These 3 guiding principles to intravaginal work are different from what you learn elsewhere. Learn these principles to achieve better results faster, and in a way that is more respectful of your client’s body.

My heart breaks when I hear stories of women having painful or just plain awful experiences from intravaginal work. This is NOT how it should be. I think we can do better in terms of how pelvic floor intravaginal work is taught in pelvic health these days. There is an essential need for more pelvic health therapists to work intravaginally; however, I want to see these newly trained therapists learn how to do this work in a more respectful way that is less traumatizing, so clients can get better faster.

Today, I share the 3 guiding principles I teach in my courses that differ from what others teach. I believe these principles are the missing links to doing successful intravaginal work.

Intravaginal Work Should Not Be The First Thing You Do!

Your client’s body needs to get used to your touch and feel a sense of safety with you prior to doing intravaginal work. This is why you should always address the pelvic bones externally before doing intravaginal work. Since the muscles attach to these bones, making sure the bones of the pelvis are in their optimal position and not stuck in an open birthing pattern is an essential first step when treating your clients. This way, your client gets used to your touch, feels more secure knowing you work respectfully with their body (hopefully!), and has a greater sense of safety and comfort in working with you.

Make Sure Your Client Is Connected To Their Pelvic Space

Intravaginal work is such an intimate experience and many people have a history of abuse, trauma, or a negative experience in this area of their body. As a result, I find that it is very common to have someone completely disconnected from their pelvic space. When you do intravaginal work on someone who is disconnected or not fully present with you, the chances of adding more trauma to their body are greater. In my courses, I give you the skills to help you know if your clients are completely connected to their pelvic space, so you can check in prior to doing intravaginal work.

Use The Pelvic Bones To Help The Pelvic Floor Muscles Release

The pelvic floor muscles all attach to the pelvic bones. So, why aren’t we using the pelvis bones to help the pelvic floor muscles release? I don’t believe anyone else is teaching this concept, and I have found it to be an extremely effective approach.

In the Internal Pelvic Floor Treatment course, I teach the Schulte Hold, a position of the hand on the pelvis that encourages the release when working internally. By using the pelvic bones to help out, you can put more pressure on the bones instead of the muscles to get them to release. I truly believe we should always do intravaginal work with our outside hand on the pelvic bones. It is not just about the placement of the hand, but what we do to the bones externally that assists the pelvic floor muscles to release.

Education on Intravaginal Work

You will find greater success when using these guiding principles when doing intravaginal work. I teach all these principles in my Internal Pelvic Floor Treatment course which will provide you with the missing links to successful intravaginal work. Join our upcoming group cohort kicking off on March 4, 2024 for this online course. Check your inbox for more details when registration opens on February 19, 2024.

About the Author: Lynn Schulte is a Pelvic Health Therapist and the founder of the Institute for Birth Healing, a pelvic health continuing education organization that specializes in prenatal and postpartum care. For more information, go to https://instituteforbirthhealing.com