There was something that I put off for years and years.  My body was telling me it was out of balance, but I ignored it until I got really motivated about it.  I had a super tight pelvic floor.  It needed manual therapy to release it and retraining on my part to get it functional again and it wasn’t until I wanted to have a baby without any intervention, to protect my precious parts and my future in all the lifting I like to do, that I did something about it.  It was a bit like an accountant not doing their taxes, but hey, you know. Joelene Murdoch and Tamara Woods from the Physiotherapy Clinic were the two women who were integral in my journey to overcome years of dysfunction, have the birth I wanted and come back to lifting and training, even stronger than before.  They also look after a lot of my Sydney clients, some without babies, some during pregnancy and some many years and years after the fact. Like most topics on this show, I feel there are a lot of misconceptions about the pelvic floor and the abdominal wall, as well as a barrage of programs and prescriptions that misunderstand it, confuse the consumer and oftentimes, make it worse. So today, on The Body Never Lies, Tamara, Jo and I are diving into all things pelvic floor and the abdominal wall.   In this episode, we talk about: What is the pelvic floor and what does it do How we can have pelvic floor dysfunction that is not birth or pregnancy related. Indicators of dysfunction that are not incontinence  Pelvic floor function affects - fertility, labour, birth and recovery Childbirth is at fault and its normal to have issues Having a C-section will save your pelvic floor - I can’t believe and OB told me this once! Kegels in pregnancy, kegels in general The importance of an internal assessment Preparation for birth How other parts of the body affect the pelvic floor. Training and pelvic floor  Abdominal wall dysfunction and the problems with exercise programs What exercise is appropriate in pregnancy - the problems with the guidelines Safe return to exercise - the problems with the guidelines. What to do if you had your babies years ago What about women who have not and/or aren’t going to have babies? When aesthetics motivations are really helpful Men and their pelvic floor   You can find Jo and Tamara at the Physiotherapy Clinic in Sydney.  Please check out their birth course for expecting families and practitioner courses and mentorship programs for exercise professionals and physiotherapists.  https://www.physiotherapyclinic.com.au You can find them on instagram @physotherapyclinic @bornready_physioclinic and @physioclinic_education See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.