More about me...
Part doctor of physical therapy, part body-mind coach, and part soul midwife...that's my latest explanation for my methods. I spent 15 years as an intensive care unit physical therapist in some of the top hospitals in the Denver area, helping patients rehab after being closer to the edge of death than any person cares to be.
I also taught part-time in the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program, published a paper on severe eating disorders and physical therapy, and provided pro bono physical therapy work in Rwanda, Africa. In the undercurrents of all of these incredible experiences, pelvic health physical therapy has called...professionally, and personally.
I have a pelvic health story too.
My wake-up call to my own pelvic health came from my experiences of dyspareunia, long-standing painful periods, intermittent bladder leaking, and hip pain. I had always struggled with excessively painful periods, sometimes leaving me in a writhing heap on the floor in the hospital bathroom where I previously worked. At one point, doctors recommended birth control pills and Vicodin as the solution for period pain I experienced. This was not getting to the roots of the issue.
It took several years for me to understand why and how my story, including a major childhood kidney surgery with a resulting large abdominal scar, contributed to my adulthood experiences of painful periods, painful sex, leaking, and hip challenges.
I've always been ‘wired’ to recognize and engage healing not only on physical levels, but also on emotional, spiritual, and cultural levels. I have felt misplaced in a world that saw the body purely as a machine that could be fixed and replaced...unless it couldn't. Deep down I knew my body was so much more: a dynamic system that was supposed to be filled with joy and vitality.
Being a physical therapist with an early emphasis towards holistic integration and self-care including nutrition, herbs, nervous system training, meditation and prayer, and mind-body medicine, I enlisted the help of a holistic pelvic health physical therapist to address pelvic floor issues. While this was helpful, it was incomplete. Healing takes a village. I also enlisted the support of counselors, soul care mentors, Somatic Experiencing, and body workers of all kinds. Several years later, I encountered the practice of uterine massage and therapies, a healing wisdom passed down for generations from the Mayan healers in Mexico and Belize.
I truly understand that abdominal and pelvic challenges require an integrative approach including, but not always limited to, research-informed pelvic floor physical therapy. I understand that healing is as unique as the person experiencing it, and I am honored to be a guide and supporter to removing obstacles to the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
Healing abdominal-pelvic challenges within the larger context of menstrual cycle physiology, energetics, and wisdom have been a game-changer for me.
My mission is to restore dignity to the female body so that women can experience their lives with greater ease and flow.
I graduated with a BA in Spanish and a Master of Physical Therapy degree, both from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. I completed my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at the University of Colorado in Aurora, CO.
I am certified as a Women’s Health Coach (WHC) through the Integrative Women’s Health Institute, a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and am trained to provide holistic uterine-based therapies as an Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapies (ATMAT) Practitioner through the Arvigo Institute.
When I talk about training in care of the soul, it's actually a real, serious thing. I trained in the 18-month Spiritual Director formation program with the Center for Spirituality at Work. I know you may be unfamiliar with this, click here for more. While this particular program's roots were Christian, I explain that soul care is simply sacred listening to another with attunement to moments that point to meaning, connection, longing, and conscious presence in one's life and work. It helps an individual to build deeper discernment necessary to choose the path that is best for a unique individual, regardless of their chosen spirituality context. Much of my internship was spent for 2 years providing this care as a volunteer in the Denver Women's Correctional Facility in Aurora, CO - quite an experience!
I am also trained in holistic hands-on therapy tools including Lynn Schulte, PT’s Post-Partum content through the Institute for Birth Healing, and Holistic Pelvic Care, Tami Kent, PT’s manual and energetic system of pelvic floor work.
As the learning continues to always unfold, I most recently studied uterine massage and Western herbalism with local herbalist Shelley Torgove, and am enrolled in the Visceral Manipulation curriculum through the Barral Institute and pelvic health teacher Ramona Horton, PT, to deepen my practice of osteopathic manual therapies (combined equivalent of VM 1, 2, 3, 4).
So, you might say that I am part-PT nerd and part-mystic?? I prefer not to label, but OK.
If you want more of the specific details on my education and post-graduate training, check it out here (Beth Anne's CV).
I also taught part-time in the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program, published a paper on severe eating disorders and physical therapy, and provided pro bono physical therapy work in Rwanda, Africa. In the undercurrents of all of these incredible experiences, pelvic health physical therapy has called...professionally, and personally.
I have a pelvic health story too.
My wake-up call to my own pelvic health came from my experiences of dyspareunia, long-standing painful periods, intermittent bladder leaking, and hip pain. I had always struggled with excessively painful periods, sometimes leaving me in a writhing heap on the floor in the hospital bathroom where I previously worked. At one point, doctors recommended birth control pills and Vicodin as the solution for period pain I experienced. This was not getting to the roots of the issue.
It took several years for me to understand why and how my story, including a major childhood kidney surgery with a resulting large abdominal scar, contributed to my adulthood experiences of painful periods, painful sex, leaking, and hip challenges.
I've always been ‘wired’ to recognize and engage healing not only on physical levels, but also on emotional, spiritual, and cultural levels. I have felt misplaced in a world that saw the body purely as a machine that could be fixed and replaced...unless it couldn't. Deep down I knew my body was so much more: a dynamic system that was supposed to be filled with joy and vitality.
Being a physical therapist with an early emphasis towards holistic integration and self-care including nutrition, herbs, nervous system training, meditation and prayer, and mind-body medicine, I enlisted the help of a holistic pelvic health physical therapist to address pelvic floor issues. While this was helpful, it was incomplete. Healing takes a village. I also enlisted the support of counselors, soul care mentors, Somatic Experiencing, and body workers of all kinds. Several years later, I encountered the practice of uterine massage and therapies, a healing wisdom passed down for generations from the Mayan healers in Mexico and Belize.
I truly understand that abdominal and pelvic challenges require an integrative approach including, but not always limited to, research-informed pelvic floor physical therapy. I understand that healing is as unique as the person experiencing it, and I am honored to be a guide and supporter to removing obstacles to the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
Healing abdominal-pelvic challenges within the larger context of menstrual cycle physiology, energetics, and wisdom have been a game-changer for me.
My mission is to restore dignity to the female body so that women can experience their lives with greater ease and flow.
I graduated with a BA in Spanish and a Master of Physical Therapy degree, both from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. I completed my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at the University of Colorado in Aurora, CO.
I am certified as a Women’s Health Coach (WHC) through the Integrative Women’s Health Institute, a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and am trained to provide holistic uterine-based therapies as an Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapies (ATMAT) Practitioner through the Arvigo Institute.
When I talk about training in care of the soul, it's actually a real, serious thing. I trained in the 18-month Spiritual Director formation program with the Center for Spirituality at Work. I know you may be unfamiliar with this, click here for more. While this particular program's roots were Christian, I explain that soul care is simply sacred listening to another with attunement to moments that point to meaning, connection, longing, and conscious presence in one's life and work. It helps an individual to build deeper discernment necessary to choose the path that is best for a unique individual, regardless of their chosen spirituality context. Much of my internship was spent for 2 years providing this care as a volunteer in the Denver Women's Correctional Facility in Aurora, CO - quite an experience!
I am also trained in holistic hands-on therapy tools including Lynn Schulte, PT’s Post-Partum content through the Institute for Birth Healing, and Holistic Pelvic Care, Tami Kent, PT’s manual and energetic system of pelvic floor work.
As the learning continues to always unfold, I most recently studied uterine massage and Western herbalism with local herbalist Shelley Torgove, and am enrolled in the Visceral Manipulation curriculum through the Barral Institute and pelvic health teacher Ramona Horton, PT, to deepen my practice of osteopathic manual therapies (combined equivalent of VM 1, 2, 3, 4).
So, you might say that I am part-PT nerd and part-mystic?? I prefer not to label, but OK.
If you want more of the specific details on my education and post-graduate training, check it out here (Beth Anne's CV).