Chances are you’ve been told at some point: “Just do your Kegels!” Leak a little when you sneeze? Kegels. Just had a baby? Kegels. Want to prevent problems later? More Kegels.

But here’s something most women are never told:

Not everyone needs to tighten their pelvic floor.

In fact, many women actually have overactive pelvic floor muscles — muscles that are already too tight.

Think about that for a second. If a muscle is tight all day long, squeezing it more won’t fix the problem. It can actually make things worse.

What is The Pelvic Floor?

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the bottom of your pelvis. They help support your bladder, uterus, and bowels. They also play a big role in bladder control, bowel movements, and intimacy.

These muscles are supposed to move. They should tighten when needed, but they should also relax and lengthen.

That’s where many women get stuck.

The Problem With “Kegel All Day”

Overactive Pelvic Floor: Signs and Symptoms

Some women are walking around clenching their pelvic floor without even knowing it. It becomes a habit — like shrugging your shoulders when you’re stressed.

Overactive pelvic floor muscles can lead to:

• Pelvic pain
  
• Pain with intercourse
  
• Trouble starting urine flow
  
• Feeling like you can’t fully empty your bladder
  
• Constipation
  
• Low back or hip pain

Everything in our bodies is connected. If you’re someone who clenches your jaw, tightens your shoulders, or holds your breath when stressed, there’s a good chance your pelvic floor is doing the same thing.

When Was the Last Time You Checked In?

Body Scan: How Tension Travels From Head to Pelvis

For a lot of us, life moves fast. We’re busy. We’re working, parenting, meal planning, answering emails, and solving everyone else’s problems.

We can’t even take five minutes to pause and scan our bodies to see where we’re holding tension.

Try this right now:

• Is your jaw tight?
  
• Are your shoulders lifted?
  
• Are you holding your breath?
  
• Is your belly pulled in?
  

If so, your pelvic floor might also be gripping.

What Is Pelvic Floor Down Training?

The Role of Breath in Pelvic Floor Health

Pelvic floor down training focuses on helping the muscles relax, release, and lengthen instead of tightening.

Breathing is key.

When you inhale, your diaphragm moves down. Your ribcage expands. Your belly gently rises. At the same time, your pelvic floor should naturally release and lengthen.

On the exhale, it gently recoils.

This movement is normal. It’s healthy. It’s how your body was designed to work.

But when we’re stressed, we often breathe shallowly into our chest. That stops the natural movement of the pelvic floor and keeps it tense.

Start Simple: Relaxation Techniques You Can Do Today

You don’t need fancy equipment. You don’t need to “work harder.”

Start with this:

1. Find a comfy spot.
   
2. Place one hand on your ribs and one on your belly.
   
3. Inhale slowly through your nose.
   
4. Let your ribs expand and your belly gently rise.
   
5. Let air fill your pelvic floor. Imagine you are breathing in a light that travels all the way from your nose to your knees.
   
6. Exhale slowly (and for as long as you can!)  and feel everything gently return.

Before You Add More Kegels: Give Yourself Permission to Let Go

Before you add more Kegels to your day, ask yourself:  Do I need to tighten more — or do I need to learn how to let go?

Sometimes healing starts not with squeezing harder, but with finally giving yourself permission to soften.

If you’ve been struggling with tension or discomfort, our women’s health specialists can guide you in learning how to relax—and strengthen—your pelvic floor safely.

Breathe. is unique! Integrative physical therapy for women. Private, personalized care that celebrates client victories, big and small. We believe all women deserve to live energetic, vibrant and active lives and it’s our mission to be a partner in achieving that, by specializing in dry needling, DRA, pants peeing, pregnancy/postpartum pain and recovery, pelvic floor dysfunction, headaches, back pain and other orthopedic concerns.

Appointments available in Des Moines and Iowa City / Cedar Rapids / North Liberty area. www.breatheptw.com

Why Resistance Training Is Often Overlooked

Strength training isn’t about changing your body—it’s about supporting it

When someone asks you about your exercise routine, does resistance training come up?
If not, you’re not alone — especially if you’re a woman.

Despite mountains of evidence supporting strength training for overall health and longevity, it’s still often overlooked in favor of cardio or stretching. And that’s a missed opportunity, because resistance training isn’t just about lifting heavy weights or changing how your body looks — it’s about building a body that supports you through real life.

How Resistance Training Supports Long-Term Health

Bone density and osteoporosis prevention in women

1. It reduces disease risk and helps you age better

We now understand that muscle is more than just tissue that moves us — it’s an active endocrine organ. When muscles contract, they release signaling molecules that positively affect the entire body.

Regular resistance training has been shown to:

• Improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation

• Reduce chronic inflammation

• Support brain health and cognitive function

• Improve bone density, lowering the risk of osteoporosis

This is especially important for women, who are at higher risk for bone loss as we age. Strength training sends a powerful signal to bones that they are needed — helping maintain density and reduce fracture risk over time.

In short: building muscle isn’t just about strength — it’s about resilience.

Lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling in daily activities

2. It makes everyday life easier

Think about the last time you carried a heavy bag of mulch, hauled a suitcase through the airport, picked up a squirmy kid, or spent hours gardening. How did your body feel afterward?

Resistance training prepares your body for real-world demands. When you regularly practice lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying under controlled conditions, those same movements in daily life feel less taxing — and are far less likely to result in nagging aches or injuries.

Life doesn’t get lighter — but you can get stronger. And that strength makes everyday tasks feel more manageable instead of exhausting.

How strength training improves self-confidence

3. It builds confidence — from the inside out

There’s something powerful about feeling strong.

When you trust your body’s ability to handle physical challenges, your confidence naturally grows. That confidence doesn’t stop at the gym — it shows up when you say yes to a trip, a hike, a new hobby, or a physically demanding day without fear of “not being able to keep up.”

Strength training improves self-efficacy — your belief in your ability to do hard things. And over time, that belief spills into every corner of life.

So yes — resistance training builds muscle. But it also builds courage.

How Much Strength Training Do You Actually Need?

Evidence-based guidelines for frequency

Current exercise guidelines recommend resistance training at least 2 days per week, targeting all major muscle groups. Many people see even greater benefits with 2–4 sessions per week, depending on their goals and recovery.

And no — workouts don’t need to be long or extreme. Even short, well-designed sessions can create meaningful changes when done consistently.

When Strength Training Feels Intimidating

The role of guidance in making strength training feel safe

If pain, fear of injury, or issues like leaking with exercise have kept you away from strength training, you’re not broken — and you’re not alone.

The right guidance can make strength training feel safe, accessible, and empowering.

We’d love to help you get started, meet your body where it is, and build strength in a way that supports your goals — for now and for the long run.

At Breathe., we help women build strength in a way that feels safe, supportive, and sustainable—especially if you’re managing pain, pelvic symptoms, or fear of injury.

Learn how trauma and nervous-system–informed physical therapy can support strength training that works for your body.

Breathe. is unique! Integrative physical therapy for women. Private, personalized care that celebrates client victories, big and small. We believe all women deserve to live energetic, vibrant and active lives and it’s our mission to be a partner in achieving that, by specializing in dry needling, DRA, pants peeing, pregnancy/postpartum pain and recovery, pelvic floor dysfunction, headaches, back pain and other orthopedic concerns.

Appointments available in Des Moines and Iowa City / Cedar Rapids / North Liberty area. www.breatheptw.com

Opening my own business, Breathe. Physical Therapy & Wellness, in November 2016 never seemed like much of a risk. I had an established self-referral client base, a visionary business partner, a supportive husband with a great job and Professional Yoga Therapy training. Over three years as I completed the training I was able to really refine my personal treatment style into something unique and actually holistic- and not just paying lip service to the term. In addition to learning how to apply a true biopsychosocial medical model to my practice and my life, I also met so many women who were opening their own businesses and something that had never seemed like a possibility to me (opening a business) suddenly became a reality.

Yoga inspired holistic care for your pain, stiffness or weakness. Core strengthening postpartum.

I have been doing pelvic floor and pelvic physical therapy for over 7 years, but a couple of years ago Ginger, several other PYT women and I collaborated on a narrative review of diastasis recti abdominis (DRA). When I started on that paper I really did not understand DRA but over time I became an expert and learned that there was a huge need in our area for post-partum strengthening and women WANTED help. Suddenly I became a sought-after post-partum therapist. Since that time, this kind of physical therapy has become more common and we have trained countless physical therapists in our technique. Many women now come to Breathe. for help with strengthening, or to decrease post-partum incontinence but leave with much more. They leave with less back, neck, knee and foot pain. They leave with a realistic understanding of their condition and confidence about how to continue to improve. They leave with a life long partner in healing.

Using Physical Therapy, Holistic Health & Wellness Practices To Bring Relief

We use Medical Therapeutic Yoga in many ways in our clinic. The yoga poses have helped me see the whole body as a biomechanical system and that we cannot work on a foot problem without also working on a hip problem, for example. Physical Therapists are taught anatomy in such a piecemeal fashion so it can seem impossible to understand how the hip affects the foot or vice versa. Practicing yoga and learning the biomechanics of the poses has given me a tremendous framework for being able to see the small details that most other practitioners miss and I have passed this training onto all of Breathe.’s physical therapists. We use this training to simultaneously begin to work on many issues that patients think are unrelated. We still use a lot of traditional physical therapy exercises and for many patients, it doesn’t look like we’re doing yoga with them, but it underlies all of our interactions. Maybe most importantly, combining the deeply calming effects of yogic breathing with pain neuroscience education gives clients a framework for changing their thinking which overwhelmingly changes their ability to heal themselves.

What Makes Our Health Practice Different

Every medical provider has a sheet of paper on which their patients write their medications and past medical history, but not many take the time to go through it with their clients. At Breathe. we talk about medications and their possible side effects, often helping people with many of their symptoms just by sending them back to their physician to get off of unhelpful medications. We talk about scar tissue from past injuries and surgeries and how that might contribute to constipation or discomfort in a seemingly unrelated location. The past is so important in putting the client’s health picture together and count on the Breathe. Physical therapists to look at a client’s entire medical history for answers.

Breathe. Physical Therapy & Wellness Was Created by Women, for Women

We have two favorite things we like to hear from patients. The first is a variation of “I have tried to describe my problem to so many different healthcare professionals and you are the first person who has actually listened and really seemed to care. Thank you.” And the second, “now I have hope.”

Breathe. is unique! Integrative physical therapy for women. Private, personalized care that celebrates client victories, big and small. We believe all women deserve to live energetic, vibrant and active lives and it’s our mission to be a partner in achieving that, by specializing in dry needling, DRA, pants peeing, pregnancy/postpartum pain and recovery, pelvic floor dysfunction, headaches, back pain and other orthopedic concerns.

Appointments available in Des Moines and Iowa City / Cedar Rapids / North Liberty area. www.breatheptw.com

Surprising Things That May Be Causing Pelvic Pain

Listed are 3 areas that can impact pelvic pain + tips on how you can help yourself out!

1. Inner Thigh Muslces (also known as adductors)

2. Tight Butt Muscles

3. Restrictions Through The Tummy

3 Things to Finally Get Rid of Jaw Pain

Are you a teeth clencher? Does your jaw feel super tight, especially when you’re stressed? Do you ever notice clicking or headaches along with teeth clenching? Many people easily recognize that they hold stress in their shoulders, but the jaw is another place where tight muscles and stress can go hand in hand. This pain is called temporomandibular disorder (TMD) – named after the joint in the jaw.  Research has found a correlation between jaw pain/dysfunction and depression and anxiety. This helps us in understanding the whole picture of jaw pain. 

How To Set the Body Up for Success To Decrease Muscle Tension

1. Sit Better.

A lot of our day is spent with our shoulders rounded forward, and our head in front of our shoulders. Make this better by thinking “sit on your vagina” – this will give you a good base of support. Then roll your shoulders back, and bring your head back in space so it’s above your shoulders (as if you were standing against a wall to get your height measured). Work on incorporating this “ideal” posture into your day 25% of the time that you’re sitting. It will become more natural over time! Sitting better helps muscles in our neck and head be more relaxed throughout the day. 

2. Recognize Stress & Release It

Lay down, breathe, work on letting head be heavy, jaw muscles soft, and neck muscles empty and relaxed – notice when tension creeps in, revisit the breath as needed. Use this throughout the day to take a deep breath when you get a stressful email, or as a break when you’re hours deep in an intense project. Unclench your teeth, let the rows of your teeth rest separate from each other, let your tongue relax, and breathe into your belly.

3. Restorative Yoga.

A restorative yoga class can do amazing things. The difference from other yoga is that the postures require less effort to hold, and each posture is held for up to several minutes. For this reason, it’s important to modify so that you’re totally comfortable in each pose. A restore class offers the opportunity to relax into various postures, finding and releasing tension throughout the body, as you also get a mental break. If you don’t feel totally at peace with zero stressful thoughts during a class like this, that’s totally normal! Like many other things in life, it’s a practice. 

Don’t let aches and pains keep you from living your life. The physical therapists at Breathe. have training in Medical Theraputic Yoga, weaving it into all of their recommendations and treatments. We’d love to help you, anyway we can! Reach out.

Posture is confusing! Check out this short video to learn how to stand up tall and reduce shoulder pain and headaches.

* This post is intended to be educational, please consult your therapist for medical advice specific to your body. 

Research source:

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/josnusd/56/2/56_127/_pdf

3 Ways to Use Essential Oils to Enhance Yoga Practice

Ah, the smell of a yoga studio. Incense, yoga mats, and moving bodies (/sweat). 

Being on my mat is one of my happy places, whether that’s at home or in the studio.

In my yoga bag I love to keep a few essential oils for good smells during my practice.

Here is how I like to use them:

1. Mat Spray

A yoga mat spray can be just for good smells, or for an antibacterial quality. I like to fill a small spray bottle with water and about 15-20 drops total of my favorite scents, shake it up, and spray on my mat towel at the beginning of class. The water helps give the towel extra grip during hot yoga classes, and the smell soaks through to the mat over time and gives it a nice scent. My current blend is grapefruit, lemon, and lavender. However tea tree oil has antibacterial properties and would make for a great mat cleaner.

2. Diffusing

When I’m at home, my practice doesn’t feel complete without a candle burning or oils diffusing. I love that diffusing oils puts less pollutants into the air than incense or candles. When I first got my dog I was careful to look up which oils shouldn’t be diffused around dogs. My favorite blend lately for diffusing is rosemary, lemon, orange, and peppermint.

3. On My Skin

I always have my little bottle of “peace and calming” in my yoga bag. This is a YoungLiving Oil that is citrusy and a little bit floral. This oil should be diluted before being applied to the skin. I also love my doTERRA InTune roller ball that is already perfectly diluted and ready to roll on. It’s a very earthy, hippy scent that feels perfect for yoga and meditation.

If you’re needing inspiration for diffuser blends, pinterest has lots of ideas, and you can also search the website that you bought your oils from for blends specific to the oils that you already have. Happy sniffing!

New to yoga? Here’s why your women’s health PT wants you to try it out!

Avoid This Mistake To Safely Recover Your Core

Wondering if planks and sit-ups are okay after having a baby? Worried about a diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) and weak or bulging ab muscles? 

The internet is a scary place! Have you been told that you can never do a crunch or a plank once you’ve given birth?

This is simply not true! 

The key to being able to do these things is how you hold your abdomen and progressing gradually over time.

Here are a few things that are important to consider:

• Can you kegel?
• Can you exhale?
• Can you keep your stomach sucked in during the whole time you do your exercises?

We’ve put together a simple, information packed guide detailing how to breathe optimially and three exercises to start right now so your core can be as strong as possible!

It can take up to 1-2 years until you can do a plank, but when you do them well, you get stronger and your stomach gets flatter.

Watch this video to learn exactly how to progress gradually and safely, and get the most benefit, so you can return to the exercise you love. 

If you’re feeling frustrated, please know you’re not alone.

Breathe. has worked with over 3,000 women, both virtually and in-person, to help restore a strong and confident core.

It’s critical to have a strong core to avoid back pain, prolapse, and various other postpartum complications.

The key is to find a provider who gets it. We can help!

Read how Kara healed her DRA with Breathe. 

2 Weeks Vs. 6 Weeks – Why It Matters?

New mamas have to wait 6 weeks for a check up. Why?????

Meanwhile, the first couple of days and weeks after baby is born are confusing and blissful and weird and stressful and amazing and exhausting and the time when parents need MORE support than ever.

Tremendous changes occur in a women’s physical and emotional self during pregnancy and childbirth. Beginning at 2 weeks postpartum we can start on gentle healing. We believe women all over Iowa deserve a 2-week post partum check up with our specialized Doctors of Physical Therapy, whether that be in person or telehealth. 

At your 2-week postpartum appointment we will:

• Listen to your birth experience and all the changes that have occurred in your life
• Review your posture and provide any guidance on necessary adjustments
• Review your breath and equip you with tools for proper belly breathing
• Provide advice and exercises for gentle healing of the pelvic floor
• Demonstrate stretches to alleviate “new mom” physical discomforts associated with holding and feeding babies
• Discuss c-section scar mobilization and specific healing
• Offer resources for mental health providers, chiropractors and postpartum doulas we love and trust

Did you feel like you had more questions than answers? Preparing for the postpartum period and not sure where to start? Watch the video below to learn more about how Breathe. can help. 

Don’t make these postpartum mistakes! 

Everything You Need to Know About Common Bladder Irritants

The kids are staying home from school & you are taking conference calls from your home office (aka the kitchen). The coffee maker is staring you down, and since you are now also taking on the role of being your kids “homeroom teacher,” you decide to make yourself another cup. I hear you! I am you! Minus the kids part, but I am teaching my dog tricks, so that has to count for something. You notice you are using the restroom more frequently especially since it is only 2 feet away from you. Why is this?

What are normal bladder habits?

Did you know that your bladder even had habits?! The human body is wild. 

• A healthy, functioning bladder should be able to hold urine for 3-4 hours. This is not a typo!
• You should not have to strain to void. No power peeing!

Common Bladder Irritants:

A bladder irritant is something that causes your urine to become more concentrated therefore irritating your bladder and making you feel like you have to use the restroom more often.

• Coffee
• Tea
• Chocolate
• Carbonated drinks (La Croix, Bubly, etc.)
• Soda 
• Stress

What Do We Do About It?

• Water sandwich: Drink 8 oz. of water before and after an 8 oz drink that can cause irritation to the bladder. For example: an 8 oz. cup of water→ 8 oz. cup of coffee→ 8 oz. cup of water.
• Space out your fluids throughout the day
• Avoid using the restroom “just in case.”
• Reduce the STRESS with family meditations at lunchtime (Check out the Headspace app, Calm app, or YouTube)

If you have more questions about this, don’t hesitate to reach out to Breathe.! We know all situations are different and we’d love to create the best physical therapy plan of action specifically for you! Schedule a telehealth or in-person visit today!

Causes and Remedies of This Common Pregnancy Woe

Want to talk about something super sexy and the hot topic for every pregnant woman? Just kidding, we’re talking about poop! Or technically, the lack of pooping if we’re getting specific. 

I don’t know about you all, but just when I started to get regular in my bowel habits postpartum and was able to quit thinking about constipation because it was no longer a concern… Here comes the next pregnancy and the return of my old friend, constipation! 

Constipation can occur for different reasons in different people, but personally, pregnancy has always been a trigger for my body. Not only is it just annoying to have to think about your irregularity, but it can lead to some other even more annoying and bothersome bodily changes if not managed properly.

Things constipation can worsen:

• Prolapse
• Incontinence/Leaking (fecal or urinary) 
• Hemorrhoids 
• Lower abdominal discomfort/cramping
• Lower back pain
• Bloating
• Irregular habits continuing moving forward

What can I do at home on my own? 

Natural Calm

This is a magnesium powder you can put in your water (also comes in gummies). 

Magnesium can help to calm muscles, cramps, tension, relaxation, and get a more restful night’s sleep; but it also can help constipation to get things moving! 

Consult with your doctor/midwife for questions concerning your personal safety of adding magnesium while pregnant or nursing.

Toileting Posture

Sit on the toilet (no hovering on public toilets), knees above hips (think Squatty Potty), and focus on taking deep breaths to relax and open pelvic floor muscles to allow for bowels to more easily pass.  

Water Intake

Water intake is important for SO many reasons while you’re pregnant, but also important to help maintain a good consistency of your poop to make it softer and easier to pass. Dehydration can contribute to impacted, hard, balled or clump-like consistency of poop. 

Diet

Get fiber through the foods you eat such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and nuts!

Iron pills that are plant based

If you’re anemic or iron-deficient and are advised to take supplemental iron, try to get an iron supplement that is plant-based. Plant-based iron supplements are absorbed at a more controlled rate to keep optimal levels of iron consistently, and decrease risk for imbalances (or iron toxicity) which can lead to symptoms such as constipation when taking iron at higher doses. 

(I personally used Hema-Plex by NaturesPlus with my first pregnancy) 

If you’re on the border where you may not need to take a supplement, try to increase your dietary intake of iron naturally through foods like meat, beans, leafy greens, nuts and fortified cereal and breads.

These are easy ways you can start to regain control of your constipation in pregnancy! If you try these things and your constipation persists, reach out to your medical provider and see if there are other options they’d avise for management. Don’t let constipation stress your body out during this beautiful time! 

This blog post is an introduction into constipation. Please consult with your physical therapist to receive advice that is specific to your body.