This week’s episode features Sarah Sayed, a mom who’s part of my Instagram community! We connected and when I heard her birth story, I knew I had to have her on Mom Strength! Unexpectedly, Sarah had a precipitous birth (which is a fast and short labour) while she was at home and ended up birthing her baby boy on her couch! Tune in to hear all about Sarah’s birth story, how she gave birth, alongside her husband, in her living room.

We discuss:

1. Midwifery Care

2. Precipitous Birth

3. What happened after her home birth

4. Genetics Role in Precipitous Labour and Births

5. Informed Consent during Pregnancy and Birth

6. Birth Expectations

7. Postpartum

8. Co-sleeping

9. Returning to Exercise After Birth

Surabhi Veitch interviews Aarti Inamdar, classical hatha yoga teacher, on the hierarchy in modern day yoga, parenting, Hinduism, and how to disrupt and challenge the status quo within the yoga space.

We also discuss:

1. Parenting & Yoga

2. Responsibility of Teachers

3. The Hierarchy in Yoga

4. Fighting Against Cultural Appropriation & Colonization

5. Disability & Yoga

6. Importance of Pelvic Physiotherapy

7. Prioritizing Mental & Physical Health as a Parent

8. Hindu Stages of Life

9. Identity Shift as a New Parent

10. Self Care

11. Serving Humanity

12. The Comfort Book

13. Changing Hearts & Minds of Political Leaders

Join host Surabhi Veitch as she sits down with Aarti Inamdar, a yoga teacher and student of classical hatha yoga. With over 15 years of experience, Aarti has a passion for sharing the teachings and wisdom in the sacred ancestral traditions of yoga. You won’t want to miss these episodes as we discuss spiritual healing in yoga, inclusivity within the yoga space, and how the practices of yoga can make you a better parent.

We discuss:

1. Yoga as a Way of Life

2. Inclusivity: Any Body is a Yoga Body

3. Body Shame

4. Parenting & Yoga

5. Spiritual Healing Through Yoga

Join Surabhi Veitch and pelvic physical therapist Dr. Darshana Naik as we chat about vaginismus, religion, shame and how to overcome painful sex. We discuss:

1. Importance of Meeting Patients in the Middle

2. Painful Intimacy

3. Sexual Shame and how it influences Vaginismus

4. Painful Sex

5. Religion & Sex

6. Psychology of Painful Sex

7. Pleasure Matters

8. New book on Amazon: Girlfriend's Guide to Pain Free Sex

9. Growing Your Small Business

Mothers are often admired for how much they do for their kids. But how about how much you do for yourself? Traveling without kids, either for business or for pleasure, can be an important way to fill your cup.

I share my experience from my 6-day trip to LA for Boss Up - a conference put on by Dr. Shanté Cofield aka The Movement Maestro and Jill Coleman aka JillFit. I also share how and why we need to release mom guilt when we take the time to do things for ourselves.

Join Surabhi Veitch and registered dietitian Maiya Ahluwalia as they discuss diet culture and debunk the “bounce back” culture for postpartum bodies. 

We discuss:

1. Nutrition Tips for Postpartum Folks

2. Diet Culture

3. Bounce Back Culture

4. Lack of Education About Women's Health

5. Endometriosis

6. Diet Trends During Pregnancy & Postpartum

7. Sugar Cravings

8. Providing Clients with Culturally Targeted Advice

9. Nurse Practitioner at Nourishing Balance

10. What the Actual Fork: Maiya's Favourite Podcast

11. Dismantling Diet Culture

Surabhi Veitch interviews intimacy coach Shamaree Brissett on intimacy, sex, and relationships. We explore how to build sexual confidence, and discuss Sharmaree's 5 categories to build sexual confidence, ditch shame, and kickstart intimate conversations with your partner. Perfect for BIPOC women to build confidence

Join Surabhi Veitch as she sits down with Dr Nidhi Sharma. Nidhi is a pelvic physiotherapist in NYC with 15 years of experience, and is a board-certified women’s health and orthopaedic specialist in New York. Tune in as they discuss the journey into motherhood, Nidhi’s identity crisis as an immigrant and find out what Nidhi says is the most important thing to do before becoming a parent.

We discuss:

1. Nidhi's Journey into Pelvic Physiotherapy

2. Transitioning from Pregnancy to Motherhood

3. Moving to the USA from India

4. Finding Community Away From Home

5. Maternity Benefits & Support in the US

6. Postpartum Depression & High Maternal Death Rates in the US

7. Mat Leave in India

8. How Motherhood Changes a Person

9. Patient Advocacy

Surabhi interviews Jesal Parikh on the yoga, compassion, couples therapy, parenting and ways to unlearn cultural appropriation prevalent in the yoga industry.

We discuss cultural appropriation of yoga and South Asian culture, spirituality in yoga, racism, power imbalance and pregnancy and gestational diabetes. Learn about Jesal co-hosting the Yoga is Dead podcast.

It’s time to cancel sexual pain! Surabhi Veitch interviews pelvic physical therapist, Dr. Janelle Howell aka the Vagina Rehab Doctor on sexual pain, pelvic health, clitoris and vaginal health. We discuss the importance of a vagina that is mobile, strong and has good endurance to achieve orgasm. We also discuss the importance of mothers caring for themselves and prioritizing their own sexual satisfaction.

Surabhi Veitch interviews fellow pelvic physiotherapist Jane Bai, who works at Step Up Massage and Rehab in downtown Toronto. Jane knows all too well that asking for help isn’t easy. During her 20s, Jane had pelvic floor health issues, including dyspareunia, UTIs, and bladder pain symptoms. Despite being in school to become a physiotherapist, she didn't get help right away. Find out in this episode how Jane got the help she needed and is using her experience to advocate for others.

What does it mean when pain or pelvic floor symptoms like leaks return? Does it mean you stop whatever the aggravating activity is and hope for the best? Do we just stop exercising, stop lifting weights, and just rest until it gets better? Not usually!

Symptoms don’t always mean stop. I share 4 things your symptoms could mean including:

—stop what you’re doing
—do something different
—take a break
—pay attention to me

Take a listen to this episode, and see what resonates. If you need help troubleshooting your symptoms, book a consult below and let’s get you feeling better in your body!

Join Surabhi Veitch as she chats with Nita Sharda, a registered dietician located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to explore how to alleviate the stress of mealtime by incorporating fun and how to start your baby on solids with ease. We discuss transitioning from breastfeeding to solids, baby-led weaning, and go-to meals to try!

We discuss:

1. When to start solids 

2. How to tell if baby is ready for solids 

3. First solid food options for your baby

4. Baby-led weaning 

5. Introducing finger foods

6. Transitioning from breastfeeding 

7. How to have fun at mealtime

8. Go-to meals to try 

9. Happy Healthy Eaters course and discount code surabhi15

Do I need to do Kegels? Should I stop doing Kegels? Join me for this chat and learn 5 things you need to actually be doing for your pelvic floor instead!

5 tips to boost your pelvic strength:

1. Drink 2-3 litres of water daily

2. Sleep 7-9 hours daily (including naps, rest and meditation, when unable to sleep/nap)

3. Practice mindfulness and cultivate presence in your body

4. Let go. Let go of your belly, butt and pelvic floor. Let go of societal pressures and expectations.

5. Strengthen your pelvic floor! Make sure to sign up for my Pelvic Strength Workshop Thurs, Apr 13 to learn all the strength moves for your pelvic floor, booty, inner thighs and core. The goal is to help you have better orgasms, more confidence trying various sex positions, have fewer leaks, and better pelvic fitness! https://www.thepassionatephysio.ca/pelvic-strength-for-pleasure-workshop

There are so many reasons why your arousal and orgasms may be weaker postpartum, and they’re not all related to your pelvic floor!

Here are 5 (of many) reasons why:

1. You’re staying too quiet because of a baby sleeping/kids around

2. Pelvic floor muscle injuries from birth or trauma

3. You’re holding your breath or shallow breathing

4. Your pelvic floor is too tense

5. Your pelvic floor is too weak or lacks endurance

Find out how my Reclaim your Pleasure workshop can help you release tension, pain and welcome in more pleasure even if you have weak orgasms

Let’s talk about sex, baby! Or in this case, dyspareunia or painful sex. We go over:

— Find out what dyspareuia is and the different types and categories (superficial vs deep, primary vs secondary)

— How common is dyspareunia and how many people are impacted by painful intercourse postpartum

— How dyspareunia impacts mental, physical and sexual health

— Learn why you do not need to rush to have sex at 6 weeks postpartum

— How postpartum sexual health declines across all domains

— Why painful sex is not just the responsibility of the woman or vulva-owner

Find out how my Reclaim your Pleasure workshop can help you release tension, pain and welcome in more pleasure even if you deal with painful intercourse

Pleasure is defined as the feeling of happy satisfaction or contentment. If you want more pleasure in your sex life, we need to cultivate it. Here are 4 tips to cultivate more pleasure and have better orgasms:

—Presence: being mindful and aware of the sensations in your body during daily activities can help you be more tuned in during sex

—Breathe: your breath is your superpower and directly impacts your pelvic floor, blood flow and orgasms. Breathing can also help you relax and release tension, allowing you to fully feel the sensations in your body.

—Foreplay: longer the better!

—Belief: you have to believe that great sex and great orgasms are available to you. If you have a history of painful sex, trauma, or body image issues, this can be especially hard, but keep holding onto hope.

At my Reclaim your Pleasure workshop on Thursday, Feb 23 at 8:30-9:30 PM EST, we’ll practice presence and breath, release negative self-beliefs, and move our bodies to unlock more pleasure!

Save your spot here: https://www.thepassionatephysio.ca/reclaim-your-pleasure-workshop A recording will be sent out to all registrants. If you can’t make it live, it’s all good.

Surabhi Veitch discusses the topic of shame surrounding pleasure and sex. The shame people feel when discussing sex is not uncommon and is often a result of societal taboos and cultural upbringings. I share my own experiences growing up in an Indian household where the topic of sex was never discussed and how I was shamed by one of my first boyfriends.

Join me to Reclaim your Pleasure on Feb 23/23 for 60-minutes of breathwork, visualization and movement to unleash the pleasure within you! https://www.thepassionatephysio.ca/reclaim-your-pleasure-workshop

Key points:
—The topic of sex and pleasure is still considered taboo and awkward in many households around the world.
—The shame that people feel when talking about sex and pleasure is not uncommon and is often a result of upbringing and cultural values.
—Many people struggle to comfortably use the proper names for body parts related to sex and pleasure.
—The lack of open and appropriate education about sex and pleasure contributes to the shame and discomfort people feel.
—The first step in dismantling shame around sex and pleasure is to educate ourselves and our children about the proper names for body parts and to talk about sex and pleasure openly.

I’m offering a workshop on February 23rd, 2023 at 8:30 PM Eastern Time to help you reclaim your pleasure. Early bird registration is open now and there is a replay available.

Surabhi Veitch interviews clinical psychologist and intimacy coach, Dr. Jacqueline Sherman (aka Dr. Jac), on sexual confidence, how to discuss difficult topics with your partner, and ways to boost body image and intimacy after major life transitions, experiencing loss or miscarriage. Dr Jac’s Sexfirmation Cards® are the first sexual wellness card deck for women!