In Part III of Shannon’s Pelvic Health Mini Series, she welcomes Shelly Prosko, another passionate professional who works in the realm of pelvic health. With warmth and grace she shares her perspective adding to our discussion on pelvic health.
Shelly Prosko has an extensive fitness and physical therapy background which led her to combine physical therapy and yoga to become a Professional Yoga Therapist. She is a pioneer in her Physio Yoga Therapy- a combination of Physical Therapy and Medial Therapeutic Yoga.
She received her Physical Therapy degree at the University of Saskatchewan in 1998, her Medical Therapeutic Yoga training through the Professional Yoga Therapy Institute in North Carolina and her Pilates Certification through the Professional Health and Fitness Institute in Maryland.
Shelly has treated those with issues surrounding pain management and, driven by her passion for sharing all she has learned with others, she offers specialty PhysioYoga Therapy courses along with speaking at various educational schools and conferences throughout Canada and The United States.
Shelly has a love for acting, dancing, and music and figure skating.
Shelly’s journey to PhysioYoga [2:50]
Who can study with Shelly [7:25]
Building relationships and gaining referrals from health care professionals [11:00]
Shelly contemplates if there would be an effective way to integrate physiotherapy into the 200-hour yoga teacher training and learn more about anatomy and physiology? [17:55]
The practice of Kegels and Muhla Bandha [22:00]
The movement of the diaphragm and pelvic floor when breathing [23:45]
Caution around doing Kegels [24:45]
An overactive pelvic floor is more common than we might think [25:30]
Shelly discusses a study done in 2016 by Van Dyken & Sinead Dufour that discover that 83% of people with low back pain have an over-recruited pelvis [25:45]
Another study done on incontinence links the condition with poor balance and often the pelvic floor is over-activated in this case [26:25]
Referring a yoga student to a Physiotherapist or with pelvic health, a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist when it is appropriate [28:00]
Clues that yoga students may be over-engaging their pelvic floor [30:09]
Jules Mitchell and her thoughts on stretching [31:00]
Kegels may aggravate pelvic floor dysfunction [32:25]
Proper way to do a Kegel or do Mulha Bandha [33:00]
Shelly shares that 50% of people, after being taught one-on-one still struggle with the proper way to do Kegels [33:15]
Mulha Bandha – one of the energetic locks [34:30]
Introduction of Mulha Bandha in Western yoga [35:05]
Leslie Kaminoff’s explanation of the history of Mulha Bandha and its use in pranayama and sitting [36:10]
Pelvic Floor health in relation to health and movement [37:20]
Antony Lo the Physio Detective #tensiontotask [41:00]
Is the Muhla Bandha comparable to Kegels? [42:40]
How Shelly cues Muhla Bandha
Shelly’s article (link below) 8 ways to Engage Pelvic Floor
Links
Anthony Lo- The Physio Detective
Blog Post: Optimizing Pelvic Floor Health: Where Does Yoga Fit In? by Shelly Prosko
Article: 8 Ways to Help Yoga Students Engage Their Pelvic Floors by Shelly Prosko
Article: Optimizing Pelvic Floor Health Through Yoga Therapy by Shelly Prosko
Article: Anatomic connections of the diaphragm: influence of respiration on the body system by Bruno Bordoni and Emiliano Zanier
Youtube Video: Bandhas in a Modern Practice: A Historical Perspective by Leslie Kaminoff
Special Thanks:
To Laura for compiling the show notes (I am still laughing over your blueberry story from last week Laura!)
and to Rob who edits all of the audio between bear sightings
