Detoxing your liver to support your pelvic floor

It’s NOT uncommon for the women I work with to in addition to having pelvic organ prolapse or pelvic floor dysfunction, to ALSO struggle with poor gut health.

It’s SUPER important to address gut health if you want to experience pelvic healing, BUT you can’t TRULY heal the gut and restore health to your vital organs if you don’t ALSO address your liver.

Your liver’s job is to produce bile. Bile helps your enzymes break down fats so you can extra energy from them and prevent them from clogging the digestion process.
Livers also filter your blood and removes toxins (ahem, booze) and old expired hormones.
It also stores pieces of protein (amino acids) can synthesize fats, break down cholesterol and store sugar for energy to be used when necessary.

It’s a WONDER of an organ.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine , “stagnation of the flow of liver qi frequently disrupts emotional flow, producing feelings of frustration or anger. Conversely, these same emotions can lead to a dysfunction in the liver, resulting in an endless loop of cause and effect.” (link)

And did you know that the LIVER is a PRIMARY organ involved in your menstrual cycle?

When your liver isn’t functioning properly, emotional problems, rib pain or fullness, dizziness, headache, cramping, tendon problems, menstrual problems, jaundice, weak or blurry vision, and digestive disorders can ensue.

**Attn: pelvic floor peeps,

The liver stores blood when you’re resting and releases its to your tendons when you’re active.
When liver blood becomes limited due to congestion and stagnation in the liver, one can experience “tightness” in the tendons of the pelvic floor and throughout the body, neck, shoulders, etc.
So you can see why it’s worth devoting some attention, right?!!

Your liver is directly connected to your gut via the portal vein.

If we are suffering from gut dysbiosis, inflammation and toxin overload or toxic microorganism build up in the gut, that vein can directly transport these issues to the liver via that vein.

For example, lipid polysaccharides (toxin released in large numbers by bacteria in the gut) are one of the major culprits and that causes liver damage and inflammation in the body.

Poor liver health results in:

• hormonal imbalance

• gut health and digestion struggles

• nutrient deficiency

• muscle tightness and restricted blood flow

• low energy

• and more!

If you want to learn more about why gut health, nutrient deficiency and hormones impact the pelvic floor, then head here and here.

So what to do?

There are TONS of supplements and “cleanse diets” on the market to help “flush out” your liver and help you lose weight and I would caution you to be super discerning when they come across your path.

Many people rightfully find some of these approaches ridiculous.
After all, the liver detoxes, you don’t need to “detox” the liver.
Right??
Well, yes and no.

As I mentioned above, livers in bodies that have been struggling for a while DO in fact benefit from some support.

Individuals with adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalances, chronic gut health struggles or all three, DO in fact benefit from some liver support, when applied gently.


So today I’m sharing my THREE favorite ways for you to support your liver!


But first, who should consider trying these strategies?

1. Individuals with prolapse and pelvic floor dysfunction

2. Peeps with a history of under-eating

3. Folks with current or a history of gut health issues

4. Anyone struggling with exhaustion, depletion and lack of vitality

5. Those that take or have taken a lot of prescription medications or routinely drink alcohol

Dandelion Root Tea

I’ve talked here before about the benefits of bitters for your liver and digestion ( read here!)

Sipping on dandelion root tea throughout your day is a gentle way to detoxify your liver because it gently stimulates your liver to produce bile to help remove toxins from the body and get digestion moving again.

I’ll warn you, it kind of tastes like dirt, but then again, so does coffee.

You can purchase bags of dandelion root tea, loose tea versions OR you can simply find dandelion in your yard and make your own which is the MOST effective form of any herbal tea, IF you’re up for the challenge!

Additionally, Dandelion root is used for the treatment of muscle aches, loss of appetite, upset stomach, intestinal gas, gallstones, joint pain, eczema and bruises. It also increases urine production and serves as a laxative to increase bowel movements.

Some people use dandelion to treat infections, especially viral infections and even cancer. It’s also used as a skin toner, blood tonic and digestive tonic. (Dr. Axe)

Milk Thistle

Milk thistle is a member of the daisy family and probably my FAVORITE liver supplement. I take milk thistle nightly in the form of a pill.

It’s incredibly mild so unless you decide to start taking 3 pills a day or more, you’re not going to experience much of anything, but may start to notice some changes in liver-function related symptoms of the body.

Sleep for example improved for me when I started taking milk thistle.
Wakefulness at night, particularly waking around 3 or 4 am is often related to your liver detoxing.

Milk thistle is SO pretty and such a cool looking plant, that I’ve decided to cultivate it in my garden in order to make my own extract. But a simple over the counter supplement made by a trustworthy supplier is certainly adequate for getting started on your liver support journey!
**discuss all supplements with your healthcare provider, I am not prescribing it or diagnosing conditions. This is purely educational information.

Liver

Interestingly enough, one of the BEST things you can do for your liver is to consume LIVER.
Yeah, I’m not really a fan of the smell, taste or consistency of it, but organ meats have LONG been contributing to the health of humans on this planet and I do think it’s a shame that many of us have lost our palate for them.

Fortunately there are FREEZE-dried pill options that don’t taste or smell at all!!
And that’s more my jam.

But IF you like liver, then I would say start there.

Fried chicken livers are quite popular as is beef.
Just be sure to choose organic and or pasture fed versions.
There’s no sense in you eating the liver from an animal that is chock full of antibiotics, pesticides and herbicide from their GMO feed.

Movement and breathing

Can movement help your liver?

100%!

Your lymphatic system is part of your circulatory system but unlike the the circulatory system if doesn't have a pump like the heart, it’s pump is YOU, you’re movement and your breath!!!

It’s job is to remove toxins from the blood and help them exit the body.

The lymphatic system of the liver is not super well understood, EXCEPT that we know lack of movement and stagnation is BAD for liver function.

When you take my Breath Like A Bad Ass, It’s Bettter Than Kegels, course OR Connect Your Core and Pelvic Floor ™ you will learn how your BREATH and movement practice creates a PUMP effect that moves and massages your vital organs in your abdominal cavity, liver included!

When we stop moving and breathing fully with the diaphragm, then the lymphatic system is stalled and can become stuck, contributing to congestion of the liver.
So if you want to keep your liver healthy and functional to improve sleep, pelvic health, digestion and detoxification, you BEST move your butt AND your diaphragm!

Learn to breathe, strength train AND care for your liver all in one digital course!

Check out HOLD UP!

Conquer prolapse by getting to the root cause of your problems in one simple, self-paced digital course!

Learn more

Sarah Smith is a Functional Pelvic and Gut Health Educator Level, Strength Coach, Original Strength Pro, Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Instructor and postnatal fitness specialist and functional pelvic floor and with a Masters in Soil Science and Agriculture.

She helps women feel confident, capable, content and STRONG in their bodies. As someone with pelvic organ prolapse, Sarah understands the mental and physical challenges of over-coming this condition speaks frankly about the most progressive strategies for moving forward and finding your strength IN SPITE of prolapse and pelvic floor problems!

Sarah is a published author and has a decade experience conducting research at The National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, University of Arizona and North Carolina State University.

She uses evidence-based strategies to help her clients grow strong, and conquer their pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, diastasis recti and gut health complications and other injuries or health conditions. 

Sarah is a mom to three wild boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves kettlebells, leisure walks, chickens, soil, coffee, not folding laundry and watching people move-in a non-creepy way.

Can you trust him with this?

I know for certain that my faith in Christ has been the reason why I have been able to move forward and conquer my pelvic health struggles.

And when I say conquer, I don’t mean that there was any miraculous healing or that I am totally free of pelvic health concerns.
Rather I mean that they don’t stress me out or control my mind, my identity, my thoughts or actions in the way that they used to.
For the most part, I move and live confident in my body’s ability to respond well.
I continue to be prudent in my movement and exercise-this means checking my ego, something God probably things is good for me anyways…

I do sometimes fear making prolapse worse.
But overall I don’t live in fear or anxiety of pelvic organ prolapse, because I know that God is in full control of my body and what happens to it and ultimately, I do trust him.

So while I understand that it’s my job to do whatever I physically can in my own flesh to be a wise and responsible steward of my body, I also know that God is in control and his grace covers all my actions.
It is his will that will be done.

Our bodies our like our homes, gifts from God and often a direct result of hard work and investments that we have made.
We wouldn’t not clean our floors, mow the lawn or wash the windows and wait for God to do all that.
But at the same time we know that things like appreciation in value, safety from fire or climatic events are ultimately in God’s control and we have to trust him that whatever happens, his love and grace for us will prevail.

Drawing security from things like homes or bodies strictly based on our own investments and work is flawed logic, because unprecedented things go wrong to perfectly healthy bodies and beautifully kept homes, no matter how responsible we were.


But that doesn’t mean that we should all start living like a bunch of hoarders that trash the place (literally with the house, or metaphorically with our bodies), it just means that we have to resist the temptation to put our faith and trust in creation and ALWAYS focus it on the Creator.

This is the one of the difficult parts of injury, illness and physical catastrophe.

We don’t always know where the line of responsibility and control is.
What is on us and what is on him?
When diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse (POP), initially I was ready to get to work and find solutions (i.e. I went to PT), but when that didn’t work, I began to give up, mourn, wallow, despair and think that this was going to be my new normal.

There were a few different events and people that crossed my path online that gave me HOPE and inspired me to at least TRY to move forward, but what REALLY helped me to move forward was remembering that God had a plan for my life and I didn’t need to be afraid.
He made my body and my body is smart.
It can in many ways heal itself.
It can be strong.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, pristine or young and unmarred forever to do amazing things.

Not to long ago, someone in my Instagram community reached out to me and asked,
“Where do you go for strength in the Bible when you need to understand why bad things happen to good people? Some days I wonder what he is trying to teach me in all of this.”

Phew!

WHAT A QUESTION! Right?

At that moment I felt such. HUGE responsibility to have a solid, authentic and inspiring answer.
As a Christian, I think that we are often prepared/terrified for the hard questions that will come from non-believers, but the truth is that as members of the body of Christ, we have to ALSO be ready to feed, nourish, love and hash things out with fellow members of the body of Christ.
We all need love, direction, encouragement and hope.
We all need fellow believers that in times of trouble, point us back to Jesus and His word!

And so here was my answer:

——————————————————

“Ahhhh! Such a great question. I struggle with this too! In fact, I just bought a book by Joni Eaereckson Tada (Spectacle of Glory, it’s great!) because I TOO am also working on this and figured, who better to teach me than a woman that became paralyzed in a diving accident and still praises God and does great work!

We live in a culture that tells us everything is for us and about us. Even Christians!
Certain leaders in the Christian world motivate women to take action, but also reinforce the idea that life here on earth is only about happiness and self fulfillment, but there is NOTHING in the Bible that supports that idea.

Our life here is a vapor.
God gives us enjoyment and fun.
He made beauty here and gave us friends, children, spouses, enjoyment health and experiences, but his purpose in making us is for us to worship and choose him, to become holy, even amidst trials and setbacks because life on earth ISN’T THE WHOLE STORY!

Jesus who was perfect suffered here, so we should expect to as well and know that our God will provide what we need to survive and grow.”

Verses that support this:

James 1:2-4 

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Psalm 57:2

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me.

Jeremiah 32:19

19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.

Job 42:2 

2 “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

Proverbs 16:4 

4 The Lord works out everything to its proper end—
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.

Proverbs 19:21 

21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Romans 8:28 

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 12:2 

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

“But I STILL struggle with it all and when I do, I mourn and have pity parties.
Then I try to ask God for help and perspective.
I find ways to use my injury and all that it’s taught me to help others and grow my trust in Him.”

————————————————————

The Bible says that we can do ALL things in Christ that strengthens us!
This means that we can EVEN move past our injury or chronic illness.
This is not a guarantee that in this life, on this earth we will be able to reverse or completely health what has happened to us.

I feel very fortunate that my movement practice and lifestyle changes have helped me to come back from things like pelvic floor dysfunction, prolapse and major gut health problems.

I still have MAJOR considerations when it comes to my diet, lifestyle and exercise practice-that is, I still have to be careful and care for these injuries and health issues, but overall, I mostly live pretty normal, pain and symptom free life.

I know that not everyone that reads this will necessarily have that, but we have to have HOPE

We have to believe that God’s will prevails and whatever is happening in our lives is according to his purpose and will be the best thing longterm.
Life on earth is NOT our entire life, fellow Christians.
Which to me, actually makes me feel less pressure in some ways as I age and see my youth leaving my body, I remember that this body and this world are not my eternal home so I want to make the most of them while I can, but when they disappoint me, I look to him and remember, He is my home.
He is my security.
He is my future.

“Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.”

I’ll leave you with one of my FAVORITE songs for reminding me of this:

“In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.”

— IN CHRIST ALONE" WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH GETTY & STUART TOWNEND COPYRIGHT © 2002 THANKYOU


Contact me about speaking at your women’s group, church, gym, book club, etc,

 About Sarah…

Sarah Smith is a Functional Pelvic and Gut Health Educator Level, Strength Coach, Original Strength Pro, Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Instructor and postnatal fitness specialist and functional pelvic floor and with a Masters in Soil Science and Agriculture.

She helps women feel confident, capable, content and STRONG in their bodies!

Sarah is a published author and has a decade experience conducting research at The National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, University of Arizona and North Carolina State University.

She uses evidence-based strategies to help her clients grow strong, and conquer their pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, diastasis recti and gut health complications and other injuries or health conditions. 

Sarah is a mom to three wild boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves kettlebells, leisure walks, chickens, soil, coffee, not folding laundry and watching people move-in a non-creepy way.

No access to pelvic floor PT? Here's what you can do!

What can you do if you don’t have access to a pelvic floor physical therapist (PFPT)?

I talk with women all over the world that suspect that they have pelvic floor and core problems, but have no access to a pelvic floor physical therapist.

I’m a HUGE proponent of everyone seeing a PFPT even if it means taking a road trip.
WHY?
Over-recruited and under-recruited pelvic floors can cause similar symptoms, but are different problems that to a certain extent require different rehabilitation programming, so it’s REALLY helpful to work with a PT because they can examine you, check your muscle recruitment and help you understand exactly where your pelvic floor and core are today.

BUT, sometimes that just isn’t in the cards.

So if we don’t have access to PT OR we only have limited access, does that mean we can’t do anything?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Whether you are in pelvic floor physical therapy or NOT here are some things that we ALL need to be working on

Breathing.

Get that tongue on your roof of your mouth and breath with your dang diaphragm.

Loosen your waistband and whip off that sports bra if need be to get a FULL BREATH!
Your core and pelvic floor will NEVER be as strong and powerful as they could be if you don’t learn how to RELAX those muscles and MOVE your diaphragm through it’s full range of motion.

Relaxed muscles can recruit better.

Body mechanics.

HOW you hold and move your body impacts the neurological signaling and muscle recruitment that happens AUTOMATICALLY in the body.
Basically, you are training your body how you want it to move and respond to movement all day long every day.
Just sitting holding your phone in your dominant arm with your back rounded and your head hanging throughout the day is like doing 100, maybe 1000 reps of that movement.

Whether you know it or not you are telling your body, MOVE LIKE THIS.

There are body mechanics and alignment habits that are MORE conducive to optimal recruitment of your deep core and pelvic floor muscles.
There are positions that help your incredibly important stabilizing muscle, the DIAPHRAGM move and communicate BEST with your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

And the best part?
We can work on these things ALL DAY LONG EVERYDAY!

How to get started?
Grab my “Connected and Fit” core and pelvic floor freebie here.

Sarah Smith is a Functional Pelvic and Gut Health Educator Level, Strength Coach, Original Strength Pro, Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Instructor and postnatal fitness specialist and functional pelvic floor and with a Masters in Soil Science and Agriculture.

She helps women feel confident, capable, content and STRONG in their bodies!

Sarah is a published author and has a decade experience conducting research at The National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, University of Arizona and North Carolina State University.

She uses evidence-based strategies to help her clients grow strong, and conquer their pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, diastasis recti and gut health complications and other injuries or health conditions. 

Sarah is a mom to three wild boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves kettlebells, leisure walks, chickens, soil, coffee, not folding laundry and watching people move-in a non-creepy way.

Zooming out from our health problems to get perspective, answers and real solutions!

I'm sort of on a roll this week with blogs posts and emails, but I have so many things that I want to share with you, that I sort of can't even help it!

Today I want to chat briefly with you about perspective. 

In the West, our healthcare system is largely one based on treating symptoms. 
We experience a problem in a specific part of the body and both we and our healthcare providers often problem solve as if the problem originated in said part.
Consequently, the treatment is solely focused on this one area. 



For example, if you go to the doctor with persistent knee pain, they will typically recommend you:
take an anti-inflammatory,
wear a knee brace, 
receive steroid shots to the knee
and if all else fails, get knee surgery. 


But ALL of theses solutions are about STOPPING the uncomfortable symptoms that are coming from the knee, which is in actuality a RESPONSE to other issues taking place in the body. 


Anything from the hips, to the ankle, toes, pelvic floor or head position....
diet, stress management, shoes, movement habits and lifestyle...
is IN FACT OFTEN behind the knee pain, but we are often so ZOOMED in on the location of problem and consumed with stopping the symptoms that we fail to realize that the knee's current state is not because of the knee at ALL, but due to many other factors. 




I see this same problem a LOT with the pelvic floor. 
I receive emails and DM's all of the time from people that had prolapse corrective surgery and how find themselves having symptoms again. 


This is because the surgery only took care of the symptoms of a larger problem of strength, stability, pressure management, lifestyle and tissue health. 
 

• Surgery doesn't change the health of your gut microbiome, which determines the health of your pelvic tissue and hormones.
   

• Surgery doesn't stop constipation, change your breathing habits or how you regulate intra-abdominal pressure. 
   

• Surgery doesn't sustainably lift your tissues or teach you how to move in a way that activates your pelvic floor as needed. 

And so because surgery is often just a big ol' expensive bandaid, we find ourselves back in the same ol' pickle. 

**There are absolutely instances when trauma merits surgery and or situations where we need surgical intervention to stop or slow damage to the body. But even with surgery, it's imperative that we not see it as a solution, but as something that is staving off problems...and the problems will return if we don't change how we live!



THIS is why I advocate that we all take a step BACK from our health problems and try to better understand the many other aspects of health in our body, to which our problems can be related. 


When I hurt my shoulder, I tried stretching it and resting it...but I never got any healing or was able to move past the chronic pain until I sought out someone that understand how my shoulder was responding to my ENTIRE body's movement mechanics. Shoutout to Kate Galliett!



And when I developed prolapse, my breakthrough moment that lead to progress and healing was when I began to understand that my prolapse was only sort of about the pelvic floor, but was MORE about how I was carrying my body around all day long every day...
how I was breathing....
how my body was struggling with major gut dysbiois and this was resulting in malnourished tissues and elimination struggles
and lastly
how my stress and failure to take care of my body was increasing my stress response and worsening symptoms. 


And so today, whether it's pelvic health, knee pain, food struggles or motivation to move and train your body, I want to encourage you to zoom out!
Whatever narrative you've created about your pain or condition, I want you to put it on the shelf today. 


Instead of "I have a bad back", consider that your back pain is a message to you that something or things in the body aren't functioning optimally. 

What is it connected to or impacted by in the body?
Your hips, abdominal muscles, glutes, shoulders, feet....

How often do you "train" your back to be strong and able to do the things you need it to do?
Even standing or sitting up straight takes energy and work!

Do you simply stretch it, or do you build it and its capabilities?

Is back surgery or pain reliever going solve the root cause of your problem?

If you stick your finger in the back pain "hole in the dike" will the water start coming out another area of the body? 
Chances are pretty great that it will. 


Instead of, "I have always been a fat kid" or "I can't help but binge at night", "I don't like moving or exercise," 

Stop blaming yourself or your body and find all the tiny or big threads that are attached to these actions and tendencies and see where they lead you?
What is this behavior a RESPONSE to?
What is it telling you about yourself and your life and what's ONE little thing you can do today to try to address the LARGER issue?

And most importantly, where can you find someone that can HELP you get perspective and zoom out??!!


For ease of understanding and discussion, we have split up the body into lots of little pieces and given those pieces names. 
But make no mistake, EVERYTHING is connected. 
Zooming out from your problems is going to give you PERSPECTIVE and OPPORTUNITY to find LOTS of different solutions and areas of impact in t he body to calm your pain and give you LASTING healing. 


Which reminds me, you are invited to join my seminar on mindset strategies I employed to finally get some healing from my pelvic health struggles!
If you're struggling now, still battling the same level of symptoms you had when you were diagnosed or WORSE, then you're going to want to attend. 
It wasn't until I got my MIND right around my prolapse, that I was able to find solutions, strategies that worked and healing!
Come join us!

SIGN UP HERE



xoxo,
Sarah Smith 

Sarah Smith is on a mission to help women conquer their pelvic health struggles and build STRENGTH and SKILLS!
She is a strength coach, RKC2 Kettlebell Instructor, Original Strength Pro Instructor, certified personal trainer, postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Soil and Agricultural Science.
Sarah works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
She is a Believer, wife to her best friend, Jeremiah, a mom to three boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves soil, coffee and not folding laundry. 
Come follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

The first steps to healing after prolapse?

For months after my pelvic organ prolapse diagnosis I was distraught, frustrated, depressed and angry.

I was afraid to move, lift, sneeze, squat, bend over, pick up my kids….

I felt lost with absolutely NO direction for how I should go about my days.
Sure my physical therapy had provided me with exercises, but how do I MOVE? How do I LIVE??

There were months of wrestling with all this, up late at night searching on Google, reading forums and articles on prolapse in which all of the information was so doom and gloom….providing no hope whatsoever…
One evening, I was on my computer in middle of night searching furiously for answers or a glimmer of something positive and stumbled upon a forum in which a Crossfitter was posting about prolapse.

She was explaining how she too had prolapse, but had figured out strategies that allowed her to continue training.

I stopped dead in my online tracks.

Someone with prolapse was STILL TRAINING?
Not only that, but they were doing CROSSFIT?

But I had been told not to lift anything, not to walk downhill???
What the heck?!


I immediately felt hopeful, relieved even.
This sparked a desire to become innovative, so that I could get back to lifting!
I started to consider that prolapse, although not really a solvable problem, it was something I could tackle and work with, around or through.

I went to bed that night with feelings of peace and determination, knowing that tomorrow, I was going to start doing things differently.
And so I did.
I stopped researching prolapse and got to work researching the pelvic floor, it’s function in life and fitness.

I realized that if I could better understand how it was supposed to work, then I could try to solve my prolapse problem and at least decrease my symptoms and get back to what I loved, which was lifting.


That lightbulb/hopeful moment for me was in 2016 and it sparked a cascade of mental and physical events.

• Five months later I earned my Russian Kettlebell Certification.

• Six months after that, I found boldness around this issue and a passion to help other women feel less alone and started speaking out about pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic health struggles publicly online and in my business.

• And in another 6 months I earned my Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Certification, an incredibly challenging and physically demanding two kettlebell certification
  
  
  
  
  

There was a lot of physical work, healing, rehab, re-learning of movement that went into rehabbing my pelvic organ prolapse and earning my kettlebell certifications, but the single most IMPORTANT change I made in my life was changing how I thought about my prolapse and my body.

Even now, when I have bad days, symptom flare-ups, regrets and frustrations about what COULD HAVE BEEN, it is the MENTAL work that makes ALL of the difference in my life.

And so I’m sharing the FIRST TWO steps from my FREE seminar, Kettlebells Over Kegels: mindset shifts for conquering pelvic organ prolapse.

This seminar is about how I shifted my movement and mental strategies from a place of FEAR and FOCUS on prolapse to a place of PERSISTENCE, DETERMINATION STRENGTH and a SYSTEMATIC understanding of my prolapse in the context of my whole body!

This is the system that worked for me.

Step 1: Stop looking back.

Anyone with prolapse can tell you that anxiety about prolapse intensifies symptoms.
Our fear and feelings of regret ABSOLUTELY fuel these anxious feelings and not only limit or stall our rehab process, but can even make things feel WORSE!!!

You don’t ACTUALLY know what caused your prolapse.
Sure tearing during birth, long labors, gut health and elimination struggles, interventions like forceps and and vacuum suction, high BMI, diabetes and insulin resistance, poor tissue health and hormone struggles are risk factors for prolapse, but what caused those things to happen to us?
Movement mechanics before and during pregnancy?
And inability to relax the pelvic floor before and during labor?
Antibiotics, pathogens, stress or nutrition habits that recked our gut microbiome?
Lack of support during our birthing process??

We could drive ourselves MAD trying to tease out the ACTUAL cause and the reality is that there was most likely a cascade of events and risk factors that got us where we are now.
And we can’t go back.
We can’t reverse time or prolapse.
BUT we CAN absolutely move PAST it and work WITH it!

Looking back and fixating on what was or what should have been, prevents us from moving forward.
It limits our growth because our goal, the direction we are trying to move in, it’s in the past.
It’s an impossible destination.

I think you’re getting that now.

It was when I STOPPED obsessing over mistakes, anger about ALL the things no one ever told me and ALL the things I shouldn’t have done or could have done, that I began to make progress.

I started to funnel all that energy into creating and working towards are new goal: getting back into to movement with prolapse and reducing my symptoms as much as is possible, taking it one day at a time.

I decided that I could blaze a NEW trail, not just for myself but for ALL WOMEN struggling with prolapse!

Because at the end of the day we know two things:

1. There is NOT enough research on prolapse, the causes and or what ultimately happens to women with the right support,training and therapy.
   
   
   

2. We, the women of 2019 that have pelvic organ prolapse, we are writing history. We are defining the future of prolapse for ourselves and for others.
   
   
   We HAVE to believe that.
   We HAVE to live that as best we can.
   We have to surround ourselves with others that share this belief, so that when we feel like we are floundering, they can ground us.
   
   
   
   
   

Step 2. Zoom out, Stop hyper focusing on the pelvic floor and begin to understand the system in which it operates.



For me, laying on a table, kegeling with a machine attached to my body, hyper-focusing on forcing my pelvic floor, all by itself to return to its previous state was NOT working.
In fact, it was making things WORSE.
In the days after my PT, I would experience more symptoms and feel more depressed about my progress, than ever.
This is NOT because PT was bad, but because what I did in physical therapy wasn’t making up for how I was living my life outside of the PT office.

The pelvic floor, just like EVERY OTHER PART OF THE BODY, does NOT work in isolation from itself.
And if you’re like me, even before prolapse, it wasn’t working so great, by itself or with the other parts of my body.

This is why I named this seminar “Kettlebells over Kegels” because to me kettlebells are symbols of:

1. Functionality

2. Whole body communication and recruitment

3. Strong and mindful movement

And THAT’s the approach that informed MY HEALING!
Understanding and working towards improving the functionality of my pelvic floor required that I understand it in the context of my whole body and that I become mindful about how it responded to and supported my daily movements, both in and out of the gym!

Kegels aren’t bad, they’re just like isometrics in exercise.
They have a place and a benefit for teaching your body where you want it to go, but they are only one strategy and they should only be used to teach a particular part of the body what you want it to do in the context of the whole entire system.
They are only one part of the story and for some people, they have no business being in the story at all.

Kegels are ONLY helpful for women that have difficult recruiting their pelvic floor, but not every women with prolapse has that exact problem.
Some women have been kegeling their whole life and still have prolapse.
Some women have SUPER active parts of their pelvic floors while others are weaker and non-responsive and a Kegel alone is not going to help that. It can even make things worse.

Zooming out was an empowering (although a little overwhelming) experience because it helped me to see all of the OPTIONS I had for restoring health and function to my pelvic floor.

If you’ve been spending all of the time since your diagnosis zoomed in on the pelvic floor, trying to force it to comply with your desired for healing and reduction in symptoms, try taking a step back and thinking about ALL the other pieces of health that connect to your pelvic floor.

• Diet, nutrition practices, digestion and elimination (pooping)

• Stress, anxiety, depression

• Breathing habits

• Hormone struggles

• Daily movement practices

• Alignment habits

All of these pieces of your health impact your prolapse and vice versa!
If you’ve hit a wall with your prolapse therapy, try looking at these issues either on your own or with a professional to see if there’s some work that you can do to improve the overall function of your WHOLE SYSTEM.
Everything is connected!

To continue learning about mindset shifts for conquering your pelvic organ prolapse, pre-register for my online seminar here.

Sarah Smith is on a mission to help women conquer their pelvic health struggles and build STRENGTH and SKILLS!
She is a strength coach, RKC2 Kettlebell Instructor, Original Strength Pro Instructor, certified personal trainer, postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Soil and Agricultural Science.
Sarah works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
She is a Believer, wife to her best friend, Jeremiah, a mom to three boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves soil, coffee and not folding laundry. 
Come follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

Why you don't want to use another person as the standard for what YOU should be

"After all that, I'm just ready to be me." -Lauryn Hill

I'm work fitness. 
I help women stretch beyond their comfort zones and grow. 
I help them find time in their days and space in their lives to care for their bodies with movement and training. 
I help them crush goals, change how they feel in their bodies and even change aspects of their physique. 

I do NOT tell them that they have to be like me. 
I do NOT encourage them to look to Pinterest boards and fitness models as inspiration for whom they should become. 

I have an online presence that features me working out, sharing my accomplishments, challenging others to do more in their lives. 
I follow other women that are crushing online. 
I look to them and their accomplishments with admiration. 
I use them to challenge me. 

I work HARD to make sure that I refrain from EMULATING them or believing that I have to do exactly what they are doing to be successful, to be happy. 
 

---

You see, I am 100% in opposition of is the idea that we should EVER make another individual human being the standard for what WE SHOULD BE. 

---

I spent from age 13 to 19 suffering chronic whiplash from always looking around at what EVERYONE else was doing and using that as a measure of what I needed to be. 

Consequently I had NO direction. 
I felt like a failure and a fraud. 
I pretty much hated my life. 


At 19 years old I had two amazing faculty members at the University of New Hampshire, that changed my life. 
They saw me. 
They saw my talents and my potential for the successful achievement of goals. 
They believed in me. 
They weren't confused about who I was. 
They weren't comparing me to anyone else. 
They weren't telling me to become something else. 
They simply let me know that I was capable and that I could cultivate a life for myself beyond what I was doing now. 
I could do better. 

And never in a "you don't measure up" sort of manner, but in a, "I see you. You got this," sort of way. 

And suddenly I wanted to change EVERYTHING. 
I wanted to invest in myself. 
I wanted to expand my comfort zone and pursue all the things that I wanted out of life. 

I saw fellow students buckling down and succeeding in school and I went after MY OWN version of that. 

I saw my friends enjoying their hobbies and academic pursuits and I wanted to figure out how to do that for myself too!

I took a hard look at the habits, relationships and activities in my life that WERE NOT working and I changed them. 

I took another job. 
I moved. 
I studied like I had NEVER studied before. 
I set goals. 
I wrote them down. 
I changed who I spent time with. 
I found new tasks and activities that actually nourished me. 

My life suddenly looked like no one else's around me and you know what. 
It was good. 

 

“And so now, you know, I understand that it was because I was measuring myself or trying to compare myself to a standard that wasn’t reality. It wasn’t the standard at all, you know. There’s a scripture in the Bible that we, what does it say, it says ‘We compare ourselves amongst ourselves’ you know. That’s not the standard. You already are the standard. What are you trying to fit into a standard for? We were each created to be individual standards, you know. And we’re trying to fit into a standard? It doesn’t make any sense, you know....After all that, I’m just ready to be me.”

— Lauryn Hill, Unplugged

Click the image to listen to and read these lyrics about why we shouldn't compare ourselves to others!!

Of course this took place over a couple of years and while I learned this incredibly important lesson early in life, I have had to re-learn it and grow it and build upon it time and time again. 
BUT the foundation that nineteen year old Sarah Smith laid has FOREVER impacted my life and helped me to stop chasing everyone else and invest in my own life. 


And this is why I feel so passionately about speaking out against the MANY messages in fitness, social media and popular culture that tell you, 
"Be this_______[insert snapshot of popular, fit, successful person]."

Especially for pre and postnatal women, women struggling with their body image, confidence, self respect and a sense of place in this world. 
Because when we are in theses states we are vulnerable. 
We can be more susceptible to harmful messaging. 
We can do ourselves harm chasing standards set for us by the culture EVEN when we don't know that we are doing it. 


That nineteen year old young woman that was affected by what everyone else around her was doing, she came out again during my third pregnancy and postpartum period. 


I found myself being affected by what fitness culture was telling me pregnant and early postpartum women should be doing, looking like, be capable of. 

I didn't even know that I was doing it!

I was working my ass off. 
Training, lifting, chasing kiddos, not always eating enough, exhausted, a little fried...

Why?
Because I thought that's what you did. 

And then I injured my body. 


The good thing about my injury is that it taught me that I could no longer copy what anyone else was doing. 

NO one readily accessible to me rehabbing pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti, pelvic organ prolapse AND training with kettlebells. 

I had to look to my own body. 
I had to pay attention to my own life. 
I had to work around my own restrictions and capitalize on my own strength.  
Once again I had to stop using what others were doing as my meter stick for success and fitness. 

And it was good!
I now am SUPER outspoken about the fact that pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse and other injuries shouldn't stop you from living your life and crushing your goals. 

But I the way that I train and the messages that I share are always based on the idea that we need to learn what works for us as individuals. 
We need to challenge ourselves to grow. 
But trying to keep up with other people and do exactly what they are doing is both an empty, dangerous and unsatisfying pursuit. 

At the end of the day, we are 100% responsible for shifting our focus and our mindset from looking to other people to learn "What we should be."

But I also know how impactful it was to have two very successful intelligent people in my life say, "I see you. You can do more. Dig in and grow. "

And so that's what I do with my coaching and my online community. 

I see you. 
You can do it!
It doesn't have to look like what anyone else is doing to be good, valuable...to be a success.