Trusting your body again after prolapse!

Pelvic organ prolapse is a nasty shock and will cause you to question everything you THOUGHT you knew about health and fitness while also encouraging hatred of your body.

If you don’t know me, I'm Sarah Smith, mom of three, physical and spiritual strength coach, pelvic floor specialist and PROLAPSE CONQUEROR!

I'm here to tell you with this short video series that TRUSTING your body again IS the way to conquer prolapse, BUT there's a method to earning that trust and I'm sharing my tried and true, three step process for TRUSTING your body again after prolapse!

This is Part 1 in a three part video series on how to trust your body again after being diagnosed with prolapse.

Start with Video 1 below!

To enroll in Better Than Kegels, and learn how to jumpstart your prolapse recovery training, click here!

Is your prolapse a depletion problem?

We all know that prolapse is associated with “weak” pelvic floors.
Most of you here have tried all the kegels.
Many of you have tried *breathing.
Some of you may have even worked on your **biomechanics/movement patterns in daily life and exercise.

If you HAVEN’T tried the ** strategies above those are HUGE rocks for overcoming prolapse, so file that away, we will come back to that!

But NOT many people know that prolapse is in fact a depletion issues.

When our bodies are lacking in energy, nourishment, emotional support and healing, they sink.

Yep they 100% do.

In fact, the Chinese, who have been treating prolapse since the Jin dynasty (266 AD to 420 AD) so I think they know a thing or two about it, focus PRIMARILY on treating spleen chi depletion in the body when prolapse symptoms arise.

They believe that a lifting of the energy lifts the organs and treats the underlying cause of the sinking of which we feel the musckoskeletal consequences.



And while that may sound a little “woowoo” to you, think about it.
Do your prolapse symptoms increase when you feel down, depressed, anxious, heavy from the world, slouch and sad?

I know mine does!

And so let’s talk a little bit more about the indicators that YOUR prolapse is an energy issue and NOT just a muscular one, i.e. you are struggling with depletion!


#1. You don’t sleep well.
If you’re sleeping less than 8 hours a night OR you sleep 8-9 hours a night but its disrupted, then that sleep deprivation could be contributing to your sinking feelings in your pelvic organs.
When we are well rested we are better able to detox appropriately, digest foods, repair tissues, recover from workouts etc., but we also carry our bodies differently.
We have a lifted spirit and a lifted body!

#2. You feel like you’re going to crash late afternoon OR after a workout.

Feeling SUPER low energy in the afternoon especially after a workout is an indicator that your adrenals are struggling.
Your adrenal glands are located at your kidneys and when they are not happy it can be an indicator of poor kidney health, maybe not the kind that sends you to the doctor with urinary issues, but the kind that causes an increase in prolapse problems, including incontinence.
MANY of us type A ladies grow accustomed to using adrenaline to get things done in our lives.
You know that urge to start a new project, solve someone else’s problems, do a hard workout, add more stress to our lives because when we are busy we are more productive?
Yeah, that’s bad for your prolapse-and can also cause over-tightening of the pelvic floor which is not uncommon in women with prolapse!

Spleen chi deficiency and kidney chi deficiency are two forms of energy depletion arising in the body that will absolutely manifest in prolapse issues.

We push, push, push on our bodies and even though many of us have heard about “adrenal fatigue” we don’t really

#3 You have skin and food intolerance issues.

Yes, this is linked to gut health, but if you’ve read my articles here then you know that gut health and pelvic health are 100% linked, like if you struggle with one, you most likely struggle with the other.

But in this case I would say that your liver is the kingpin for issues.
A congested liver makes it difficult for the body to remove toxins and expired hormones.
The result?

Bad skin. Bad gut. Bad hormones. Bad feelings.

Spleen chi is directly impacted by the liver as well so if your liver in working overtime either because your 1. disrupted sleep interrupts your detox cycles, 2. your stress prevents adequate digestions which creates toxicity in the body OR 3. because your life style leads to intestinal permeability (over-exercising, consuming toxins, under-resting), your prolapse is a depletion issue.

#4 You have a short fuse.

Maybe not all of the time, but if often you find yourself snapping at your kids or hubs, losing it when a glass get’s broken or just feeling so much stress and tension in your body when something goes wrong, that can be a sign you’re emotionally and energetically deplete!

You may feel that perhaps your frustrations with your body are causing you to be ill at ease and that if you could just get your body back, you would be calmer and feel more like yourself, but the truth is that a spleen that is struggling, a liver that is congested and a body that is deplete may actually be the source of your issues!

#5 Your hormones are erratic

I don’t care if it’s strong mood swings, sadness, the need to sleep, painful periods, irregular periods, STRONG emotional responses to things at certain times in your cycle, or just other common indicators of hormone imbalances, your hormones acting wacky is a sign of depletion!

When our livers are congested, they become stagnant and negatively impact the health of the spleen, gut and gall bladder.
The energy imbalance that ensues can cause tight jaws, muscle aches, headaches, sciatica and so many other issues, but the important thing to know is that hormonal imbalances almost ALWAYS indicate a liver health issue and a liver health issues means energy in the body is blocked.

Without that energy flow we sink and our organs sink with us.

What to do about it?

One of my FAVORITE aspects about God’s design for the human body is that there are MANY ways to heal, many roads in to the root cause of pain, discomfort and sub-optimal functioning.

If you’ve made it this far in the article and you’ve said, “Yes, this is me,” to any or all of these indicators, then you need SMART programming.
You need more than just kegels and core-training exercises, you need to learn how to STOP sinking!

I have an entire program designed do help women address this issue called, Hold Up!
Hold Up! is a digital course that will help you change the 5 habits behind your prolapse, address the depletion we talked about in this article and teach you how to USE EXERCISE to heal your body and CONQUER PROLAPSE.

***But before you’re ready for that program, I want you to try two things for me!

1. I want you to start practicing breathing with your diaphragm three times per day for 5-10 breaths minimum!

If you don’t know how to do that, please take my FREE digital course.
I will teach you how to breathe in the most effective way possible to start supporting and lifting your body.


What students are saying about my course:
”I feel like I’ve gotten more oxygen in these past 36 hours than I have in my whole life!” -Archi

”Makes so much sense. I have suffered from burning in the bladder for so many years. Tried so many diets, nothing has worked. Using the breath and focusing on relaxing my pelvic floor is the first time anything has worked to relieve the pain and make me regular in the mornings. Thank you Sarah, I’m so glad I have found you.” -Julie

”Single most powerful things I have done in my life!
Thanks to you and 2020 for calming my nervous system.” -Sam

It works and it will get you some early wins to help LIFT your body and support your liver, gut, hormones and nervous system to help you feel less like you’re drowning.

2. I also want you to take Epsom salt baths 3x a week to help detox the body and calm your nervous system.
BONUS points if you practice your breath IN the bath tub!

STAY tuned for Hold Up! coming soon!

In the meantime, tune into Dirty Strength Radio™ for more support, love and free coaching!

Women need different programming than men

women have different training needs than men do!

On a basic level we have different sized Type 1 and 2 muscle fibers than men do, making us better adapted at using fat for fuel than men.

We recover faster within a workout from all-out effort training than men do.

We can do lots of low rep, high weight strength training and while we will add on some bulk in the form of muscle, we MOSTLY increase the power and efficiency of our muscles.


We lose weight more slowly than men and hold on to more fat (it's how we fuel physical exercise) than they do.

Women need longer recovery periods between training than men do, because we use stored glycogen more slowly than men do.

We perform differently over the course of a month when we menstruate.

Post-menopause we lose our ability too metabolize fructose.


But I think the MOST important truth about fitness training for women is that biologically, exercise and physical ability ISN'T the body's priority.
Keeping us fertile and ready to make babies is.

And it doesn't matter if you aren't planning on becoming pregnant.
It doesn't even matter if you are past menopause.

There are biological implications to the fact that we are equipped to grow, birth and feed babies and THAT my friends means LOTS of different things for our fitness practices, but the one common theme that I have learned from studying hormones, pelvic floors, gut health and the nervous system is that all female bodies need to feel something in order to perform well and that something is

SAFETY.


If you want to ask your body to do things for you, you FIRST have to communicate to it that a it is safe.

When it doesn't feel safe, then it tells your body-"HEY, shut down the reproductive hormonal pathways and brace for stress."

The problem is that women of child-bearing age NEED all of these pathways like ovulation and menstruation to be in working order in order to respond well to exercise and training.
They are a non-negotiable, regardless of our reproductive plans and priorities.

Safety=performance
We need the body to feel safe, challenged, sure, but SAFE!

How do we do that?

Well I'll tell you how we DON'T do it.

We don't starve it.
We don't beat on it.
We don't let it sit around sedentary creating mechanical stress.
We don't fill it with alcohol and other toxins that it struggles to process.
We don't let it grow accustomed to sitting and then march it to the gym and tell it to perform like a movement-accustomed athlete.
We don't hate it.


There are LOTS of programs out there that unfortunately encourage women to do a number of these things, but mine are NOT amongst them.

In fact I see that the KEYS to helping the body feel safe in fitness and exercise are the following:

1. Calm the nervous system with effective diaphragmatic breathing BEFORE and after exercise and as often as possible.

2. Learn how the body functions well enough so that you can recognize red flags an respond to them appropriately and respectfully.

3. Value QUALITY of movement over quantity all of the time.

4. Rest and recover adequately

5. Build balanced strength and muscle


These are attributes can actions that I'd like to see you value and prioritize as well as you embark on fitness journeys today, next week, next year!

These and many other female-specific themes so happen to also shape my programming and my coaching style.



Today all the sales on my programs are ending.
So grab them NOW to get to work in a manner that repeats your unique and powerFULL female physiology!

Want to strength train?

Kettlebells For Cool Kids™ is my kettlebell instruction course that teaches you everything you need to know about training with kettlebells in a manner that honors PROPER technique, your core and pelvic floor needs (hello! women are different and we need to talk about this.Vaginas, births and hormones are game changers) and respects your BUSY schedule.

You don't need to know ANYTHING about kettlebells to do this course, but you do have to have a CAN-DO attitude and a willingness to work on skill-based training that makes you feel bad-ass.

You get 3 workouts per week ALL of which are designed to teach you the skill of training with KB's.

Oh and DON'T forget all the 90's themed PLAYLISTS!!!!

**Kettlebells For Cool Kids is for women that have been CLEARED by their pelvic floor PT for exercise and understand how to manage pressure, have neutral alignment and can lift weight without symptoms.
If that is NOT you yet, then grab Connect™ FIRST and learn how to strength train with that program.

This program is ALSO majorly on sale right now through Monday (12/2) at midnight.
Learn more here

Want to strength train, but FIRST attend to your core and pelvic floor needs?



Connect Your Core & Pelvic Floor™ is for the woman that has core and pelvic floor problems. Weakness or over-recruitment, we are addressing them BOTH.
Prolapse or leaking.
Movement is NOT off the table for you.
You just need to spend some time learning and understanding what it happening with your body now so you can work WITH it and confidently train it to be strong and powerful again OR for the first time.

You get instruction and education on re-building core and pelvic floor strength AS WELL was a movement and strength training program to get you started with your return to movement.

Learn more about Connect™ here. Enrollment AND major sale pricing go away Monday (12/2) at midnight.
Use the code HOLIDAYHEALTH
Connect Your Core and Pelvic Floor™


Not ready to grab my course but you’re hungry for MORE?

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 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.

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.

Stop program hopping and do this instead!

We’ve been trained by fitness culture that we need to find the perfect program that works for our metabolisms, physiques, unique genetic makeup, personality type, you name it.

And while I TOTALLY believe that yes, we need to shop around for the training program and coaches or trainers that best meet us where we are now and are consistent with our values and goals, I have also learned that it’s MORE important that we understand ourselves and how we operate than it is that we program hop until we find the perfect Cinderella shoe-fitting exercise experience.

Like, “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?” is in my experience, a rare sentiment when it comes to most programs. It happens, but not often.


When we take the time to know ourselves, how we operate, our habits, behaviors, work ethics…our truly personally meaningful goals, then we can make almost ANY training program work for us.
Because we modify.
We modify exercises, schedules, expectations, and workouts to BEST suit us.
 

• If you’re an “all or nothing” personality, then you know you need structured movement plan for every day, because without the impetus to keep showing up, you quit.
  
  

• If you’re a rebel, then you may find being told EXACTLY what to do, makes you feel limited, in which case, you need to learn to adjust your workouts in a manner that empowers you.
  
  

• If you currently struggle with movement limitations or injuries, then there’s probably NO program that will work exactly for you without you having to make some decisions and modifications while you get to the bottom of your challenges.

The reality is that there is no such thing as a perfect fit and unless you are working 1:1 with a trainer (and even then) it’s difficult to find a program that is custom fit to you.

And what happens when it doesn't fit perfectly?
We quit. 

"I guess this wasn't the right program for me...."

Sure sometimes this is absolutely the case, but for my serial program quitters out there, I want to tell you THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!


Today I am giving you permission to STOP waiting for the exercise program that is the perfect compliment to you and START paying attention to how you work and making programs work for you.

You will have WAY more options in movement and exercise, feel empowered AND will become more consistent than you ever have before.


I trained for my RKC by following the recommended RKC training program, but my pelvic floor troubles and CRAZY schedule of a mom with 3 young kids prohibited me from following it exactly. 
So I used the framework but MODIFIED, MODIFIED, MODIFIED. 

Yes modifying a program also means that we have to modify our exceptions. 
I knew how long it took me to become prepared or even the manner in which I would be prepared would be different than someone that did the program EXACTLY as I did, BUT I also know that it was modify or do nothing. 
So I chose to modify. 


Afraid that you don't have the skills to do this because you're not a trainer?

I get that.
Here are some easy ways to modify a program or exercise even when you have no background in fitness. 
These are ALL strategies that I teach my clients to empower them to feel confident in movement EVEN when I'm not there to guide them!

• Take more rest

• Reduce the weight

• Move more slowly

• Use lighter weight and move faster

• Substitute exercises-overhead work not agreeing with you? Find another way to work your arms

• Reduce the effects of gravity-increse the incline of a plank or pushup, squat to a chair, rock on the floor instead of squatting, etc.

• Use your pressure management breathing strategies to support your core and pelvic floor

• Shorten your workouts so you can be sure to check in daily

• Add natural movement practices to an "exercise" program like walking, crawling, rolling, getting up off the floor without using your hands

• Carry heavy stuff

The options are ENDLESS once you feel EMPOWERED to make decisions and start funneling your energy into MODIFYING programs and exercises to meet you where you are.

Oh and by the way, great coaches are GREAT at offering you modifications.
So you get what you pay for when you buy an exercise program or course.
Keep that in mind!


Ok, so what can you do today to modify that DVD, PDF or past email with a free workout circuit from me to make it possible for you to get it done?

Need a modifiable kettlebell workout?
Download onehere!!!

Not into kettlebells? I got you. Click here for a 3 Day Exercise Formula that you can MODIFY!

xoxo,
Sarah

Sarah Smith is a Functional Gut and Pelvic Health Educator and she’s 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, and published author with a Masters in Science. Sarah works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

She loves her boys, her Savior, soil (good thing because her life is full of it), her bulldog, Bella, best friend and husband Jeremiah, coffee and not folding laundry.

If you want MORE information about YOUR pelvic floor and why you shouldn’t settle for incontinence, tailbone pain, discomfort and pain in intercourse, constipation, pelvic pressure and the feeling of organs in your vaginal canal DOWNLOAD THIS FREE GUIDE! 

"Free in Three", a three day formula to change your body and your mindset around exercise

There are seasons in our lives when it seems IMPOSSIBLE to make exercise happen!
Funny enough, those BURSTING at the seams periods of our lives are often when we need the stress release and health benefits of movement MOST!

What if taking care of our bodies with movement doesn’t have to be all or nothing?
What if we don't need to hit the gym 2-5 days a week to get results and feel good?
What IF we could have a simple three day formula for movement that we could adapt to our weeks as needed.

Here’s how it works:

All we have to do is find THREE days a week that match up with the formula, a day for walking, a day for resets (gentle movement) and a day for strength training.
And on GOOD weeks, maybe we repeat the formula to get 6 days of movement.
Other weeks, maybe we don’t even get in the full three day formula, but the important thing is that we have OPTIONS to help us check that movement box, remain consistent and become persistent without the crush stress of “conventional” exercise programming OR the guilt, for that matter.

Have I piqued your interest yet?
Check out the formula below!

DAY 1 Leisure Walk

For many people, Day 1 is Monday.
If you always struggle to “get back on track” on Mondays, switch things up.
Make Sunday your Day 1.
On Day 1 we walk for a minimum of 30 minutes, but you main goal is to walk as long as possible! Grab a friend, pet or family member and MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Even if climate is a factor, get creative about making this happen.

This is NOT about steps.
This is NOT about burning calorie. It’s about:

• calming your nervous system with contralateral movement (walking)

• balancing hormones - leisure walks positively influence blood sugar, cravings and digestive (gut) health

Day 2 Build Strength

So now you have some movement momentum (or movementum, as I like to call it!)
Today we are challenging our bodies with some SUPER simple, yet challenging strength training.

Complete 4 rounds (should take about 20-30 minutes, rest as needed!) of the following:

• 15-20 bodyweight squats-you can also do them weighted

• 10 get-ups, this means you lay down on the floor and try to get up to standing with minimal assistance from your hands - notice if you favor one side and try working BOTH sides

• 6-8 pushups OR plank for as long as you can **see my video on pushups!

• 60 seconds of blanket shakes (rest as needed) ** see video

• 60 seconds marching in place or skipping (REALLY SWING THOSE ARMS!)

Day 3 Press Reset

One of my FAVORITE movement habits that I have cultivated is #pressingreset with Original Strength!

Movement that changes your body is SO MUCH more than exercise! In fact most of us regular people that are not professional athletes or competitors do not have the time or resources to support exercising hard every single day.

Pressing reset is a simple concept and doesn’t have to take a lot of time (set aside 10 minutes, but work longer if you feel good!)
There are three major rules to it:

• Breath with the diaphragm

• The eyes move the head, the head moves the body

• Work across the midline (the imaginary line that runs down the body splitting it into right and left)
  
  
  

There are LITERALLY countless ways to press reset, but I’m sharing some of my favorite below.
There is no require number of reps, just do the movement for as long as feels good, then move to the next! Try to make it through 3 rounds of this suggested circuit, but feel free to play with the movement and make adjustments!

• Head nods (video)

• Rocks (video)

• Bird dogs (video)

• Crosscrawls (video)

Sound too simple?
It totally is simple, but that doesn’t mean that it will be easy and it doesn’t mean that it won’t get you results!

Complete this three day movement protocol TWICE a week for a total of 6 days of movement and watch what happens to your mindset and your body!

This is the same approach that I use with my clients to get them MORE consistent, STRONGER, BALANCED and more CONFIDENT in their bodies than EVER!

These movements are NOT complicated, but that doesn’t meant that these circuits aren’t challenging.
And the RESULTS?
They come from CONSISTENCY.
So you GOTTA , you just GOTTA made this a PRACTICE.

The good news is that these approaches to movement will help you to find enjoyment and peace in cultivating a routine movement practice and that is everything.
That is where all the results are!

**If you want a DOWNLOADABLE PDF version of Free in Three as well as an additional more advanced Strength Circuit, tips on how to REV up this protocol for more results and HOW to measure your success, click here!



Sarah Smith is a Functional Gut and Pelvic Health Educator and she’s on a mission to help women conquer their pelvic health struggles and build STRENGTH and SKILLS! 

Sarah 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 loves her boys, soil (good thing because her life is full of it), her bulldog, Bella, coffee and not folding laundry.

If you want MORE information about YOUR pelvic floor and why you shouldn’t settle for incontinence, tailbone pain, discomfort and pain in intercourse, constipation, pelvic pressure and the feeling of organs in your vaginal canal DOWNLOAD THIS FREE GUIDE! 

This is why you don't exercise

One of the biggest mistakes I see mamas making when it comes to getting in their training and daily movement is NOT treating it like a non-negotiable.

Days, weeks, months, years and DECADES will go by with you  barely exercising because the truth is, YOU HAVE NO TIME!

There is LITERALLY always something that needs your energy and attention.
Kids.

Laundry.
Pets.
Meal prep.
Shopping.
School events.
Showering.
That special work project your boss assigned you.
Homeschool lesson prep.
Community yard sale.
Church picnic.
Your best friend’s life crisis.
Your parent’s health condition.

Your life is FULL. 

The only way that you will cultivate a routine fitness, exercise, training or movement practice is if you say NO to something else and you CARVE out that time.

And I know that this is not easy, but it is simple. 

Your first step?
Make a realistic commitment to an achievable goal and make it happen as best you can.
If you’re reading this right now, then there is a pretty dang good chance you have pelvic floor, gut health, strength or fat loss-related goals, maybe ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Listen to me.

There is no one program that is going to make it all happen.
There is nothing wrong with you or your body.

You just have to make a choice.
Are you going to make it happen no matter how ugly it looks, how inconvenient it is, how uncomfortable you feel?
Or are you going to keep waiting?

And remember, your choice isn’t going to look like anyone else’s!

You may find it frustrating that the ONLY way you can get in a workout is to:
-let your toddler watch a screen

-leave the dishes in the kitchen

-wake up mega early

-skip laundry

-give up your work lunch break

While your Instagram friend Susie, seems to be able to manage a Pinterest caliber organized home, and incorporate her children into a yoga routine that keeps her 24/7 long and lean.

Stop wasting time looking around and comparing your path to other people’s.

Look at your own schedule, your own needs, your own body, your own goals, set your intention and GO AFTER IT as persistently and imperfectly as you can.

No one else is going to do it for you, but let me tell you something, YOU CAN DO IT!
Not because it’s easy.

Not because you have extra time.
But because you’re strong ass woman with grit and determination. 

I see you.

xoxo,

Sarah

Need a movement and training program to get you started?
Get Free In 3!

Sarah Smith is a former athletic coach, personal trainer, level two Russian Kettlebell Instructor, postnatal fitness specialist and functional pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Soil Science and Agricultural. 

She works online and in her garage gym in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

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, confident and capable in their bodies-even when struggling with pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, gut health complications and other injuries or health conditions. 

She is a mom to three 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.

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.