Autumn has well and truly arrived — so here I am in your inbox with another seasonal update.

WE NEED HELP!

There’s an opportunity for someone special to take Embody from a one-woman show, and expand to a team. If you, or someone you know of is a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, please click here for all of the details.

AVAILABILITY

As I continue to approach work more sustainably to allow myself space to understand my new health challenges (you can read more, here), I am working just three days a week — Wednesday through Friday.

NEW PATIENTS

There’s no denying that we are experiencing a strain on the health system in Mount Gambier, and with some of my physiotherapist peers moving on or taking leave, there is a ripple effect through our community.

• I am no longer able to accept new patients for purely musculoskeletal (muscles, bones, joints) concerns. I’ve invested significantly in developing my skills in pelvic health to serve a need to our community, so it is important that I prioritise my specialised women’s health skills.

• Pre-and postnatal patients will continue to be seen as promptly as possible, as a priority. I am very mindful of the unique time sensitivity in this season of life!

• All other new pelvic health patients will be invited to join the waitlist for an initial appointment.

WAITLIST

Some of you have been waiting for many months now for your first appointment, and I thank you for your patience. I have started seeing patients in chronological order, and will reach out to more people in mid to late May. It is most likely that I will contact you via text message to make your initial appointment.

Wait times are around 3-6 months, please know that I am always working on strategies to improve this while remaining devoted to giving my existing patients high quality care.

I am mindful of the long wait times, but am focusing on a sustainable approach that serves me to serve you. Being the only physiotherapist with these post-graduate qualifications in Mount Gambier means there is a high demand — which I am grateful for — but presents quite a challenge!

CLINICAL EXERCISE CLASSES

I have made the difficult decision to pause our classes again for Term Two. Our wonderful regular attendees have already been informed, but if you’re interested in joining when they resume, please reach out. As I write this, I am not sure when that will be — but my hope is to enliven the clinic again with our classes one day soon.

BIRTHED: ANTENATAL LEARNING

I am beyond excited to announce that our first educational offering…

BIRTHED: ANTENATAL LEARNING

will be launching in May!

It has been my dream for more than three years now to offer the Mount Gambier community an independent, in-person antenatal class that focusses on a whole-person approach.

Birthed looks like this:

Lesson One — Birth Basics

Lesson Two — Preparing Your Body

Lesson Three — Preparing Your Mind

Lesson Four — Connecting with Baby (delivered by the *incredible* Hannah Milstead of Milky Chance, you can see her work here)

If you, or someone you love is giving birth this year — keep an eye on our Instagram for our free offering ‘Lesson Zero — Feeling Your Best, While You’re Pregnant’ at the end of this month.

OUTSIDE OF THE CLINIC I HAVE BEEN…

READING:

I branched out into fantasy for Water Moon and loved every page.

WATCHING:

We *devoured* the latest season of Drive to Survive. It’s a touch off-brand for me as a non-sporty girl, but it is so well made and engaging!

LISTENING:

I finally listened to an episode of Huberman Lab! This episode with Dr. Becky Kennedy on what it means to be ‘sturdy’ as a parent (and a person) was excellent. Worth the long listen.

DOING:

I’m learning new boundaries with fatigue (tricky!), so my focus has been on building my capacity around my health, to feel strong and well again. This has looked like longer walks with Alfred our Cocker Spaniel, consistently showing up to the gym with resistance training (more muscle = less fatigue), and spending 20 minutes at the end of a clinic day on the reformer to self-regulate.

THANK YOU, SO MUCH

Please reach out if you have any thoughts, questions or feelings. Remember, I am a human on the other side of this email — and while I’m no Magic 8 Ball, I will always try my very best to provide clarity.

Embody is the biggest, best thing that I have ever done. It’s is such a privilege to serve the women in this community.

Warmly,

Sarah

MY SUMMER CURVE BALL

In just two weeks I developed symptoms of, and have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (click here to learn more). While I await my first neurology appointment to gather more information about my condition, what I can tell you is that my hands are most affected – so this presents a challenge for a hands-on therapist like me!

I am optimistic that I can, and will adapt. My vision for Embody has always been bigger than me, so this speed bump may bring forward some of my bigger, non-clinical projects sooner. Mums and mums to be — I’m talking to you!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

I’m not sharing this to worry you but to uphold the clarity and dependability I’ve always tried to offer at Embody. For the time being, there may be some disruptions as I gain more insight and understanding about my health, and a treatment plan.

I want to be transparent about how this may affect our services in the coming months —

EXISTING PATIENTS:

I will contact you promptly if I need to adjust your appointments. I have always been, and remain committed to taking utmost care of you, your time and energy.

WAITLIST PATIENTS:

Some of you have been waiting for many months now for your first appointment, and I thank you for your patience.

I will begin moving through my waitlist starting in February, focusing on a sustainable approach. It is most likely that I will contact you via text message to make your initial appointment.

NEW PATIENTS:

There’s no denying that we are experiencing a strain on the health system in Mount Gambier, and with some of my physiotherapist peers moving on or taking leave, there is a ripple effect through our community.

• I am no longer able to accept new patients for purely musculoskeletal (muscles, bones, joints) concerns. I’ve invested significantly in developing my skills in pelvic health to serve a need to our community, so it is important that I prioritise my specialised women’s health skills.

• Pre-and postnatal patients will continue to be seen as promptly as possible, as a priority. I am very mindful of the unique time sensitivity in this season of life!

• All other new pelvic health patients will be invited to join the waitlist for an initial appointment.

CLINICAL EXERCISE CLASSES

I have made the difficult decision to pause our classes for Term One. My wonderful regular attendees have already been informed, but if you’re interested in joining when they resume, please reach out. My goal is that we recommence in Term Two (29th April).

THANK YOU, SO MUCH

Thank you for your kindness and understanding while I move through this challenging time. Please reach out if you have any thoughts, questions or feelings. Remember, I am a human on the other side of this email — and while I’m no Magic 8 Ball, I will always try my very best to provide clarity. Embody is the biggest, best thing that I have ever done. It’s been such a privilege to serve the women in this community and I’m hopeful that I will continue to have a very long career doing this important work.

Warmly,

Sarah

COMMUNITY

WOMEN’S HEALTH WEEK

In early September it was Women’s Health Week and I was honoured to be asked to present at the inaugural Your Women’s Health Toolbox event at Wulanda organised by Dr. Monique Kanters at Hawkins Women’s Health and Lucy Lines of Two Lines Fertility.

I presented to the audience some simple but important information about pelvic health, a presentation on ‘how to support your pelvic floor (just like it supports you)’. It was great! I hope to see you there next year.

SELECT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON ENDOMETRIOSIS

September also brought the South Australian government’s Select Parliamentary Committee on Endometriosis to town. I was asked to give evidence about my work with people suffering with Endometriosis to the committee and to answer their questions about the impact of Endometriosis in our local context. If you’re interested in hearing what I, or any of the other local witnesses presented, you can see the transcripts here.

OUTSIDE OF THE CLINIC I HAVE BEEN…

Reading:

I’ve read a lot of novels this year and this one stands out! Poetry within the prose, and written from the perspective of the cells in her body.

Watching:

We devoured this over the school holidays! The perfect balance of rom and com.

Listening:

I’ve followed Hugh Van Cuylenburg’s work for a while and have recently reconnected with The Imperfects podcast. I am loving listening to their regular episodes, especially this one with Dr. Emily their resident psychologist.

Doing:

Planting flower seeds and replacing roses, and my newest interest – baking sourdough bread!

THERAPY

Since closing my diary I have still been super busy in the clinic!

• Prenatal pelvic pain

• Preparing for birth for the first time

• New onset pelvic organ prolapse

• Urgency of bladder causing leaking and pain using TENS

• Leaking with jump, cough and sneeze

• Postpartum rehabilitation of the pelvic floor and abdominals

• Painful intercourse associated with endometriosis

If this sounds like you, or you have some concerns about your pelvic health — I am keeping a waiting list to take new patients early next year and beyond.

MOVEMENT

Our Clinical Exercise Classes are popular!

We have extended our evening times and now have a 6:00pm class every Tuesday and Thursday. If you are an existing patient and are interested in starting classes, let me know! We have spaces available on a flexible week to week basis, for more information click here.

EDUCATION

Watch this space for updates on Birthed, our birth preparation course for parents-to-be. Coming in 2025!

THANK YOU!

It’s a privilege to be serving you, I appreciate you all!

Warmly,

Sarah

COMMUNITY

We are so pleased to have donated to the local branch of The Nurtured Village, a nation-wide charity for the advocacy and prevention of maternal mental health disorders. Our Community Partnership allows them to continue their good work of delivering monthly hampers to a nominated mother in need. If you’d like to know more about the local branch of The Nurtured Village, check out their website here or join their Facebook group here.

This term, we will be implementing our Conscious Cancellation Policy. Embody is a small business, proud to be serving you to the standard that we believe you deserve — longer appointments in a supportive, warm environment dedicated to your wellness as a whole person. Please click here to review our policy (we will also be including this link in your reminder messages), and feel free to reach out with questions or worries — we understand that life is not one size fits all.

THERAPY

Since opening, we’ve had lots of new pelvic health patients, working on:

• Prenatal pelvic pain

• Preparing for birth for the first time

• New onset pelvic organ prolapse

• Urgency of bladder causing leaking and pain

• Leaking with jump, cough and sneeze

• Postpartum rehabilitation of the pelvic floor and abdominals

• Hip and back pain associated with endometriosis

If this sounds like you, or you have some concerns about your pelvic health — please reach out.

MOVEMENT

Our Clinical Exercise Classes are popular!

We have decided not to close our books to new patients, but this means that sometimes bookings will only be available on a weekly basis. Our wonderful regular movers are always so welcoming of new faces and are diligent in making sure they cancel with as much notice as possible, so that we can fill our small classes (3 people maximum!).

We have also welcomed our beautiful ballet barre – opening new opportunities to do weight bearing exercise in our supportive environment.

EDUCATION

Watch this space for updates on Birthed, our birth preparation course for parents-to-be. Coming in 2025!

THANK YOU!

It’s a privilege to be serving you, I appreciate you all!

Warmly,

Sarah