Thank you for all your support!

Thank you for all your support!

Have you ever had one of those crazy weeks when there was just way, way too much to do and still only 24 hours in every day?! 

That was my week last week that it looks to be carrying on full steam ahead this week. If you’re reading this, you’ll be well aware of my week-long campaign #DontIgnoreThePelvicFloor 

You know I’ve always felt supported in my quest to raise awareness of pelvic floor health but last week was quite mind-blowing, discovering the number of women who are happy to support this so important campaign.

Women’s health education

I’ve received so many messages from women like you thanking me for highlighting this important issue but it has really been an emotional rollercoaster, as I’ve heard more and more women’s stories of pain and suffering through lack of proper health education.

I count myself as so lucky to have been given what I thought was a normal level of health education in my teenage years, which has set me up for a strong healthy life. And it makes me so sad when I realise that such a lot of these stories of heartache were preventable - if only their schools had provided clear, concise information.

Competition time!

Some of you may have noticed that I ran a competition alongside the campaign and I was delighted to see so many women’s physiotherapists come on board and include that campaign in their own social media, as it really gave the opportunity to spread the word a lot further afield than I could’ve done on my own. If you’d like to see the winners hop on over to my facebook page, where all will be revealed!

I couldn’t have done all of this without you so I want to say a massive thank you! Thank you for taking the time and trouble to get involved and post your selfie with the tagline #DontIgnoreThePelvicFloor.

Extending the campaign reach

During the week I had so many ladies posting on their social media but the fantastic news is that together we have reached 236 thousand women who will now not only take care of their own pelvic floor but will share that information with their friends and family too. When you sit back and think about the impact a campaign like this can have on women’s lives, it’s really overwhelming. It makes me feel that we’re really making headway and more and more women will have the tools to shape their own future and not be reliant on a doctor saying “this is the quick fix” or “I’ll book you in for this surgery” or “we’ll fit this mesh” - all this phrases fill me with dread when you hear about the pain so many women go through after having such procedures, which really could have been avoided in many instances. 

Women’s Running Magazine

I was lucky enough to be interviewed recently for Women’s Running magazine which coincided nicely with the campaign #DontIgnoreThePelvicFloor. It’s certainly feeling like we’re gathering momentum and gaining further reach as the magazine has 221 thousand followers on their facebook page, not forgetting their instagram reach of 32 thousand & 49,300 Twitter followers!

Here’s a little snippet of the interview and you can catch the whole interview here

“Before she sat down and designed her product, Julie did her groundwork. “I asked all the mums in the playground, how’s your pelvic floor? And all they said was, “what’s a pelvic floor?”, “what are kegels?” and “It’s normal to leak after childbirth”. So then I found out that not everyone did their kegel exercises! So I started to explain to the mums why they needed to do it.”

What Julie had noticed was that the media for incontinence products was normalising the issue. “I looked at advertising around incontinence, at pads, and their advertising suggested that it was normal, and to be expected. It’s very common, but it’s not normal. What I’m passionate about is educating women about what the pelvic floor is, why it’s so important, and why you need to do kegel exercises.”

Your pelvic floor

So how are you feeling about your pelvic floor? Do you feel it's all as it should be? Do you feel it needs a little attention? It’s an area that so often is overlooked. Do you do regular pelvic floor exercises? Or are you a little more…”as and when you remember”?
If you can build a small shift into your regular, daily routine, you will see the benefits in no time. Start off with manual exercises and as you progress, try the weights, you will be amazed at the difference you can make. This isn’t a quick fix area…..this is a habit you need to develop for life, to give you the strength your body deserves, to enable you to go through your life feeling confident, strong and womanly.

Say no to “leaks”, it is not normal. It is common, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. Head on over to my website to watch the videos explaining how to use the weights, how to clean the weights and how to strengthen your pelvic floor for the long term. Any questions, drop them in the comments below. 

My celebrity mentor

I touched on meeting Rosemary Conley CBE a while back, you may remember. Since that day back in February, Rosemary has offered me mentoring support, which has been invaluable to me. We've had loads of amazing conversations and this week, I had the honour of going to meet her at her home. It was an amazing experience and she is an inspiration to me. 

Health and fitness guru, Rosemary very kindly supported my campaign saying, “It's great to hear that more women are exercising during the pandemic but I was shocked to hear that many suffer from bladder weakness which is putting some of them off. Kegel exercises can effectively strengthen the pelvic floor and stop many incontinence issues. Just as we can tone up our figure, we should also do pelvic floor exercises.” She listened to my story and has given me so much advice, I'll be forever grateful. Lots of top tips to help me with my next challenge, but more on that next week….. 

Secret Whispers Kegel Weights Kit

Remember my Secret Whispers Kegel Weights encourages the correct muscles to engage so that you can be confident you’re doing an effective exercise. They are made from medical grade silicone making them 100% bodysafe. Easy to clean - simply use hot soapy water and because you have the different weight combinations you can gradually build up the weight in a safe way. Remember your pelvic floor is like any other muscle - it needs exercising.