear. So that is all that I have for you guys today. Thank you so much for listening. I really hope you learned something. And again, everything that you need to know is down below in the show notes. This is affirmations for black girls. Okay, can I let y' all in on a little secret that you probably already know? I love giving a good gift. And honestly, it is for selfish reasons. But it's because I get excited when I find a gift that feels super personal and perfect for the person that I'm giving it to. Because one thing's for sure, I'm not about to show up empty handed or with something basic. Okay, now let me refresh y' all's memory on Uncommon Goods before the holiday season arrives, because their site is packed with unique gifts that you will not see anywhere else. Now, I love planning ahead, so of course I started bookmarking some things that you would never find in a regular store. But what really stopped me dead in my tracks this time, y', all, as I was perusing on the site, was the fact that Uncommon Goods has experiences that you can gift to your loved ones. I'm talking classes, cooking workshops, crafting tastings, and all kinds of creative adventures. That's not just a gift, that's a memory. Uncommon Goods has something for literally everybody. From moms and dads to kids and teens, from book lovers, history buffs and die hard football fans to foodies and avid gardeners. You'll find thousands of new gift ideas that you won't find anywhere else. Plus, every time you shop, you're supporting independent artists and small businesses, and they even give back $1 to a nonprofit partner of your choice. So shop early. Have fun and cross some names off your list today. To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com affirmations that's Uncommon Goods affirmations for 15% off. Don't miss out on this limited time. Offer Uncommon Goods we're all out of the ordinary.
C
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Episode 444 | The Pain We Carry Quietly: Breaking the Silence on Pelvic & Reproductive Health
Host: Tyra The Creative
Guest: Dr. Janelle Frederick, Pelvic Floor Therapist
Release Date: December 3, 2025
In this powerful episode—the first of a three-part series—Tyra The Creative sits down with Dr. Janelle Frederick to explore pelvic and reproductive health, focusing on why reproductive and pelvic pain is commonly ignored, especially by Black women. The conversation breaks taboos surrounding “what’s going on down there” and shines a light on the ways medical care and societal conditioning have led many Black women to suffer in silence. The episode is a call to action: listen to your body, ask questions without fear, and reclaim your health.
[03:02, Tyra]
Quote:
"We are uncomfortable with talking about what's going on down there. There's trauma. There's dismissive comments like 'you'll be fine' from people around us. And far too often, even doctors do not take our concerns seriously." — Tyra [03:02]
[09:43]
Quote:
"Our pelvic floor muscles is something that everyone has, all genders. But as women, one in three women have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [09:43]
Memorable Analogy:
"Imagine your muscles contracting or tightening when they should be opening. And so that can lead to constipation as well." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [11:26]
[18:55]
Quote:
"Bladder leakage after a baby or as we get older is common, but not normal." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [19:03]
[22:12]
Quote:
"The primary provider that will help you overcome it non-invasively...is us pelvic floor physical therapists...You can come straight to us. You don't actually have to wait on that referral." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [22:28–23:02]
[23:16]
Quote:
"Pilates could potentially just add more tension...first work on down training...then, when your body is starting to open and lengthen and decrease pain, it may be more supportive to do Pilates at a later time." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [24:14]
[24:59]
Memorable Analogy:
"Pelvic floor tension is like your hand being in a fist all day long...It actually weakens the muscles too." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [25:24]
[26:39]
Quote:
"These topics aren't always easy to talk about. We've been taught to just push through everything, to dismiss our discomfort and sometimes even ignore our own bodies. But listening, learning and asking questions—that is how we take our power back." — Tyra [26:39]
“We're taught to be strong, not to make a fuss or just to keep it pushing…Far too often, even doctors do not take our concerns seriously." — Tyra [03:02]
"Imagine your muscles contracting or tightening when they should be opening…that can lead to constipation as well." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [11:26]
"You can come straight to us. You don't actually have to wait on that referral." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [23:02]
“Pilates could potentially just add more tension…first work on down training.” — Dr. Janelle Frederick [24:14]
"Pelvic floor tension is like your hand being in a fist all day long." — Dr. Janelle Frederick [25:24]
“Listening, learning and asking questions—that is how we take our power back.” — Tyra [26:39]
Stay tuned for part two (December 17, 2025), where Tyra and Dr. Janelle dive even deeper—how to interpret pain signals, the right questions to ask, and actionable steps to reclaim reproductive health.