Episode #64: Pelvic floor advice during the preconception phase with Myranda Reimer
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In today’s episode, Rhonda talks with special guest, Myranda Reimer, all about pelvic health physiotherapy, it’s importance (and her specialization) in the preconception phase, and mindset work (especially in navigating this time having been an athlete).
Myranda Reimer is a women’s health physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach. Her practice is built on the simplicity of foundational health & fitness education and strategies. Her focus is on helping females of all ages and stages of life enhance body literacy, strength, confidence, trust and joy through movement. Myranda is passionate about helping you adapt exercise into exactly what you need it to be, so you too can reap the vast spectrum of physical, mental and social benefits!
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LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE
Check out Rhonda’s Strong at Home VIP Tier
Fill out an application for SAH VIP here
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SHOW NOTES:
(0:55) - Applications for Strong at Home VIP Tier open FRIDAY!
(4:30) - An introduction to special guest: Myranda Reimer!
(5:42) - Myranda tells us more about herself and takes us through what got her into the field of physiotherapy and coaching
(11:53) - What sparked Myranda’s interest in pelvic health physiotherapy?
(16:52) - Myranda talks a little bit more about athlete brain, the all-or-nothing mindset and why it might be important to work on your mindset before getting pregnant
(24:28) - What are some things that Myranda has done, personally, to get to a better place in her relationship with exercise?
(27:23) - On taking negative triggers out of your life
(33:53) - Myranda tells us a bit about cycle tracking and why that might be important for folks to learn in the preconception phase - and what it means for overall health
(52:55) - What advice would Myranda give people who want to optimize their health or their cycle?
(56:22) - How can people connect - and work - with Myranda?
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Episode #64 - Pelvic floor advice during the preconception phase with Myranda Reimer
We're excited to have you join us for this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness. I'm Dayna Morellato, Mom, Orthopedic and Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. And I'm Rhonda Chamberlain, Mom, Orthopedic Physiotherapist and Pre Postnatal Fitness Coach. On this show, we have open and honest conversations about all phases of motherhood, including fertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, menopause, and everything in between.
We also provide helpful education and information on fitness, the pelvic floor, and many aspects of women's health, including physical, mental, and emotional wellness. Please remember as you listen to this podcast that this is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical conditions. Please contact your medical provider if you have specific questions or concerns.
Thanks so much for joining us. Grab a cup of coffee. Or wine. And enjoy!
Hey, podcast friends. I just have a quick announcement before we get into today's episode with Myranda. If you're listening to this episode the day it drops, it's Monday, October 23rd. On this Friday, October 27th, I will be opening up applications for my Strong at Home VIP tier.
Applications will be open for one week until Friday, November 3rd. So my VIP tier is my one on one tier, customized tier, physiotherapy tier. For those of you that might need a little bit more guidance, attention, accountability, you might be dealing with more symptoms like prolapse, low back pain, incontinence, hip pain, anything like that that you need just a little bit more guidance and advice from myself as a physiotherapist.
The other tiers might not have sounded appealing because you just need. That much more help, that much more accountability. Um, the application is on my website, I will put the link in the show notes. Um, you can check that out just to see a little bit more information what it's all about. Um, I'll just let you know briefly, so what's included in Strong at Home VIP, you get a 45 minute virtual one on one assessment with me.
Um, I send you a thorough intake form to fill out just so I can get an idea of where you're at. You'll have weekly 30 minute virtual one on one appointments with me. I also send my VIP members two extra workouts to do on your own time through the free app True Coach. Um, this is a three month, uh, investment of 1250.
And if you are an Ontario resident, An invoice will be sent to you after each session to submit for third party physiotherapy benefits to cover the entire cost. So, this is a great time to do it if you are considering it because most people's physiotherapy benefits, um, renew in the new year, so great chance to use them.
Um, I'm also, as a bonus, sending everyone who signs up a 50 Amazon gift card. to use towards building your home gym. So you can use this for a pair of dumbbells, a yoga mat, foam roll, anything that you might need. Um, the great thing about strong at home VIP It is virtual, so you can do it right from the comfort of your own home.
No need to find childcare. No need to commute anywhere. Um, you can even do it, some clients have used these appointments on their lunch break at work. Um, you can show up in your PJs from home, so pretty cool. Um, and let's face it, this time of the year is challenging. It's getting colder, it's getting darker.
Exercise is just a great way to have that little mood boost, energy boost for the rest of your day. And it's only 30 minutes. Just show up for that 30 minutes. I'll guide you through a strength, strength training session and help you feel much better as the rest of the day goes on. And also a great time, you know, there's a lot going on in the world.
Um, coming up to Christmas time, which can be stressful for many of us. Pelvic health symptoms don't take a break during the holidays. So, you know, if you address some of these things now. Start gearing yourself up to feel a little bit better heading into the holidays. Um, you might just set yourself up for success throughout the holidays to feel that much better in your postpartum healing journey.
So, if you're interested, again, I'd love for you to check out the application. I'll post that in the show notes. And, uh, reach out to me if you have any questions. Alright, that's it, so let's get into today's episode.
Hi everyone. And welcome to another episode of the pelvic health and fitness podcast today. I am honored to welcome my friend, Myranda Reimer Myranda's approach as a female strength and conditioning physiotherapist and coach is built on the simplicity of foundational health and fitness education and strategies. Her practice focuses on helping females of all ages and stages of life, enhanced body literacy, strength, confidence, trust, and joy through movement.
Myranda is passionate about helping you adapt exercise into exactly what you need it to be across the vast spectrum of possibilities. So you can reap the physical, mental, and social benefits. Love that. Thank you so much for joining me, Myranda. Yeah, thanks so much for having me on Rhonda. I was trying to think this morning how many years we've been in communication back and forth because we met through social media.
I saw you on Instagram. I know. So definitely since COVID. So it's been like, I guess probably three years now, which is wild. Yeah. Yeah. It's such an honor to be on. Oh, thank you. And Instagram is so cool that way, right? So many awesome connections have come from Instagram. Yeah. So I would love, so went through your bio there, Myranda, but I would love for you to tell our listeners, fill us in a little bit more about you, how you came to be a physiotherapist and how you sort of ventured into like the, um, exercise space as a physiotherapist.
Yeah. I grew up on a farm and. My parents like put us outside all the time. We were always playing. They introduced us to activities really early on and moving my body was just something I feel like I just always wanted to do. And Growing up also in a rural community, you get the opportunity to play on lots of sports teams, and I felt like it was, um, uh, very, very vast, right?
Um, so between going to school and playing sports there and having a lot of fun and then being on the farm, um, my parents, put us into, um, like more sports. Like when we were young, they just kind of introduced us to gymnastics. And then, uh, my brother entered the world of soccer and I started playing soccer and I guess had some really good natural ability and the coach encouraged my parents to take me if I wanted to a provincial Saskatchewan provincial training camp and that kind of kick started a deep passion and desire in me to want to play for Team Canada.
Oh cool. Yeah, so lots of Hours training. Um, not only on the field, but I would go out into the Quonset on our farm and do a lot of, uh, ball work, um, and foot skills. Um, long story short, I was introduced to strengths training when I was about 11 or 12. And so I went to one of the gyms in, um, the bigger city that was 10 minutes away from the small town.
The farm that I grew up on and I started working out, uh, nothing like heavy at that point, just like picking up dumbbells, doing some like box jumps, ladder work. Um, and as I continued to want to play higher and higher level soccer, that's when, um, more formal strength and conditioning programs started to come out.
Um, And I did not ever make it to a national training camp. Uh, I did do some regional training. Um, so when I decided to step away from playing soccer competitively, I really felt this void of What do I do now? Because I, you know, as an athlete, you know, you know, this, it's like Monday is practice Tuesday.
I'm in the gym, but I also might practice like it's very scheduled and routine. So I still played soccer. Um, You know, kind of recreational competitive, but we didn't have all those scheduled training sessions or practices. So I started going to the gym, um, way more. And once I got into physiotherapy, I found CrossFit and I got into physiotherapy because my mom was talking with someone and her child was in kinesiology at the time.
Okay. And I had no idea what I wanted to do. So my mom comes home and she goes, well, I was talking to lady at work and kinesiology just sounds like it's all about sports and exercise. Sounds like you. Sounds like, yeah. So I was like, Hey, this is perfect. Um, and then yeah, physio just seemed like a natural progression for me.
Um, and the physiotherapist that I had been introduced to were, um, Very much about integrating strength and conditioning to help me get back to where I needed to be. So I think their approaches to helping me were biased because I maybe was at that higher level. Um, so when I got into kin, I was like, okay, I'm going to be a physio.
And then when I got into physio, we came to a CrossFit gym because the professor who was teaching us Um, exercise physiology has a really good working relationship and friendship with my now boss. I now work in, um, in the gym that, uh, that we did some classes and learn. Yeah. More, more fundamentals about, well, how do we introduce strength and conditioning into our physiotherapy approach?
Not just for rehab, but also bridging that gap, helping people go from. You know, 60 percent recovered all the way up to 100%. Yeah. Amazing. And I think, yeah, you and I have that in common, right? And I think it is, it's a growing side of physiotherapy. I always tell my clients, there's always different branches of physio.
Even when I went into physio school, I had no idea that physios worked in like cardiac units of hospitals, you know, like that was brand new to me. So I think that sort of like performance, they call it like performance based physiotherapy is growing. Right. But, uh, yeah, you and I are biased, but I think it's, it's the best side of physio.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's so, there's so many aspects. to what physio can be, right? And you're, you're really exploring that. I feel like I really am. And I think it's a profession that really allows us if we get into the environment. To, you know, become the practitioners and, and really have our philosophy integrated in with how we support people.
Yeah. Yeah. And when you became a physiotherapist, did you always have an interest in pelvic health and the women's health world? Yeah, so I've always been curious about my own body. I never knew who to ask or, like, really talk about it. Like, my mom kind of introduced me into, like, understanding, like, my, my period.
Didn't get a lot of, like, sexual health information. And so whenever these types of things would come up in conversation, I always listened. I, um, was always curious. I never shied away from it. When I was getting into physio, I was, I was, I got in a little bit later. I, cause I, um, you know, went through all my kin and then I didn't get into physio my first try.
So all my friends, when I was coming into physio school were, you know, just maybe getting pregnant. One of my really good friends sister just had a baby. And then actually one of my older friends, um, who at the time was about 65, they started talking about pelvic health things that were really influencing their lives.
Interesting. And, and, and both of those women, the, my friend's sister who returned to exercise, um, with. You know, very minimal guidance, which ended up, um, you know, not serving her because she is very much, um, all or nothing kind of that, you know, more ego driven, um, kind of side of athlete brain that I know you've been on the podcast and talked about before.
And then movement was also really important to my older friend and she actually had a, um, a pelvic surgery to support her bladder and she got really sick and she almost died. And she found physio later. Um, so they started sharing these things and both of them ended up finding physiotherapists who helped them.
And I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm going into physio. In like months, it kind of all happened in the summer, right before I started, and, um, and so that would have been about 2015. Okay. And so I got into physio, and right away, I went to one of the physiotherapists here in town that my, the one lady had gone to, and I was just like, what's this about?
How are you supporting women? And she shared so much information with me. I was like, okay, this is a, this is a piece of physio that, I'm gonna I'm more curious about. Yeah. Well, I actually was able to take, um, level one pelvic health solution, like level one equivalent, like accredited, um, uh, course while I was in physio school.
Oh, really? Very. So I graduated with internal pelvic floor muscle assessment and the very basic entry level of pelvic health, just a part of everything that I think about when I look at someone who's experiencing low back pain or hip pain. Um, and then having, having that capacity then to maybe say, Hey, what about the pelvic floor and the different ways of assessing?
I mean, I was really green when I came out of school. I've since learned, you know, the external and advanced on that, but it all, it all just kind of happened personally and, and. Just fit into the profession that I was coming into and the thing that drove me I think the most was hearing that they were having troubles being physically active Yeah, it was preventing them from doing what they love to do.
Yeah, and at that time I still despite being post probably Four years of my, the pinnacle, the height of my competitive soccer career. I still was very much in this like mindset and grew from that of just like how I move my body and what my body does for me is my identity. Like is, is the center. And I'm like, well.
If I'm going to have issues because I've just had a kid and I can't exercise, like maybe I don't want to have kids like, uh, yeah, that's valid. Yeah. Yeah. So, but I turned that fear very quickly or that like, Ooh, into like that. Okay. We can probably have the best of both worlds. Fast forward. I come out of school and I meet all of these amazing people, yourself included saying, yes, you can do this.
Yeah. Yeah. So cool. Let's dive into that a little bit, Myranda. So yeah, you come from a competitive soccer background. I come from competitive gymnastics background. So you and I have that in common that, yeah, it was sort of ingrained into us from a young age that it's like go hard or when you're not in competition or playing season, then you're.
Resting. Are you doing not a whole lot? Right. And so I'd love for you to talk about athlete brain. So yeah, we have talked about on the podcast before, what, what do you think athlete brain is and how would you describe that to people? Yeah, you know, I think, I think a lot of what I would consider athlete brain, I've, I've known about myself for a long time.
And then Brianna battles and other individuals just like kind of creating like terms for it. Yeah. Like kind of creating, you know, um, it's like a language, language for, yeah. Yeah, exactly. So I, I really think that had I been given the opportunity and had the conversations sooner in my like athletic endeavors is like a young female, I would have not sat so on one end of that spectrum of just like It has to be like, you just have to go.
Right. Um, and you know, when you say, you know, you have your competitive season and your rest season. I never had a rest season. Oh, right. Like, I guess I never really did either. Now that I think that's actually like, it maybe was like a day, it'd be like we'd be done a competition and I'd be like, So strict with my training and my eating and then I'd have like a cheat day or something, right?
Even as a kid, I remember that like binging on foods that I wasn't allowed to eat before I was competing Yeah, so very all or nothing with food and exercise from a really young age Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's just like the, the only way to get there is, is to go and to push. And I was very fortunate. You know, I, I don't know why I never have had a significant injury.
You know, I've never had any significant ankle or knee. Rock on wood. Yeah. Like when I was competitive. When you were competitive. Yeah. I never, I didn't have, I don't think, you know, that athlete brain that some people experience where, you know, they're, they're really struggling with, you know, persistent injuries and pain and you're just like pushing through from that perspective.
I really think, um, You know, as, as an athlete, I think that athlete brain develops because of the environment that you choose to put yourself in. Because, um, something that my parents always said to me that was ingrained in me is you're doing this for yourself, Myranda. And I think they always said that because they didn't want to feel like they were pushing me.
Yeah. So I would put myself into these environments and I think there was just like a lack of understanding to really explain to athletes that, you know, if you're pushing yourself this hard, you need to be recovering as hard. Like for me, that's like a phrase and a term that is just a couple of years, like in my consciousness of understanding that wasn't anything that came up.
So I don't think. I had any like unnatural responses and that that athlete brain was a, was a pure product of the environment I was in. Um, so I don't view that for me because I, I don't really feel like I had a lot of negatives come out of that. Yeah. Um, I actually didn't struggle with all or nothing kind of.
And like binge eating and, um, you know, some disordered eating until actually after I finished my competitive, uh, stint, because I lost that identity of, yeah, what was I working towards? Which I think that's you also lose like a sense of control, right? You had a certain sense of control over your schedule, over your days.
And I've heard that super common that Then become restrictive in other ways after they're done sport. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, athlete brain Is something that's good, like we can leverage it for the better and then it is something that can come up, um, that maybe pulls us maybe more to the other side.
That's maybe a bit more negative. And it's really about finding that balance. And, you know, we've we talk a little bit about when you're striving really intensely for a very, um, athletic goal. Um, to make the Olympics to make a women's national soccer team, like you're that athlete brain might actually have to take you into a little bit more of that, like unhealthy to push through and to go through some of that discomfort.
But then again, that's context. That's first. Yeah. Yeah. So I think some of those tendencies that I've been working on that I discovered that were a bit more negative really came after I came out of competitive soccer because then those tendencies were thrust solely upon upon being in the gym. And my mentality, which I didn't know it was happening, but, you know, reflecting back my mentality went really strongly from what can my body physically do?
I don't care if I'm a bit bigger because I'm more powerful. People could not push me off the ball. It went from my body needing to do something to, okay, I'm at the gym. And what is this overarching societal fitness diet culture thing to look different in your body? So all of those strategies that I used as an athlete, um, that really served me, I think really well, there did not serve me when I've looked at.
Um, coming into the gym, my relationship with food, my relationship with why I was exercising, um, and I did not take rest breaks. Um, like there was no rest days and I was in the gym for two and a half to three hours. Um, and then heavily restricting what I was eating. Um, you know, and, and that, that is kind of where everything came out.
Um, after, after that competitiveness, like I said, so it's been about probably. Two years, I would say feeling really confident that I can now navigate some of those tendencies that I'll have mentally that comes up and recognize that and say, Okay, where am I living on that spectrum right now? Am I over here?
Am I over here? And how can I slide even just a little bit farther to the center? Yeah. Yeah. So what, what have been your strategies? How have you worked on your relationship with exercise to kind of, you said, you know, at one point your identity was very tied to your athletic abilities. So what are some things that you've done personally to get to a better place with exercise?
Two big
things being introduced to the idea that exercise can be exactly what it needs to be for us. And CrossFit really helped sink that in for me because of this idea of scaling. Yeah. And modifying. And so learning that I could, you know, really manipulate exercise for what I needed in that day or in that phase, whether it was weeks or months, that I think has allowed me to keep movement in my life and, and have it be still so positive.
Um, and that introduction then to that idea. It's kept me in this community that I feel is a really healthy place for me to, you know, pop on my social media and see you sharing truths and relatable information that I resonate with, you know, taking Brianna Battles. coaching myself And being a part of her community.
Um, coaching myself. If, you know, Sometimes I really feel like I coach and I do what I do to help remind myself. Those things. Man, like I could just talk about this for so long, but. I think because of the experience and how much experience I have had with strength and conditioning for like 20 years of my life.
Um, if I started when I was like 11, 12, I'm 31 now, um, I think that experience really helped me figure out really quickly how I could start to, well, I only had 15 minutes. So what work workout am I going to do? Cause I'm, you know, programmed my own workouts for a number of years. Um, and then starting to coach CrossFit, you learn kind of how to adapt and modify workouts that way.
Um, So I think really understanding how vast exercise can be for us is probably a big thing that has really helped, um, and staying connected to a community that you're just always plugged into this idea and, and that this can be your reality. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think, yeah, with that, I always talk to clients about.
Like curating your social media feed as well, right? Cause you, we can easily, you know, you probably live in a fishbowl similar to me now where I only follow accounts that. spread positive messages that, you know, I, I also talk about, but it can, you know, happen where people find still very toxic accounts, you know, in regards to you have to be look a certain way.
Exercise, you know, no pain, no gain, like all of those still toxic messages are still out there. And I think I sometimes forget that because, you know, I, again, I live in a fish bowl, but yeah, I have clients come to me saying, yeah, even they had a in person, you know, trainer that made them feel badly about their body.
Right. And that stuff still happens. Right. So I think that's a big part of it too, making sure you're consciously. choosing who and what you follow on Instagram or online in general. Yeah. Yeah. Another big thing is I took away, I took away triggers or things in my life that were well, essentially, yeah, triggering me into a thought pattern.
I didn't have a full length mirror for about three years. Yeah. Because I realized that looking at myself in the mirror when I was getting dressed was causing me problems. Staring at my body, you know, focused on that, like, how is it changing? How does it look today? I remove that. Yeah. I got rid of my, my mirror in my bedroom and I don't get dressed in the bathroom.
And at the time where I was living, my bed, I was in a single bedroom apartment and the, and the bathroom wasn't near my closet, wasn't near my bedroom. So I stopped looking at myself. I was like, Hey, well if I look down and I feel like my outfit looks okay, I'm sure it looks okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's good enough.
So that was really helpful. Um, the other thing I think that really has helped me is immersing myself. Like I said, it being in the community that was also being at CrossFit because the goals have never been when I've come to this gym, look a certain way. Yeah, that's good. Right? It's focused on, okay, how are you moving?
How are you feeling? So it really brought me back to this idea that I can, I can still have value in my body for what it can do. Um, even though it's not, um, you know, taking me to a national level team, right? Just because now I'm more of a, um, I call myself sometimes like a recovering competitive athlete because those tendencies are still there.
Yeah. I'm, I'm recovering and, um, but you know, even though I still want to push the boundaries of what I can do, um, doesn't mean that it can't be focused on. My body, but I can also be conscious of how I look and, and that as well too. Um, it's just, I can have the best of both worlds and there's been, you know, so many other things that have, that have helped me along my journey.
Um, And I think you, you know, you've honed in on this before too, like looking at exercise as well, how, how does it make, how does it influence my sleep? You know, when I started realizing that I was overtraining and not getting enough rest and not just overtraining exercise. Like overtraining too much in general.
Yeah, just work. Like I'm also a recovering workaholic. Like those tendencies, when I stopped being a competitive athlete, I became, you know, a, uh, yeah, like a worker. Yeah, like, okay, well, if I'm not. Playing for the Huskies team at the U of S 'cause I, you know, didn't want to, I'm like, I'm full in on school.
Yeah, right. And full in on all that something, something else to give that meaning of like, this is who I'm, yeah. Right. Yeah. So yeah, you're inherently worthy as a human, regardless of your productivity. Yeah, exactly. And, and so really, really just, uh, you know, paying attention to other things in my body that.
You know, then you start to see this interweb of connection of, of how you're moving your body, you know, can be dereluted and influence your sleep and how it can influence your mood, but then also how your mood can influence how you want to move your body. And I think that's also really come from, um, you know, professionally as a physio, this, this need and this massive shift in the world of saying, we need to consider all of us.
Yeah. Yeah. Um, so I think a lot of navigating some of my own athlete brain has also been, you know, learning and really listening to other females and people that are coming in and saying that they're having some similar struggles. And helping them with some of these different strategies, like, Hey, did, you know, eight minutes of strength training can give you improved strength.
Right. Like I don't have to do it. 60 minutes like that. Is enough of like a, you know, a support and then showing that person how to do that. Like, let's do an eight minute session workout in your session today. So then not only are you going to believe it here, but you're going to believe it in your body.
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so I, I think that's been a big part of my journey and I'm so grateful for the people that I've met along the way that come into. My office and feel safe and, you know, very brave and courageous to share. Um, there's a, there's a lot that's, that's kind of packed all into there. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. No, thank you for sharing all of that, Myranda. Um, so let's kind of dive a little deeper into, you kind of touched on just different aspects of helping people with different parts of their health. Bye bye. What I love that you're sharing on your Instagram lately is about like your cycle And you and I have talked a little bit and you've been very vocal that like you don't have kids But you love helping people sort of in that like preconception phase because I think That is sort of an area that I think is missing that there's not a lot of Folks online that talk about that that I see anyways, maybe you do um and just helping you know people in that phase of life Feel their best, whether they move on to have kids or not.
Right. Just that mm-Hmm. phase of life is, is so important to keep feeling good. So yeah, let's just talk about, let's dive into just like the cycle side of things, Myranda. Like what made you so excited to and passionate about, like, learning more about your own cycle? Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. I had mentioned that I've, um, always been curious about my body.
Um, so when I first started to bleed, I always paid attention to it. And anytime I heard things come up about people talking about it, I was always like, okay, well, this is my experience. What are they saying? And, um, you know, so I never really tracked it until, I don't know, I think I started maybe seven, eight years ago, kind of getting when I was in physio and Um, you know, thinking more recently about having kids.
Because I now have a partner, um, we're in a good place, um, slowly starting to feel more concrete in my business and, you know, getting that all up and running and feeling, you know, that I've had this opportunity, um, you know, to enjoy some of that post school and getting out there and getting into that. So, you know, reflecting on where am I at in my life and where I want to go, I'm like, All these thoughts and some of these insecurities of these awarenesses that I had when I was younger started kind of bubbling to the surface, probably within the last.
Well, my husband and I have been together now, it'll be four years in January, and so probably started about. Five, six years ago, and I had a lot of, um,
I had a decreased confidence that my body was cycling in an appropriate enough way to potentially support a pregnancy. Why did you feel that way? I felt that way because my, my, my bleed is actually very short. So, uh, the reproductive cycle is. different phases. And so when, when people refer to that whole cycle as the menstrual cycle, it can get very confusing for people.
So my menstrual cycle is like two days. And like people would talk about like, I have symptoms, like I'm crampy, I'm this, I'm like, I have no symptoms. Like I, I only like probably three years ago started to experience, you know, cramping in the front. I always get a little bit of back soreness, but some of my insecurities just came from my bleed being really short.
At the time, I thought not having symptoms was like, oh, you know, like maybe nothing. I should be having some breast tenderness. Like maybe. Maybe there should be some other things. Like maybe a shift in my hormones where I get a bit moody actually is like healthier because I'm getting that fluctuate. You know?
I just didn't know. Yeah, you didn't know. Yeah. Yeah, and I think some of that was also. Some of those fears were also linked in with this void of understanding my own pelvic and sexual health and reproductive health that I, I took care of understanding that sooner, like, because I learned that in physio schools about, you know, open about seven years ago now.
Um, so confidence in my cycle in my body grew from understanding just like my own anatomy. Um, so, uh, since being with my partner, I was like, okay, well, I'm really curious, like, how am I cycling? Um, so I started tracking, uh, more consistently. My husband and I decided that I would get an IUD. Um, because at that time that I had gotten it, about three years ago, Um, I didn't really understand all of the other things that I knew now.
It ended up leading me to have symptoms. So I started becoming symptomatic, got it removed and that's when I really started diving in about two years ago to understanding the connection of those female cycling hormones with so many aspects of our entire body, right? And how that's integrated in with, you know, a natural fluctuation that we want to see in cortisol.
and melatonin in our bodies. And, uh, you know how blood sugars influence our reproductive hormone cycles. So this all or nothing, go, go, go, me skipping meals, not getting rest. I was like, Oh my gosh, how is that influencing my menstrual cycle? And then I learned the importance of, okay, we're not going to just track your bleed.
We want to actually look and see, are you ovulating? Yeah. Because if you're ovulating that lets us know that that is. Hey, you're closer to having that more optimal, more healthy. So I've been consistently charting using the justice method. Um, I worked with a, uh, woman out of Edmonton virtually. We have one more session left.
I'm so sad. Chloe has. really helped me track my cycle and go from day one of bleeding all the way through, um, and looking at, uh, we'll call it like thermo symptoms. So tracking my temperature with a glass thermometer in my pity every morning, I love hitting the snooze button. So now my alarm goes off, put in the thermometer, hit the snooze.
There's lots of ways if you're like, Oh my gosh, I'm postpartum. I want to take my temp. How do I do that? There's different ways. Or if you're like, I don't snooze. How can I do that? There's so many options. Yeah. Consistently tracking temperature, uh, tracking cervical mucus. Um, and then you can also look at, uh, like, uh, your cervical position.
And, you know, tracking those things. I've come to recognize when we've looked at my charts. That I probably am ovulating and that based on my cycle and the length of everything that, um, this is the cycle that I am meant to have. Yeah. So, yeah, when you said before, you know, you had just light bleeding compared to maybe Friends or who else you talk to now, do you have confidence that, that, that is your body normal?
Now you feel confident about that. Yeah. And I know that like the whole, like I'm still learning to get better at nourishing my body and creating that space. So I can, you know, meal plan just so that I know, okay, today, actually, you said that you were going to go pick up a sandwich or a salad from the store.
Sure. Yeah. Or today, actually, you were going to go to subway. Um, and then we're creating space for meal prepping because Knowing those connections of me not getting enough food. Knowing that that's influencing, you know, my cycle and then maybe also influencing how I'm feeling in my pelvic health. Right?
Like today, you know, this cycle, I'm feeling a bit more pressure heaviness or this cycle. I'm feeling more sensitive. Oh, I had a ton of sugar like a week ago because it was my friend's birthday party. That's okay. I can move through this, but then I also don't have my, I have to push myself and do those double unders or box jumps.
Step ups are okay. Instead of skipping, I'll ride the bike, you know, like, so then there's this whole intertwining of, you know, uh, of why I also wanted to look at my cycle because I was having symptoms. I think that were connected to my cycle and how I was exercising because with the IUD I didn't have a bleed so I stopped tracking for about a year and a half.
So fascinating. Honestly Myranda, I'm almost 40 and I feel like I'm just learning all these things. I just started, like I downloaded a cycle tracking app just to not necessarily only track my period but just know like the phases, like luteal phase, like all of those phases that I'm like, why? Just hearing you talk, I'm like, that, these should be things that women are taught from, you know, as soon as we get our period, like, why don't we know these things?
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, maybe some of it's taught in school and maybe I just don't remember, but definitely there's nothing to continue teaching us about it as we move through those, those years. Yeah, that's a that in itself is something that I'm also learning and someone that I'm connected with in my community who is a birth worker.
She is a doula massage therapist. She's been in this space. If you go back and you look at the history of like colonialization and like how hospitals came to be, lots of policies and things were just created just to be created. And, you know, maybe we're not in those community situations anymore where we are in this group of women all the time and where we're getting that opportunity, right?
There is a lot of, you know, you know, we're, we're very isolated sometimes, you know, in situations. And so, I mean, we won't get into that, but, you know, we are on at this point where this is changing, right? If you're wanting this information for yourself, for your girls. Even for your, if you've got boys, you know, there are people that their passion is solely like, how do we, you know, teach younger people about their bodies in a way that Doesn't create any shame and, you know, encourages us to learn and that same space for us at whatever age we are.
Right. And if you're listening to this thinking, Oh my gosh, this all sounds great, but overwhelming, like Rhonda said in my introduction, this is about coming back to the fundamental basics of health. And like movement and fitness education, right? How are you sleeping? How are you eating? How's your fluid intake?
How are you moving your body? What's the connection like to yourself, to your family, to your community, that spirit, you know, just coming back and saying, you know, what I want to, I want to improve my cycle, but I'm not in a place to track, you know, just even being aware of it. And going, you know what, I might start bleeding next week.
I'm not going to schedule three appointments next week. I'm going to schedule one, and I'm going to try and space the other ones out. You know? So we can, we can get super complicated with all this. And I think that's something that I love to do and remind myself, is when I start feeling that all or nothing, it's because there's So much going on, right?
This, this, this, this, this. And it's like, okay, come back to that basic. We can make exercise exactly what we need it to be. We can, you know, be flexible and adapt even things that are routine and consistent. So just really trying to always just bring it back to simple. Yes, I love that. I'm actually, you know, starting to get more interested in perimenopause and menopause because I'm getting into that age group.
And honestly, again, everything you're saying Myranda, if women knew this information. You know in their adolescence and then can continue to learn and evolve and grow with this information How much better perimenopause and menopause will be for all of us, right? because Just hearing you talk about I just listened to a talk basically about sleep and how sleep can really impact Hot flashes and just how we feel in perimenopause right and how foundational sleep is and we forget that right it's so it's such a simple simple quote unquote thing, but Yes.
It's just so imperative to our overall health and wellbeing. So I think that's the thing as physios too, we, you know, have to remember that, yes, we want to get people moving. We want to get people feeling stronger, but if they're not sleeping and their stress levels are through the roof, yeah, that exercise actually going to help them.
Likely not. That's not the biggest like mover that we need to work on, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so kind of bringing that back to you saying, you know, kind of me in this space and chatting a bit more about this time of preconception, you know, no, nobody enters this phase of thinking that they may or may not have a family at the same time.
And we know that it changes. Yeah. So because I'm in this lived experience right now of I don't have kids yet. Uh, that's why I'm so passionate about talking about it and my experience as a pelvic health. provider within my physio practice. Most women came to get pelvic health certifications in physio, in personal training, in, um, you know, other professions, maybe like nutrition or occupational therapy.
They came to it after the fact. Yes. So I've had the privilege. And I am so grateful to be at a point where all of you trailblazers have become loud enough and have put your information out there that I received that, you know, early in that phase of me going. This is something I can see for myself down the road.
And so another reason why I started learning about my cycle was to optimize my fertility and that just meaning optimizing my overall health, but prevention, right? Like, so maybe I don't have to go on birth control when I'm like, Eight months postpartum and my hormones are trying to regulate naturally and then I am taking something that then is trying to like cause them to not do something because you know, maybe I'm not sure about how to kind of navigate, you know, not having another pregnancy, right?
I'm not saying birth control is bad or if you're postpartum you shouldn't, but you know, there are other options, right? And so we understand those cycles. The other thing is exactly what you said. I've been so passionate about this because I think if I would have had a bit more of that information younger would have saved me a lot of mental turmoil as I grew up.
Yeah. And, um, you know, I found a psychologist here in town that specifically works with women around fertility. And then, you know, during pregnancy and postpartum and with families and, um, you know, she helped me talk out my fears, my insecurities around my believing in my, my, my body, my reproductive organs.
I talked to my organs, you know, you love yourself and wake up, yes, pat yourself on the back, you know. Um, and then also she helped me also talk through. You know, navigating the fear that I have that if I become a mother, I lose that like side of me or that identity of me that wants to be active and still wants to compete.
Right. So even amongst all these changes, um, to thinking or how I move my body and with food, I do also want to recognize that like. Counseling and talking those things out like we, we want to have some of that too, but yeah, the preconception stuff I think is huge. Like if we enter a pregnancy, if we've got the space and the energy to learn some of this information to a degree that we want it.
You know, how does this maybe influence how we go through pregnancy and how we understand the changes that are coming up in our body? And, and, you know, how does that understanding influence our reaction if we do start to experience discomfort as our body changes? Does, you know, a better understanding help to decrease, you know, that pain from getting worse, right?
There's all this interconnection with, with, uh, the science and the research that's coming out with. pelvic pain during pregnancy, and then maybe how does that get influenced later on, right? So the bodice, body literacy side of things I am specifically passionate about, you know, letting people know, hey, you don't have to be learning about your body during pregnancy, you could start that sooner, or hey, you don't have to wait till your postpartum if you've got these questions, we can do that sooner.
Um, um, and then just like you, I haven't entered menopause yet. You're like perimenopause. Like I can learn about this now before I'm going through it and learn that it's, it's like a rebirth of our body that, that, that change in our hormones. And you can go through that and you can thrive, you know, periods don't have to hurt, um, you know, all of these types of things.
So, you know, you're gonna, you're gonna change the experience for yourself. And then, you know, having this information for your girls and all, it's just, oh, gets me so excited, Rhonda. I know. Oh, I love it, Myranda. You and I are on the same page. And so, on that note, um, if, you know, someone is listening in a similar phase as yourself, that preconception, considering having children, You know, whether or not they have symptoms, but they just want to sort of optimize their health.
They want to operate, optimize their cycle, you know, as a physiotherapist and coach, what would be sort of like your first little piece of advice for them? Just, you know, again, like we said, this can be very overwhelming, right? There's so many things. So yeah. What's like your, your biggest take home advice to finish off today?
I would say one, if it feels overwhelming and you're not sure where to start, just start by observing, right? Just bringing awareness to, to, hey, I've noticed that I have this type of discharge today. How am I feeling in my body? No, oh, um, you know, I did this workout and, you know, I'm going to start bleeding in two days.
Like just observing, okay, how are you, how am I feeling? And you might start to notice patterns. Yeah. And before we can change where we're at, it's very powerful for under us to understand where are we at, right? And so starting to observe can be a really great first step. And If you're wanting to learn more, go directly to the type of learning that you think is going to serve you best.
So if that is searching out someone who's got something online that you can kind of do that's self paced, great. If you're someone that's like, I want to learn from talking to someone, I want that one on one support, I want it to be live, you know, in person or virtual. You know, go find that person. Right?
Um, and, and don't be, don't be shy to, you know, meet with someone or ask to, can I have a discovery call? Can we talk? Yeah. Because when we start talking about our reproductive cycles, you know, sexual health and pelvic health, all of that stuff. It's so intimate and so personal. Um, you want to feel comfortable with the person we want to feel aligned with the person that's giving us that advice.
So you might connect with someone and it might not be a good fit. That's fine. We know that there's going to be other people out there. Yeah. Um, and and really just once you've observed or maybe you already know kind of what you want to focus on, then just keep that focus. For a month, two months, three months, just get really comfortable with, Hey, I'm going to work on, um, actually writing down my, my cycle, or I want to, you know, pay a bit more attention to how I feel after my workouts or just, just pick that one thing.
And, and because sometimes, yeah, like we've said, if we go for everything. We're probably going to end up with nothing because there's too much going on too much change we're trying to make. Yeah, that's beautiful. I love that Myranda pick one thing focus on it get curious about it. Yeah, it's just going to help in the end for sure.
So if folks are listening and they're like, wow, Myranda sounds super cool. How can I connect with her? How can I work with her? Can you share us some details on that? Yeah, of course. Yeah. It's so fun. It's like, oh yeah, you know, well, cause you know, you sit and you listen to podcasts and you do think that you're like, oh my gosh, Ron is so like.
I love what she says, or I'm like, one day I'm gonna meet Brianna Battles, you know, or, or Christina Previtz. I'm like, oh, you know, all these people, um, um, even just, yeah, in other, other, other ways. But, uh, yeah. So you think, oh, they're cool. I didn't think about, yeah. You're cool too, Myranda. Woo!
Um, of the best ways, I'm fairly active on Instagram. Um, so you can always find me that way. I'm at Myranda Reimer Physio. My name Myranda is spelled with a Y. So that's, uh, uh, a little bit different, which makes me unique in that way. Easier to find. Uh, you can also go to my website, through my website. Uh, you can, uh, connect for a discovery call.
Uh, it's uh, free, no obligation, and you can find, uh, lots of other information there@www.Myrandarimer.com. Amazing. Awesome. And I'll put all of that in the show notes so people can click to find you. Thank you so much, Myranda. You're wonderful. That was such a great conversation. Thanks, Rhonda. Thanks for listening to today's podcast.
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