The Healthy

Pelvic Floor
Book

By Jana Danielson
 All rights reserved. No part of this material may be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in
whole or in part without express written permission.

The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in

this material are not intended to replace a one on one
relationship with a qualified healthcare professional
and are not intended as medical advice. Always
consult a knowledgeable medical professional about
your symptoms.

Neither the author nor publisher has any control and

does not assume any responsibility for author or third
party websites or their content.

Copyright 2023
 What You Will Learn:

04 | YOUR BODY BASICS

08 | JANA’S PAIN JOURNEY

12 | LEARNING ABOUT YOUR BODY

19 | ENERGETICS OF THE PELVIC FLOOR

21 | THE SOLUTION

25 | THE INVITATION

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved PAGE 03

CHAPTER 1:

Your Body
Basics
When was the last time you thought about your pelvic floor health? Days,
weeks, months, or even years?? —Maybe you’ve never thought about it at
all.

The truth is, the pelvic floor is often a very under-loved, under-appreciated,
and, well under-understood part of our body. And I think it’s time we all
start to understand more about our pelvic floor health. To look at different
ways that our body can both prevent and heal from a pelvic floor health
perspective.

The human body is not made up of pieces. And when you look at your body
as a collection of pieces, chances are you’re going to fall flat in your health
and wellness journey. When you look at the body as a series of systems, you’ll
soon discover an understanding of how if one system in the body is lacking in
function, the other systems around it will also be affected.

Let’s use our posture as an example. When you have poor posture it
impacts not only your skeletal system, but your muscular system and your
circulatory system. This leads to impacting your digestion, elimination, and
your nervous and lymphatic systems. What does this all mean, well, just
from sitting poorly in your chair at work all day, you could be causing
constipation, indigestion and other gut issues, headaches, jaw tension and
the list goes on and on and on.

So, what in the world could the health of our pelvic floor possibly have to
do with the health of the rest of our body??? Well, simply the location of
the pelvic floor as a junction between our upper and lower body counts for
a lot of the importance, as women, we tend to carry a lot of stress and
tension in this area and from an energetic perspective, our root energy
center is located here as well. All of these reasons add up to our pelvic floor
having tons of significance in our physical, mental, emotional and
energetic health.

PAGE 05
So let me ask you, what is your pelvic
floor IQ?? Perhaps you don’t know very
much about your pelvic floor, but you’re
looking for prevention hints and tips so
you can make a positive impact on this
area before there’s an issue. Or maybe
you’ve started noticing some changes
in your body such as when you cough or
sneeze and find yourself peeing a little
bit and you want to nip this in the bud
and take inspired action.
Maybe you’re unsure of where to
turn, or you’ve tried several things
but nothing’s worked. Whatever the
scenario may be, it can be very
frustrating and isolating.
Look, you’re not alone. And it’s certainly
not your fault. Pelvic floor dysfunction
is much more prevalent than you think.
In fact, in the United States alone,
upwards of 30 million women are
dealing with some sort of pelvic floor
issue - and the fact is, all of the
solutions out there for pelvic floor
health are not the only fixes and in
most cases, these so-called ‘fixes’ really
only mask the symptoms!
On top of that, research shows that
90% of pelvic floor dysfunction cases, in
a man or woman’s body, are not
medical issues.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved
So then what are they if they’re not
medical in nature? Well, to put it simply,
they’re fitness/movement issues. And why
is this a MAJOR reframe when it comes to
women’s health???? Well, with the right
education and the right tools, you can fix
your pelvic floor dysfunction!!!! YAY!!
It’s important to remember that this part
of your body (the pelvic floor) is a group
of muscles. These muscles are
surrounded by connective tissue called
fascia, there are nerves and there is
blood. It’s no different than your bicep or
any other muscle in your body! This is
the environment our muscles live in.
And again—it’s not your fault. We have
been given information for years that the
issues “down there” are just part of being
a woman and a part of aging and we just
need to live with it.
We’ve been told that the only fix is to use
incontinence products, which, by the
way, is a $21 BILLION DOLLAR industry.
This means that $21 BILLION dollars
worth of time, effort, and money has
been spent on a solution that 90% of us
don’t need (and let’s face it, wearing a
pad is nowhere near a ‘solution’). And
that’s just not right.
We’re not being taught the correct
information! Instead, we’re being taught
that this is the solution to deal with the
symptom rather than how to find and
deal with the root causes.
PAGE 06
 For men - 90% of incontinence or erectile
dysfunction is a pelvic floor issue as well, yet
the erectile dysfunction drug industry dances
in the realm of a $9 BILLION industry.

And did you know that erectile dysfunction

can be solved with pelvic floor physiotherapy?
It’s true!

So essentially we’re being told that there’s

not much we can do to resolve these issues.

But that is all going to end with you having

this ebook to use a reference guide to learn
the basics of pelvic floor health, blood flow, and
what makes the neural network (the
information highways) in the brain
communicate effectively with the body.

I know you’ll start to understand how you can

make a huge difference in the health of your
pelvic floor! The best part is that you can do it in
only three minutes a day—that’s right, in only 180
seconds a day you can improve the health of
your pelvic floor.

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved PAGE 07

CHAPTER 2:
Jana's Story
Let me tell you a little bit about my own
story and how I came to realize that
something needed to change.
When I was in my late teens/early 20s, I
was gifted with, what I consider, my
pain journey. This pain journey lasted
about four years, but the last two years
were the most intense—so I started a
medical pathway to try and figure out
a diagnosis so that I could get better.
The pain I experienced was digestive in
nature, starting with just a burning
tummy issue. If I was about to write a test
or anxiously waiting for my now husband
(then boyfriend) to call me after school,
my stomach would get a little bit uneasy.
Now, here’s the thing. I am the first born
in my family, a high achiever, and an
athlete, who always wanted to do well in
school. And so everyone would just kind
of shrug it off as. “Oh, that’s just Jana.
It’s just her stomach. She just gets like
that,” and I believed it. Especially
considering my dad, being a farmer, had
antacids in the console of his truck, so I
just thought to myself, “I must be just
like my dad, I guess.”
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved
After I moved away to university, the
pain got even worse and much more
frequent which led to my medical
journey where I was searching for a
diagnosis - going from doctor to doctor
and specialist to specialist, yet my pain
never subsided. Not to mention the 11
different medications I was put on
during this time.
Even though my pain was digestive,
when you live with any type of acute or
chronic pain, it impacts your entire body.
So not only did my posture change
significantly, but also my voice, my literal
voice, my energetic voice, and my
spiritual voice was muted. I wouldn’t
even pick up the phone to make a hair
appointment. My pelvic floor pain also
began from all of the guarding I was
doing from the pain that was plaguing
my whole body.
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I didn’t realize that when my posture
was changing, it was impacting even
more of my gut—my digestion and
pooping became impacted, and my
pelvic floor became impacted as well
because I was holding so much tension. I
was like this turtle all of the time hiding
under my hard shell.

One day, I was at my doctor’s office, she

looked at me and said, “Jana, we believe
that the pain you’re experiencing is in
your head, we also believe you’re seeking
attention, and we hope you have a nice
life.” And that was it.

And then I had my 'Madonna' moment

It was all I could do to not burst into
- six months after that conversation
tears. But in reality, it felt like I was in the
with my doctor. I was in the grocery
ocean holding on with all my might to a
store one day, looked over at the
little rubber dinghy waiting for this big
magazine rack, and noticed a fitness
boat to come and save me - and just as I
magazine with Madonna on the cover.
was getting to the boat, they cut the
It was the fall of 1999 and had the
rope and I drifted away. And this
word Pilates splattered across it. I
overwhelming feeling occurred because I
picked it up, bought it, went home,
didn’t know what else to do. I thought if I
and read the article about ten or
didn’t have the support of mainstrteam
twenty times because what I was
medicine, I would never heal—this would
reading didn’t make sense in my head.
be my life.

See, I taught fitness classes through

This led to a devastating 6-month
university to pay for my tuition - step
depression. Sure, I looked healthy on the
classes, spin classes, and weightlifting
outside, but on the inside, I felt like I was
classes. At this time in my life, I had the
dying because nothing was working and
mindset that for a workout to be worth it,
the pain was just too much.
you needed to leave a puddle of sweat on
the floor and you should be sore the next
day. Yet this article I was reading was
about a form of movement that focussed
on the spine, alignment, posture, and
something called the pelvic floor. So I
thought to myself, “What is all of this?
How does this make you healthy? What’s
the point? How is this different?”

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I was so intrigued (and loved Madonna - still do) so decided to
find a Pilates class to attend. During my first class, I couldn’t do
anything right. Nothing. I couldn’t even breathe properly - and
I was devastated. Had I not been in the front row in the center
of that class, I would have rolled up my mat, made a beeline for
the door, and never gone back. But I was front-row-center and
my ego would have been too bruised had I left early, so I stayed
and watched all of these people moving and breathing—all of
which my body could not do.

At the end of the class, the instructor walked up to me and

wrapped her arms around me which led to me bursting into
tears. All she said to me was “Come back on Thursday.” And I did. I
went back every Tuesday and Thursday after that. Then
something incredible happened—after 16 weeks I was off all 11
pills of my daily medication. I didn’t understand what was going
on in my body but it started changing. My pain was gone and the
bonus was the the shape of my body changed too!

That was an AH-HA moment for me. I realized that I was looking
for healing in the wrong place. I was looking for healing outside
of me and I thought I needed someone to heal me. What I totally
missed was the fact that we are all gifted with a body that is
innately brilliant. Yes, there are times when your body needs
help from outside sources, but after that, when you can go
inside and start to connect with the essence of ‘you’ and this is
when it becomes more than simply physical. We start to peel
back the layers of your mental body, your emotional body and
your energetic body.

That’s when I realized I have the power to heal and it really

was simple. All I needed to to was to turn the information I was
learning into education by living what I was learning!

And so I did. I started to trust and love my body again. Which

led to becoming certified in Pilates and dive into this wonderful
world of women’s health and the pelvic floor.

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Chapter 3:

Learning
About Your
Body
Let me ask you this: Are you looking for less
pain and more energy, confidence and
sensuality, and to really become informed
about your body?

Well, to get started you need to learn

about your body. Let’s begin with your
diaphragm. The diaphragm is your main
muscle of respiration (aka main breathing
muscle) - it sits inside your ribcage.
Imagine looking up at a mushroom cap or
an open umbrella, that’s what the
diaphragm looks like. It’s huge! It plays a
critical role in pelvic floor health. Joseph
Pilates said, “breath is the first and the last Diaphragm - Front View
act of life, and somewhere in the middle,
we forget how to do it.” And, boy oh boy,
was he right. Thanks to our less than
optimal posture, lack of hydration, being
disconnected from our body, and our
restricted clothing we stop using our
diaphragm as our main breather and we
start to use the small muscles in our neck
(who already have a job by the way……they
hold our head up on our spine and this
could be why you live with chronic jaw, Diaphragm - Bottom Up View
neck and upper back tension, TMJ, low
grade headaches at the browline or hair
line……because these small neck muscles
NEVER GET A BREAK)!!

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Look at it this way - the diaphragm is the roof of your core and the pelvic
floor is the floor of your core. Don’t just think about the core as being your
abdominal muscles - I know that people often think things like, “I have to
improve my core strength,” and so what does that lead to, well most of the
time it leads to laying on a mat and banging out a bunch of crunches. But
still, the focus is always on, I have to improve my heart, my core strength, and
so on - but that’s not what you need to do. What we need to realize is that
proper diaphragmatic breathing can tone your waistline, can help to
strengthen the area around any diastasis recti, can feed your cells 600% more
oxygen and can give your whole body an energy boost. All this from
breathing diaphragmatically 3 times a day for 1 minute each time!!

Female Pelvic Floor

Ok, just to be sure you are clear on this, the diaphragm is the roof of your
core and the pelvic floor is the floor of your core. Then we have four sets
of abdominal muscles that create this cylinder around our rib cage. So
let's take a closer look at these 4 sets of abdominal muscles.

We have the rectus abdominals, we know it as the six–pack. It's the one
that we chase the most, right? But listen, it's ludicrous because you need
to have low enough body fat percentage to be able to even see that
muscle that we've been told time and time again is a sign of being fit and
healthy. It's just not true - your rectus abs are in no way THE indicator of
fitness. They're just not, there is so much more to it.

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Next and one layer deeper, we have our obliques. The external obliques
connect to the internal obliques in a crisscross way. Deeper than that are the
transverse abs that wrap around the body. These are the deepest abdominal
muscles that you have and these are the ab muscles that we want to ‘wake
up’ with diaphragmatic breathing.

Transverse Abs Transverse Abs Transverse Abs

(Back View) (Side View) (Front View)

Now that we have a sense of the structure of our core with the roof,
cylinder and floor, I want to share a bit on the communication system that
runs messages and sensations from the brain to the pelvic floor. This all
happens via the pudendal nerve. This is the nerve that comes out of the
sacrum and branches into the genitals. Men and women alike have this
same exact nerve, and it has two jobs; it is a motor nerve so it sends and
receives messages back and forth from the pelvic floor to the brain and
back again. It is also a sensory nerve which means all of the feelings
between pleasure and pain travel this nerve pathway to the pelvic floor.

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This chapter would not be complete without talking about your fascia.
Fascia is an intricate, complex, and incredibly important connective
tissue. Fascia is not the same as muscle. Muscle stretches like an
elastic band, whereas fascia is more like a plastic grocery bag, you can
stretch it a little. Fascia can be released with heat and force.

Here’s what your oh-so-important fascia does in your body - it

surrounds every muscle fiber you have and every nerve you have. It
sticks to organs too. When you do not care for your fascia and keep it
healthy it can start to react like a boa constrictor wrapping tightly
around each muscle fibre and it begins to deplete healthy oxygen-rich
and nutrient-rich blood flow from these fibres. When a muscle doesn’t
have adequate oxygen and nutrients, it dies. Think about it this way—if
you were being suffocated, you would die without oxygen, right? And
that’s what is happening to your muscles, the exact same thing when
we are over caffeinated and dehydrated and our fascia becomes
unhealthy.

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Earlier in this book, I mentioned that 90% of pelvic floor dysfunction is a
fitness/movement issue. When you have a lack of oxygen-rich, nutrient-rich
blood in the pelvic floor, it’s not if you will experience pelvic floor dysfunction,
but when.

So if you experience these pelvic floor issues because the tissues are actually
dying, you know you need to resuscitate them, but may not know how.
Often the thought arises, well if I do kegels, that will fix it, right?
Unfortunately no, because that’s not the only thing that you need.

Sure, kegels and breathing are super important - but it’s certainly not the
solution for a lack of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood. And when there is a lack
of that oxygen and nutrient-rich blood, the muscle simply cannot thrive—the
neural network in the brain cannot rebuild or be effective and efficient in
sending those messages through that pudendal nerve.

So what does all of this mean? It means that you need to get that oxygen and
nutrient-rich blood to your pelvic floor. And when that happens, then you can
add in proper breathing techniques and are well on your way to transforming
your pelvic floor health.

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Let's dive a little deeper...

A pelvic floor can be too tight, that’s

referred to as hypertonic—when it’s too
tight and there’s too much tone. For
instance, in a man’s body, erectile
dysfunction is often caused by
hypertone. How can you expect to get
blood to flow through this rock wall of
a muscle to the penis? Pelvic Floor
physiotherapy is very effective for
healing this situation for men. Pelvic
floor physiotherapy in a man’s body is
done anally. The therapists will work to
On the other end of the spectrum,
release tension in the muscle, and then
there is a hypotonic pelvic floor. And
the blood flow will be able to return.
when you have a lack of tone, that’s
when you can experience urge and /or
For women hypertone looks like this:
frequency incontinence.
whenever you cough, sneeze, jump on
a trampoline, or even go for a run,
Picture this: You’re carrying bags of
there’s impact - that’s where you
groceries up to your house, you put the
experience that little or a lot bit of
bags down, put your hand on the
leaking. When it’s too tight, or too
doorknob, and while you didn’t have to
toned, pelvic floor pain can also occur
pee two nanoseconds ago, suddenly
during intercourse and constipation
you are flinging the door open,
(yes, constipation, the gut, the health
dropping the groceries on the floor,
of your gut microbiome, and digestion
and trying to undo your pants as you
all have a connection to the pelvic
sprint to the bathroom. That’s an urge,
floor).
and so many people have this urge.

It is also important to acknowledge

that every body is so different and
there’s a lot of spectrum in-between,
and sometimes people can actually
show symptoms from both hypo and
hyper.

So there you have it, the basics of

our anatomy and what makes the
pelvic floor tick!

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Chapter 4:

Energetics
of the
Pelvic Floor
We are much more than a physical body- there is your mental body, your
emotional body, your energetic body, and your spiritual body.

You’ve likely heard about the chakra system (the energy system). Well, at
the base of your spine between the anus and genitals you can find your root
chakra - your root energy center. This is what grounds you, and makes you
feel connected and safe.

This energy center should be spinning like a beautiful vortex but sometimes it
gets stuck or begins to spin the opposite way. That’s when you begin feeling
not so at home in your body, or more distrustful, and unsafe. And sometimes
this can be a feeling that you experience all of the time..

You may even think to yourself, I’ve been dealing with my pelvic floor issues or
pelvic floor pain for decades, but it still hasn’t gone away. Maybe you have a
list of things you’ve tried too - including nerve blocker medications because
it’s nerve pain. Again, that's a symptom, not the root cause that needs to be
dealt with.

It is crucial that you acknowledge this energetic part of your body, and until
you do, the pelvic floor dysfunction will remain status quo and the pain
you’re experiencing will probably stick around for a long time.

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Chapter 5:
The Solution
Whenever you take the necessary
actions to properly and effectively
deal with fascia, it allows your blood
flow to surround these muscles. On
the other hand, if you don’t deal with
the health of your fascia, all of the
pieces of the puzzle are simply not in
the box.
So you might be wondering what
does fascia need in order to be
healthy? How can you release and
stretch this tissue so that the oxygen
rich, nutrient rich blood that the pelvic
floor needs to start to function
optimally can be allowed in.
So here’s the simple solution…The
Cooch Ball!!!!
And here’s what makes this product
so spectacular—it’s simple! It’s so easy
to use.
I carefully and thoughtfully created
the Cooch Ball. As a mom of 3 boys
and a Pilates & Pelvic Floor expert, I
created it so that you can improve the
way your blood flow positively impacts
your pelvic floor muscles, your
pudendal nerve and your fascia.
The solution really is a two-step
system. Step 1: you sit on the ball (and
you will work your way up to 3
minutes each day.) The weight of your
body on the patented Cooch Ball will
start a process of melting these fascial
restrictions and will allow blood flow
to the area.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved
Now you are beginning to create
the environment for change and
healing/strengthening/improving
your pelvic floor health can begin as
we are now connected to the root
cause. This is why kegels alone can
only take your pelvic floor healing to
a certain level and then you will
plateau and may even start to
return back to where you were in
the first place - peeing or having
pelvic floor pain.
Now, onto step 2, the diaphragmatic
breathing technique that we spoke
about earlier. You do this while using
the Cooch Ball… take a moment to try
this little breathing exercise:
Start by placing one hand on your
sternum, the flat bone of the chest.
Next, place your other hand over your
belly button - you’re going to begin by
inhaling through your nose like you
are smelling a fresh baked apple pie
and then exhaling out of your mouth
as if you are fogging up your
bathroom mirror.
Focus on your bottom hand, the
one touching your belly button -
you’re going to breathe into your
bottom hand as if there was a
bullseye target on it.
Breathe in through your nose, and
fill your bottom hand with air. Now
exhale, melting your belly button
away from your bottom hand - inhale
into your bottom hand, and exhale
away from your bottom hand.
PAGE 22
When you inhale through your nose, your pelvic floor is at rest on that
first breath. Your lungs are filling with air, so your big diaphragm muscle
has to get out of the way of your lungs and contracts (gets smaller and
moves downward) and your pelvic floor also slightly moves downward as
well. And as you exhale, your diaphragm expands and rises back up inside
of the ribcage as your lungs empty. At this point your pelvic floor is like an
elevator and it is moving upwards from the lobby to the 4th floor, it is
contracting. This feeling is going to be very subtle, like picking up a grape
with your vagina that you do not want to squash. We want the subtlety vs
the intense or forced feeling we often get when we are told how to do a
kegel.

Click here or the image below to see the breathing demonstration.

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved PAGE 23

When you add the weight of your body onto the Cooch Ball,
you can achieve the beautiful experience of fascia release -
and this proper breathing method creates movement in the
strength and release of the pelvic floor. It’s the perfect
storm, so to speak.

It’s important to mention that for some people, there may be

an ouch factor when they first sit on their Cooch Ball. Let me
explain. Some people may only be able to stay on the ball
and do this breathing exercise for 15-30 seconds when they
begin. The ouch factor has a direct relationship to the health
of your pelvic floor. Lots of ouch means you need lots of help
and as you stay consistent with your daily practice, the ouch
will slowly start to disappear and this is how you know that
you are changing the health of your body from the inside
out.

Use your breath as your guide—as long as you are breathing

calmly, you’re golden, and you’re good to go.

Now, when you get off of the ball it might feel like you’re
sitting in the Grand Canyon, and it feels that way because
now there is space where there used to be tension. You’ll
experience a warm tingly sensation too, which is how you
know that change is happening. This is the sensation of
blood flow. You’re going to feel it. This is the change you’ve
been looking for.

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Chapter 6:
The Invitation
Imagine it is 6 weeks from today. You wake up in the morning, you have
slept all night because you no longer have to get up to go to the
bathroom multiple times a night so you are RESTED and full of ENERGY.
You are feeling more CONFIDENT and notice how you are making and
taking the time to move your body, keeping your hydration in check and
you are eating more healthy (as this is what starts to happen when you
begin this inside out wellness journey). You are feeling more SENSUAL
and are reconnecting with your partner and maybe even having a little
fun on your own when it suits you! Sex feels better! Your MINDSET and
MOTIVATION are soaring!

Just imagine!

Are you ready to join me and the Cooch Ball sisterhood full of women
who were where you are right now, who have achieved dramatic
changes in their pelvic floor health which evolved into total body
wellness.

Are you ready?

Let’s take another look at the Cooch Ball process just to make sure you
have clarity and confidence about how simple and easy it is to use.

Here’s what you do: Place the ball between the pubic bone and anus, then
sit on it. And you don’t have to be on the floor, you can sit on a chair, your
couch, or the mattress of your bed.

Click here or the image below for a demonstration of using your ball.

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 Just Look What People Are Saying:

“So before the Cooch Ball, my bladder was giving me issues every day,
both frequency and urgency and sometimes just not being able to control
it. Once I started using the Cooch Ball, I started improving quickly. I bet it
wasn’t even a month before I saw a dramatic difference. And now, four
months later, I hardly ever even think about it.” -Stephanie

“Thank you, Jana. I’m a little over a week into my Cooch Ball experience.
And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to cross my legs when I
sneeze. You’re an incredible instructor/educator, and I love your detailed
instructions and videos.” -Melissa

I use mine every single night. My pelvic floor has become so strong. No more
accidents, no more gushes or dribbles. The Cooch Ball has changed my life.
Thank you! -Pamela

I'm 67 now and this is my report to you-I started with the Cooch Ball just
over a month ago and my over-active bladder is 99% better. Wow! What a
gift that is. I walk differently, I no longer slump into my hips, my balance is so
much better, my posture is better, I felt good enough to do a 2 week liver
cleanse, so I lost 10 lbs, look better, feel better, and now am on a healthier
trajectory. YAY!! Thank you so much for all your efforts, your time, your
delightful presence, and your constant encouragement!!! -Marie

We are waiting for you!

CLICK HERE for

Cooch Ball

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