Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Hole Shebang
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 109: Pessary for Running: Why Leaks Show Up Later in the Day with Dr. Carrie Pagliano | 22 oct. 2026 | 00:45:04 | |
A pessary for running can support leaking that only shows up later in the day. Dr. Carrie Pagliano, a pelvic floor physiotherapist in Arlington, Virginia with 26 years in women's health, joins Kristen to share her own pessary story during perimenopause. She tried a dish, then a ring, then a cube, and explains how each held up on a run. You will hear how stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse relate to passive tissue support, why pelvic floor therapy and muscle training are only part of the answer, and why prolapse advice is hard to give safely on social media. What listeners will learn You will learn what a pessary is and who it is for, how to think about leaking that shows up later in the day, which questions help choose between a ring, a dish and a cube, and how to take out a suction pessary. Timestamps
About Carrie Pagliano Dr. Carrie Pagliano, PT DPT, is a pelvic floor physiotherapist in Arlington, Virginia with 26 years in women's health. She served on the executive board of the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy and hosts the Active Mom Podcast. Theme Song: Patient Zero by Taylor Swift Key topics covered
Resources and references mentioned
Listen to more episodes like this
Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Work with Blueberry Therapy If you leak when you run and want to talk about a support device, book a pelvic floor physiotherapy assessment at Blueberry Therapy. Subscribe and connect Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca and leave a review if this episode helped. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 108: Vaginal Estrogen: The Warning Label is Lying to You with Dr. Sarah Shaw | 15 oct. 2026 | 00:44:25 | |
Is vaginal estrogen safe? If you have ever read the paper insert that comes with a vaginal estrogen prescription, you have probably wondered the same thing, because the warnings on it sound frightening. Dr. Sarah Shaw, a physician with twenty years in women's hormonal health and co founder of Lume Women + Health in Toronto, joins The Hole Shebang to explain why that label is outdated, why it does not reflect current evidence, and why vaginal estrogen is one of the safest, cheapest and most underused treatments in menopause care. Sarah also breaks down premature ovarian insufficiency, the real difference between systemic and local hormone therapy, and the non-hormonal options for hot flashes that most women have never heard of. What You Will Learn Listeners will hear the story of a patient who spent years on daily antibiotics for recurrent urinary tract infections before anyone mentioned vaginal estrogen, and what changed once she started it. Sarah explains why the product monograph on vaginal estrogen carries warnings meant for systemic hormone therapy, why vaginal estrogen does not raise the risk of blood clots or dementia, and why it remains a safe option for women who have had breast cancer. She also covers how to find a menopause certified provider, what premature ovarian insufficiency looks like in a woman in her thirties, and the newest non-hormonal medications for hot flashes. In This Episode [00:49] Sarah's day to day focus on hormonal health and preventive medicine About Dr. Sarah Shaw Dr. Sarah Naomi Shaw, MSW EdD MD FCFP MSCP, is a family physician and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner who spent fifteen years running a family medicine practice in downtown Toronto before co founding Lume Women + Health with Dr. Woganee Filate, Dr. Amy Louis Bayliss and Lindsay Stollery Jephcott. She holds a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and began her career running a harm reduction outreach program for sex workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Theme Song: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
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Find every episode at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca. Connect with Dr. Sarah Shaw Website: lumewomenshealth.com Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Keep Learning Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to book a pelvic health consultation, subscribe to The Hole Shebang wherever you listen, and connect with us on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 107: Perimenopause Fatigue: Find the Cause before the Fix with Dr. Jessica Drummond | 08 oct. 2026 | 00:50:25 | |
Perimenopause fatigue has more than one cause, and the right fix depends on which kind of tired you have. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen talks with Dr. Jessica Drummond, a physiotherapist with a doctorate in clinical nutrition and founder of the Integrative Women's Health Institute, about why perimenopause so rarely arrives to a perfectly healthy body. Dr. Drummond shares a sleep test for sorting ordinary exhaustion from deeper fatigue, explains why hormone therapy can burn when mast cells are involved, and describes how a frozen shoulder can be part of an estrogen story. You will also hear why menopause symptoms, chronic illness and long COVID overlap, why no scan finds the driver, and why she asks for months of small changes with a practitioner who listens. A rapid fire round covers cold plunges, seed cycling and castor oil packs. Timestamps
What listeners will learn: a simple way to start sorting your tiredness, why a hormone that helps one person can burn another, and why slowing down with a practitioner who listens is part of the treatment. About Dr. Jessica Drummond: Dr. Drummond, DCN, CNS, PT, is the founder and CEO of the Integrative Women's Health Institute, which has taught 3,500 graduates in 62 countries. She is a physiotherapist who earned a doctorate in clinical nutrition, the author of Outsmart Endometriosis, and the host of the weekly Integrative Women's Health Podcast for professionals. Theme Song: American Cars by Noah Kahan Key topics covered
Resources and References Mentioned
More on The Hole Shebang
Connect with Dr. Jessica Drummond
Listen and subscribe Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this helped, and visit blueberrytherapy.ca for more. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 106: Return to Running After Baby: Forget the Green Light with Grainne Donnelly | 01 oct. 2026 | 00:51:49 | |
Return to running after baby is one of the most searched questions in postpartum recovery, and the guidelines most clinicians use were co written by this week's guest. Grainne Donnelly, Advanced Practice Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy and editor of the new Elsevier textbook Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor, joins Kristen to talk about leaking during exercise, pelvic floor dysfunction in female athletes and what a decade of new research has changed about postpartum return to sport. From compression shorts and pessaries to the evolutionary reason human pelvic floors work so hard, this is the conversation for anyone who runs, lifts or coaches. This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off. In This Episode
What You Will Learn How to tell a load capacity problem from a structural one, what a graded return to running actually looks like, which support products exist and how they work, and why pelvic floor symptoms touch at least one in three women without being anyone's fault. About Grainne Donnelly Grainne is an Advanced Practice Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and founder of Absolute Physio in Northern Ireland. She co wrote the returning to running postnatal guidelines (2019) with Tom Goom and Emma Brockwell, is Editor in Chief of JPOGP and edited Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor: Science to Practice (Elsevier, 2026). Her PhD research at Cardiff Metropolitan University investigates compression garments for pelvic floor symptoms in runners. Theme Song: Jump Around by House of Pain and Maniac 2000 by Mark McCabe (she filled in the form twice and we kept both) Resources and References Mentioned
Keep Listening on The Hole Shebang
Connect with Grainne Website: absolute.physio Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Ready for Support? Blueberry Therapy offers pelvic health physiotherapy, pessary fittings and return to sport planning in Dundas, Ontario and virtually across the province: blueberrytherapy.ca Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this episode helped, and connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 105: Pelvic Girdle Pain: Why Your Pelvis Is Not Unstable with Dr. Sinead Dufour | 24 sept. 2026 | 00:47:42 | |
Pelvic girdle pain affects about one in two pregnancies, and most women who have it are told a story about relaxin, loose ligaments and an unstable pelvis that research disproved back in 2012. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Dr. Sinead Dufour, PT PhD, Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University, to explain what pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain is: a sensitive, protective nervous system rather than a structural failure. They cover the real risk factors, the three step treatment model, symphysis pubis dysfunction as a harmful label and how virtual pelvic health physiotherapy is reaching women who could never get to a clinic. This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. In This Episode
What You Will Learn How to tell an ordinary pregnancy ache from pelvic girdle pain that needs care, why the relaxin and instability explanations failed the evidence, which risk factors matter (previous trauma, second pregnancies, fear, depleted energy, smoking, higher BMI, a history of episodic low back pain, synthetic progestin use and lack of belief that things will improve), what modern treatment involves and how virtual care opens the door for women far from a pelvic physiotherapist. About Dr. Sinead Dufour Sinead Dufour, PT PhD, is an Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University, where she teaches across medicine, nursing and rehabilitation science. She practices virtually through the National Pelvic Health Collective, is a founding partner of The WOMB perinatal care centres, led the SOGC guideline on conservative care of urinary incontinence and co authored FIFA's decision aids for pregnant and postpartum footballers. Her course Reframe Pelvic Girdle Pain retrains clinicians worldwide. Theme Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This All at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:
Pregnant or postpartum and dealing with pelvic girdle pain, incontinence or prolapse, or wondering about a pessary fitting like the ones mentioned in this episode: the Blueberry Therapy team offers pelvic health physiotherapy in Hamilton and virtual consultations across Ontario at blueberrytherapy.ca. Our Sponsor: kGoal kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see. Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract. Shop kGoal at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose. Connect with Dr. Sinead Dufour Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this episode helped you and connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 104: The First 1000 Days: Your Health Story Starts Before Birth with Dr. Deb Sloboda | 17 sept. 2026 | 00:43:00 | |
The first 1000 days of life, from before conception to a child's second birthday, set the foundation for lifelong health, and most of us have never been told the window exists. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen sits down with Dr. Deb Sloboda, professor and Associate Chair of Research in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Early Origins of Health and Disease, to walk through the developmental origins of health and disease in plain language. They cover preconception health for both partners, why the placenta is a fetal organ with a sex, epigenetics explained as dimmer switches, stress hormones in pregnancy, the gut microbiome and The Art of Creation, her arts based science translation project now headed to the British Science Festival. This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. In This Episode
What Listeners Will Learn Listeners will leave understanding that health trajectories begin before birth, that preconception advice applies to sperm as much as eggs, that the placenta actively protects a baby from everyday maternal stress, and that serious depression in pregnancy deserves treatment rather than guilt. They will also hear how art carried this science to the public better than any lecture. About Dr. Deb Sloboda Dr. Deborah Sloboda is a professor and Associate Chair of Research in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Early Origins of Health and Disease. She has published 147 papers and 17 book chapters, won the 2015 Nick Hales Award, the 2017 Hamilton YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Science and McMaster's 2024 President's Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision, and is a founding co president of the DOHaD Society of Canada. She leads The Art of Creation, an arts based knowledge translation program. Theme Song: Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This Find them all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:
Our Sponsor: kGoal kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see. Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract. Shop kGoal at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose. Connect with Dr. Deb Sloboda Website: slobodalab.com and artofcreationstudy.com Connect with The Hole Shebang If this episode made you feel less alone, that is the entire point of this show. Subscribe, leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. If you are planning a pregnancy or in one now, Blueberry Therapy's multidisciplinary team supports every stage, book at blueberrytherapy.ca. Follow The Hole Shebang on Instagram at @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 103: Menopause Joint Pain: Why Everything Aches and What Helps with Michelle Lyons | 10 sept. 2026 | 00:43:03 | |
Menopause joint pain is more common than hot flushes, yet most women have never been told the two are connected. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, pelvic health physiotherapist Kristen Parise talks with Michelle Lyons, the Irish chartered physiotherapist behind Celebrate Muliebrity, about the musculoskeletal side of the menopause transition: why joints, tendons and muscles ache when estrogen falls, which perimenopause symptoms start before periods stop, what protects brain health and bone density, and how vaginal estrogen plus pelvic floor physiotherapy changes bladder symptoms, comfort and confidence. Michelle has spent 30 years in women's health, teaches clinicians worldwide and hosts the Celebrate Muliebrity podcast, which passed 100 episodes this year. This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca. and use kGoal15 to save 15%. In This Episode
What Listeners Will Learn Listeners will come away knowing how to spot perimenopause early, what blood work to ask for, which lifestyle levers have real evidence behind them and why treating pelvic health is the gateway to staying strong, active and confident through midlife. About Michelle Lyons Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP, is a chartered physiotherapist from Ireland with 30 years of experience in women's health, licensed in Ireland and the US. She is the founder of Celebrate Muliebrity, where her online courses include The Menopausal Toolbox, and she hosts the Celebrate Muliebrity podcast. She co founded the Women's Health Physiotherapy community and founded Global Pelvic Physio. Theme Song: You Gotta Be by Des'ree Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
More Episodes Like This Find them all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:
Connect with Michelle Website: celebratemuliebrity.com Our Sponsor: kGoal kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see. Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract. Use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. Shop kGoal at Blueberry Shop. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose. Enjoyed This Episode? Subscribe and leave a review, it helps other women find the show. Book a pelvic health assessment at blueberrytherapy.ca or call 289 238 8383. Perimenopause and menopause pelvic health support is one of the things our multidisciplinary team does best. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 102: Birth Prep: The Movement Work Nobody Taught You with Gina Conley Mamastefit | 03 sept. 2026 | 00:54:31 | |
Birth prep is not the same thing as birth education, and most pregnant people are only ever handed the second one. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Gina Conley, founder of MamasteFit and author of Training for Two, to talk about the physical preparation that actually makes space for a baby: pelvic floor function, pelvic mechanics and the movement patterns that carry you from labour into postpartum recovery. If you have searched for birth prep exercises, wondered how to prepare your body for birth or been scared by a prolapse diagnosis, this conversation is for you. This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca. and use kGoal15 to save 15%. Gina brings an unusual path to this work. She spent seven years in the army, including a combat tour in Afghanistan, before a difficult first birth sent her back to school for a master's in exercise science. She is now a birth doula who has supported close to 200 births, a mom of four and, at the time of recording, training for her first 100 mile race. In This Episode
What You Will Learn You will come away understanding why a functional pelvic floor is about movement rather than Kegels, how to think about creating space at each level of the pelvis and why the same prep that helps in labour supports postpartum recovery, including after a cesarean birth. Gina also reframes prolapse and diastasis so a diagnosis feels like a starting point rather than a life sentence. About Gina Conley Gina Conley holds a master's in exercise science and is the founder and CEO of MamasteFit in Aberdeen, North Carolina. She is a birth doula, a seven year army veteran, a mom of four and the author of Training for Two (2024). She runs MamasteFit and the MamasteFit Podcast with her sister Roxanne Albert, a labour and delivery nurse and nurse midwife. Theme Song: an Avicii track (to be confirmed) Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This
Our Sponsor: kGoal kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see. Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract. Shop kGoal at Blueberry Shop. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose. Connect with Gina Conley Website mamastefit.com. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube at @mamastefit. Connect with The Hole Shebang Subscribe and listen at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca. Learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy at Blueberry Therapy in Hamilton, Ontario at blueberrytherapy.ca. Leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 101: Chronic Pelvic Pain: Real Even When Your Tests Are Normal with Carolyn Vandyken | 27 août 2026 | 00:46:44 | |
Chronic pelvic pain is one of the most dismissed conditions in women's health. Years of symptoms, multiple clinicians, clean imaging, and eventually the quiet suggestion that it might be in your head. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Carolyn Vandyken, registered physiotherapist, co-founder of Reframe Rehab and recipient of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association's Medal of Distinction, to explain what is happening when pelvic pain persists without a tissue cause. They cover nociplastic pain and central sensitization in plain language, why diagnostic labels like vulvodynia can act as nocebos, how overlapping pain conditions like migraines, IBS and low back pain cluster around the pelvis, and the biopsychosocial approach that treats the whole nervous system instead of hunting for one tight muscle. Carolyn also shares the lifestyle changes that calm a dysregulated system, including her 150 minutes of walking a week. This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off. In This Episode
What Listeners Will Learn Listeners will leave knowing that persistent pain with normal tests is real, common and treatable. Carolyn explains how an overprotective nervous system produces pain, bladder urgency, gut symptoms and muscle guarding at once, why the pelvic floor braces to protect you, and why releasing muscles without regulating the nervous system keeps patients stuck. She walks through the questions worth asking a prospective provider, the risk factors that load the system, and the evidence-backed lifestyle changes that start recovery at home. About Carolyn Vandyken Carolyn Vandyken is a registered physiotherapist with more than three decades in practice, co-owner of Physio Works Muskoka in Huntsville, Ontario and co-founder of Reframe Rehab, the teaching company she built with her daughter Brittany to break down the silos between musculoskeletal pain, pelvic pain, pain neuroscience education and psychology. She co-wrote Why Pelvic Pain Hurts with Adriaan Louw and Sandra Hilton, co-authored the definitive reviews on the overactive pelvic floor and sexual dysfunction, and her 2018 study with Dr. Sinead Dufour found that 95 percent of women with lumbopelvic pain had signs of pelvic floor dysfunction. Her honours include the YWCA Women of Distinction Award (2004), the Ontario Physiotherapy Association's Distinguished Education Award (2015) and the Canadian Physiotherapy Association's Medal of Distinction (2021). Her Year of Mentoring on Embodia draws faculty from five countries. Theme Song: Walk Beside Me by Celtic Woman Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This All episodes at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca
Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at blueberrytherapyshop.ca, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Connect with Carolyn
Work with the Blueberry Therapy Team Persistent pelvic pain deserves whole person care. Our physiotherapists, psychotherapists and naturopath work together under one roof, which is exactly the interdisciplinary model Carolyn describes in this episode. Book a free discovery call at blueberrytherapy.ca Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca and leave a review if this episode helped you. The only awkward conversation is the one we're not having. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 100: Low Libido After Baby or Menopause: The Pleasure Playground with Dr. Nan Wise | 20 août 2026 | 00:48:49 | |
Low libido after a baby or through menopause is one of the most common and least honestly discussed changes in a woman's life. In the 100th episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise welcomes back the guest who started it all, Dr. Nan Wise, cognitive neuroscientist and certified sex therapist, for the deep conversation they only grazed the first time. Together they look at why the postpartum months and the menopause years look so alike in the brain, what spontaneous and receptive desire really are, and why rebuilding pleasure outside the bedroom matters more than any pressure to have sex. If your desire has gone quiet and you have been told to just live with it, this episode explains what is actually happening and what you can do about it. This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off. In This Episode
What You Will Learn Listeners will come away understanding that a drop in desire after a baby or in menopause is normal, common, and workable, not a personal failing. They will learn the difference between spontaneous and receptive desire and why that distinction changes everything about how to approach intimacy. They will get concrete, gentle practices for rebuilding the capacity for pleasure, from savouring and gratitude to Nan's step by step get in touch plan for couples. And they will hear the neuroscience that makes the case that pleasure and orgasm are good for the aging brain and body, not a luxury to feel guilty about. About Dr. Nan Wise Dr. Nan Wise is a cognitive neuroscientist, a certified sex therapist, a board certified clinical hypnotherapist, and a certified relationship specialist. She holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from Rutgers University in Newark, where she is an associate research professor, and her dissertation research used fMRI to map what happens in the brain during arousal and orgasm. She is the author of Why Good Sex Matters, and her current work focuses on anhedonia, the loss of the ability to feel pleasure, and what she calls healthy hedonism. This is her second appearance on The Hole Shebang, following the show's most downloaded episode. Theme Song: Kashmir by Led Zeppelin Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This
Connect with Dr. Nan Wise
Keep Going with Blueberry Therapy If a drop in desire or pain with sex is part of your story, pelvic health physiotherapy can help. Learn more or book a discovery call at https://blueberrytherapy.ca. Nan gave the keynote at our 2025 event, so keep an eye on The Pleasure Principle for what is next. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at https://podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, and if this episode made you feel less alone, leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 99: Eating Disorders in Kids: The Warning Signs Parents Miss with Kim Doyle | 13 août 2026 | 00:55:43 | |
Eating disorders in kids and teens surged during the pandemic, and the earliest warning signs are the ones most parents miss. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, registered dietitian Kim Doyle explains how disordered eating starts, what intuitive eating actually asks of you and why a missing period is a signal to act on. Kim watched pediatric eating disorder referrals explode in 2020 while waitlists stretched 12 to 18 months, so she founded Brant Nutrition in Brantford, Ontario to catch the families the system was leaving behind. She also shares her own recovery from disordered eating as a competitive wrestler, including the pelvic floor assessment that changed everything. This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off. In This Episode
What You Will Learn Listeners will come away knowing the difference between changing your diet for a real physical reason and changing it to quiet a fear, the specific pattern of illogical food rules that flags trouble in kids as young as 8, and how the language adults use about their own bodies is absorbed by the children listening. Kim also teaches the pulse practice step by step and explains what actually happens inside the body during RED-S, including why bone density pays the price. About Kim Doyle, RD Kim Doyle is a Registered Dietitian and the owner of Brant Nutrition in Brantford, Ontario. A member of the College of Dietitians of Ontario since 2010 and the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, she spent seven years in pediatric home care before founding her clinic in March 2021. Brant Nutrition is a weight inclusive, non diet practice covering pediatric feeding, eating disorder recovery, gut health, mental health and sports nutrition, virtual across Ontario. Theme Song: Born This Way by Lady Gaga Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This Find them all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:
Our pediatric team at Blueberry Therapy treats constipation, bedwetting and pelvic floor concerns in kids, and our multidisciplinary team supports the gut and bowel side of everything discussed here. Connect with Kim
Keep the Conversation Going Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this episode helped you and book a free fifteen minute discovery call at blueberrytherapy.ca. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 98: Shockwave Therapy for Painful Sex: The Blood Flow Fix with Stacey Roberts | 06 août 2026 | 00:45:54 | |
Shockwave therapy for painful sex is one of the most promising and least understood tools in pelvic health, and this episode of The Hole Shebang breaks it down without the hype. Kristen Parise sits down with Stacey Roberts, a physical therapist and registered nurse who is co principal investigator on a study using shockwave for painful sex, to explain what the technology actually does, why blood flow changes everything for a guarded pelvic floor, and how the same science reaches erectile dysfunction and incontinence. If sex hurts and you have been told to just relax, this conversation offers a real explanation and real hope. This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off. What you will learn Stacey explains the difference between true shockwave and the many devices that borrow the name, how flooding tissue with blood flow lets an upregulated pelvic floor soften and let go, and why she pairs shockwave with pelvic floor physiotherapy in her research and her clinic. You will also hear why the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause makes so much ache at once, why the marketed pelvic floor chair is often the wrong tool, and the plain truth about painful sex that no glass of wine will ever fix. In this episode
About Stacey Roberts Stacey Roberts, PT RN MSN, is a physical therapist and registered nurse with more than thirty years of clinical experience. She owns New You Health and Wellness in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, teaches shockwave therapy to clinicians across North America, hosts The Pain Free Formula podcast, and wrote The Pain Free Formula. She is co principal investigator on a study using shockwave for painful sex. Theme Song: I'll Be There for You by The Rembrandts Key topics covered: shockwave therapy, painful sex, dyspareunia, the upregulated pelvic floor, erectile dysfunction, post prostatectomy incontinence, musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause, hormones, gut health. Our Sponsor: SRC Health SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work. Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off. Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket. Resources and references mentioned
Listen to more episodes like this (all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca)
Connect with Stacey Website newyouhealthandwellness.com, her podcast The Pain Free Formula, and TikTok @the_pain_free_formula. Work with us Wondering whether your pelvic floor is behind your pain or painful sex? Book a pelvic health assessment at blueberrytherapy.ca, and we offer virtual visits across Ontario. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, and if this episode helped you, leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 97: Pediatric Pelvic Health: Kids Don't Grow Out of It with Keri Martin Vrbanac | 30 juil. 2026 | 00:44:39 | |
Pediatric pelvic health is the part of physiotherapy almost nobody talks about, and it might be exactly what your child needs. Bedwetting, daytime leaks, poop accidents, and recurring UTIs are not things every kid simply outgrows, and they are very often driven by something most parents never suspect: constipation. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise talks with pediatric pelvic health physiotherapist Keri Martin Vrbanac about how bladder and bowel problems show up in children, what a child friendly pelvic assessment really involves, and the honest answer to the question every tired parent asks about waiting it out. What You Will Learn How constipation quietly drives bladder leaks, bedwetting, and recurring UTIs in kids. Why daily pooping does not mean your child is in the clear. What a pelvic assessment with a child looks like, and why it never involves internal work. When to stop waiting for a child to grow out of bedwetting. Why early potty training can set a child up for problems. How stress, school bathrooms, and family change all land on a little pelvic floor. In This Episode
About Keri Martin Vrbanac Keri Martin Vrbanac is a Registered Physiotherapist and pelvic health physiotherapist who has practised for decades and owns A Body In Motion Rehabilitation in the Kitchener Waterloo area. She works with all ages and all genders, with a deep focus on pediatric pelvic health, pregnancy and postpartum, pelvic pain, incontinence, and prolapse. She is trauma informed, an educator who teaches the pediatric pelvic floor course for Pelvic Health Solutions, a clinic owner, and a mom of two young women. Theme Song: Masterpiece by Jessie J Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This
Connect with Keri Website: abodyinmotion.ca Keep Listening and Connect New episodes of The Hole Shebang every week. Subscribe wherever you listen, and leave a review to help more families find this conversation. Learn more about pelvic health for every age at blueberrytherapy.ca. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. The only awkward conversation is the one we're not having. | |||
| 96: Pelvic Floor For Athletes: Your Hidden Force Absorber with Dr. Rachel Selman | 23 juil. 2026 | 00:53:31 | |
Pelvic floor training for athletes is the missing piece in most performance programs, and this episode of The Hole Shebang makes the case for putting it back. Kristen Parise sits down with Dr. Rachel Selman, a pelvic floor physical therapist, strength and conditioning coach and sport scientist, to explain why athletes experience more pelvic floor dysfunction than non athletes, how the pelvic floor acts as a force absorber for the whole body, and why leaking during sport is common but never normal. If you run, lift, jump or coach anyone who does, this conversation reframes pelvic health as performance. What you will learn Rachel breaks down why the location of the pelvic floor at the base of the core makes it vulnerable to the pressure of sport, how symptoms like urinary leakage, urgency and even chronic hamstring and groin strains connect back to pressure the pelvic floor is not managing, and the four part program she brings to teams. You will also hear why prolapse does not mean the end of running or lifting, and how pessaries and external supports fit into a return to sport plan. In this episode
About Dr. Rachel Selman Dr. Rachel Selman, PT DPT CSCS CPSS, is a physical therapist, strength and conditioning coach and sport scientist who treats and trains athletes at Synthesis Physical Therapy in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her first book, Floor It: Using the Pelvic Floor to Power Athletic Performance, releases October 6 2026. Theme Song: Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift Key topics covered: pelvic floor and athletic performance, leaking when running, force absorption, prolapse and return to sport, pessaries, overcoming isometrics, postpartum return to exercise. Resources and references mentioned
Listen to more episodes like this (all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca)
Connect with Rachel Instagram and YouTube @Dr.RachelSelman, and www.SynthesisPerform.com. Work with us Wondering whether your pelvic floor is keeping up with your training? Book a pelvic health assessment at blueberrytherapy.ca, and we offer virtual visits across Ontario. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, and if this episode helped you, leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 95: Erections and Heart Health: The Vital Sign Men Ignore | 16 juil. 2026 | 00:37:32 | |
Your erections are a vital sign, and almost nobody is reading them. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, pelvic health physiotherapist Kristen Parise talks with Dr. Elliot Justin, an emergency medicine physician who spent 40 years and roughly 180,000 patient encounters in trauma and cardiac care before founding FirmTech and inventing the TechRing, the first wearable that measures erectile fitness during sleep and during sex. They unpack why nocturnal erections are a canary in the coal mine for cardiovascular disease, why most men who think they have erectile dysfunction actually do not, how erection rings and tracking are changing penile rehabilitation after prostate surgery, and what testosterone, HRT and the new Clitique clitoral health device mean for women. This is sexual health as preventative medicine, with zero shame and a lot of data. In This Episode
What You Will Learn You will learn what a healthy night of erections actually looks like and why three to five of them are keeping the tissue alive. You will learn why a drop in that number can predict a cardiac event years before the heart shows symptoms, why a pill is sometimes a band aid on a serious problem, and why erection rings, long dismissed as novelties, are now part of real penile rehabilitation after prostate surgery. You will also hear why the same vascular logic applies to women and the clitoris, and why testosterone and HRT belong in the conversation for both sexes. About Dr. Elliot Justin Dr. Elliot Justin, MD, FACEP, is the CEO, inventor and founder of FirmTech. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Hennepin in Minneapolis, earned his MD at Boston University School of Medicine and holds a BA cum laude in Slavic Languages and Literature from Harvard. Over four decades in emergency medicine he logged roughly 180,000 patient encounters with a perfect malpractice record, founded SwiftMD, the second oldest telemedicine provider in the United States, and built Pegasus Emergency Group into the fastest growing company in its sector before selling it. He has presented sexual health research at ISSM, ESSM, SSMNA and SHA, appeared on more than 200 podcasts, funds anti slavery rescue work through the Pegasus Liberty Foundation and wrote the historical novel The Chastity of Honor. Theme Song: I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty Key Topics Covered Nocturnal erections as a vital sign, erectile dysfunction versus normal aging, cardiovascular early warning signs, erection rings and how they work, penile rehabilitation after prostatectomy, testosterone optimization, hormone replacement therapy for women, clitoral health and the Clitique, the health benefits of orgasms. Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This
Connect Find Dr. Elliot Justin and FirmTech at myfirmtech.com and on Instagram at @doctorelliotjustin and @myfirmtech. Book a free fifteen minute discovery call at blueberrytherapy.ca. We offer virtual pelvic health consultations across Ontario. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. The only awkward conversation is the one we are not having. | |||
| 94: Don't Be an Athena: The Stories Women Don't Tell with Kayla Branstetter | 09 juil. 2026 | 00:43:44 | |
Medical gaslighting is what happens when a woman names her pain and is told it is probably nothing. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, pelvic health physiotherapist Kristen Parise sits down with writer and TEDx speaker Kayla Branstetter, whose new book Don't Be an Athena: Women's Stories of Surviving Medical Misogyny collects true stories of abortion, birth and infertility, three of the most policed and silenced experiences a body can have. Kayla is finishing a doctorate in healthcare focused on narrative medicine, the idea that a patient's story is clinical data and not background noise. Together they unpack medical misogyny, self advocacy and the small, doable shifts that help women feel heard in the exam room. What you will learn You will learn why women are trained to be Athenas, the good patient who endures in silence and asks for nothing, and what that posture costs. You will hear the gentle practices that change an appointment, from journals in waiting rooms to the one question a provider can ask before looking at the screen. And you will learn the rights every patient has and rarely uses, including the right to a second opinion and to your own medical records. In this episode
About Kayla Branstetter Kayla Branstetter holds a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of Denver and is a doctoral candidate in healthcare education focused on narrative medicine. She is a TEDx speaker, an award winning artist and a professor of English at Crowder College, and her writing has appeared in more than forty journals. Her book Don't Be an Athena releases July 20 2026. Theme Song: I Can Do It With a Broken Heart by Taylor Swift Key topics covered: medical gaslighting, medical misogyny, narrative medicine, self advocacy, reproductive health stories, ending the shame. Resources and references mentioned
Listen to more episodes like this
Working through pain, dismissal or symptoms you have been told to ignore? Learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy at blueberrytherapy.ca. Connect with Kayla
Subscribe to The Hole Shebang, leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. Listen at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca and connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 93: Trauma Stored in the Body: Why Talk Therapy Isn't Enough with Ramona Kossowan | 02 juil. 2026 | 00:38:14 | |
You have done the work. The books, the affirmations, the years of talking it through. So why does the same pattern keep running. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Ramona Kossowan, Canada's first certified Gentle Trauma Release practitioner, to explain why so much healing stays stuck in the head and never reaches the body. They get into what trauma actually is, why the nervous system keeps you bracing long after the threat is gone, how food noise and people pleasing are nervous system signals rather than willpower failures, and the vagus nerve thread that connects all of it to pelvic floor health. If you have ever wondered why insight alone has not changed your life, this conversation reframes the whole thing. What you will learn That trauma is frequently a slow drip rather than one shocking event, that the body holds what the mind cannot reason away, and that clearing has to happen below the level of thought before any amount of doing will stick. Ramona walks through what a session looks like, why it is gentle by design, and the two protocols she gives clients to use on their own. In this episode
About the guest Ramona Kossowan is a women's empowerment coach, Gentle Trauma Release practitioner and fitness trainer based in Crossfield, Alberta. In 2021 she became the first certified Gentle Trauma Release practitioner in Canada. She works with women across Canada, the United States and the UK, helping them clear what is anchoring trauma in the body so the rest of their lives can soften and open. Theme Song: Simply The Best by Tina Turner Key topics covered Trauma stored in the body, nervous system regulation, the vagus nerve and pelvic floor, polyvagal theory, food noise, people pleasing and overfunctioning, body image, somatic healing, women's empowerment after divorce. Resources and references mentioned
Listen to more episodes like this
Connect with Ramona
Listen, subscribe and review New episodes of The Hole Shebang drop every week. Listen and subscribe at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. The only awkward conversation is the one we are not having. | |||
| 92: Menopause and Muscle: It is NOT Too Late to Get Strong with Dr. Stuart Phillips | 25 juin 2026 | 00:49:33 | |
Building muscle in menopause is not only possible, it might be the single most important thing a woman can do for the next 30 years of her life. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down again with muscle scientist Stuart Phillips, PhD to unpack what really happens to a woman's muscle through perimenopause and menopause, how much protein women actually need and why lifting weights matters far more than any supplement. They also get into the part that lands closest to home for pelvic health: why continence is the number one self reported disabling condition of aging, and what that means for the pelvic floor as skeletal muscle. In This Episode
What You Will Learn You will walk away knowing why resistance training is the real driver of strength in midlife, why getting started matters more than getting it perfect and how much protein to aim for without obsessing over timing or supplements. You will understand what menopause does to muscle, why it is never too late to begin and how all of this connects to bladder, bowel and pelvic floor health. About Stuart Phillips Stuart M. Phillips, PhD is a Distinguished University Professor and the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health at McMaster University in Hamilton, where he also chairs the Department of Kinesiology and directs the Physical Activity Centre of Excellence. He has published more than 400 papers, chaired the 2026 ACSM resistance training position stand and co-hosts the Real Exercise Science podcast. Theme Song: We Are the Champions by Queen Key Topics Covered Menopause and muscle, perimenopause muscle loss, resistance training for women, protein needs for women, the anabolic window myth, bone health and impact, healthspan versus longevity, incontinence and aging, pelvic floor as muscle. Resources and References Mentioned
Listen to More Episodes Like This Find every episode of The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca.
Connect with Stuart Phillips
Keep Listening New episodes of The Hole Shebang drop every week. Subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review and visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy in Hamilton, Ontario. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 91: Pelvic Pain Is a Symptom, Not a Diagnosis, with Dr. Alopi Patel | 18 juin 2026 | 00:37:45 | |
Website: thefemalepaindocs.com Instagram: @alopipatelmd and @thefemalepaindocs Podcast: The Hurt by The Female Pain Docs (with Dr. Meera Kirpekar) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify. NotesBook: Pelvic Pain Journal (co-authored with Dr. Meera Kirpekar, Wellness Warrior Press) A Note from Blueberry Therapy, If pelvic pain, bladder urgency, bowel trouble, painful intercourse, or post-surgical pelvic floor symptoms are part of your picture, the physical therapy leg of Dr. Patel's three legged stool is what we do every day. Blueberry Therapy's pelvic health physiotherapists work alongside pain physicians, gynecologists, and surgeons to build the multidisciplinary plan she described. Book at blueberrytherapy.ca. Connect with The Hole Shebang Visit blueberrytherapy.ca Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen Follow on Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth
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| 90: Inflammation, Hormones and the Foods That Heal with Julie Daniluk | 11 juin 2026 | 00:38:18 | |
Pain is not always mechanical. Sometimes it starts on your plate. Julie Daniluk, RHN, NNCP, the anti-inflammatory nutritionist, four-time bestselling author, and longtime resident nutritionist on The Marilyn Denis Show, joins Kristen to connect blood sugar, hormones, and inflammation to the bladder, bowel, and pelvic symptoms women are so often told to live with. After a contaminated meal in Thailand at 30 left her with infectious colitis that cascaded into arthritis and bursitis, Julie rebuilt her health through food and is now in full remission. This is a practical, hopeful conversation about eating to lower pain at the root. What You Will Learn
In This Episode
About Julie Daniluk Julie Daniluk, RHN, NNCP, is an award-winning anti-inflammatory nutritionist and bestselling author with more than 26 years of clinical experience. She was the resident nutritionist on The Marilyn Denis Show for 13 years, hosted Healthy Gourmet in 42 countries, and has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, CBC, The Globe and Mail, and Oprah Winfrey Network. Her current work, LumaBody and the Personalized 100-Day Transformation Program, helps women in the second half of life calm inflammation and feel strong again. Connect with Julie Daniluk
A Note from Blueberry Therapy If bladder urgency, bowel trouble, endometriosis pain, or pelvic pain are part of your picture, the chemical inflammation Julie talks about and the mechanical side go hand in hand. Blueberry Therapy's pelvic health physiotherapy can help with the mechanical piece. Book at blueberrytherapy.ca. Listen to More Episodes Like This
Connect with The Hole Shebang
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| 89: Sleep, Sex and Menopause with Dr. Woganee Filate | 04 juin 2026 | 00:39:44 | |
Why does sleep fall apart in midlife, and why does nobody seem able to explain it? Dr. Woganee Filate, respirologist, sleep medicine physician, and co-founder of Lume Women + Health, joins Kristen to break down the four reasons women stop sleeping during perimenopause and menopause, the sleep disorders that go undiagnosed, and what actually works to fix it. What You Will Learn
In This Episode
About Dr. Woganee Filate Dr. Woganee Filate, MD, FRCPC, MSCP, is a respirologist and sleep medicine physician and a co-founder of Lume Women + Health in Toronto. University of Toronto trained, she holds a Master of Health Science in Community Health and Epidemiology, has published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers, and is a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. In 2025 she was named an RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Ones to Watch recipient. Her book, Sleep Well, arrives December 2026. Connect with Dr. Woganee Filate
Listen to More Episodes Like This
Connect with The Hole Shebang
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| 88: Painful Sex: When Your Body is Not the Problem with Dr. Jordin Wiggins | 28 mai 2026 | 00:45:21 | |
Sexual coercion is the missing piece in almost every conversation about painful sex, low desire and sexual dysfunction, and in Part Two of this conversation Dr. Jordin Wiggins names it without flinching. Jordin is a Naturopathic Doctor, author of The Pink Canary and host of the globally ranked Pleasure Principles podcast, and she has spent more than 12 years helping women reclaim pleasure, health and power in their relationships. This episode bridges directly into pelvic health, because so many women arrive with painful sex and a completely normal exam. Jordin explains what is actually happening underneath, and why the body was often never the problem at all. What You Will Learn Kristen and Jordin unpack why sexual dysfunction works like the canary in the coal mine for a woman's whole health, how super traits such as over empathy, over tolerance and relentless hard work set women up for extractive relationships, and what the pleasure void looks like in the body. You will learn why the orgasm gap persists, how to recognise everyday coercion, and why Jordin believes every clinician treating sexual pain should start by screening for it. You will also get a handful of simple pleasure practices you can begin today. Timestamps
Theme Song Little Girl Gone by Chinchilla and Devotion by Justin Bieber Topics Covered
Resources Mentioned
Related Episodes
Connect with Dr. Jordin Wiggins Website: thepleasurecollective.com Connect with The Hole Shebang Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast, leave a review and visit blueberrytherapy.ca. If painful sex or low desire is part of your story, our team offers pelvic health physiotherapy and virtual consultations across Ontario. We would love to see you at The Pleasure Principle conference on May 14, 2027. | |||
| 87: Clitoris Anatomy: What We Still Got Wrong Until 2026 with Anita Brown-Major | 21 mai 2026 | 00:54:24 | |
The clitoris was mapped from cadaver sections in 1998, imaged on MRI in 2005, its nerve fibres counted in 2023 and its full nerve network mapped in 3D for the first time in March 2026. In this episode, occupational therapist and Cliterate model creator Anita Brown-Major joins Kristen to talk about what all of that actually means for your body, your pleasure and your clinical care. Anita has spent 30 years integrating sexuality into rehabilitation practice and founded Thrive Rehab in Melbourne, Australia. Together they break down the sexual response cycle, the difference between psychogenic and reflexogenic arousal and why understanding your own anatomy is the foundation of both pleasure and consent. In This Episode [00:00] Welcome and introductions. Anita shares her background as a neuro rehab OT and how she came to specialize in sexuality and disability. What You Will Learn This episode will change how you think about your own anatomy, how your body responds to touch regardless of what your brain wants and why pleasure deserves to be a clinical goal across every health discipline. You will learn the two pathways to clitoral engorgement, why arousal during sexual assault is physiology and not consent, how orgasms can reduce muscle tone for people with neurological conditions and why designing for disability creates solutions that work for everyone. About Anita Brown-Major Anita Brown-Major (she/her) is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience in neurological rehabilitation based in Melbourne, Australia. She splits her clinical time between inpatient rehab at Royal Melbourne Hospital and her own practice at Thrive Rehab, which she founded in 2016. She is the founder and CEO of Cliterate, a sex-education social enterprise built around the world's first pull-apart anatomical model of the vulva and clitoris. Cliterate was launched in 2023 in collaboration with RMIT University and has been recognized in the 2024 Good Design Awards and the Victorian Premier's Design Awards. Anita is a member of the International Cliterati and has given evidence to the Australian Senate advocating for a sexuality framework inside the NDIS. Her core thesis: sex is an Activity of Daily Living. Key Topics Covered
Resources Mentioned
Related Episodes
Theme Song: "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical Connect with Anita Brown-Major Cliterate: cliterate.com.au Connect with The Hole Shebang Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. | |||
| 86: Sex After Menopause: The Truth Your Doctor Won't Say with Shirley Weir | 14 mai 2026 | 00:39:42 | |
Sex after menopause is not a joke and vaginal dryness is not just an inconvenience you have to live with. In this episode of The Hole Shebang Podcast, Kristen Parise sits down with Shirley Weir, founder of Menopause Chicks, Amazon bestselling author of Mokita: How to Navigate Perimenopause With Confidence and Ease, and one of Canada's most recognized voices in midlife women's health. Shirley shares the framework she has built over 13 years of advocacy: a health bus model that puts you in the driver's seat of your own care team, a Speak Menopause script that gets you real answers in a 12 minute appointment, and the unapologetic clinical truth about vaginal dryness, hormone therapy access in Canada, and why "normal is a setting on your dryer." Episode Breakdown
What You'll Learn How to walk into a medical appointment informed and confident. Why "normal" and "common" are not the same word. How to build a health team that actually serves you in midlife. Why less than 4 percent of women with vaginal dryness have a solution and what to do about it. The current state of menopause hormone therapy access in Canada. Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Guest's Theme Song Brave by Sara Bareilles Related Episodes from The Hole Shebang
Connect with Shirley Weir Website: menopausechicks.com Connect with The Hole Shebang Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen. Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to book a consult or learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy in Hamilton Ontario. Follow on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. Join us at The Pleasure Principle 2027 on May 14, 2027. | |||
| 85: Always Tired: The Hormones Your Doctor Isn't Testing with Dr. Margot Lattanzi | 07 mai 2026 | 00:44:57 | |
Fatigue that persists despite adequate sleep is one of the most common and most dismissed complaints in women's healthcare. In this episode, pelvic health physiotherapist Kristen Parise sits down with Dr. Margot Lattanzi, a board certified naturopathic doctor in Toronto and creator of the Hormone Cornerstone Method, to explore why standard bloodwork often misses the hormones driving chronic fatigue and what a naturopathic approach can uncover. From thyroid antibodies and insulin to cortisol rhythm and gut inflammation, Margot walks through what a fuller hormone picture actually reveals. We also dig into postpartum depletion, why perimenopause involves far more than estrogen and progesterone, and the simple nervous system resets you can start today. If you have been told your labs are fine but your body disagrees, this conversation is your starting point. Timestamps [00:00] Welcome and introduction to Dr. Margot Lattanzi What You Will Learn This episode walks through the hormone testing your family doctor may not be running, including thyroid antibodies, insulin and a full iron panel. Margot explains what postpartum depletion actually looks like from a naturopathic lens, why perimenopause involves far more than estrogen and progesterone, how cortisol follows a 24 hour rhythm that most of us are sabotaging, and the simple nervous system resets you can do throughout your day to keep your stress response in check. Key Topics Covered
Resources Mentioned
Related Episodes from The Hole Shebang
Guest Bio Dr. Margot Lattanzi is a board certified naturopathic doctor and acupuncture provider practicing at Body Co Toronto in The Junction and virtually across Ontario. She is the creator of the Hormone Cornerstone Method and The Fatigue Fix Guide. She holds additional training in hormone therapy, fertility, prenatal and postnatal care, paediatric care and women's health. Theme Song: Man! I Feel Like a Woman! by Shania Twain Connect with Dr. Margot Lattanzi Website: doctormargotnd.com Connect with The Hole Shebang Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast. Join us at The Pleasure Principle Conference on May 8, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario. Visit blueberrytherapy.ca for details. | |||
| 84: From PMDD Hell to Heaven on Earth: Heather Hendrie on Periods, Wilderness Therapy, and Awfully Hilarious Healing | 30 avr. 2026 | 00:37:16 | |
PMDD: 30 Years of Misdiagnosis and How to Break the Cycle One in 20 menstruating people lives with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and the average time to diagnosis is still 20 years. For Heather Hendrie, it was 30. Heather is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, wilderness therapist and creator of the Awfully Hilarious anthology series, a collection of books using humour to break stigma around periods, sex and the stories we are most often told to keep quiet. In this episode, Kristen and Heather explore what PMDD actually looks like to live with, why the medical system keeps missing it and how storytelling can do what a clinical handout never could. The conversation also covers the science of walk-and-talk nature therapy and what bilateral movement on trail does to the nervous system. What You Will Learn This episode covers what PMDD is in plain language and why it is consistently misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, depression or identity issues. Heather shares what those 30 undiagnosed years actually looked like month to month and what finally connected the dots. You will also hear about the origin of the Awfully Hilarious anthology series, what the editorial team discovered about desire, identity and courage through the Pillow Talk submissions and why Heather believes humour is one of the most underused tools in health advocacy. The episode closes with the science of what the research shows about nature and nervous system regulation. Episode Breakdown
About Heather Hendrie Heather Hendrie is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and wilderness therapist based in Whistler, British Columbia. She holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Calgary and a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counselling with a concentration in Transpersonal Wilderness Therapy from Naropa University. She is the founder of True Nature Wilderness Therapy and the creator of the Awfully Hilarious anthology series. Her forthcoming memoir, Where the Eff Is My Red Tent (Caitlin Press), releases September 2026. 🎶 Theme Song: Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Related Episodes
Connect with Heather Hendrie Website: heatherhendrie.com Connect with The Hole Shebang Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to book a pelvic health appointment, browse our team and subscribe to the podcast. | |||
| 83: Pelvic Floor Basics: Why Kegels Are Only Half the Story with Lauren Ohayon | 23 avr. 2026 | 00:44:07 | |
Pelvic Floor Basics: Why Kegels Are Only Half the Story with Lauren Ohayon If you have been doing your Kegels faithfully and still feel disconnected from your pelvic floor, still leaking, still in pain, or completely unsure what your pelvic floor is actually doing, this episode is what you have been waiting for. Lauren Ohayon is the creator of Restore Your Core, a globally recognized movement method practiced in over 80 countries and recommended by OBGYNs and pelvic floor physical therapists worldwide. Lauren reframes the pelvic floor not as a squeeze-and-tighten muscle but as a reflexive pressure manager that moves with your breath, your spine and every step you take. If you have ever wondered why Kegels alone are not solving the problem, Lauren has your answer. What You Will Learn Lauren explains why the dominant narrative around pelvic floor training leaves so many people stuck and frustrated. She offers a completely different framework rooted in breath, body literacy and reflexive movement that applies whether you are 17 or 70, postpartum or post-menopausal. You will learn practical techniques to feel your pelvic floor without squeezing, understand why pelvic floor issues show up long before pregnancy or menopause, and walk away with a simple daily movement practice that builds body awareness over time. Episode Breakdown
About Lauren Ohayon Lauren Ohayon is the creator of Restore Your Core (RYC), an evidence-informed movement program for core and pelvic floor rehabilitation practiced in 80 countries. She is also the co-founder of Body Ready Method, which has certified over 1,800 pregnancy, birth and recovery professionals globally. With more than 25 years of experience as a yoga and Pilates teacher, Lauren brings lived experience healing her own back injury and navigating three pregnancies into everything she teaches. Her approach blends movement science, nervous system regulation and body literacy to support core and pelvic floor healing without fear or fixation. Theme Song 🎵 Just Breathe by Pearl Jam Key Topics Covered
Resources Mentioned Related Episodes
Connect with Lauren Ohayon Website: restoreyourcore.com Connect with The Hole Shebang Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast. | |||
| 82: Prolapse and Pessaries: Losing the Shame with The Vagina Coach Kim Vopni | 16 avr. 2026 | 00:51:31 | |
Pelvic Floor Fitness: Why Kegels Alone Will Never Be Enough Pelvic floor exercises are about far more than squeezing. In this episode of The Hole Shebang Podcast, Kristen Parise sits down with Kim Vopni, The Vagina Coach, to talk about why standard Kegel protocols fall short and what a comprehensive approach to pelvic floor fitness actually looks like. Kim is a certified fitness professional, menopause support practitioner, author of three books and creator of the Buff Muff Method. With over 21 years in pelvic health, she has helped thousands of women apply real training principles to the pelvic floor at every stage of life. In This Episode [01:27] Kim's origin story: from fearing childbirth to becoming The Vagina Coach What You Will Learn Why the pelvic floor needs progressive training just like any other muscle group and how to move beyond three sets of 10 Kegels. How a prolapse diagnosis can become a catalyst for improved overall health when you build the right care team. Why pessaries are a tool rather than a failure and how they can be used preventively. What role vaginal estrogen plays in preventive care across the menopause transition. About Kim Vopni Kim Vopni is a certified fitness professional, menopause support practitioner and author of Your Pelvic Floor: A Practical Guide to Solving Your Most Intimate Problems. She is the creator of the Buff Muff Method, founder of Kegels and Cocktails, host of the Between Two Lips podcast and creator of a professional certification program for fitness and movement professionals. Theme Song: "I Lived" by OneRepublic Resources Mentioned
Related Episodes of The Hole Shebang
Connect with Kim Vopni Website: vaginacoach.com Connect with The Hole Shebang Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast.
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| 81: Sex After Prostate Cancer: Hope and Rehab with Victoria Cullen | 09 avr. 2026 | 00:58:48 | |
Sex After Prostate Cancer: Hope and Rehab Sex after prostate cancer is one of the most common concerns men face after treatment, yet it remains one of the least addressed. In this episode of The Hole Shebang Podcast, Kristen Parise sits down with cognitive psychologist and sexuality educator Victoria Cullen, founder of A Touchy Subject, to talk about what really happens to sexual function after a prostatectomy and what men and their partners can actually do about it. Victoria supports over 430 men worldwide through her private membership hub and brings a practical, pleasure-centered approach to erectile rehabilitation that is changing lives. Episode Timestamps
What You Will Learn This episode covers why cavernous nerve recovery after prostatectomy takes two to four years, how vacuum erection devices maintain penile tissue health during rehabilitation, the concept of the erection recipe using multiple stacked interventions, the role of pelvic floor physiotherapy in prostate recovery, what the better normal looks like for couples rebuilding intimacy after cancer treatment, and how wearable technology like the FirmTech TechRing is changing the way men track their erectile function at home. About Victoria Cullen Victoria Cullen is a cognitive psychologist with a BSc and MSc from University College London. She is the founder of A Touchy Subject, an online sexual rehabilitation platform for men after prostate cancer treatment. Victoria has partnered with Professor Declan Murphy at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and has presented at the Asia Pacific Prostate Cancer Congress, the Urology Society of Australia and New Zealand conference, and multiple physiotherapy conferences across Australia and New Zealand. She supports over 430 men worldwide through her private membership hub. Theme Song Pump It Up by Elvis Costello (career) and My Way by Frank Sinatra (life) Key Topics Covered
Resources and References Mentioned
Related Episodes from The Hole Shebang
Connect with Victoria Cullen Website: atouchysubject.com Subscribe and Support The Hole Shebang Subscribe to The Hole Shebang on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. Leave a review to help other people find the show. Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health services and check out blueberrytherapy.ca/podcast for all episodes. Connect with The Hole Shebang Follow on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth
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| 80: What Nobody Tells You After a C Section with Nicole Nifo | 02 avr. 2026 | 00:46:43 | |
f you've had a cesarean birth, whether it was recent or decades ago, this episode will change how you think about your scar and your recovery. Registered massage therapist Nicole Nifo joins Kristen Parise to break down what actually happens to your body during a C section, why your scar affects far more than what you see on the surface and how specialized scar therapy can restore function at any stage of life. Nicole also shares her own experience with three cesarean births including an emergency cesarean where her uterus tore from the incision into her cervix. What You'll Learn in This EpisodeThis conversation covers the anatomy of a cesarean, what is actually cut during the procedure and how scar tissue forms through approximately seven tissue layers. Nicole explains how scar restrictions can contribute to back pain, pelvic floor tension, incontinence and core dysfunction. She walks through her approach to C section rehabilitation including manual scar release, the Dolphin Neurostim microcurrent technology and functional movement retraining. The episode also digs into the emotional side of cesarean recovery, why so many people struggle to touch their scars and what that tells us about unprocessed birth trauma. Key Topics CoveredWhat happens to your body during a cesarean section, the seven layers from skin to uterus, and how the procedure has evolved to include gentle cesarean techniques that support immediate bonding and breastfeeding. The gap in postpartum care after surgical birth and why being discharged with only a "what not to do" list fails cesarean parents. How the Dolphin Neurostim uses microcurrent point stimulation to soften scar tissue, reduce adhesions and improve mobility in both new and decades old scars. The connection between C section scar tissue and pelvic floor dysfunction, including why many cesarean parents experience tight pelvic floors, pain with intercourse and stress incontinence. Early postpartum movement including shallow squats, marching, chest opening stretches, hip flexor stretches and desensitization techniques for the scar. The emotional component of scar healing, nervous system upregulation after birth and the practice of placing hands over the incision while affirming safety and healing. About Nicole NifoNicole Nifo is a Registered Massage Therapist with over 20 years of experience specializing in C section rehabilitation and scar therapy. After experiencing an emergency cesarean with her first baby, followed by two planned cesareans, Nicole made it her mission to give postpartum parents the recovery support the medical system doesn't provide after six weeks. She combines manual scar release techniques with the Dolphin Neurostim, a clinically proven microcurrent tool used in over 60,000 hospitals worldwide. Nicole is the creator of the C Section Recovery Method, a 12 week online program, and has just joined the Blueberry Therapy team in Hamilton, Ontario. Theme Song: "Larger Than Life" by Backstreet Boys Resources MentionedThe Dolphin Neurostim microcurrent device for scar release therapy Nicole's C Section Recovery Method 12 week online program Nicole's Early Recovery Guide (zero to six weeks post cesarean), available through her Instagram Connect with Nicole NifoWebsite: Fully Alive Wellness Instagram: @csectionrecoverycoach Book with Nicole at Blueberry Therapy in Hamilton, Ontario Related Episodes You Might LoveEpisode 78: The Bounce Back Lie and What Postpartum Recovery Actually Looks Like with Michelle Gauvreau Episode 66: The New Postpartum Exercise Guidelines That Ditch the Six Week Rule with Dr. Margie Davenport Episode 11: Postpartum Pelvic Floor Health with The Vagina Whisperer Dr. Sara Reardon Episode 9: Understanding Severe Maternal Morbidity with Dr. Giulia Muraca Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 79: Menopause Strength Training with Chloe Lewis | 26 mars 2026 | 00:48:01 | |
In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen sits down with Chloe Lewis, a women's health physiotherapist with 12 years of clinical experience working within the UK's National Health Service. Chloe holds an MSc in Women's Health and is currently completing a PhD investigating resistance training during the menopause transition. Alongside her clinical and academic work, she teaches, speaks, and creates educational content aimed at improving standards in women's health and translating research into practice. She has also set up group based resistance training classes for menopausal women at the doctor's surgery where she works. What You'll Learn: This conversation covers the real reasons menopausal women aren't lifting weights and what actually helps them start. Chloe breaks down the barriers, including time scarcity, the fragility myth, non inclusive gym environments, and the cultural belief that strength training is only for younger, more athletic bodies. She also shares the facilitators that work, like group based exercise, lower cost options, and motivators rooted in long term independence rather than aesthetics. Chloe explains the just released ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) resistance training guidelines, updated for the first time in 17 years, and why they represent a shift toward accessibility. She provides a concrete four exercise starter program: overhead press, vertical row, a push movement like bench press, and a lower body movement like a squat or deadlift, done for two to three sets at a challenging weight, at least twice a week. The conversation then tackles one of the most persistent myths in pelvic health: that lifting worsens prolapse or incontinence. Chloe breaks down the intra abdominal pressure research and explains why training at the edge of symptoms, rather than avoiding exercise entirely, is how we build tolerance and capacity. Chloe also shares her PhD direction. Her goal is a four arm intervention study comparing resistance training alone, resistance training plus pelvic floor exercises, pelvic floor exercises alone, and a control group over 16 to 20 weeks to determine whether progressive strength training improves pelvic floor function. Theme Song: "Can't Hold Us Down" by Christina Aguilera Key Topics Covered: Barriers and facilitators to resistance training in menopause, the updated 2026 ACSM resistance training guidelines, a beginner friendly four exercise program, intra abdominal pressure and the prolapse lifting myth, musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause, why menopause specific exercise programs can be predatory marketing, pain education and DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) for new exercisers, progressive overload and building confidence through group training Resources and References Mentioned: ACSM Position Stand: Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults (2026) Stuart Phillips, PhD, McMaster University (referenced re: resistance training in menopause) Anthony Lo (referenced re: breath strategies and movement modification for pelvic symptoms) Connect with Chloe Lewis: Instagram: @chloelewisphysio LinkedIn: Chloe Lewis Connect with The Hole Shebang: Visit blueberrytherapy.ca Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 78: The Bounce Back Lie and What Postpartum Recovery Actually Looks Like with Michelle Gauvreau | 19 mars 2026 | 00:46:47 | |
Michelle Gauvreau is a certified nutrition coach, fitness instructor, published writer, product developer, public speaker, and trusted television nutrition correspondent with nearly two decades of experience in the health and fitness industry. She began her career as Assistant Editor at RK Publishing for MuscleMag and Oxygen Magazine, later serving as Advertising Director and health writer with Inside Fitness and IFM Media. She has competed at the provincial and national level in bikini fitness representing Ontario and Canada, and is the founder of The Michelle Method, a philosophy built on sustainable nutrition, self-love, and helping women build a lifestyle they can maintain for life. She is a mom of three and a dedicated fur mama. In this episode, Michelle and Kristen dig into the real story of postpartum recovery. Michelle had her first son at 30 and her second at 41, following a complicated delivery that required both a C-section and a surgical repair at 36 weeks. Her recovery the second time was dramatically faster, and she attributes it entirely to what she did differently. What listeners will learn:
Resources and References Mentioned:
Theme Song: I'm Every Woman by Chaka Khan Connect with Michelle Gauvreau: Connect with Kristen and Blueberry Therapy: | |||
| 77: Why Vaginal Dryness Isn't Something You Have to Figure Out Alone with Dr. Dolores Fernandez | 12 mars 2026 | 00:37:44 | |
Dr. Dolores Fernandez never planned to specialize in menopause. She opened her naturopathic practice with dreams of treating fertility patients, but menopause kept walking through her door. Today, she's a NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner, founder of IRIS vulva care products, and a passionate advocate for destigmatizing conversations about vaginal health. What You'll Learn In this episode, we explore Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause, or GSM, which is a collection of symptoms affecting 85% of postmenopausal women. These symptoms include vaginal dryness, pain with penetration, recurrent UTIs, and structural changes to the vulva. Dolores explains the science behind why these changes happen, how to assess symptoms clinically, and what treatment options actually work. We discuss the critical difference between vaginal moisturizers and lubricants, why vaginal pH and osmolarity matter for product safety and efficacy, and how to meet patients where they're at when it comes to treatment comfort levels. This conversation also explores why GSM remains so undertreated despite its prevalence, the shame and stigma that prevents people from seeking help, and why Dolores created IRIS when she couldn't find products that met her clinical standards. Guest Bio Dr. Dolores Fernandez, ND, MSCP, is a naturopathic doctor in Ontario, Canada, with a clinical focus in menopause. She is a North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Certified Menopause Practitioner and a member of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health. Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Dolores is the founder of IRIS, offering clean, science backed vulva care products aimed at ending the stigma around women's health. She's also a wife, mom, reader, and fitness enthusiast who believes in creating safe spaces for conversations about intimate health. Theme Song: The Climb by Miley Cyrus Key Topics Covered
Resources & References Mentioned
Connect with Dr. Dolores Fernandez Website: https://www.lovemyiris.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdoloresnd IRIS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovemy.iris LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doloresfernandeznd Dr. Dolores will be speaking at The Pleasure Principle Conference on May 8th as IRIS is the platinum sponsor. Visit https://www.blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health services in Hamilton, Ontario. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast on your favourite platform. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 76: The Four Pillars of Hormone Balance for Women Over 40 with Daphne Kostova | 05 mars 2026 | 00:43:05 | |
If you're experiencing brain fog, unexplained weight gain, crushing fatigue, or night sweats during perimenopause, this episode will help you understand what's actually happening in your body—and what you can do about it. Daphne Kostova is a certified holistic nutritionist, registered natural nutrition clinical practitioner, and hormone balancing coach who specializes in helping women over 40 restore their energy, balance their hormones, and achieve sustainable weight management. After experiencing severe perimenopausal symptoms in her early thirties following years of restrictive dieting and over-exercising, Daphne went back to school to understand what her body truly needed—and now she helps other women do the same. In this episode, you'll learn:
Theme Song: "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield Daphne chose this song as a reminder that we're all constantly evolving and that perfectionism often keeps us frozen. Life is always unwritten, and that's okay. Resources Mentioned: Free Masterclass: Hormone Balance Over 40 - Daphne explains the four pillars in depth and how to support them through personalized nutrition and lifestyle changes. Connect with Daphne Kostova: Website: DK Wellness More from The Hole Shebang: Visit blueberrytherapy.ca for pelvic health resources and to learn more about our Hamilton-based clinic. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Connect with us on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 75: Sex Specific Heart Health Factors Every Woman Should Know with Dr Daiana Castleman | 26 févr. 2026 | 00:46:18 | |
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in women, yet most women don't realize that menopause itself is now recognized as a cardiovascular risk factor. In this episode, Dr. Daiana Castleman returns to The Hole Shebang to break down what's really happening to women's hearts during midlife—and the sex-specific risk factors that standard screening tools completely miss. What You'll Learn: Dr. Daiana Castleman explains why the menopause transition is such a critical window for cardiovascular health. During perimenopause and menopause, women commonly experience increased cholesterol levels, changes in blood pressure, insulin resistance, and worsening cardiometabolic health—changes driven by hormonal shifts that don't happen in men's bodies the same way. We discuss traditional cardiovascular risk factors that affect both men and women (smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, diabetes, and psychosocial stress). These traditional factors account for 80-90% of cardiovascular disease risk. But here's what's crucial: three of these factors—smoking, diabetes, and psychosocial stress—have significantly heightened impact in women. Women who smoke are twice as likely to experience a heart attack compared to men who smoke. Then we dive into sex-specific risk factors that most doctors never ask about: Pregnancy complications carry significant cardiovascular risk: preeclampsia increases heart failure risk 4-fold and cardiovascular disease risk 2-fold; gestational diabetes increases cardiovascular event risk by 1.5-2x; preterm birth before 37 weeks carries 1.4-2.5-fold higher risk; stillbirth increases risk 1.5-2.2-fold; and placental abruption carries 1.8-fold higher cardiovascular disease risk. Lipoprotein(a) is a genetic marker that affects about 1 in 5 people (20% of the population) and is 6x more atherogenic than LDL cholesterol. It's more than 90% genetically determined and can increase during menopause while remaining stable in men. Everyone over 40 should have it tested at least once, yet most women have never heard of it. We also discuss premature or early menopause, PCOS, and autoimmune conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis as additional sex-specific risk factors. Daiana explains why the Framingham Risk Assessment—while valuable—has serious limitations for midlife women. It only calculates 10-year risk and doesn't account for any sex-specific factors, meaning many women receive "low risk" scores that don't reflect their actual cardiovascular risk profile. The empowering news? 80-90% of cardiovascular disease is preventable when you know your risk factors and advocate for yourself. Theme Song: Put a Little Love in Your Heart by Annie Lennox and Al Green The Decads Ahead Summit (Apr 25, 2026): Information about The Decades Ahead Summit (Oakville) covering heart health, osteoporosis, hormone therapy, sleep, and nutrition for long-term health. Register Here: Decades Ahead Summit Registration Link Connect with Dr. Daiana Castleman: Website: Dr. Daiana Castleman More from The Hole Shebang: Visit blueberrytherapy.ca | |||
| 74: Why Your Relationship Needs Just 60 Seconds a Day with Dr Jessica O'Reilly | 19 févr. 2026 | 00:44:13 | |
What does proactive relationship care actually look like? In this conversation, Dr. Jessica O'Reilly breaks down the simple daily practices that prevent relationship breakdown and explains how cancer survivors can rebuild intimacy when bodies and identities have fundamentally changed. What You'll Learn:
About Dr. Jessica O'Reilly: Jess O'Reilly (@SexWithDrJess) is a sex and relationship expert with a background in education and behavioural and organizational psychology. Her research and passion involves teacher training in sexual health and she works primarily with business leaders to improve relationships from the boardroom to the bedroom. Jess is also a television personality, author, podcast host (@SexWithDrJess Podcast) and award-winning international speaker who has facilitated hundreds of corporate workshops and retreats in 45+ countries from Lebanon to Switzerland. Theme Song: "All Over the World" by Proteje and Lila Iké Key Topics Covered:
Resources & References Mentioned:
Connect with Dr. Jessica O'Reilly:
Keynote Speaker Announcement: Dr. Jessica O'Reilly is the keynote speaker at The Pleasure Principle Conference on May 8, 2026 in Hamilton, Ontario. Her session, "Pleasure as Practice: Eroticism, Desire, and Connection After Cancer," will provide healthcare professionals with practical strategies for supporting cancer survivors' sexual health. Learn more at blueberrytherapy.ca. Visit blueberrytherapy.ca | Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast | Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 73: Clitoral Vibration as Healthcare Not Just Pleasure with Natalia Banton | 12 févr. 2026 | 00:34:00 | |
Episode Overview Natalia, founder of Dott, joins the podcast to discuss why clitoral vibration should be considered healthcare for menopause—not just pleasure. As an industrial designer who experienced Premature Ovarian Insufficiency in her thirties, Natalia breaks down the physiology of estrogen loss, decreased blood flow to pelvic tissues, and how vibration therapy supports tissue health, natural lubrication, and nervous system regulation during hormonal transitions. What You'll Learn
Guest Bio Natalia is an industrial designer and founder of Dott, a Health Canada licensed intimate wellness company focused on perimenopause and menopause care. After watching her mother suffer through menopause in silence and experiencing Premature Ovarian Insufficiency herself in her thirties (which led to bone density loss before diagnosis), she founded Dott to treat vibration therapy as real healthcare for women's bodies. She designs tools and education that support hormone balance, pelvic floor health, nervous system regulation, and sexual comfort during hormonal change. Natalia collaborates with menopause clinics and pelvic floor therapists to integrate evidence-based vibration therapy into treatment protocols. Theme Song: The Chain by Fleetwood Mac Key Topics Covered
Connect with Natalia
Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 72: Super Traits and the Real Reason Your Sex Drive Disappeared with Dr. Jordin Wiggins | 05 févr. 2026 | 00:46:36 | |
Dr. Jordin Wiggins is a naturopathic doctor, author of The Pink Canary, host of The Pleasure Principles podcast, and an intimacy coach for high-achieving women. Her journey into women's sexual health started in grade 10 with debilitating pelvic pain that felt like "somebody was shoving a knife in between my vagina and my rectum." Doctors dismissed her pain as psychological, offering antidepressants because they couldn't see the problem on imaging. It wasn't until naturopathic medical school that she learned about pelvic floor physiotherapy—the answer she'd been searching for. That experience of being dismissed by healthcare, combined with horrible reactions to birth control, shaped her mission: understanding why 50% of women globally suffer from sexual dysfunction and why so many successful women have everything they thought they wanted but feel completely unfulfilled. In this conversation, Jordin introduces super traits—personality strengths like empathy, loyalty, tolerance, and hard work that make you extraordinary in your career and relationships. But when there are no boundaries around these traits, women build their entire relationship around their partner's moods and comfort, carrying all the emotional labor while their own needs shrink smaller and smaller. What happens in the bedroom becomes a mirror of what happens outside the bedroom. What You'll Learn: How being gaslit about pelvic pain shaped Jordin's approach to women's health, why she ran a successful 7-figure women's health clinic that almost swallowed her whole, what super traits are and why conventional advice doesn't work for women who have them, the four hidden patterns that destroy intimacy in relationships, why "just communicate better" doesn't address power dynamics, the difference between desire that's gone versus desire buried under resentment, how to start examining your relationship without making things worse, why accountability requires checking for safety first, what it means to come home to your head, heart, and body, and why sex being "for him" while connection is "for us" keeps women stuck. Resources Mentioned: Super Traits Research: Sandra Brown's original research on super traits as personality strengths Free Resource: Super Traits Quiz — Take the quiz to discover your super traits. Jordin notes the quiz sends your top trait, but she can send all results profiles if you DM her on Instagram, as most women have three or four super traits. Theme Song: River by Bishop Briggs Connect with Dr. Jordin Wiggins: Website: Dr. Jordin Wiggins Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 71: Navigating Medical Menopause After Cancer Treatment with Dr. Ashley Chauvin | 29 janv. 2026 | 00:46:03 | |
When cancer treatment forces you into menopause overnight, the experience is drastically different from natural menopause. Your hormones don't gradually decline—they stop. And the symptoms? They hit hard and fast. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ashley Chauvin, a Naturopathic Doctor and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner who has built her practice around cancer survivorship and menopause support. Ashley shares her journey from radiation therapy intern to naturopathic doctor specializing in integrative cancer care, and why she's passionate about helping patients feel like themselves again after treatment. What You'll Learn:
This conversation challenges the narrative that cancer survivors just have to suffer through menopause symptoms. You don't. There are options, and quality of life matters. Theme Songs:
Connect with Dr. Ashley Chauvin:
Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 70: Why Muscle Is Your Longevity Organ with Barbara Birke | 22 janv. 2026 | 00:46:49 | |
Why Muscle Is Your Longevity Organ with Barbara Birke When your body stops responding to the same old strategies, it's not because you're broken—it's because your hormones are changing, and your body needs something different now. Barbara Birke is a German sports scientist and nutritionist who specializes in supporting women through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. She studied sports science with a focus on psychology and motivation, managed an orthopedic rehab center, and has spent years teaching women how to build strength, optimize nutrition, and thrive through hormonal transitions. But her most powerful lesson came from her own body in her 40s, when she realized that muscle wasn't just professional advice—it was personal survival. In this episode, you'll learn:
Theme Song: "Unstoppable" by Sia Connect with Barbara:
If you're feeling dismissed by conventional medical advice or struggling with a body that suddenly won't cooperate, this conversation will give you the framework to understand what's actually happening—and what you can do about it. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen, and visit blueberrytherapy.ca for more resources on pelvic health and wellness. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 69: Hope and Healing in Pelvic Pain Recovery with Michiko Caringal | 15 janv. 2026 | 00:40:17 | |
In this powerful episode, Kristen sits down with Michiko Tsukada Caringal, a pelvic health physiotherapist in British Columbia who brings both clinical expertise and deeply personal experience to her work. Michiko spent three years recovering from vulvodynia before becoming a physiotherapist, and that journey shapes everything about how she treats patients today. What You'll Learn: Michiko opens up about her non-linear recovery from pelvic pain, including the moments she gave up hope and how she eventually found her way to being symptom-free for over 10 years. She shares the golden nuggets from her journey—particularly the critical role of hope, finding your own advocate, and believing recovery is possible even when the path isn't clear. You'll hear about Michiko's unique approach to gender-inclusive pelvic care, her work as a subject matter expert with TransCare BC, and how she navigates the tension between maintaining professional boundaries while creating genuine human connection with patients. She explains her "detective cap" approach to understanding each person's unique story and why relationships are the foundation of all healing. The conversation also covers practical topics like post-prostatectomy incontinence recovery, functional pelvic floor training that makes sense in real life (not just on a treatment table), and why the best healthcare professionals can be both your cheerleader and your source of evidence-based facts. About Michiko Tsukada Caringal: Michiko is a pelvic health physiotherapist with a master's in bioethics who treats people of all ages and genders at two clinics in BC: Inner Circle Physio in Burnaby and Kaia Health Care Center. She specializes in gender-inclusive care, works as a subject matter expert for TransCare BC, and is passionate about empowering anyone with a pelvic floor to understand and heal their bodies. Theme Song: I'm a Believer by The Monkees Connect with Michiko:
Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health services in Hamilton, Ontario. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast and connect with us on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 68: Why Your Vulvar Pain Might Not Be What You Think with Dee Hartmann | 08 janv. 2026 | 00:48:07 | |
Dee Hartmann is a pelvic health physical therapist who spent nearly three decades specializing in chronic vulvar pain. After treating thousands of women in her Chicago practice, she discovered that conventional approaches were missing critical connections - between old injuries and current pain, between visceral tension and pelvic floor dysfunction, and between pain elimination and pleasure cultivation. In this conversation, Dee shares her journey from treating incontinence to becoming a leading voice in vulvar pain treatment. She explains why pelvic floor dysfunction is a symptom rather than a cause, how seemingly unrelated issues throughout the body contribute to vulvar pain, and why her approach now centers on pleasure as a pathway to healing. What you'll learn:
Dee retired from clinical practice in 2017 and co-authored "The Pleasure Prescription" with Elizabeth Wood. She now travels internationally teaching her approach and speaking about the intersection of physical therapy, sexual health, and pleasure. Theme Song: Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac Connect with Dee Hartmann: Dee Hartmann Physical Therapy Website: Dee Hartmann Physical Therapy Book: The Pleasure Prescription on Amazon: Find Dee on Facebook and LinkedIn Connect with Blueberry Therapy: Website: Blueberry Therapy Instagram: @Blueberrytherapypelvichealth Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast on your favorite podcast platform | |||
| 67: Breathwork for Chronic Pain: Healing Your Nervous System with Jenn Mansell | 01 janv. 2026 | 00:46:04 | |
Episode Overview Breathwork facilitator Jenn Mansell joins The Hole Shebang to talk about how intentional breathing can shift everything from chronic illness to pelvic floor dysfunction to trauma patterns. If you've ever felt trapped in your body or caught in stress loops that keep you stuck, this conversation offers both the science and the hope you need. What You'll Learn In this episode, we explore how breathwork actually works in your body and why it's become such a foundational practice across healthcare disciplines. Jenn breaks down the physiology of breathing, from oxygen as your brain's primary fuel to how breath shifts your nervous system state and creates space for tension release. We discuss practical applications for pain management, pelvic health, and accessing emotions that live in your body beyond cognitive memory. You'll hear Jenn's powerful story of growing up chronically ill with severe eczema, allergies, and asthma, and how she moved from fear and disconnection to becoming a facilitator who's breathed with thousands of people. We talk about the moment she realized her body wasn't the enemy, how breathwork bridges the gap between feeling trapped and feeling wild, and why this simple practice keeps showing up in conversations with neuroscientists, physiotherapists, and trauma specialists. About Jenn Mansell Jenn Mansell is a breathwork facilitator and mentor who has been guiding people through intentional breathing practices for eight years. Her work combines breathwork with somatic therapy, internal family systems, and nervous system healing. She also DJs conscious dance spaces and has recently expanded her practice to include low dose cannabis and ketamine work for trauma and attachment healing. Based in Toronto, Jenn runs regular events and works with clients privately to help them reconnect with their body's innate intelligence. Theme Song: "Keep Going" by HRRTZ SHELLS Key Topics Covered
Connect with Jenn Mansell:
Ready to explore more? Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 66: Postpartum Exercise: Why the 6-Week Rule Is Outdated with Dr. Margie Davenport | 19 déc. 2025 | 00:35:17 | |
Episode Overview Dr. Margie Davenport is rewriting the rules on exercise during pregnancy and postpartum—and the outdated advice about waiting six weeks or avoiding heavy lifting is officially being replaced with actual evidence. As an exercise physiologist at the University of Alberta and the lead researcher behind the 2025 Canadian Postpartum Exercise and Sleep Guidelines, Margie shares the groundbreaking research that's changing how we support people through this massive life transition. What You'll Learn
Resources Mentioned
About Dr. Margie Davenport Dr. Margie Davenport is an exercise physiologist and researcher at the University of Alberta, where she founded the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health in 2013. A former national team athlete, Margie has dedicated her career to pushing the boundaries of what we know about exercise during pregnancy and postpartum. She led the development of the 2019 Canadian Pregnancy Exercise Guidelines and the groundbreaking 2025 Canadian Postpartum Exercise and Sleep Guidelines. Theme Song: Survivor by Destiny's Child and My Way by Frank Sinatra Connect with Dr. Margie Davenport:
Visit blueberrytherapy.ca and subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth. | |||
| 65: Why 85 Percent of Women Develop the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause with Dr Daiana Castleman | 11 déc. 2025 | 00:41:15 | |
Episode Overview Dr. Daiana Castleman, naturopathic doctor and menopause specialist, joins Kristen to talk about Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM)—a condition that affects up to 85% of women by 20 years post-menopause but remains dramatically underdiagnosed. This conversation goes beyond vaginal dryness to explore the full impact of estrogen decline on sexual, urinary, and overall health. What You'll Learn In this episode, we discuss the real symptoms of GSM including painful intercourse, recurrent UTIs, urinary urgency and frequency, and vaginal irritation. Daiana explains how estrogen loss changes the vaginal and urinary microbiome, increasing susceptibility to infection and why vaginal estrogen is a game-changer for prevention and treatment. We also dive into sleep disruption during perimenopause and menopause—why waking up multiple times to urinate isn't normal aging, how sleep apnea presents differently in women (often without snoring), and what proper assessment looks like before reaching for supplements. Finally, Daiana shares the incredible stat that over 90% of cardiovascular disease is preventable, making perimenopause and menopause the ideal time to focus on longevity, heart health, bone density, and cognitive function. About Dr. Daiana Castleman Dr. Daiana Castleman is a naturopathic doctor specializing in menopause, hormone therapy, and women's sexual health. She was inspired to pursue naturopathic medicine after her own transformative experience with an ND, and found her passion for menopause care through conversations with her own mother about perimenopause. Daiana was a keynote speaker at The Pleasure Principle Conference 2025 and is deeply committed to helping women get the evidence-based support they deserve during this life transition. Theme Song: "Rise Up" by Andra Day Connect with Dr. Daiana Castleman:
Additional Resources:
Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy and multidisciplinary care in Hamilton, Ontario. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast for more honest conversations about women's health topics others whisper about. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 64: Vulvar Health 101: What Every Woman Needs to Know with Kathryn Flanigan | 27 nov. 2025 | 00:36:19 | |
Episode Overview: When was the last time you actually looked at your vulva? If you're like most people, the answer is "never" or "I don't even know what I'm looking for." In this eye-opening conversation, nurse practitioner Kathryn Flanigan, Nurse Practitioner, breaks down everything we should have learned about vulvar health—but didn't. What You'll Learn:
About Our Guest: Kathryn Flanigan is a nurse practitioner with over 25 years of experience in primary care. She's been recognized as Preceptor of the Year three times and specializes in vulvar health and pelvic conditions. After recognizing that her elderly patients lacked the vocabulary to describe vulvar changes, Kathryn dedicated herself to educating both patients and healthcare providers about this under-addressed area of health. She's passionate about giving women across the lifespan the language and knowledge to advocate for themselves. Key Topics Covered: Vulvar anatomy 101 • Stigma and health literacy • Teaching children body autonomy • Vulvar skin conditions • Hormonal changes and vulvar health • Proper vulvar care practices • Patient advocacy • Canadian health resources Resources Mentioned:
Connect with The Hole Shebang: Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth Visit: blueberrytherapy.ca Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts | |||
| 63: Vaginismus Isn't in Your Head and Here's Why with Dr. Janelle Frederick | 25 nov. 2025 | 00:39:24 | |
What if sex was supposed to feel good—but your body won't let you get there? In this episode, Kristen sits down with Dr. Janelle Frederick, a pelvic floor physical therapist known as the Vagina Rehab Doctor, to talk about vaginismus, sexual pain, and how virtual pelvic health treatment is changing lives. Dr. Frederick shares her journey from working in orthopedics to specializing in sexual dysfunction—and why she left her dream job at a top hospital to build a remote coaching practice focused on patient empowerment. If you've ever wondered how pelvic PT could possibly work over Zoom, this conversation will blow your mind. What you'll learn in this episode:
This episode is for anyone who's been told their pain is "in their head," who's tried treatment that didn't work, or who's just starting to realize that painful sex isn't something you have to live with. About Dr. Janelle Frederick: Dr. Janelle Frederick is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who specializes in treating vaginismus and sexual pain. After completing her pelvic health residency at Loyola in Chicago, she built a thriving remote coaching practice that's helped over 300 people experience pain-free, pleasurable intimacy. Her approach focuses on patient empowerment, self-assessment, and addressing both the physical and mental aspects of healing. Connect with Dr. Janelle Frederick: Instagram: @vaginarehabdoc Visit Blueberry Therapy: blueberrytherapy.ca | |||
| 62: Purple Pessaries, AI Fitting, and Building the Invisalign of Pelvic Health with Derek Sham | 21 nov. 2025 | 00:39:26 | |
Episode Overview What if the future of pelvic health looks more like Invisalign than one-size-fits-most devices? In this episode, Kristen sits down with Derek Sham, biomedical engineer and founder of Cosm Medical, to explore how precision medicine is finally coming to women's pelvic health. Inspired by his grandmother's struggle with pelvic organ prolapse, Derek is revolutionizing vaginal pessary technology with custom devices designed using AI, digital scanning, and data from thousands of women. What You'll Learn
About Derek Sham Derek Sham is a biomedical engineer and founder of Cosm Medical. He previously built the world's most utilized urodynamics system and brings over a decade of experience in medical device development to women's health. Driven by his grandmother's experience with pelvic organ prolapse, Derek is on a mission to bring precision, innovation, and digital technology to a field that has been underserved for decades. Key Topics Covered Custom pessary design and fitting • Postpartum tissue remodeling • Women's health innovation gaps • Healthcare reimbursement disparities • AI-assisted clinical decision making • Digital gynecology platforms • Access and affordability in pelvic health • The entrepreneurship journey in medical devices Connect with Derek Sham and Cosm Medical Website: COSM.care Instagram: @cosm.medical LinkedIn: Derek Sham Resources Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy in Hamilton, Ontario Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast for honest conversations about women's health topics Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 61: From Your Plate to Your Pleasure: Food, Body Image, and Intimacy with Emily Arthur, RD | 12 nov. 2025 | 00:49:26 | |
Episode Overview What's the connection between how you eat and how you experience intimacy? In this episode, Kristen sits down with Emily Arthur, a registered dietitian specializing in women's health, to explore the surprising intersections between nutrition, body image, sexual health, and endometriosis. What You'll Learn
About Emily Arthur, RD Emily Arthur is a registered dietitian who specializes in nutrition for women's health "from first period to last period and everything in between." She completed a graduate certificate in sexual health education and has specialized training in endometriosis and pelvic health. Emily is part of the Endometriosis 360 interdisciplinary team, which provides comprehensive group programming combining nutrition, physiotherapy, and psychology for people with endometriosis. She also provides one-on-one nutrition counseling through Brandt Nutrition and is actively involved in endometriosis research. Key Topics Covered Disordered eating and its impact on intimacy | Endometriosis and nutrition | Body image and sexual health | Gender expectations and food | Intuitive eating | Interdisciplinary pelvic health care | The Endometriosis 360 program Connect with Emily Instagram: @emilytheperiodrd Resources Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy and comprehensive care. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||
| 60: Perimenopause as Your Sexual Debut: Rewriting the Narrative with Taylor McConnachie | 05 nov. 2025 | 00:42:42 | |
Episode Overview: What if perimenopause wasn't the end of your sex life—but the beginning of something completely new? In this honest, educational conversation, Kristen sits down with psychotherapist and sex therapist Taylor McConnachie to talk about what's really happening to your body, your desire, and your voice during perimenopause. What You'll Learn:
About Taylor McConnachie: Taylor McConnachie is a registered psychotherapist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, and certified sexologist. She's the founder of Embodied Sexual Wellness and Psychotherapy, with a physical practice in Simcoe, Ontario, supporting people across the province with sex therapy, pelvic pain support, and sexual wellness education. Taylor's own experience with endometriosis and sexual pain drives her passion for creating safe, shame-free spaces to talk about sex and sexuality. Key Topics Covered:
Connect with Taylor: Instagram: @embodiedsexualwellness Website: embodiedsexualwellness.com Resources Mentioned:
Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to learn more about pelvic health support in Hamilton, Ontario. Subscribe to The Hole Shebang Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth | |||