I entered the world of women’s wellbeing in 1989 when I commenced my midwifery training. Despite my hesitation to become a midwife, my first day on the job immediately turned that viewpoint around. I felt completely at home. And I’ve loved every day of being a midwife since.
 
Early in my career in the world of birth I was alerted to all that I didn’t understand about the pelvis by a gifted bodyworker called Wintergreen. She awoke the pelvic geek in me and I am forever grateful.

I went on to complete a diploma in Holistic Bodywork and explore different modalities of touch work over the years. I’ve come to the conclusion that the pelvis will always keep me in a state of wonder. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! I’m always learning more about the interconnectedness of connective tissue, always in awe of the differences in and of each woman’s pelvis, always dumbfounded at a baby’s creative powers to navigate through the birth tunnel.
 
And so while I no longer attend births, I remain connected to its magic in working with women before and after the event.

I have lived in Melbourne, Australia since I was 18, having grown up in Gippsland’s Latrobe Valley. I have 2 children, 2 step children, 2 grandchildren and an amazing husband………and 2 dogs.

Qualifications:

Spinning Babies® Approved Trainer Training
Spinning Babies, Minnesota, USA
 
Grad dip. Nursing (Child, Health, Community)
La Trobe University
                                   
Diploma of Holistic Bodywork
The Institute of Integrated Holistic Health
 
Grad dip. Adv Nursing (Women’s Health)
La Trobe University
 
Midwifery Training
Monash Medical Centre, Clayton

General Nurse Training
Mercy Private Hospital, East Melbourne

Internal Pelvic Release Work

This work was first shared with me nearly 30 years ago by a wise body worker.
The intention of the work was to prepare/soften the vaginal tissues and all the surrounding pelvic structures so the second phase of labour (the pushing phase) would proceed with ease. The aim was to prevent/minimise trauma to mother’s birth canal tissues and to baby.
 
Over time, the way I share the Internal Pelvic Release work has changed somewhat. How could it not? My touch skills became more refined. I studied a Dip of Holistic Bodywork to understand the interconnected nature of soft tissues. I learnt from and with the courageous women who came through my door. While drinking tea together I heard a myriad of stories intertwined with grief, tenderness, frustration, pain, shame, confusion and regret. It pushed me to problem solve and explore different touch approaches with tissues. It pushed me to keep learning and to keep offering my care to those who put their vulnerability on the line.
 
A woman’s pelvis is a magnificent piece of architecture containing her powerhouse………her womb.
All organs in the body are supported by soft tissue connections. The pelvis being the bony guardian of a woman’s reproductive organs, also has a multitude of ligaments, fascia and muscles supporting the bladder, bowel and womb (with her cervix and vagina). The intention of these fibres is to hold the organs in a balanced, suspensory fashion. The capacity of these fibres to accommodate changes within the pelvis, most notably pregnancy, is extraordinary.
 
As in any other area of the body, soft tissues can hold tension. 
Tension can be conscious or unconscious. 
Tension can stem from injuries, postural habits, trauma, surgery, hobby or lifestyle choices. 
Tension can restrict movement, flow, expansion, space of the bones and of the organs. 
Tension in soft tissues can hold memories and emotions. We can hold ‘issues in the tissues’.
 
During an internal pelvic release session tension can be identified and invited to release with tender direct touch, so allowing the tissues to sigh.
 
When tissues sigh, space is created.
 
The vagina is a stretchable tube. It’s ability to transform is gobsmacking. Women are usually only familiar with vaginal examinations that explore the top wall – as in a cervix check when in labour or for a pap smear. But the vagina has a back wall through which contact can be made with the soft tissue connections that provide stabilisation to the bones and to the organs.
It’s through the back wall of the vagina that we can use tender touch and directed breathing to free tension in the ligaments and muscles and fascia.

​Who would benefit from Internal Pelvic Release Work?

Women preparing for birth

Women healing from birth

Women with painful scars in their vagina from birth

Women who want to understand why they ‘couldn’t birth’ their baby vaginally

Women confused about sensations they felt in their labour or stalls in their labour

Women who have been harmed by another

Women who experience painful or no sex due to vaginismus/vulvodynia

Women who feel their pelvic floor is weak

Women who feel their pelvic floor is tight or hypertonic
​
Women curious about knowing more of their pelvic goods

​What’s involved in Internal Pelvic Release Work?

A 2hour education and hands-on session includes:

a discussion on pelvic anatomy to support a woman’s knowledge of her pelvic space, pelvic bones and pelvic soft tissues
 
an exploration and gentle release of tension in the soft tissue connections – ligaments, muscles, fascia – felt through the back wall of the vagina
 
guidance with ‘how to continue with self-care’ and further release work by the woman or with her partner’s support
 
The 2hour session also includes the sharing of other modes of releasing tension e.g. bum jiggling and techniques that cultivate balance within the pelvis and womb

Body oriented Birth Preparation

Directed Breathing
Employing the breath appropriately will amplify any touch/bodywork and birth preparation. It enables presence, supreme focus, tension release and an increase of circulation and function to pelvic structures and systems.
Working with the Pelvic Floor
  • Uterine Ligaments - “The Pelvic Clock Exercise” is a way to connect with the uterine ligaments that attach into the cervix and mastering release of tension in these powerful fibres
  • Pelvic Floor Muscles - “The Sploosh Exercise is a way to let go of pelvic floor tension after every contraction in labour
  • Bum Jiggling - Jiggling is a highly effective and recommended way to release tension, synchronise body systems, prepare for birth, make more space for the baby and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.  It is also a highly enjoyable and easy to learn practice for couples preparing for birth
Psoas Release
The psoas is the body’s flight/fight/freeze muscle and it passes through the pelvis. When holding tension, the psoas muscles can influence a baby’s position in the womb, and generally affect pelvic balance.

Pelvic Balancing
When the pelvis is in a state of balance, all pelvic organs & tissues have effective nerve and blood supply.
Pelvic Balancing is a gentle practice, based on Orthobionomy principles to bring the pelvis into a state of balance.

Scar Release Work
Caesarean Section scars and vaginal scars benefit enormously from gentle release work. Tender, deliberate touch brings about a softening of scars, so improving blood flow and nervous innervation.

Appointments

Book your appointment online below including reasons for your visit in the comments (eg. weeks pregnancy/post-natal & other concerns). Please contact me if you need another appointment time.

Workshops

Internal Pelvic Release Work Mentoring Program

This body of knowledge is based on the collective experiences of 3 independent bodyworkers
- Jenny Blyth, Andrea Lopez and Fiona Hallinan -
all of whom have specialised in working with those who have pelvic discomforts/dilemmas.
Our intention in creating the program is to share our knowledge and skills, ensuring women everywhere can access pelvic healing through soft tissue release.
We have nurtured thousands of women healing from birth, preparing for birth, reacquainting themselves with their pelvic goods, meeting their pelvic space for the first time, soothing tensions, healing trauma.
There is a growing demand for a variety of practitioners to address women’s pelvic health. 
There is a strong need for women to know their own bodies - their sacred internal pelvic space, nurture the space
​and take pride in the space. The pelvis is NOT an empty space…this space holds our womb.

Birthwork Workshops

These Workshops are taught with my friend and colleague, Jenny Blyth.
These workshops are 4 full days of sharing a collection of knowledge and skills that we have learnt and implemented in our birth and bodywork practices.
The information we teach is based on techniques and principles of urogenital osteopathy and ortho bionomy. The focus of the workshops is on the internal and external female pelvis, the changes it is capable of, the stories it holds, the habits and conditions that affect it. Our approach creatively weaves complex anatomy and soft tissue knowledge into easy yet highly effective hands-on body skills and internal bodywork that significantly support mother and baby through the journey.

​Spinning Babies® Workshops

As a Spinning Babies Approved Trainer, I can deliver 1 day or 2 day Workshops to midwives, doulas, birth educators, and all health professionals involved in the care of pregnant women.
 
‘What is Spinning Babies’?
Spinning Babies® is a physiological approach to pregnancy and birth.
It begins with baby’s position as a clue, rather than a cause, to the needs of the mother’s anatomy. Knowledge is shared about the influence the pelvic soft tissues’ alignment and condition have on birth. 

School of Wholistic Birthwork

​‘Modules of pregnancy & birth knowledge and skills that address all the things they didn’t teach you in your midwifery education’.
 
Gestating………………………………………..