15 minutes with: Sara Rearon, DPT, WCS, speaks about the power of the pelvic floor and the problem with how we pee

Sara Reardon, also known as “The Vagina Whisperer”, has been very loud since 2017 about the importance of the pelvic floor health of women and with more than 680,000 supporters and 13 million views on social media – people listen to.

“The report has grown organically and I think that is real proof of how many women this information about their pelvic floor really wants – and they don’t get it elsewhere,” said Reardon.

As a pelvic floor physics therapist, Reardon helps women and tissue to strengthen, relax and rehabilitate the muscles and tissue in the body’s pelvic area. Problems with the pelvic floor and the weakening of the muscles can lead to a variety of problems such as bladder leaks and the inability of the orgasm. So, yes – really important stuff.

In her new book “Floored: A Woman’s Guide for pelvic floor health at all ages and in every stage, all things speaks.” The real mission behind the whisper of vagina and writing the book was that everyone should know something about the pelvic floor. We receive training and sex education – we should receive the upbringing of pelvic floor because we are more susceptible to pelvic floor problems.

We talked to REARDON about how to use your pelvic floor (note: there are more than bowling) and the right way to pee. (Spoiler: Many of us did everything wrong.)

Our interview follows, edited for clarity and length.

Healthy women: We are big fans of the name “The Vagina Whisperer”. Tell us how it started.

Sara Rearon: Every summer after the graduate school I met with my group of friends and we depend on July 4th. One summer we all hung around and I was sitting in a whirlpool with a few mothers of my friends, and I talked to them about aging and their bladder problems and vagina problems -and my friends said: “Oh my god, Sara is the vagina whisper!” And so they came the name.

A few years later I started my Instagram account, the vagina whisperer, and it was really for my group of friends because we were pregnant and all babies had, and they constantly asked me what to do for pregnancy exercises. So I said I will just put it on Instagram so that everyone can see it, and it is there whenever they need it. And that was the beginning of the vagina whisperer.

2024 (photo/Sarah Becker)

Healthy women: Congratulations on your new book, Flooreded: A Woman’s Guide to pelvic floor health at all ages and in every stage. What is the most important thing that women should take into account in relation to the health of the pelvic floor?

Sara Rearon: Although all the genders have a pelvic floor, women go through different hormonal fluctuations every month and experience pregnancy, postpartum and menopause – and all of these phases of life influence our pelvic floor and take the risk of problems with pelvic floor.

Pregnancy can stretch and weaken the pelvic floor, and we have no standardization for rehabilitation for women after birth, as they would do according to other operations. In the menopause you have less estrogen, testosterone and collagen – you expose all of these things for more pelvic floor problems, typically weakness and sometimes even tension or pain.

Healthy women: Your TIKTOK contribution that women says you shouldn’t urge yourself to pee if you pee, became viral with more than 10 million views. Were you surprised at how many people said they did everything wrong? And what do you advise to break the habit when you pee (to ask a friend)?

Sara Rearon: It surprises me, but it’s also the reason why I do what I do. I think it is really important for people to know that. And I posted that I didn’t peel 50 times ago 50 times ago, and then you see that millions of people still learn. But we have never been taught – when do we teach people how to pee? My advice: pee when you have the urge to pee – don’t go in the event. And not to delay. Sometimes people last for hours, but that can lead to their pelvic floor muscles.

Always sit down to pee so that you don’t float. This helps your pelvic floor muscles to relax better, so you don’t have to strain or push. And if you pee, you don’t have to push – your bladder has a muscle that actually writes out the urine for you.

I say, put your feet flat on the floor and lean on your elbows and just breathe a few big breaths. Breathing can help you relax your pelvic floor muscles.

Read: 15 minutes with: Ashley Winter, MD, speaks urology, sex and everything vaginas >>

Healthy women: I recently learned that floating are bad for them.

Sara Rearon: I can’t tell you how many people say: “Sara, every time I pin, I think of you”, and I am how, do you know what that means? I do my job and I really want that. I just want people to know what they are doing because these small changes really put a long way. And it’s the same with the poop. Place a chair under your feet so that your muscles are more relaxed and you are in a crouching position and breathe out when you push instead of stopping your breath.

The thing is that many people know that women who are pregnant and postpartum are menopause or a higher risk of problems with pelvic floor, but they can develop these problems at any age.

Healthy women: Another recent contribution from you says that you should now prioritize your pelvic floor so that your organs later do not protrude from your vagina (pelvic organ prolapse). What is your exercise or a tip for women to avoid this?

Sara Rearon: It is actually more of a lifestyle. If you have a pelvic organ prolapse, these pelvic floor muscles do not support your organs either. So her bladder, her uterus, her cervix, her intestine can fall into the vaginal canal and it feels as if something falls out of her vagina in her vagina or something. The biggest is not exhausting. You can carry out exercises and cones until the cows come home, but if you make an effort – if you pee – or if you struggle during the constipation or kacking – press all this pressure again and again and can always generate weakness of these muscles and prolapse.

Stop arguing and start to strengthen. These muscles are like any other muscles in your body – you have to be able to contract and must also be able to relax.

Healthy women: Are Kegels good for your pelvic floor?

Sara Rearon: Yes, if you have weakness. It is interesting, however, that many, many women have tensions. Just like any other muscle or body, it can be weak and need strengthening, but it can also be very narrow and tense. Think about how you get tensions in your shoulders and you feel as if you need a massage. It is the same in your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles can be tight and tense and do not relax well, and that can lead to a difficult time to start their urine current or have difficulty having intestinal movements.

It can also cause pain with sex, hip pain and pain in the lower back – a variety of things – because these muscles can even lead to problems such as leakage and prolapse because they cannot contract well if they are tight and tense.

What is really important is before you start a reinforcement scheme to know whether you have weakness and need a refreshment or whether you have tension and have to work on this voltage first. As soon as this tension is relieved, you may have a certain weakness underneath.

The other thing with bowling – it’s not like a unit size for all recipe. There are different types of bowling. So there are quick contractions where you press and relax, and then there are longer contractions where you hold up for five, 10 or 20 seconds. And these are the endurance muscle fibers that we really have to work. So fast and longer cones and make sure that you relax completely and then do it in different positions.

Healthy women: What do you think about the equipment for pelvic floor trainers?

Sara Rearon: I think you can play a role. For some people who have difficulty knowing whether they do the right contraction of the pelvic floor or relax properly, they can be helpful. But as soon as you start working and lifting and lifting with movement, squats and lit -plates, you cannot really wear these devices. So I think that you can be a helpful place to get started but to pull away from you over time.

Healthy women: Can you as a pelvic floor therapist regulate the debate: is it okay to pee into the shower?

Sara Rearon: Yes, it’s totally okay to pee into the shower. I think one of the misunderstandings here is that peeing into the shower is completely fine, but if you turn on the shower and create urgency, this is a sign of an overactive bladder that can be helped with pelvic floor therapy. So it’s okay to pee into the shower, and I find it really very comfortable.

2021 (photo/Sarah Becker)

Healthy women: On the homepage of your website, wear a vulva costume – we assume that it is a couture. Do you wear it in the French quarter in New Orleans where you live?

Sara Rearon: I actually bought this costume online for $ 100 in 2018! The shop closed and I tried to contact you many times without an answer. It is the only thing I have, so I don’t carry it out in public – I don’t want anyone to spill beer on it or something bad happens. So it is hidden in my closet. My children pull it out from time to time and they say: “Here is the hot dog costume, mom!”

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