May is the month when we smell the flowers from those April showers. It’s also Pelvic Health and Mental Health Awareness Month! The correlation between these two areas of health is more intertwined than one may think.

The pelvic floor is one part of a system – your WHOLE self. The pelvic floor has multiple roles – stability, support, sexual, fluid balance, manage openings. If we have a tunnel-vision approach and ONLY look at the pelvic floor from a “muscle” perspective, we may miss what is truly causing dysfunction. The pelvic floor can hold tension just like the muscles above your shoulders. Many times, we notice our shoulders and neck tense with increased stress. If this is happening, the pelvic floor may also be responding similarly to stress.

You have the power of managing your stress. This can impact how you approach your relationship with yourself and others. It can impact how you enter a workout. Stress influences how you approach your nutrition. Stress contributes to the quality of rest. So, how can we address this? Let’s look at a few options for becoming more grounded:

• Focusing on your breath, how it feels, where your breath travels in your body help you become mindful of your body in that moment of time.
• Where are you now? Where is your happy place? Where do you want to be in the next year or 5 years? See yourself in these moments and appreciate the details - how it looks, feels, tastes, and smells.
• Go for a walk, stretch, do household chores, lift at the gym. Feel how your body responds to the fluidity of movement.
• Go outside. Take in your environment. How does the air feel on your body? How does the weather make you feel? Did you expect to feel this way in nature today?
• Create a vision board. Find what inspires you and what you desire. Feel more on what feels good and think less. Use old magazines or doodle. Open a Pinterest board and collect online images and motivational quotes that resonate with you.

There are a multitude of professionals and resources to assist you with recognizing and managing your stress. As a Women’s Health Coach and physical therapist specializing in pelvic health and chronic pain conditions, I am frequently this resource to seek more optimal health during challenging event and times. To discuss options about your healing journey, contact RIB·BON Physical Therapy and Wellness for a free Discovery Call.