Coming Home to Your Body w. Pelvic Floor Therapist Allison Germundson

You need to know that the womb area is where we store everything, and when we can feel 100% ourself and 100% connected with our body, we will make better choices.

Hey loves, it's Bunny Young here, serial entrepreneur, former stuntwoman, CEO, witch energy vibes, raising a tiny tribe while building massive empires. And your host of the Yes, Anne podcast, where we're going to talk about what it actually means to build a life you don't want to escape from. And today, though, we're going skin deep, and we're talking about something so personal because today's guest— oh my gosh, I just like feel this one also. Like, I'm going to tell you a little bit of the behind the scenes on why this is such a cool episode to be recording right now.

But today's guest is Allison Germanson. She's a pelvic floor therapist, which I have so many personal stories about this, a lactation counselor, host of Vaginally Speaking, and the founder of One Strong Woman, where she helps women reinhabit their bodies, heal their relationship with desire and power, and rebuild confidence from the inside out. And she's here to talk about all the naughty things and all the good things, the identities behind womanhood, motherhood, all of that, and the radical act of coming home to your body. So that is the bio thing that I tried to sexify and, you know, put together. And I want to tell you guys the BTS of this episode. So I'm currently 7 and 3/4 months pregnant, I guess, as we're recording this. And you and I were just together in October, and I shared with you that this is my 4th baby, and yet this is the first time that I've really been introduced to this whole pelvic floor thing. It's like not something that has been talked about, and also the frustration of not being able to get that therapy in the safety of my own home with like a human supporting me in it. And the energy of that combined with— I just went to my first ever Mama Gina in-person experience, which blew my mind in so many different ways. And this is such an edge to record this podcast with you being as pregnant as I am and after these experiences, because that woman said a certain word that we might just like start this podcast out with as your introduction to the Yes And Podcast world. She said a certain word in 45 minutes more times than Allison. I think I've heard it my entire life. Do you, do you have any guesses what that word was?

Breathe. Orgasm. Lift.

I don't know.

Eagle. No, it starts with a P. Pelvis. Pelvic floor.

And it ends with an ussy.

She said pussy so many times.

And do you want to know?

Oh my goodness.

I was like noticing I was so—

well, hello first. Welcome to this podcast.

Hello everybody, I'm here for it. I'm here. Clearly I was on a guessing game there, but we got to it. It's pussy.

I found myself so freaking uncomfortable, like, for the first, like, 8 to 10 times.

And she called it out. I mean, she's a phenomenal speaker. She called it out and was like, if you're physically in, like, uncomfortable wiggling in your chair because of this word like we say dick in like everyday language. And I think she— it was some version of this— she's like, if you're physically uncomfortable every time I say this word, where is your power?

Hmm.

I was like, oh gosh. So that I want to leave it I— yes, and I, I want to— it's so deep, so deep. And mine's high and tight as well. Um, and this is where like I'm gonna get all of the messages. I'm— even if you're watching the video, I'm like, how can I not even look at myself while we're discussing this? Um, I'm gonna get so many messages around this, and like my military male clients are gonna be like, you recorded a podcast episode on what? Uh, I'll get messages from my mom, from Steve's mom. So hi everybody, I love it, this is what we're here for.

And something that came through like as a download is society's conditioning. Like, I'm not the problem, right? Part of this is the society. And then something that you talk about is like realizing that your body's not the problem, your system is. And you and I talked a little bit about this, and we can go deeper into it, about my fertility journey not being physical but actually being energetic. And so take that wherever you want it to go. That's—

that is how we're gonna go, spread eagle, to begin this episode.

So there's a— there's a couple things I like, things I thought of when you were talking about that. One, you saying like It's not us, it's society, which is so true. And so many of my patients come in and it's either how they were brought up, it's the culture they were brought up, the religion they were brought up in, the things they were taught in their home of like how they reflect on their own body, their own, you know, anatomy, their own sexual wellness, what they've learned about being a female in the menstrual cycle. There is so much to it that's we lack the knowledge of, and we shouldn't. I mean, those are things that we should know. And I've gotten even more passionate about it since having a daughter. I'm like, she will know these things and she will be comfortable in her body. You know, you said pussies and how it made you uncomfortable, and I, I thought like one big thing that I really like to tell people is that— and you kind of alluded to it with the infertility— is the pelvic floor isn't just physical. It's very psychosocial, emotional, and trauma-filled. And when there's things that trigger us, how we digest them and how we store them in our body is huge, right? And so I would question, when you were saying— when you were hearing the word pussy, what, what, what was your body doing in that moment? What was your jaw doing? Where was your mind going? Like, how was your nervous system reacting to it? Right?

Yes.

And why was it bringing up any, like, moments from the past? Was it bringing up how you, um, were taught to look at yourself? Right? I— those are a lot of questions that I'd be curious about, is like what that brings and how do we react to it. Um, because that in itself is going to teach us how we need to start educating and empowering our patients in their own body and like coping mechanisms to assist with it. I had the other thing that came to mind, and so Bunny, you stop me when you want. There's— I'm going a lot of different directions, but the other thing that stopped me in my mind is when you're saying pussy, like my biggest thing that I love to tell people to do is if that word made you uncomfortable, I'd be very interested in what you would think if you sat in front of a mirror completely naked and just looked at yourself. Full body, vulva area, vagina area, full body. You don't have to do anything, just look at yourself. And then what does that do? And I can bet you a lot of your listeners are like, yeah, I'm not doing that. But if you can't do it and you can't appreciate that, how is anybody else supposed to?

For me—

and why?

Yeah, for me, I can I did. I took an inventory in that moment of like, I mean, I am at a stage in my life where I'm not triggered by very much. And, you know, I just came off of this whole, which is why I love the serendipity of us recording this episode, is because I just came off of this whole birthday week of like edges, of meeting edges. And so recording this podcast episode would have been an edge for Bunny Young a year ago.

And to answer the question in that moment was like, I thought of kind of the things that I joked about coming into this episode, which there's like an ounce of truth in that, of like, oh man, like my grandmother, my great-grandmother, um, would be so like uncomfortable with this, you know.

And, and feeling that intergenerational lack of ownership, which brought me to my truth, right? Without, without judgment. Because they thought, adapted, and transformed in ways that allowed them to give me gifts to be where I'm at in, in my life. And so they did exactly what they should have done because they did it and I'm here. And it doesn't mean that I get— I have to choose to continue that, right? And so what came to me was like this somatic download of 0 to 100% of your power in your body, in your emotions, in your spirit, and to reject this portion of your body, to be uncomfortable, to ignore it, to, um, deny, I guess, is kind of like the, the sensation that I went through. I'm at a business conference technically with this coach that has already pushed me to my edges with like how she's running her company, and then she brings the speaker in that's also pushing me to my edges. And even if it's only 7% that I'm denying which it's not. It's not. In the female body, that whether or not you have children, this is such a powerhouse of creativity, of life, of—

so it's, it's not 7%. But even if it was, why would I choose to not be at 100%? And in that moment, it's like, Mama Gina's not the one making me uncomfortable. I'm choosing to be uncomfortable. And I'm choosing to deny myself this 100% in that moment. And I wrote a whole, like, email about this, of what it looks like to go all in. And go all in means loving, honoring, accepting, welcoming all of you, all parts. And yeah, so that, that's the kind of the two pieces that came up for me around this. And I love how beautifully and synchronistic it was, because one of the first things that we talked about at MFC was doing this podcast.

Because it is a business conversation. A lot of the women, a lot of the, the listeners in this community are women, and a lot of my male clients, like, being able to understand this power that you, you have the opportunity to partner with, whether it's intimately or whether it's on your team or whether it's, you know, however that is. Like there's a whole part of this that's non-sexual that is so incredibly powerful.

And I, and I love that you brought the men into that, Bunny, because when women feel so unapologetically themselves and can really feel connected all the way through— you saying 7%, my mind went to, but we use it 100% of the day. Our pelvis and womb area. Like you said, you don't have to be a mother to have— you need to know that the womb area is where we store everything, if you're a mom or not, as females. And when we can feel 100% ourself and 100% connected with our body and listen to her, we will make better choices. We will be confident in business and make the choices and be a better leader. You know, we will thrive in that environment when we feel ourself. But when we feel disconnected from that area and numb that part of our body we use all the time, there is a lot, a lot of disconnection there that is going to affect your everyday life, be it physical, be it emotional, be it psychosocial. There is a lot that it's going to impact without you even knowing.

Intuitively, like, there's this moment of this podcast where, you know, I want to invite you, whether you— however you identify biologically, to like bring your hand to that womb space, like your belly button. I'm going to tell you, you know, why it doesn't matter what you identify with as a, as a gender in a moment, and just notice Notice any emotions that come up. This is a really simple and powerful exercise. Your breath is there, your center of creativity is there, like the connection on that. And just this morning, like, this makes me emotional, like just this morning I have this baby that's growing in my belly and I'm changing my almost 2-year-old's, you know, uh, diaper from this morning, and I just put my hand over his belly button, and like, he points to my belly, right? And we were connected. We were connected for 10 months through this portal. And I was just thinking about like, even from a humanity standpoint, the connection that comes from this part of our body. You know, when we feel safe in a relationship, when we feel— when something resonates, it comes from our gut. It comes from this space down here. And how often we operate from our minds. And I really like— and I'm completely sober, there were no mushrooms or psychedelics involved in this moment— being like, what a freaking powerhouse this space is for us in business.

And, and I, I wanted you to come on and talk about like all the different things around the health of our pelvic floors and this part of our body and all of that. And I think the most powerful conversation for the Yes And Podcast on that is the power that comes from connecting to this space that we really don't—

like, we really neglect. And even when something's going askew, we kind of just accept it as, oh well, this is just that, that stage of life, right? Or like, this is what we're supposed to, to be going through. And so can we take the conversation there for a second and just like talk about the depth of power in the pleasure, in the connectedness, in the knowing that lives like in our bodies.

Hmm, it's deep and it's so true. I mean, I love that you talked about placing your hand on your child's, um, belly button and feeling that connection. I have stopped and just watched my little ones stand, you know, in their underwear or diapers and watched them breathe into their bellies and like reminded myself of the connection in that way. And what I mean by that is, this is a little more towards the pelvic floor thing, but you know, you talked about people putting their hands on their belly and feeling the breath in there, but I can guarantee you, I bet about 60% of those people were like, I can't feel the breath there, I'm already disconnected, that breath is stuck up here. And so what's it trying to tell us? You know, there's maybe it roots back to how we've held our posture, or maybe it goes as far back as how we were in the womb, right? Our body remembers everything when we were in the womb, even though our mind doesn't. So when I used to work with pediatrics patients, we would have patients that had shown these different comforts where we think of the comfort as being right in full flexion. When we're— when we don't feel good, or we just like want to cuddle up on bed, we just—

we go in full flexion, right?

A child that may have experienced a traumatic part in the womb and wants out, their comfort tends to be an extension because you have to extend to get out of the womb. And I say this because I just— our bodies remember and keep score of so much. And so we need to remember and reconnect with the good things, even if there is, um, harder traumatic things. But we also have to recognize the trauma in the emotion and let our body know it's safe and release those, because if we don't, it holds on to them. So I feel like that's like where a really deep connection goes, um, with it, if that, if that makes sense, Bunny Young Young.

If you are feeling disconnected, and, and I want to normalize this in the aspect that I have a master's degree in counseling and psychology and I have a ton of training in somatic psychology and somatic therapy, And I still find myself feeling disconnected sometimes. What are some of the go-to things to come back to feeling connected? Because I also know, and this is like a really vulnerable share, however, there's been times in my life where I've chosen disconnection out of fear of what I would find if I went there. And like trauma.

Mm-hmm. And like I said, we hold a lot. So I'll get to how we feel connected, but just a little bit off of that, Bunny, is that I tell people that, you know, our bodies remember trauma no matter if it's big or small, because it doesn't know what big or small is. It just knows trauma. And our mind may feel healed or at peace if we've gone to somebody and talked to them, or we've, you know, figured out how to heal in that process. But if we haven't told our body, then our body holds it. So you've got to work on both aspects. So feeling connected again, um, there's different tools I like to do. Again, the, the completely naked is a really big thing for me to feel, to help people feel back into their own body and appreciate it and write down what comes to their mind. Um, because there's going to be a lot of things that come to your mind and then slowly working through those. Another one is like sitting on your your knee— knees and putting either a pillow between your legs or like a, a children's inflatable ball that has some give to it and just sitting on it, on your pelvic floor, on it, breathing. Can you feel it? Can you feel where your pelvic floor is? Can you literally feel from your mind and your breath all the way down? If you don't have either of those, taking a washcloth and placing it between your legs like a pad— and this is for females and males because we need to start feeling when we take a breath where that goes, right? And where does that breath go with us? And like I said, I would feel that a lot of listeners are probably going to say that it stops at their chest. You know, you tell them to take a deep breath, they go, ah, right? So to them, the exhale is the relaxing part. But like a real breath, it's the opposite of that. So I'm hoping I'm answering what you are hoping for, Bunny Young Young, is that we've got to stop in the moment and, and where our breath goes and how we feel our breath connected with the rest of our body is going to help us connect. And if you can't feel that breath go anywhere, that right there tells you we're disconnected. You should feel that breath go all the way to your toes, but if you can't What's that tell us, right? I'd also tell everybody to unlock their jaw because I bet a lot of people are clenching their jaw, especially females.

Females are like—

I was like, and I'm gonna open my mouth right now.

Yeah, yep, yep. So I mean, that— yeah, that's been like the biggest thing that I've really learned the more and more I work with patients is that disconnection and giving ourself permission to reconnect. Because you talked about like, you know, just going on with your day, or basically we've normalized that we may not feel these things, or these are the things that are happening and we're just going to push through them. But why? Was that because we were told that was what was going to happen from generations? Was that what we were told by society or school? What's told us that we just have to push through something and no longer listen to our body? Because our body talks to us thousands of times during a day, and we maybe hear it 5 times.

Mm.

Yeah.

I'm so grateful.

To be in a position in my life where I'm listening more and more to the wisdom of my body.

And it brings me to, I think, my second to last question here in the aspect that what shifts and what changes for you and for those that you work with when you reconnect specifically? And this may be more of a you question, but what becomes available in business when you're coming from your whole power versus denying, disconnecting, and stifling?

I just had this conversation with somebody earlier today, actually in a meeting, is that when we feel 100% confident in our body and it allow it all the pleasures of life, be it small pleasures throughout your day to pleasures behind closed doors. When we allow ourselves to feel those and allow those chemicals to release when we feel good in our own body, we make a lot better business decisions. We are a much better leader. We are a much better wife. We are a much better mom, right? Like, when we allow ourselves and give it permission to receive what it wants and remind ourselves we deserve that and get it, then we will unapologetically do better in business. It's 100%. I've talked to so many women, especially high-achieving women, when their business is successful, they are feeling 100% confident in their body and what they do, and they're turned on by life. But when their business starts slipping, or it already has slipped, do they feel confident and turned on by life? No. So that's a huge thing. What I've seen in women is when I'm working with patients, so many women are coming in feeling defeated feeling hopeless, maybe feeling embarrassed. They may feel that they can't talk about things. And when we educate them and empower them in their own journey, oh, you should see the confidence and like their skin just glows because they've been told for so long that this is just their normal or this is what they just have to put up with. Or go have a glass of wine. And then they, they have somebody explain to them and empower them with education and bring them back to their body, and they're like, wow, I don't need that, I need this. And with this, I can, I can rule the world, I can do what I need to do.

Yes. And the other part about that that I just want to really lean on for a second is not waiting until you feel like you have the excuse or need the excuse that you have to be fixed or broken to be able to have somebody like Allison support you. Being able to have it in you choosing, you choosing to optimize. Like, I mean, as a business coach, I'm working with people that are choosing to optimize their financial flow. They're choosing to optimize their work-life alignment. They're choosing to optimize that. Like the— is there something that's not optimal in their business? Sure. However, wouldn't you want to be proactive about that rather than reactive and come to me when you're $2 million in the negative and not sure what you're going to do for the next month? And I just think that there's so much power in being able to listen to this podcast and choose this.

And this may sound unique, odd, like not directly correlated. Because I'm not telling you to go download some sales templates. I'm telling you to tap back into your power and be able to connect with your whole self and appreciate yourself. And then I also think that there's an element of pleasure that, like, it's not just about sex. Like, I We talked about this at MFC when we're, um, in Dallas last month, of this aspect of business orgasms and being fully present and being in the flow and being in alignment. And I don't know if you wanna share a little bit about your spoon experience and also like how you feel like pleasure helps accelerate success and basically manifestation in anything that you desire.

Yeah. First of all, I, uh, when Bunny got up there and said, talked about orgasms, I'm in the crowd just clapping, right? I'm like, absolutely. We all, everyone deserves one in this room. And, you know, I loved that you said to have an orgasm, you have to be present. To move the needle in your business, you have to be present in the decisions and what you're doing. And I mean, I think right there relates to if you don't feel connected to your body, you're not even present in your body. How are you going to make choices? How are you going to do the damn thing, right? Um, but Bunny had us— some of us got a spoon, and I basically requested a spoon. She asked, she had one left, and I raised my hand really fast because I wanted to do the activity. Um, and so it was about how our energy that we can bring out of our body is able to move things in ways that we wouldn't think they'd be able to move, but we manifest it. Am I, am I saying that right, Bunny Young? Mm-hmm. That we can take this energy and when we really dig it down deep and we utilize that energy for the way that we want to move the needle, then it can. And so Bunny ran us through this, this whole process and then told us if we wanted to at that moment, try and bend the spoon. And I created, I feel like, the most beautiful spoon. It looked— actually, somebody told me it looked like a little sperm, which I loved. Um, but I twisted without even— I mean, I was sitting at this table and I was holding the spoon and I just twisted it, and I twisted it in like a little curly Q. And it was amazing because if I went and tried right now to go twist a spoon, I don't think I could do it. But it was the power of that energy that Bunny Young helped us pull out of our body, and Um, I just, I think that that's just so relatable to so much aspect of our life when it comes to being able to give our body the right pleasure to create the energy that we need to invest in what we want. There will be shifts, right? And you're right, there, there absolutely is pleasure behind closed doors that can help us make great decisions. But we have to look for pleasure in all aspects of life, being turned on by life. I joke with my husband that ice cream is my love language. Give me ice cream and like all the good decisions will be made, right? I was talking to somebody today that, you know, I don't go and get my hair done all the time or get my makeup done, but my husband encouraged me to get my nails done because he noticed when I got my nails done, that I, I, there was this different presence about me. I felt confident in just having my nails done. And, um, he really encouraged me. I used to be like, no, I'm not spending the money on this. And he was like, no, I think you deserve this and you feel good when you do it. And so it's one of my pleasures that I do. And I do, I honestly, I just got them done today. I honestly feel so good. Like I feel put together and like ready to make some badass decisions because I got these nails and I'm feeling good. And I think that that is— we've got to stop and we've got to think about what are the things in life that truly bring a smile to our face and maybe even bring fuel that fire inside our gut, right? I think those are like the most beautiful thing. And we're so busy or feel like there's so many things that we have to do that we forget to stop. And listen to what our body's telling us about something.

Okay, okay. There's so many— I mean, we could just like keep having this conversation. However, as my final question, well, before I ask you what your definition of a yes and life is, however, my final question is, if for everybody listening that has made it this far in the podcast, what is the one thing that you would want them to remember and never forget about the power of their bodies?

I'm going to quote Taylor Swift here.

Okay.

And I'm going to say that your energy is a luxury not everybody deserves to have. But know that as power, not as I can't share it. Know it as your energy is so beautiful And especially when you get to be 100% you and feel safe in your own body, connected in your own body, when you're around your tribe, that energy is unstoppable. And it's a luxury for people to be able to be in that presence. So that's what I would say, that connection, I think it's huge.

That perfectly leads into the— my question of what is your definition? Of yes and?

I think— I know my definition of yes and is the ability to be present and feel 100% yourself without feeling that you need to hide or cover anything up and be the per— like, live the life you want unapologetically. That's yes and life for me. Mm.

So beautiful. So beautiful.

Thank you.

So what I wanna share with all of the listeners is that I have a ton of incredible women in my life that have discussed pelvic floor therapy with me, that have discussed connecting with my body with me, and are part of the community. And I guarantee that you do as well. However, something shifted. With being in Allison's energy. And so I'm gonna 10 out of 10 encourage you to connect with her on Instagram, to connect with her podcast, and just shoot her a voice note. Tag us wherever you're listening, tag us on Instagram, and just share a takeaway, that something unexpected that came out of this episode for you. And from both of us, our homework for after listening to this episode would be take 60 seconds and just connect to your body. And let us know, like, what comes from that. And all of the contact, all the connection info for Allison's going to be in the show notes. Allison, thank you so much for being here on the Yes And Podcast.

Thank you so much for having me, Bunny Young. It's been such a joy and love talking about the deep connections. Yes.

And this is just the beginning of the conversation. So connect with Allison. She has so many incredible resources that are linked below this show that she's sharing from her heart with you. Connect with me. Let me know, bringing in not just the business talk but the yes and, like, yes, you are a business owner and you are a spiritual being that owns a business. From this, let me know how this conversation, how this episode struck you. This came from your requests of wanting to take self-care in a different direction and see how this conversation inspires not just more thought into bringing your whole self into your life and into your business, but also like what self-care beyond the nails and beyond the massages are. So if it stirred something in you, don't run past it. Don't rush past it. That's your body speaking. Let it. And also share this. Share this with somebody that you care about and you love. Let us know what your takeaways are. Hit follow. Leave us a review. All of that is just incredible. And tag us on social media. Don't do this part of your life alone. That's my ask, my personal ask. And come back and see me on another episode of the Yes And Podcast. I'm Bunny Young. Thank you for being you, and I can't wait to share more.