Resources That Have Impacted My Practice
I believe we are on a journey to be the very best we can be, both personally and professionally. Along the way, we have interactions and encounter resources that have a huge impact on our lives. They take our knowing (or remembering) to a deeper level, and today, I would like to share with you some of the people, books, and courses that have been influential to my career and helped me to be the person and practitioner I am today.
Trainings
One of the courses that really helped solidify my love for the pelvis was Jerry Hesch‘s SIJ course back in 1995! His approach to spring testing the pelvis, like we do all the other joints, was a game changer for my clients with low back and SIJ dysfunction. This resource was the impetus for learning more about internal work since the pelvic floor muscles attach to the pelvis, and I love where the journey led!
I was blessed to have Kathe Wallace train me personally. We both worked for the same company, and I was starting a women’s health program in a couple of their locations. Kathe introduced me to doing internal work, and opened my world to the incredible importance of and need for this work. I think we can all say Kathe Wallace is an amazing resource and has influenced our start to doing intravaginal work, whether you studied directly with her or through the educational company she founded with Holly Herman, Herman & Wallace. We, as practitioners and women in general, have so much to thank Kathe Wallace for as she has been a pioneer and essential advocate for pelvic health.
After doing intravaginal work for some time, I received a call from a potential client asking me if I did vaginal massage. This client introduced me to Tami Lynn Kent’s Wild Feminine book. That resource and Tami Lynn Kent’s Holistic Pelvic Care™ training inspired another huge leap in the level of care I was able to offer my clients. Tami put the pieces I was already using in my practice into a framework that helped it to make more sense. It was like the cookbook for pelvic care. Such amazing work! If you are doing pelvic care, learning how to do Holistic Pelvic Care™ should really be the gold standard.
Books
While there are a TON of great books out there, the Wild series by Tami Lynn Kent are my favorites, Wild Feminine, Wild Mothering and Wild Creative. They are the most read, dog-eared, highlighted books I own.
Working in the pelvic space, we need to be aware of and know how to work with the trauma response in the body. I’ve read a lot of great resources that address this work, including The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk and all of Peter Levines’ books. No Bad Parts is another amazing book that helps us understand our body’s reaction to life. I love Richard Schwartz’s take on our “parts”, as that is how I believe we should treat the body. Feelings Buried Alive Never Die by Karol Truman is another good resource.
And because sex is such a huge part of the pelvic space we need to be able to support our clients in owning their own sexuality. Dee Hartman’s book The Pleasure Prescription, Emily Nagoski’s book Come As You Are, and Regna Thomashauer’s book Pussy: A Reclamation (yes the title is a bit of a shocker, but it’s a good one!) are all great resources for you and your clients.
People
Suzanne Scurlock is another fellow teacher and bodyworker who has impacted my practice. Like Tami Lynn Kent, she helped give me a further framework for working with people at a distance. Her approach and understanding of therapeutic presence and what is needed to be successful in my practice were so helpful.
Hosting the Birth Healing Summit each year has been a great resource of information for me both personally and professionally. Curating content and interviewing experts in pelvic health has taught me so much. There have been so many favorites over the years, but Rachel Shapiro holds a special place in my heart with all she has shared and the resources she has provided. There is something special about learning from people who work with pregnant and postpartum populations in a different way. I love seeing things from a new perspective as we can learn so much from others, especially those who are outside of our practice, including our own clients.
Practice
I would be remiss if I didn’t share one of the most important pieces to the puzzle of me being the practitioner I am today, and that is my spiritual practice. I am a part of Eckankar, a spiritual path of the Light and Sound of God. Just as we exercise our muscles to stay healthy and strong, one of the main tenants of Eckankar is doing spiritual exercises. This exercise strengthens our connection to Spirit, God, Source, Angels, Guides – whatever you call your spiritual connection. I rely heavily on this guidance in my daily life and in my sessions. Through this spiritual path and guidance, I discovered the patterns of the postpartum body and learned how to release these patterns. I feel the stronger the connection to spirit is, the greater success we’ll have with our clients.
While these are just some of the influential people, trainings, books and practices that have made me the practitioner I am today, I can honestly say I am not done growing and being inspired. There are so many more resources out there that I look forward to adding to my list of influences. I will continue to evolve, grow and do my best to be my best for the rest of my life. I am never done learning, and I hope some of these resources will inspire you to do the same. Check back in another decade or so to see what else has influenced my journey.
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