Featured on the Fempower Health Podcast, Carrie Koziol discussed the causes of DRA (Diastasis Rectus Abdominis), how to prevent and treat DRA including precautions about surgery & the types of kegels you do, how a Women's Health Physical Therapist can help (and when it is time for surgery, and what you can do if you can't afford a Women's Health Physical Therapist.
Featured on the Honest Mom Podcast, Carrie dives into one of the hardest topics for new moms: Why Does Sex Suck After Baby and What You Can Do About It! Not only does she discuss the reasons for not wanting to have sex, she also has solutions and new ways to get out of this funk and into a healthier relationship with sex. And yourself!
To “push” or not to “push”, how and where to breathe, positions to help your body help your baby.
One of the biggest fears women face heading into delivery is all of the unknowns. And while birth is really about accepting a loss of control, I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power. When you understand the typical path your baby will take, all the factors that help determine whether you can spontaneously push or need coached pushing, and the cues and positions and breath strategies that are most likely to lead to productive pushes, then you are able to incorporate these techniques into effective practice so they will be there for you in birth.
What’s more important: learning to contract or relax your pelvic floor in pregnancy? Trick question, the answer is BOTH!
We pass out Kegels to pregnant women like candy on Halloween. And while having a strong, functional pelvic floor in pregnancy is great, we also need pelvic floors that know how to relax and LET GO. Learn exactly what the pelvic floor muscles are, why they matter, and specific tools for properly contracting and relaxing this important area. We’ll also cover perineal massage and positions to deliver that are most protective to this tender region.
Pain is NOT a natural part of the pregnancy process and there’s a lot you can be doing to add some deposits of healthy motion into your body bank (and limit your withdrawals) to stay more comfortable before, during (YES, even during birth), and afterwards.
Learn the body mechanics hacks that can minimize the most common pregnancy complaints like SI joint pain and pubic bone problems. We’ll also talk about pain prevention during your actual birth and give you some tools for your toolbox. Plus we’ll cover how to raise your baby without spraining your spine with tips on how to build a nursing throne, how to handle the car seat, and bathe your baby without herniating a disc. I’ll show you a few simple stretches you can start TODAY. Your body is already thanking you!
Your provider said you could continue to do the exercise you were doing prior to getting pregnant. True or False? FALSE!!! Your pregnant body has unique needs based on your new cardiovascular status, change in hormone balance, and changing areas of vulnerability. Plus, where does that leave women that want to start a new exercise program to prepare their bodies to birth their babies? In this presentation, I will cover all the Dos and Don’ts of designing an exercise program to match your pregnant body. We’ll build a list of exercises to flock to and ones to avoid based on the three pillars of a changing pregnant body: Cardiovascual Status, Hormone Fluctuations, and Demands of your Event
If your 6 week postpartum follow up with your provider included a “green light” for sex but lacked the instruction manual that needs to go along with it, this presentation is for YOU!
Learn the 3 reasons women either don’t want to have intercourse or do not enjoy intercourse after birth which include pain and discomfort, emotional factors like being “touched out” or resenting your partner, and the general feeling of being stretched out “down there”. We’ll have an honest discussion where no question is off limits and you will leave with practical suggestions for not only getting back in the saddle again, but actually enjoying the ride 😉.
Research shows you have an 8 week “magic window” in which to spontaneously heal a separated midsection. This requires strategies like binding, breathing, and body mechanics.
Learn the ins and outs of postpartum binders and view a “show and tell” of different options to help you pick the binder that is right for you. Also, as your hormones slowly return to their normal state, the way you move your postpartum body around the world MATTERS. Learn simple strategies to keep all your lady parts happy. Finally, moms need to ditch the boot camps and instead learn the most important exercise for postpartum recovery: The Core Breath. I’ll instruct you in this gem that can be done from the comfort of your favorite chair!
Don’t you dare google this diagnosis unless you want to travel down a rabbit hole of conflicting information and contradicting treatment recommendations. Let an expert like myself save you hours of frustration and spell out exactly what this is, show you how to determine if you have it, and teach you actionable steps to get started on your road to recovery.
Research shows by 35 weeks pregnant, 100% of women will have DRA. Many will resolve this condition in the first few weeks postpartum, and many will not. It’s more common than you think and may be the reason for your lower back pain, urinary leakage, and/or unsightly stomach “pooch” whether you are 6 months postpartum or 60 years postpartum! Learn how to strengthen your core from the inside out and what movements you should avoid until you’ve restored your core!
Your core is like a house inside your body. After birth it is NOT a tear down even though it might feel that way, but it IS a fixer upper. Let me be your general contractor and help you rebuild!
When you skip right to the stroller fitness classes or the mommy boot camps or even the jogs around your neighborhood, you are skipping a very important part of the rebuild phase of your fixer upper. Instead, you need to start with things like teaching your diaphragm and pelvic floor to be coordinated with one another, how to find and engage your deep abdominals, how to slowly add more abdominal and pelvic floor work, and how to use these skills in “normal” exercises like squats and lunges and all your other favorite go-to’s. Let me give you a few guidelines to make sure you are getting more nutritious movement then junk food movement.
The LAST thing you need as a new mom is to be sidelined with an injury that you may have been able to prevent with just a few tiny tweaks to your regular daily routine. Your body is a bank and you can’t keep making withdrawals without making some deposits of healthy movement back in. Learn how to build a nursing throne, how to bathe and diaper your little one, and how to handle the car seat in a way that helps you move your body better. I’ll also teach you the most AMAZING posture exercises…..truly the gift that keeps on giving!
Learn the changes that accompany “the change” specifically in the pelvic floor region so you can make choices to embrace your sexuality rather than hanging up a going-out-of-business sign.
There’s a new crop of midlife women (married and single) who are unwilling to settle for the outdated narrative that with advancing age comes declining interest in sex. But we do need to keep it real and have a conversation about hormones and pelvic health and what changes you might expect to encounter in perimenopause and menopause. We’ll also discuss the products on the market designed to keep you having fun in the sack (whether it’s with a partner or on your own)!
You cannot do the same exercises you did in your 20’s and expect the same results in your 40s and 50s! It’s time to update and refresh your workout routine so you’re working out smarter and not harder!
Learn how to appreciate your phase of life and the role of hormones in order to design exercise programs to meet your specific goals while helping to prevent common midlife annoyances, especially conditions like urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and abdominal separation. This topic is appropriate for everyone from the elite athlete to the weekend warrior to even the most sedentary woman.
Because perimenopause happens at the midpoint of our lives, it is an excellent time to take stock of how we have cared for ourselves up to this point and learn specific changes we may need to make to enter the second half of our life with grace and ease!
Perimenopause is the time “around” menopause that can start as early as our mid 30’s and include a variety of symptoms such as mood and sleep changes, weight fluctuations, alterations in sex drive, and sometimes even an unwillingness to accommodate the people in our lives. If this resonates, I’d love to teach you some steps you can make to be optimally healthy heading IN to this phase of life.
We’ll talk about the physical changes people in a girl body can look forward to including breast development and eventually menstruation, including a tour of the vulva. If you own the part, you need to know what it’s called and what it does. We’ll cover cervical fluid, fun facts about your eggs, all 4 parts of the menstrual cycle, all the new products on the market designed to help you manage your menstrual flow (and how to use them, especially tampons), how to fuel your body for healthy cycles, and common questions girls want to know (what happens if I get my period in school, where should I keep my period products at home, what if I want to swim but I don’t want to use a tampon, how to treat stains, and more!)
What happens “down there” throughout the monthly cycle, what’s “normal” and how to use the hormonal shifts to maximize your life, plus natural period products I love.
Do you really appreciate the bodily miracle that is your monthly cycle? In this presentation, you’ll learn about the 4 phases of your period and the emotional and nutritional recommendations to help you maximize your potential. We’ll talk about why everyone should be tracking their cycle and what apps are my favorite to make this easier.
I will also touch on the hormonal and non-hormonal methods of birth control that are available. Learn how your period can be used as a vital sign to track your overall health and the period products that top my list of favorites.
Learn the physical changes people in a boy body can look forward to along with the social, emotional, and mental changes to expect. Learn all the parts of the male body and what their jobs are. Learn why erections may be a bigger part of your life, how your body works together to get healthy sperm to an egg, and the key components of a healthy relationship. You’ll also get a sneak peak at changes happening for people in a girl body, how you can support them, and the things that are the same and different for girl bodies and boy bodies during this time.
There shouldn’t be one scary sex talk you have with your kid(s) but rather 200, one minute conversations over the course of many years. In this presentation I will give you creative options of how to bring up topics such as masturbation, pornography, consent, and hook-up culture.
Regardless of your family values, I think we can all agree that porn is not a great way to first learn about sex, that consent should be sought and returned before and during each and every encounter, and that sex is best in a committed and trusting relationship. The tricky part is how to bring these subjects up to your eye-rolling teen or tween in a way that resonates. The problem is, many of us never received this sort of education and now we’re in the driver’s seat for our own kids. I promise to just ignore these issues is NOT the answer. Our kids need us to provide practical examples that reflect our values early and often. This presentation is a step-by-step guide to help you out!
If you own a vagina, consider this presentation your official user’s manual! We’ll talk about the anatomy of your vulva, the functions of your pelvic floor, and how to care for this important area to keep it in tip top shape.
We look at our face hundreds of times each year, but many of us couldn’t identify our own vulvas if they were plastered in a collage on a museum wall. It’s time to learn the difference between “common” and “normal.” We’ll talk about normal bladder and bowel habits, how the vagina is a self-cleaning “oven”, and products to flock to and to avoid. Learn what a Kegel is and how to do it properly, but more importantly, learn how to make tiny tweaks to the way you move around your world so your pelvic floor is getting healthy doses of activity even without Kegels!
This presentation will be eye-opening and no question is off limits!
….but then standing will become the new sitting which is the new smoking. It’s less about the position you are in and more about how long you are there. Take a sitting inventory and learn some techniques to make your work station more dynamic. Some think tech is killing us, but let’s learn to use technology to help us move our bodies better. Plus learn some simple movements you can do at your desk to give your eyes, wrists, and feet a workout.
When you sit, stand, and lay down in a neutral bony alignment, it means the muscles that slingshot off those bones are at their optimal length/tension relationship. So technically, you’re exercising your muscles even if you’re still! Learn to checklist for optimal posture in each of these positions and the hallmarks of body mechanics for common everyday tasks to make sure you are moving your body better and helping to avoid common injuries that can be a real set back.
If you have a body, you have a pelvic floor, yet these muscles are the most underappreciated and underutilized in the world of fitness. Take a tour of a male and female pelvis to understand where the pelvic floor muscles are and what their job is. Learn the signs of pelvic floor dysfunction and how to properly activate these muscles when you are still and when you are on the move.
The “core” is a well-used buzz word in the fitness world but very poorly misunderstood. Your core is like a house inside your body with a roof, front door, back door, and foundation. Learn how to find each part of your “house” separately and then pull it all together in one exercise you can do from your chair. This is the single most important exercise you could learn for managing your intra-abdominal pressure and preventing common issues like abdominal separation, pelvic organ prolapse, and hernias.
We’re all busy, but we all have 4-5 minutes whether we’re answering phone call or waiting for our lunch to warm up in the microwave to sneak it some nutritious movement. Learn a few sequences for your upper and lower body that work lots of body parts in a small amount of time (with little/no equipment). It’s time to work out smarter and not harder.
Sure, most schools offer a puberty talk around 5th grade, but if you are trusting the healthy reproductive and sexual development to your kids’ gym teacher, or nurse, or history teacher you may be expecting too much. Learn what your kids need to know that they are not getting in most school-based puberty classes and how to bring up these topics with as few eye rolls as possible.
After years of teaching Menstruation and Puberty workshops, I took the leap to teach comprehensive sex education at a school for 5th-12th graders. WOW!!! Learn what your kids really want to know and the topics we should be reinforcing at home including how to know you’re ready to have sex, basics of pregnancy and STI prevention, consent (how to ask and how to hear a “no”), the basics of healthy relationships, and more!
Learn how your brain re-wires in this transitional time and leads to changes from your brain to below your belt to your big toe. This time is known as a critical window where small health problems, if left unaddressed, can turn into larger more permanent health problems down the line. I’ll teach you the 5 pillars of health you NEED to get in check to head into the next chapter of your life with grace and GUSTO! And we’ll discuss the latest research on hormone therapy and whether you are a candidate (not to be taken as medical advice, just presenting facts here). While you may not be able to multi-task like you did in your 20s, think of this like your system reboot that leads to the upgrade!
Have you noticed a shift in your midlife partner? Learn the physiology and hormonal changes responsible for the changes they are experiencing at this point in their life and how you can support them. Menopause may represent the end of fertility and familiar rhythms but it also represents a time when priorities are shifting and it’s imperative to the health of the relationship to shift in sync!
Nearly 8 out of 10 people who are experiencing menopause are in either part or full time employment. A recent study by Mayo Clinic showed that 15% of women either missed work or cut back on hours because of menopause symptoms. Reseaerchers in the UK found that those who reported at least one disruptive menopausal symptom at age 50 were 43% more likely to have left their jobs by age 55. Learn the steps you can take to support menopausal women in the workplace, end the stigma, and maximize employee retention during this transitional time.
Sex is not static and constant in a long term relationship. It ebbs and flows and has seasons where there is more sun and seasons where there is more shade. Learn how pain impacts pleasure and how sometimes we have to take a step back before we take a step forward. If you find yourself asking the question: How can I get myself/my partner to want sex more, you may be asking the wrong question. I invite you to take some actionable steps toward creating your own sexual floor plan so that accessing pleasure is easier.
Carrie Koziol is a Women’s Health Physical Therapist on a mission to educate and empower women about their bodies from puberty to menopause and beyond. She specializes in tackling “taboo” topics with a blend of humor, expertise, and practical tips that participants are able to use right away to move their bodies better.
Carrie has the unique ability to bring people together online and in-person whether she’s speaking to a an auditorium of hundreds or an intimate gathering in someone’s living room. As a mother of three, she knows what it is like to juggle motherhood, run a household,
and manage a career while striving to remain fit and well. That’s why her suggestions are always practical, realistic, and within your grasp!
She has also seen first-hand through her work in the clinic and in the community that knowledge truly is power, and the body is capable of amazing things. The things you will learn from Carrie will help you clarify the difference between “common” and “normal”, will change your understanding of your relationship with your mind and body, and will linger with you long after her final words have been shared.
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