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- [00:00]
Host/Announcer
On today's episode of the Real Foodology podcast.
- [00:03]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So you feel the muscles moving. Like, it feels like a firm handshake. Some people say it feels like butterflies, and some people are like, no, it just feels like a muscle movement. So everybody has a different sensation, but it's extremely comfortable, and you feel the muscles physically moving inside of you. It doesn't vibrate. It doesn't make any noises. It's not an adult toy. It literally just goes in and it's like, hey, muscles. Hi. What? Welcome to the party. We're gonna work out for like, 20 minutes and then. Bye.
- [00:35]
Courtney Swan
Hi.
- [00:35]
Host/Announcer
Welcome back to another episode of the Real Foodology podcast.
- [00:38]
Courtney Swan
I'm your host, Courtney Swan, and I am so happy that you're here.
- [00:42]
Host/Announcer
I've been kind of on a roll.
- [00:44]
Courtney Swan
Lately talking about women's health, and this is another episode where we dive deep into that. I bring on a woman, Mary Ellen Ryder, who is the co founder of this really cool device that I actually never knew existed. It's called the Y, and it's a Kegel exercise device.
- [01:03]
Host/Announcer
And essentially it does all the work for you.
- [01:06]
Courtney Swan
And I'm going to let her explain it all. So you'll have to listen to the episode to hear more about it. But we talk all about female incontinence, painful sex, better orgasms, Just all you want to know about the pelvic floor. This is a conversation that I feel is not had enough. I think it's safe to say that pretty much everyone has heard of the pelvic floor and vaguely knows about it and what it is. But I feel like the conversation kind of stops there. There's a lot of. I don't know if it's like shame or taboo, but I kind of feel like a lot of people, we just aren't taught enough about this because we're scared to talk about it. And part of what my mission is is to normalize conversations like this because we all have those parts, and it shouldn't be shameful. And we should be empowered to ask our doctor questions or talk about this with our friends and get to the bottom of it, get the information so that then we have an action plan and we know what to do about it so that we can better our health. Because at the end of the day.
- [02:14]
Host/Announcer
It'S all about quality of life.
- [02:16]
Courtney Swan
And I really believe that we were not meant to suffer, at least to the extent that we are in our health. And I believe that, for the most part, there's usually a solution and we shouldn't be scared to ask questions and dive into different things that are going on with our body. So we go into that and this is a great episode. So I'm really excited for you guys to hear it. And with that, let's get to the episode.
- [02:43]
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- [04:04]
Host/Announcer
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- [04:04]
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- [06:08]
Courtney Swan
Well, let's just go into it. Thank you so much for coming on today. How are you doing?
- [06:13]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Thank you for having me. It's gonna be so fun.
- [06:16]
Courtney Swan
I know. I'm really excited to have this conversation. So when you emailed me, I was like, oh man, I'm so excited to have you on because I being a woman, it's kind of embarrassing to admit this, but I don't really know much of anything about my pelvic floor. So let's. Well, okay, before we go into the pelvic floor, why don't you tell everyone your background, what you do.
- [06:36]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Right. So my name is Mary Ellen Reader and I am one of the co founders of Yarlab, which is a pelvic floo muscle stimulator device that is FDA cleared. And my other co founder is my dad. So it's a father daughter situation. Yeah.
- [06:51]
Courtney Swan
And so we're gonna have to go into that.
- [06:54]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Everybody's always like wait, how does that work? So yeah, he and I do yarl out together and I was doing internship work for Women for women International. So I was really into women's wellness, women's rights, that kind of a situation. And my dad is a medical device engineer so he has designed devices that are used in like the national healthcare systems in France and Great Britain, Scandinavia and Germany for postpartum help. So like kind of like what the yarlab does. But there was nothing really available to women here in the US and so we had this thing where it's like, I'm obsessed with talking about all things women's wellness. We have this background that we can bring something really, really great to women here. And why don't we just do that together and kick ass at the same time?
- [07:52]
Courtney Swan
Yeah, that's amazing. Okay, so that's how you ended up working with your dad? Because when you said that, I was like, I would never want to have a conversation about my pelvic floor with my dad. Also, sorry if dad's listening.
- [08:03]
Mary Ellen Ryder
No, I think that that's how, like, most people are, because most people are like, isn't that weird to talk about, like, your pelvic floor floor? And then we talk about, like, what the pelvic floor does in, like, the sexual world. Intimacy, health. In that situation. People are like, mortified that I would ever talk about that kind of stuff with my dad. And I'm always telling people, like, I don't actively talk about that kind of stuff with my dad. Usually it's like business situation stuff that we're talking and discussing. And it's like, pelvic floor health is just like an. A huge aspect of it. But like, I don't go into like, in depth detail of anything with him when it comes to like, my personal pelvic floor. But also when I was growing up, my dad was like, parts are parts. They have proper names and you should use them. So it was never like hoo, ha, pp or anything like that. It was like, this is the vagina, this is a penis. This is a vulva. All these other things.
- [08:54]
Courtney Swan
Yes, dad, yes.
- [08:57]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So when I was like going through school and people were like, people were saying like, you're coochie or you're cookie or whatever. And I was like, what? I don't even know what any of this means. Like, do I nickname it myself? Do I have to adopt her Nick? Like her Nick, her nickname? I don't know how this works because we were just brought up to think parts are parts. They have proper names. If something is wrong with it, like, if there's discomfort or there's anything with that, you talk to somebody about it. Like, there is no shame, no matter where on the body it is. And I'm extremely grateful because I think it's not very common. Like, my story is not very common. I want it to be. But I don't think that a lot of people have that luxury where, like, their dad was the one that they went to for their period. Like, I went to my dad when I got my period.
- [09:46]
Courtney Swan
Wow.
- [09:46]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So, yeah, so it's great. I love it. But it's definitely different.
- [09:53]
Courtney Swan
Yeah, but that's so cool. I just want to say kudos to your dad because I feel like that, I mean, that is the way to do it, you know? And I think, I'm pretty sure parents are now doing that because I have friends that have kids now and they're kind of on that same track of being like, we don't want to create any shame. We want to make sure that they feel comfortable in their own bodies and they're okay to come and talk to us about stuff. And I think that's so important. That's such an important part of parenting, I think, is creating, cultivating. Yeah, cultivating that safe environment. And also not like, I don't want to say lying to kids, but not kind of like fluffing things and making them make up these names. And then, you know, they come to find out later and they grow up, they're like, okay, that was why. Why was I calling my vagina a cookie? You know, like, why weren't we just like, using the proper terms? Because then it creates, like you said, shame around it and we don't want anyone to feel shame around their body.
- [10:42]
Mary Ellen Ryder
And I feel like it, it perpetrates that, like, taboo where it's like, you're not supposed to talk about it. There is this like secret language that you're supposed to use and that's okay to use and that's okay to talk about, but you should not use like penis and vagina. And I'm like, no, no. There should be no shame or stigma or embarrassment ever. Yes. Call it that shame.
- [11:06]
Courtney Swan
And it shouldn't be taboo to talk about this kind of stuff either.
- [11:10]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Exactly.
- [11:10]
Courtney Swan
I mean, everyone has these parts. Everyone has a penis or a vagina and we all use them. We like to have fun with them. So why do we make them out to be so taboo and like secret and hush hush.
- [11:22]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, exactly.
- [11:25]
Courtney Swan
Let's talk about why should everyone care like. Or why should women care about the pelvic floor? Let's talk about it a little bit.
- [11:32]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, so I. I fell into the pelvic floor. Not physically, like, not literally, but this is definitely not something that I wanted or I came out of it or I never saw myself. Exactly. I never saw myself doing this, like marketing, doing a company, co founding company on an area that is taboo, stigmatized. And there is a lot of information that I feel like I didn't know until I co founded the company that I feel like I should have known long before. So your pelvic floor muscles, everybody's got one. Everybody's got one. But we hear about it more often with women because we go through more things in life that can create pressure, trauma or atrophy on our pelvic floor muscles. Your pelvic floor muscles, if you're a visual learner like me, you can think of it kind of like a hammock. And they zigzag from your pubic bone to the base of your spine, and it's kind of like a foundation. It holds your bladder, your uterus, and those visceral organs into their natural position. So your hammock is holding all these things naturally. If you have weakening of those pelvic floor muscles through atrophy, you never used them. You went through, like, childbirth, pregnancy, or something like that. Where they've weakened, it tends to. The hammock will sag, and then everything that was on top of it will shift. And your bladder tends to be at the very bottom of that pyramid. And so when you laugh, sneeze, cough, or something like that, it pushes on the bladder and you involuntarily pee yourself. And a lot of people believe that they're alone, that, like, this only affects them. It's just a part of aging. It's just a part of being a woman. It's just yada, yada, yada. Those are all myths. Like, it has absolutely nothing to do with your age. It has nothing to do with anything besides the tone of your pelvic floor. And that can hit at any age. It doesn't matter who you are, what age you are, what size, it doesn't matter. Tone of the pelvic floor varies, okay?
- [13:40]
Courtney Swan
And so let's say that you have not had a kid yet, but you're dealing with, like, what would you call it? Like, a weakened pelvic floor. What would maybe be the cause of that?
- [13:50]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Like, there are so many. So I feel like for women, it's just so much easier to say, like, what doesn't cause weakened pelvic floor, but, like, repetitive motion. So, like running, people who are athletic, who do a lot of working out, they tend to forget about the pelvic floor because one, we forget that it even exists, or two, it's just really hard to isolate and work out those muscles. So repetitive motion, running, squats, anything like that can help weaken the pelvic floor just because it's repetitive. Pressure, childbirth, pregnancy, are big ones which is why you see a lot of women who have had kids, and then all of a sudden, they're like, I pee myself. I guess this is just part of the motherhood club. And it's like, no, no, no, no, no. Your pelvic floor went through something very intense. It just needs a little, like, tender love and care. And there can be.
- [14:43]
Courtney Swan
Well, you always hear those stories. Sorry. Of women in exercise classes, like doing the jump rope or something. And they pee their pants.
- [14:48]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Exactly, exactly. And there's a lot of people who will take themselves out of that situation. So it will be so detrimental, or it'll be such a big obstacle in their routine that they'll just take it out and they'll be like, I'm no longer working in group settings. I'm no longer wearing anything besides black. I'm not going to go and leave my house for more than, like, a few hours at a time. When I plan road trips, I have to plan out where every single bathroom is. And it's like, don't let that control your life. Talk to somebody, like your doctor or whomever, and regain that tone. Find a tool. Maybe it might be Yarla, maybe it's not, but find a tool that will help you regain that tone. So you're not basing your whole life around this issue. But, yeah, for women. And age is a common one, because hormones or weight or whatever you have can be a factor within that. And I think that because women in our society were conditioned to believe that this is just the way things are, that we kind of tend to fall into that mindset when it comes to pelvic floor issues that, like, this is just the way it is. This is the way we have to live now. This is the new normal. I don't want to talk about it. It's a stigmatized topic, and I'm over here in a corner with a megaphone, like, don't believe that. Stop it.
- [16:13]
Host/Announcer
It's horrible.
- [16:14]
Courtney Swan
Yeah, well, because then you add on top of that, the taboo of talking about it, and then no one wants to even talk about it and ask their doctor, admit that it's happening to them. So I love that for anyone listening, that's dealing with this. It's. I don't know, should we say it's common? But there's something that you can do about it, and you shouldn't be ashamed of it.
- [16:33]
Host/Announcer
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- [18:10]
Courtney Swan
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- [18:15]
Host/Announcer
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- [18:20]
Courtney Swan
Especially when it's feeling chaotic and it.
- [18:23]
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- [18:52]
Courtney Swan
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- [20:10]
Mary Ellen Ryder
One in three women in the United States will have some form of urinary incontinence in their life, which is a mind blowing statistic because we all know. And the thing is, is like you think about it, you're like, wait, hold on, I know somebody who knows somebody. Or I everybody knows somebody who has this. And you're like, oh, maybe that statistic is not so intense. But it really, really is when you think about it, that it is treatable most of the time. But we don't want to talk about it or admit that we have that problem.
- [20:41]
Courtney Swan
Yeah. Okay, well, let's talk about that. How is it treatable and what are different things that people can do to strengthen it?
- [20:47]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, so usually I'm always telling everybody, like talk to your doctor, open up that conversation. But I know a lot of people don't have that luxury and I know a lot of people don't want to do that and I respect that. If you do have a weakened pelvic floor muscle and you have been told by a licensed healthcare professional to do a Kegel exercise, that's your route. A big thing is that most people tend to believe that a Kegel exercise is a one size fit all. So they think pelvic floor dysfunction. No matter what. I will do a Kegel, and it'll fix it. And that's not true. If you have a tightened pelvic floor, like a hypertoned pelvic floor, where it's clenched all the time, clenching it with a pelvic floor exercise like a Kegel is not going to be your best bet. You want to learn how to relax those muscles.
- [21:39]
Courtney Swan
Okay, let me stop you right there.
- [21:41]
Host/Announcer
So what?
- [21:42]
Courtney Swan
I've never heard that. So some people. Some women have it where they're clenching all the time.
- [21:46]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, constantly clenched. It's constantly activated. And for some people, that can be. That can lead to really painful sex.
- [21:58]
Courtney Swan
Okay.
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Mary Ellen Ryder
Some people just.
- [21:59]
Courtney Swan
And is that from. Is that from stress, like, why, or do we know what.
- [22:03]
Mary Ellen Ryder
There are so many reasons why, and I don't think that there is one true point as to why that muscle is consistently clenched. It can be a physical factor. It could be a mental situation. It really depends on person to person, which is why I always tell everybody, like, if you can and if you have the ability to talk to your doctor, do so, because it is unique and it does vary person to person. So one size, a one exercise for everybody is not realistic. It's not true. So I just. Everybody's like, well, I've been told to do Kegel exercises. Maybe this is what I should do. And if that's the case, vrlap is a phenomenal tool to have, because engaging those muscles like we were talking about, they're deep inside of you. And so really, the one way to find it is to do an. It's called the Oxford test. Kind of intimate and a little weird, but it's to stick a. Stick a finger into your vagina and see if you can grasp and hold the finger. If you have that control to do so, you probably have some kind of control of those muscles. If you're unable to do so, it could be just atrophy. There's just. That signal's jumbled or lost, and that's okay. It just takes a little bit more time to regain that control. And you want to have a really good tool like the yarlap to guide you into that because you're a little bit more lost. And that's okay. That's fine. I think that people tend to get really intimidated by the fact that it is very. It's an intimate area. And so they are. They're afraid that they'll be told there's nothing they can do about it, that it's something really weird, that they'll be made a butt of the joke or Something like that. But I really want everybody, regardless of what age you are and to know that it's not something to be embarrassed about. No one's going to look at you and be like, this is irreversible. You're screwed. That's not. No one's going to tell that to you because it's not true. And so I just. I think that for some people that that mental barrier of, like, actually admitting there's an issue is a really, really, really big hurdle. But don't be intimidated by it.
- [24:25]
Courtney Swan
Yeah. This is so important for people to hear because it's just empowering anyone that's having this sort of issue to just speak up about it and investigate into why it's going on and how you can fix it. And it sounds like, okay, so there's a couple different. I want to go back a little bit into people listening, what they can do. So obviously, first, go to your doctor. Figure out if you have the clenching issue or if it's more of. Would it just be like the muscles being weakened down there?
- [24:52]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah. So you could just have, like, you need to get tone. You need to either do pelvic floor relaxation exercises or you need to do clenching exercises like a Kegel. And it's really difficult, again, to isolate those muscles. So a quick one. Do not do this often because it is. You don't want to do it often. A lot of people will be like, oh, I'm going to stop midstream. If you can stop midstream, you kind of engage those muscles a little bit, but you don't want to do that constantly. That is not hard to do. Yeah, don't do it. Don't stop midstream. But a lot of places you'll see that written like to do that as a quick engagement. Don't do that. That's not. You can do that maybe once, but to figure out and to see where those muscles are. But I strongly, strongly recommend, do not do that frequently.
- [25:46]
Courtney Swan
Okay.
- [25:47]
Mary Ellen Ryder
For your health. For your health.
- [25:49]
Courtney Swan
What. What about Yoni balls? Remember when Gwyneth Paltrow was selling. It was like this whole. The whole rage on the Internet for a second there. She was selling this really expensive ball, essentially, that you would put up your vagina. That helps tone it. And I have a very funny story of a girlfriend wearing a couple of them. When we went out one night dancing and was in the bathroom and one. They were metal balls and dropped one in the toilet and it made the loudest clink. Like everyone in the bathroom. It was like everyone Went, like, dead silent. Was like, what the hell was that?
- [26:28]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Is she okay? Yeah.
- [26:30]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
And she just left it there because.
- [26:32]
Courtney Swan
She was like, there's no way in hell I'm gonna dig through this public toilet to get this out.
- [26:36]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So, yeah, I would leave it. I would leave it, too.
- [26:38]
Courtney Swan
Yes.
- [26:39]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Those are. So the thing is, is I'm a big proponent of any tool when it comes to toning your pelvic floor. I think getting what you need is really, really important. It is very important that you know that you engage your pelvic floor. So a lot of the time when you do have certain things like that, like the yoni balls, weighted balls, is that they are good for engaging the pelvic floor, but they don't have a. They don't have the technology to show you if you're actually engaged in the pelvic floor or if you're using your butt, your abs, or any other muscle group to actually keep those held inside of you. Because when you're doing a Kegel, for instance, well over 50% of women who try to do them can't do them properly. Even with written instruction. They're really hard to do. So it's easy to say in theory. It's harder to do in practice because we end up compensating with other muscle groups. So for me at Yarlab, it's really important that we know that you are sending a signal directly to the pelvic floor, the entire pelvic floor, to do everything for you, instead of going in and guessing and hoping that you're using the pelvic floor.
- [28:02]
Courtney Swan
Okay, well, yeah, I mean, that's a great point. So how does one figure out that they're using the pelvic floor?
- [28:09]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Really difficult. So yoga is really good at this.
- [28:12]
Courtney Swan
Okay.
- [28:12]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yoga and Pilates are really, really great at discussing and engaging the pelvic floor muscles. They have a lot of exercises where you'll be posed and you have to engage and pull up the pelvic floor. And that's basically an exercise in itself because you're engaged in the full entirety of the pelvic floor. So if you're wondering, I would strongly recommend doing yoga. There is also this theory where if you're sitting up straight and you have a piece of string from the base of your pelvic floor all the way to the top of your head, and you can imagine you're pulling it up and try to engage some muscles as you're pulling a piece of string up. But again, these muscles are deeply isolated. You can't See them. So it's really hard for me to be like, well, this is how you properly do them. Because I. I'm not physically there to guide you, and I can't physically show you what's happening internally.
- [29:08]
Courtney Swan
Yeah. I mean, and I have to admit, so I. You know, as a woman, I've heard most of my life, do your Kegel exercises. Make sure you keep your pelvic floor strong. I've always been pretty intimidated by it because, I mean, basically of what you're saying right now is I kind of have always been like, I don't know, am I doing this right? This is kind of weird. Like, feels kind of like, not weird, but, like, feels awkward in my body because I'm not really sure what I'm doing. What would be your advice to someone like me that's intimidated to even go down this path of trying to figure this out?
- [29:39]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Don't be intimidated and just try it. Because even if you try it, you might hit something. Right. It's better than to try, than do nothing at all. And so for me, weakening could start in your 20s, because we just don't engage them. We don't know how to do that. And when we've been told, we're like, well, we don't have that problem now, so don't. I can just kind of ignore that until I need to.
- [30:05]
Courtney Swan
Prevention is key in everything in life.
- [30:07]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yes. But it's hard to do an exercise when you're like, I don't even know what body part I'm supposed to be using. And so I think that that's why a lot of tools, like Balls, Yarrow App, whatever else is out there is really important because they start you on a path. They start you, and they're trying to show you what to do, where those muscles are, and to build it into your routine. Because once you get it into a routine, it almost becomes second nature. And so I think those tools are really, really important. And they've only become popular, I would say, very, very recently. Before that, I think it was really hard to find any tool to really engage those muscles because it was. There was just nothing out there. Like, you were basically told, here's the pamphlet. Have fun, good luck. And now there are these, like, yeah, now there's these. These tools that can go along with those pamphlets. But if. For the. For people who have it and want to maintain it, I would strongly suggest looking up how to do those exercises properly.
- [31:15]
Courtney Swan
Okay.
- [31:15]
Mary Ellen Ryder
And try to do them on your own. And if you have absolutely no idea what you're doing or you're kind of getting frustrated, you can look at the yarl up or look at whatever else is out there as well. Just be very careful because again, you're putting into your vagina. So get something that you really trust.
- [31:35]
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- [33:20]
Host/Announcer
I recently found out after doing some routine testing that I have mold and we don't really know where it came from. We were going to test my house, but I'm moving and so we didn't want to go through paying and doing all of that just to move out of the house anyways. And my doctor mentioned that One of the ways that I could be getting mold is through my coffee. Coffee beans unfortunately are notoriously moldy. And so if you are not drinking coffee where you know that they're actively testing for mold, there is a high chance that your coffee has mold. Trust me, I know. I heard this for years and I rolled my eyes and I just didn't want to deal with it because I love my coffee. But I started taking it very seriously when I found out that I had mold. So I started drinking Everyday Dose. I love it. Everyday Dose is a functional coffee that undergoes third party testing to ensure purity and potency free from mold. And they are rich in active compounds. I love how functional it is. You get coffee plus a bunch of supplements, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. And it's so easy to make. It takes literally 30 seconds, maybe a.
- [34:24]
Courtney Swan
Minute if you want to count in.
- [34:25]
Host/Announcer
The fact that you have to wait for your water to boil. But I use a kettle. I boil the water, it's instant, ready to go. It's so easy to travel with. And then you get, get everything in one go. It has collagen peptides in there, so you're getting amino acids. It also has L theanine which is really great for calming down the nervous system. And make sure that your coffee doesn't leave you jittery, it just actually leaves you super calm. And then they have 100 fruiting body mushroom extracts. There's Chaga in there. And Lion's Mane which are. Lion's mane is great for cognitive function. They have two different varieties. They have the mild roast which has 45 milligrams of caffeine. So also if you are on a journey where you're doing less caffeine, this would be your, your a great option for you. Cause it's 45 milligrams. And then they also have the medium roast which is 90 milligrams of caffeine. And I have very exciting news. You can now find Everyday Dose in Target stores across the country. You can celebrate with a buy one get one free deal. You just buy any two Everyday Dose products at a Target store near you and they will pay you back for one. Or you can also visit everyday dose.com realfoodologybogo for more details. Again, that's everydaydose.com realfoodologybogo yeah, well then.
- [35:39]
Courtney Swan
Let'S talk about that a little bit. So what exactly is this device that you're that you keep mentioning?
- [35:43]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, so the Yarlab is basically my baby. It is an FDA cleared Medical device to treat urinary incontinence and maintain tone of the pelvic floor muscles.
- [35:55]
Courtney Swan
Amazing.
- [35:56]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So what it does is it's basically the size of a tampon, a little bit thicker. You insert it into the vagina, and what it does is it sends a very gentle signal into your muscles to do the exercises for you both. There are exercises to tone it. There's also exercises to relax them. And I think that that's really key because total pelvic floor control is the ability to not only clench on command, but also to relax on command. So the Yarl at teaches you to do both of those. And I think that that's what we really are very unique in, is that we bring both of those options to the table. And it's also nice because you can sit and watch TV or lie down or whatever, and you don't have to think about it. It just does everything for you. That's amazing.
- [36:42]
Courtney Swan
Basically, it reminds me of that. Oh, God, I don't even remember what they're called, but there was that, like, ab workout thing you could get. It would, like, do your ab workout for you.
- [36:52]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It's the rlap. Everybody always says that. They're like, oh, it's kind of like the thing that does your workout for you. I'm like, yes, but in your vagina.
- [37:05]
Courtney Swan
You'Re like. And this thing actually works?
- [37:07]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yes. And we're very proud about what we do because, like I said, it just takes all that guesswork out of, am I doing it properly? Am I using the right muscles? Am I doing it the right work rest ratio? Because that's also really important. You don't want to be clenched for, like, 20 minutes straight. You don't want to clench for as long as you possibly can. You want to. You want to clench for about anywhere between three to 10 seconds at a time. So it's like small pulses.
- [37:30]
Courtney Swan
Okay.
- [37:31]
Mary Ellen Ryder
And I think that that's also another thing, is people tend to think of a Kegel as just like a. A bench press kind of where you do, like, one massive one, and then you're done. Or you can only handle a very few amount is actually small, quick pulses for, like, multiple minutes.
- [37:49]
Courtney Swan
Okay, I'd never heard that. And as far as. So with this device. I'm sorry, is it Yarrow lab? How do you say it?
- [37:56]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yarlap Y A R, L A P, yar lap.
- [37:59]
Courtney Swan
Okay.
- [37:59]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah.
- [38:00]
Courtney Swan
What does it feel like? Do you feel the vibration? Okay.
- [38:04]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So you feel the muscles moving? Like, it feels like a firm handshake Some people say it feels like butterflies. And some people are like, no, it just feels like a muscle movement. So everybody has a different sensation, but it's extremely comfortable, and you feel the muscles physically moving inside of you. It doesn't vibrate, it doesn't make any noises. It's not an adult toy. It literally just goes in and is like, hey, muscles. Hi. Welcome to the party. We're gonna work out for like 20 minutes and then Bye.
- [38:33]
Courtney Swan
That's amazing. So you can use it in front of other people and they don't even know you're just chilling, watching tv and you're doing your vagina workout.
- [38:39]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Exactly. We had a woman who actually used it on an airplane once.
- [38:43]
Courtney Swan
Oh, my God.
- [38:44]
Mary Ellen Ryder
She was like, I have nothing else to do, so I'm just gonna get it over with today.
- [38:48]
Courtney Swan
I mean, that's genius.
- [38:49]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Room and used it and then that was it.
- [38:52]
Courtney Swan
That's amazing. Okay.
- [38:55]
Host/Announcer
Wow.
- [38:55]
Courtney Swan
That's so cool. I didn't even know anything like, this existed. So that's a great option for people and I'm very intrigued in trying that for those listening that are just like, okay, I am brand new to this. I'm not ready to commit to a device yet. What are. What are some things that maybe people can get started on now? Or maybe where can they find good resources online to show them how to do the Kegel or the Kegels property? How do you say it? Kegels or Kegels?
- [39:21]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Kegels. Kegels. So I actually got called out by the girl. By the woman. Not girl. The woman who helped found the G spot. I was speaking to her and I was telling her about it, and I was like, oh, and they do Kegels for you? And she's like, it's actually Kegels.
- [39:36]
Courtney Swan
I did not know that.
- [39:38]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Mortified, I was so embarrassed. I was like, this is my job. And I just pronounced half of it wrong to, like, this woman who is an icon. And I can't believe I just did that. So I. It is forever burned in my memory as Kegels just from, like, that one, like two second frame in my past, like, forever ingrained in my mind. But it's Kegels, I bet.
- [40:01]
Courtney Swan
Okay, Hegels. I've been saying it wrong too.
- [40:05]
Mary Ellen Ryder
I had been saying it wrong for like 20 odd years. So totally fine. For people who are like, I'm just finding out about the pelvic floor. I want to learn more about it. We have a bunch of resources on our website that are really great that you can look at. On our blog. WebMD actually has a lot of great things. Don't diagnose yourself. Do not self diagnose. I am so sorry.
- [40:29]
Courtney Swan
Do not.
- [40:29]
Mary Ellen Ryder
I'm so.
- [40:30]
Courtney Swan
Me too.
- [40:31]
Mary Ellen Ryder
But, like, don't ever do that. Don't ever do that. Yeah.
- [40:34]
Courtney Swan
I'm a recovering WebMD, like, self diagnoser. Do not do that. If you go down a dark path.
- [40:41]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Exactly. So there's a lot of great information on that. The NHS website over in the UK also has a great fountain of knowledge on it.
- [40:52]
Courtney Swan
Amazing. And we'll put all this in the show notes too, so if you want to send me those links.
- [40:57]
Mary Ellen Ryder
And also InStyle did a magazine article. We were in it, but it was about urinary incontinence and what it does. That was a really, really great piece. Very informative. And Women's Health magazine also has quite a few articles based on this subject, too.
- [41:19]
Courtney Swan
Amazing.
- [41:20]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah. The WebMD one has how to do the exercises so you can see them properly and try to do them on your own and self engage. That's also a really great starting point as well. Okay, great.
- [41:33]
Courtney Swan
Well, that's really. That's good. Great resources. So I have a question, and I'm sure a lot of people have this question as well. I've heard that strengthening your pelvic floor can actually make sex better, improve your orgasms. Is this true?
- [41:47]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yes. So we always talk about that. We always see these exercises are like, do this one exercise to be fantastic in bed, right? Like, we've all seen it and we've all clicked on it, and then we've tried to do the exercise for like 20 seconds, and then we forget about it until, like, the next time we see a headline. And it actually is to tone your pelvic floor muscles. So when you have an orgasm, you know the contraction feeling that you have, that's actually your pelvic floor muscle.
- [42:17]
Courtney Swan
Oh, interesting. Okay.
- [42:18]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah. So. So when you have an orgasm, you're engaged in those pelvic floor muscles, you're doing an exercise that's really great, you guys, and good job. So when you're doing a Kegel and you're learning to do them and you're gaining that muscle memory, your body kicks in to know how to do those muscle exercises, how to do those movements, how to do them bigger, better and stronger. Right. And your clitoris runs right along the pelvic floor muscles. Your clitoris is kind of like an iceberg. You see 20% of it in the gland and then there's like 80% that's hidden inside of you.
- [42:57]
Courtney Swan
Wild.
- [42:57]
Host/Announcer
I've heard that.
- [42:58]
Courtney Swan
Yeah.
- [42:58]
Mary Ellen Ryder
So your clitoris runs right along that pelvic floor muscle. And when you are having sex that's engaged. Your pelvic floor muscle starts to contract and your clitoris is engaged and your muscle memory kicks in and goes, we know how to do this, we know how to do it. Bigger, better, faster, stronger. And you have this mind blowing orgasm because your muscle memory kicks in and remembers what to do and how to do it because of these exercises. And your clitoris is running right along that. So everything in there is just being engaged all at once. Everything is happening all at once.
- [43:38]
Courtney Swan
Amazing. Okay, well, so could there possibly be. If a woman's having a hard time orgasming, could that possibly be a sign that maybe she needs to work on her pelvic floor muscles? Would that be connected in that way?
- [43:53]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Okay, yeah, you can look at it. I'm not saying like that's the one key. That's it. No, but something to explore could be a factor. And that's something. Again, doctor. And I know that that's incredibly taboo where you're going to your doctor and like, I'm not gonna talk to my doctor about an orgasm. But do like, why wouldn't you? Yeah, exactly.
- [44:15]
Courtney Swan
Or seek out a sex therapist. I know people that have done that. Sex therapist. Yes. So if you don't feel maybe comfortable talking about it with your doctor, seek.
- [44:24]
Host/Announcer
Out a sex therapist.
- [44:26]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah.
- [44:27]
Courtney Swan
Because they're very well trained to talk about all of this and make you feel very comfortable about it. I mean, that's the whole thing is if people come away with this episode with one thing, it's that please do not be ashamed to talk about these kind of things. This is your body, this is your life. You want to get the most out of life. Sex is fun. You don't want to be having to worry about peeing your pants or whatever, you know, like, if you're dealing with incontinence, whatever it is that you're dealing with, just know that it's normal, but it's also fixable. Just, you know, And I want people to be empowered to talk about this and not be so ashamed because like we said earlier, you know, it's become so taboo and it shouldn't be.
- [45:07]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah, it's just a part. In the end, it's just a part. And it needs to have a little bit of love and it needs to be fixed if it needs to. And there should be never guilt or shame or embarrassment because who cares?
- [45:22]
Courtney Swan
Yeah, who cares?
- [45:23]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Who Cares in the end, it's about your quality of life and take control of that. So I think that for women, it's really, really important to be like, okay, I know what these muscles now are. I know what they do. If I have, like, X, Y, and Z, maybe I should go and see a doctor, see if. See a sex therapist, see a physical therapist, see somebody. Because it's not the cards that you were dealt. It's not just a new norm. It's not anything that you're like, well, suck it up. Sucks to suck.
- [45:53]
Courtney Swan
Yeah. It's not your fate as a woman to suffer. We talked about this on a recent podcast of mine, and I think more specifically with women and women's health, we're just taught that, oh, yeah, that's just a part of being a woman. It's just kind of your fate to suffer. Like, sorry, you're meant to suffer through life in these areas, and it's actually not true.
- [46:12]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Exactly, exactly.
- [46:14]
Courtney Swan
Yeah. I love that so much. So you brought up something earlier that I want to touch on a little bit just because I know I've had girlfriends that have dealt with this.
- [46:22]
Host/Announcer
And so I'm sure that there are.
- [46:23]
Courtney Swan
Listeners listening that want to know more. Painful sex. So what is something. If someone is experiencing that outside of, like, they absolutely should talk to their doctor about it. But maybe we can send them down a path of maybe, like, some resources or can we just talk about a little bit how to kind of help them with that?
- [46:45]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Yeah. So there are. When you're told to do pelvic floor relaxation, again, that's like, a really difficult thing to do because we can't see these muscles. We don't know what they're doing. And again, for visual learners, a lot of them. This, again, might be easier said than done, but try is to think of a rosebud completely before bloom, Right. And then think of a relaxation. Try to think of your muscles as that rosebud and try to make that flower bloom and slowly relax your muscles as the flower blooms. Okay. I love that it's kind of different. It's the exact opposite of the Kegel exercise. Right. Where you're clenching up, we're trying to relax out, and there are a lot of really great resources. I'm happy to send them to you about that kind of a situation where it does deal with pelvic floor relaxation muscles. Again, it's just the same boat of easier said than done. Practice is way harder than theory. And to get down that footpath, there are a lot of good resources And I'm happy to have a starting point for anybody who's. Who's like, I'm, that's me, that's my boat. Where do I start? Happy to send you some resources so they have that point. A.
- [48:06]
Courtney Swan
Yes, I would love that. We'll provide that also in the show notes. Just so that. Yeah. So people can start going down that path and figuring it out. Yeah, that's amazing. Is there anything else that we haven't covered yet that you want the listeners to know about?
- [48:18]
Mary Ellen Ryder
For women, I definitely feel like in society we are basically just told suck it up. Or like, don't say anything and be quiet. And I think that's bullshit. And I want to be part of the people that tell everybody to basically shove off. And there are plenty of resources. It's a little daunting when you try to type it in on Google and find it yourself. So happy to send good resources that are credible and put them in your show notes.
- [48:51]
Courtney Swan
Yeah, I would love that. And I'm sure people listening will very much appreciate that as well. Well, this has been great. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for this.
- [49:01]
Mary Ellen Ryder
Thanks for having me.
- [49:02]
Host/Announcer
Thank you so much for listening to the Real Foodology podcast.
- [49:05]
Courtney Swan
This is a Wellness Loud production produced.
- [49:07]
Host/Announcer
By Drake Peterson and mixed by Mike Fry.
- [49:09]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
Theme song is by Georgie.
- [49:11]
Host/Announcer
You can watch the full video version of this podcast inside the Spotify app or on YouTube. As always, you can leave us a voicemail by clicking the link in our bio.
- [49:18]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
And if you like this episode, please rate and review on your podcast app.
- [49:20]
Host/Announcer
For more shows by my team, go to wellnessloud.com See you next time. The content of this show is for.
- [49:26]
Courtney Swan
Educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. I am a nutritionist, but I am not your nutritionist. As always, talk to your doctor or.
- [49:39]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
Your health team first.
- [49:42]
Dr. Tina Moore
Are you ready to rock middle age? I'm Dr. Tina Moore, Gen X truth teller and holistic physician. On the Dr. Tina show, one of Apple podcasts top alternative health shows, I share what actually works for metabolic health, hormones and strength, backed by decades of clinical results, not trends. From loving the gym and hitting your protein goals to peptides and microdosing GLP1s. It's all done the right way, not the hype way. Because menopause doesn't have to suck if you're fit. New episodes every Thursday, produced by Drake Peterson and Wellness Loud.