Support the Revolution! ChronicBabe 101 Book Coming Our Way

Hopefully you are already familiar with www.ChronicBabe.com, a website dedicated to helping young women with chronic illness build fabulous lives. I've re-posted and commented on some ChronicBabe posts in the past.

Founder Jenni Prokopy is putting together a book based on over ten years of running ChronicBabe, and she is using Kickstarter to fund it. Kickstarter is an "all-or-nothing" platform, so hop on over, even a buck will help: 

Donate to ChronicBabe Kickstarter Fund!

Like all Kickstarter projects, each donation level gets a 'reward,' a thank you for your contribution. Unlike other projects that require you to lay out big bucks to get a reward, Jenni's rewards start at yes, just a buck, so no excuse not to chip in!

Deadline is Friday March 27th, but you'll totally donate right now, right?

If you don't already get Jenni's weekly blog/vlog posts, sign up here.

 

Holy Shazaam! Awesome New Meet Up Groups!

Remember how I started a Yoga for Healing Pelvic Pain group on Meet Up?

Curious, I did a search to see if there are other Meet Up groups addressing women’s chronic pelvic pain. Yes! There are nine groups…all started in the last ten months.

Crazy, right? 

One of the organizers I already know (I met her at the IPPS Meeting In October) and one of them I just met as it turns out we live in the same area!

This is so cool!

I would love to make something out of this momentum. For you, I created a new section on the Resources page, “Support & Meet Up Groups,” and added all of them. I also contacted each group letting them know what I was up to and asking how we could support one another.

Frankly, given the paucity of resources available for women with CPP, the fact that our groups exist is in itself revolutionary.

If you live close by to any of these Meet Ups, check 'em out! And if you don't, start one.

TIP: Nervous about people eavesdropping on your vah-jay-jay conversation at the local Starbucks? I recommend the "walk and talk." Find a pretty public park or walking path, and chat as you go along. If anyone comes too near while you are discussing something particularly private, you can subtly pause before resuming your conversation when they are out of earshot. I have done this before - much better than whispering while elbow to elbow with the dudes sipping cappuccino at the next table.

Lastly, do YOU have any ideas on how these groups can support or network with each other? I’d love to hear ‘em.

Free “Wake Up Your Libido" Tele-seminar for Women Experiencing Painful Sex - Tonight!

Sarah Kennedy, a pelvic pain life coach, is having a free, 3 session tele-seminar on sex and pelvic pain. The second one, "How to Wake Up Your Libido and Have More Energy" is tonight at 6pm PST! Can't make it? Sign up anyway and she will email you a recording. You can sign up here.

Whether you call in or listen to the recording, it will be super awesome to have further proof that you are not alone, amiright? Yay for community!

Big News! I'm launching one of the first Pelvic Pain Yoga classes in the nation!

I'm starting a Yoga for Healing Pelvic Pain class here in Berkeley CA. I posted it on Meetup.com. And - holy cow -

IT'S ONE OF THE ONLY SUCH CLASSES IN THE NATION.

* * *

The only two yoga teachers I know who specialize in pelvic health are Leslie Howard and Dustienne Miller (they are on my resources page - but you already knew that, right?)

Leslie specializes in pelvic floor dysfunction, including pain, and teaches workshops, private sessions, and has online downloads - but no public classes.

Dustienne is a physical therapist and sells DVDs for pelvic pain and dysfunction online, offers private sessions via Skype, and has public classes in the Boston area (which are finally listed on her newly revamped website as of about a week ago!) Two of her classes are entitled Gentle Yoga: Releasing the Pelvis (Yoga for Pelvic, Hip, and Back Pain.) Hopefully now that her public classes are listed on her website, more people will be able to find them.

As for additional teachers, Leslie offers teacher trainings on the topic of pelvic health, but the students of hers I have been able to find only teach workshops or private sessions. Some do not have pelvic-specific offerings at all.

So...

I'm pretty sure that Dustienne wins the prize for having the first public yoga classes for pelvic pain in the United States. Definitely the only ones you can find on the internet. Props to her!

* * *

Aaaaand...

I am sooooo excited to be launching the United State's second public pelvic pain yoga class!

It's time has come. (Correction: it is way overdue. Why in the hell are there only two women's pelvic health specialist yoga teachers in the US of A, a country that has 20 million yoga practitioners, 80% of whom are women and presumably have pelvises?)

This class is so important because although yoga can be a huge help in managing pelvic pain, not all yoga is created equal.

Some styles and specific postures are inappropriate or contraindicated for pelvic pain, but since 99.9999% or yoga teachers don't know that (and 99.9999% of their students who have issues with pelvic pain won't tell said yoga teachers about their situation,) women can end up having a bad experience with a tool that can be a great help.

So I am SUPER PSYCHED!

Tell all your friends! I sure as heck am.

You can refer them to: www.FaithCornwall.com, where they can learn all about it and get linked on over to Meet Up.

And my MeetUp URL? Well that's also awesome. It's www.meetup.com/PelvicWarriors.

ps do you know of any other pelvic pain yoga classes or teachers? let me know here!

Featured Post

Hey all,

Today I refer you to the Fangirl Interview with Rhonda Kotarinos, a pioneer in pelvic pain physical therapy. It was recently posted on Blog About Pelvic Pain, a website run and written by by Sara Sauder PT, DPT, a physical therapist in Austin. 

This particular interview is aimed more at physical therapists than patients, but sometimes it's useful to see life from the other side of the lab coat. In reminds me that health professionals are not all-knowing, and behind the scenes they are still figuring out what works and what doesn't in a world where limited information leads to controversy about treatment options.

That in turn means that pelvic pain patients need to be even more active in their own care than patients who have a well-researched medical condition (not that those people are off the hook by any means.)

Thus, there is a lot of relevant material for patients in this interview. 

Due to the lack of physician knowledge about the existence of physical therapy for pelvic pain, you may not have heard that physical therapy is a fit for you. I especially recommend this post if you are not aware of pelvic physical therapy, are currently in physical therapy, or have had limited success with it - who knows, you may learn something that you can pass on to your PT so they can treat you better.

While you're there, check out the rest of Sara's site - there's all kinds of good stuff there!