Why I Created Aylara Pelvic Health

[00:00:00] Welcome to Healing at Your Core. I'm Dr. Bree Allred. Today we're gonna have a conversation [00:00:05] about why I do what I do, about why I created Aylara [00:00:10] Pelvic Health, and I hope that you'll enjoy listening to this today [00:00:15] [00:00:20] [00:00:25] [00:00:30] [00:00:35] [00:00:40] So the reality of why I did what I did [00:00:45] is women deserve better. We're looking at the history here. [00:00:50] It's not until the last 10 years that medications have even been studied on women. We were just [00:00:55] expected to be like men. But the challenge with that is, is we're not. [00:01:00] Our bodies cycle every 28 days on average, right? We know there's some [00:01:05] variance in that, but we cycle every 28 days. A man cycles every day, and we [00:01:10] cannot make the same conclusions of how a woman's body is going to handle something [00:01:15] as how a man's body is going to handle something. Our hom- hormonal nature [00:01:20] makes us more complex beings, and the system has failed us to an extent.[00:01:25] I created Aylara Pelvic Health because I wanted to do it differently. I [00:01:30] heard so many women walk into my office, and they're saying, "Why did I not [00:01:35] have this information sooner? Where have you been all of my life? Where have you been [00:01:40] when my marriage has been falling apart because I haven't been able to participate in intimacy? [00:01:45] Where have you been when I've been exercising and wearing a Depends because [00:01:50] I wanted to do a high fitness class? Where have you been when I've been [00:01:55] struggling with bowel movements? Where have you been when I was in my postpartum [00:02:00] timeframe and feeling my body not support me and not [00:02:05] knowing what to do about it? Where have you been when I desperately wanted to get pregnant, [00:02:10] but I couldn't even participate in intercourse with my husband? Where have you been?" [00:02:15] I've heard that so many times, and I've seen the joy when they [00:02:20] finally get the help that they need. I created Aylara because I was determined [00:02:25] that my clinic was going to be the last stop to help someone get answers, [00:02:30] and whether that answer was through me and the services that I could provide or whether that was through making [00:02:35] appropriate referrals to the people that they needed to get to, whether that was [00:02:40] getting them in with the endometriosis specialist, whether that is helping them get in with a colorectal surgeon, [00:02:45] whether that was getting them in with an OBGYN or a urogynecologist, [00:02:50] getting the answers that they need. If I am not your end stop, I will make sure that you are getting [00:02:55] to the people that you need to be getting to to help you I created Aylara Pelvic Health [00:03:00] because women want to be believed. They don't want their symptoms to be brushed under the rug. [00:03:05] They don't wanna be told, "Oh, you're just a woman." I don't want [00:03:10] clients to have to be told that we don't know what's going on, and we don't know how to [00:03:15] help them anymore, and we don't know where to tell them to go. I want [00:03:20] women to have a place to go where they feel that they're getting taken care of, [00:03:25] that they are heard and seen, that they are safe, and that they [00:03:30] can talk about all these issues that many providers don't [00:03:35] even ask about. What's happening with intimate life? What's happening with your [00:03:40] bowels? What's happening with your bladder? Are you choosing to forego [00:03:45] exercise because you're leaking? Are you not confident you can run after your child because [00:03:50] your back and hips hurt so badly? Are you struggling to be able to [00:03:55] conceive? Are you struggling to know if your body can handle another [00:04:00] pregnancy because the last one was so terrible? Are you struggling with the fact [00:04:05] that your birth didn't go the way that you wanted, and now your body is responding differently than it [00:04:10] ever has before? Are we struggling because our bodies are changing because we're going through hormonal [00:04:15] changes? Are we struggling with pain sensitivity? Are we struggling with feeling [00:04:20] like we're going crazy because our hormones are not doing things the way that they [00:04:25] used to? Are we struggling to feel at home in our own bodies? That is [00:04:30] why I created Aylara Pelvic Health Women really want to understand their own bodies. [00:04:35] They wanna know why, they wanna know how. They don't just want to know the what. They [00:04:40] wanna know the reasons behind it. We wanna be educated on why we're feeling the way that we're feeling. [00:04:45] We want to be understood and have somebody say, "I can help you." And [00:04:50] at Aylara Pelvic Health, we can. We can help you. [00:04:55] Women want options. They want to be told that they can do surgery, [00:05:00] that they can do physical therapy, that they can do alternative treatments, that [00:05:05] they can use supportive devices if necessary. They want [00:05:10] options, and then they wanna choose the one that's best for them. They wanna choose the one that aligns with their personal [00:05:15] values. They want to know that they have tried everything before they go [00:05:20] to a surgical option. They want to be educated on those options [00:05:25] Women want providers who collaborate. They want people talking to each other about what [00:05:30] they're all finding because our bodies are complex. They may need, do you know, a [00:05:35] hormonal specialist. They may need an OBGYN. They may need a surgeon. They may need a primary [00:05:40] care or a nutritionist, and they want providers who are communicating so that they don't have to [00:05:45] start over every single time. They want collaboration, so they're getting the whole body [00:05:50] care that they need and that the providers are seeing the whole picture from all the different angles that [00:05:55] the specialists are able to assess. They want somebody to bring that whole picture [00:06:00] together and then be treated as a whole person as they move forward. As our medical system [00:06:05] has gotten more specialized, we've gotten more divided to where it's like, "Oh, I only do the bowels. Oh, I [00:06:10] only do the bladder. Oh, I only do the uterus and the female organs." [00:06:15] And we're needing providers who come together and look at the whole body as a system, and that's what we [00:06:20] provide at Aylara Pelvic Health. So at Aylara Pelvic Health, we have some [00:06:25] values. First one is that we're built on safety. When a woman walks in the doors, [00:06:30] she can feel the difference. She's greeted warmly. She is told with [00:06:35] clear communication what to expect. She has people that have been there. [00:06:40] She has a support system as soon as she walks in the door, and [00:06:45] the environment of the clinic is not one where it is sterile and cold like a medical clinic. [00:06:50] It's you walk in, and it's like home. It's the energy of the place is [00:06:55] healing. It is safety. It is love Along with love, Aylara is [00:07:00] very, very much about treating you as a human. You're not another number to us. You're a person, and we [00:07:05] love you so much, and we want you to feel that love the minute that you walk into our clinic At Aylara [00:07:10] Pelvic Health, we are determined to be the experts in your care. We are [00:07:15] determined to know as much as we can. We are all about pursuing growth within our clinicians and [00:07:20] within those that, that are behind the scenes. We want everyone to be the best that they can be. [00:07:25] That includes our patients and our employees Along with pursuing growth, we are [00:07:30] passionate about being willing to understand, one, where our limitations [00:07:35] lie, where our scope of practice ends, and where we need to get different help. We're about collaborating with other [00:07:40] providers to get you the best care that you can have. We're all about you know, [00:07:45] challenging ourselves. We're looking at is there new evidence that comes and debunks [00:07:50] what we've been doing? We're looking at being the best. We're looking at continually moving [00:07:55] physical therapy and pelvic health forward and women's health forward, and we wanna know what the best evidence [00:08:00] is to support that and be on the cutting edge of what we're seeing be up and coming in the [00:08:05] field We're [00:08:10] all about being transparent with you. We're gonna know when we can help you and when we can't. So if we're not [00:08:15] the place, we're going to make sure that we find the place that can help you next Aylara, it's all [00:08:20] about faith. We know that things can get better for people, [00:08:25] especially when you've lost your own hope, when you've been told over and over that [00:08:30] they're not sure why these issues are happening. We are confident that we can help. We instill [00:08:35] hope in people. We instill faith in people Our values aren't words painted on a [00:08:40] wall. They're actual things that we live by, things that we believe in passionately, [00:08:45] we know you will feel that when you walk into our clinic doors At Aylara Pelvic Health, I envision a place [00:08:50] where someone at 25, 35, 45, and 55 can [00:08:55] walk in and know that there is someone here that understands the season that she's in, that knows the [00:09:00] challenges that come with these times of life, and understands the body and how to help, [00:09:05] and get results, get us back to the things that we love doing So let's [00:09:10] talk a little bit about the 25-year-old walking into our clinic. The 25-year-old, we're gonna talk about [00:09:15] fertility. We're gonna talk about preparing your body for a pregnancy. We're going to talk about [00:09:20] dealing with painful periods, intercourse as we've started becoming sexually active. If [00:09:25] the female sexual response and understanding our body and, and the reactions that we may be having, [00:09:30] or maybe things aren't happening the way we think they should, and just [00:09:35] navigating all of these changes that we're starting to, deal with. Maybe it's painful periods. [00:09:40] Maybe we're helping you be able to navigate, like, why you're struggling with so much pain, why it's so [00:09:45] debilitating in your life Now we start looking at the pregnant and postpartum [00:09:50] patient and helping them navigate these big physiological changes that happen in their body, whether that [00:09:55] be our changing body as we grow a human inside of us, whether that be the changing body [00:10:00] after we've delivered this human to earth side. It's incredible what our bodies [00:10:05] do, and if given the adequate support and health and guidance, it [00:10:10] can actually become even stronger and better because of it I also envision the woman walking in in [00:10:15] perimenopause and menopause and dealing with the challenges that come there. I see the woman that's dealing [00:10:20] with vaginal dryness, with maybe pelvic organs and feel kind of [00:10:25] dropping lower into the vagina, feeling like there's something falling out of the vagina. Maybe it's painful intercourse [00:10:30] because all of these changes in the vagina are making it so tissues are not as flexible. They're a little [00:10:35] more frail. Maybe we're getting, um, tearing in these tissues when we're trying to participate [00:10:40] in intimacy, and it can be a huge challenge to navigate as [00:10:45] we're, as we're trying to figure out what our bodies are doing, as we're trying to figure out h- what [00:10:50] these changes mean, and as we're trying to figure out how we can navigate through them to [00:10:55] still maintain the vibrant life that we desire to live and knowing it's [00:11:00] supported and injury-free I want this to be a proactive healthcare [00:11:05] where our body is a system, and we need to proactively take [00:11:10] care of it. If we can feed it better foods, if we can train it more [00:11:15] appropriately, if we can give better bone health and strengthen our life and longevity [00:11:20] based on the season that we're in, it can be so helpful If you've been living with something [00:11:25] because you've been told it's normal, I want you to know that there may be more options than you [00:11:30] realize. To healthcare providers, I believe healthcare gets better when we collaborate instead [00:11:35] of protecting our individual silos. I want Aylara Pelvic Health to be the kind of organization that [00:11:40] you want to work with. To potential team members, if you're someone who wants your [00:11:45] career to mean more than seeing the next patient on the schedule, I want to build a place where [00:11:50] you can do meaningful work, where you can do so without getting burned out, where you feel [00:11:55] supported in your growth, where we see you To women generally, even if [00:12:00] you never become an Aylara patient, I want what we're building to change the conversations women [00:12:05] are having about healthcare I have seen so many things in women's healthcare that I think need to change. [00:12:10] I think the women need to be listened to, not brushed under the rug. I don't need them to be told [00:12:15] that it's, "Oh, you're just a woman," or, "You've just had a baby," or, "You're going through menopause or [00:12:20] perimenopause." I don't want them to be given the women's tonic as we're [00:12:25] so famous for. Dr. Pierce's favorite prescription, the women's tonic. It's written on a barn [00:12:30] as you, as you drive out of Cache Valley. I don't want that to be the status quo here. I [00:12:35] want women to feel heard. That's what needs to change. You need to be heard [00:12:40] in the things that you're struggling with. You need to be listened to in the fact that knowing that women have [00:12:45] intuition. We are guided. We know when something is off, both with ourselves and [00:12:50] oftentimes with those around us, and we need to trust that intuition. We need to move and [00:12:55] flow within it. We need to trust our instincts, and then be given answers, and be [00:13:00] given people that are like, "I believe you. I believe in you, and I believe what you're feeling. [00:13:05] Let's help you get the care that you need." The mission of Aylara Pelvic Health is so [00:13:10] important to me. I wanted to do things different. I wanted women to have [00:13:15] access to healthcare outside of an insurance-based model. I've seen how [00:13:20] insurance dictates care. I've seen how profits dictate care, [00:13:25] and I've seen how that affects both the clients and the clinicians providing the care.[00:13:30] I wanted to create a place that I love to work. I wanted to create a place that women walk [00:13:35] in the door and they feel the difference. They feel the energy. They feel [00:13:40] like they've come to a place to take care of themselves. They feel as if [00:13:45] they've entered a place of safety, of love, of a warm hug, of [00:13:50] faith, of somebody that believes in them, and that things can get better. That they have found [00:13:55] the place where it's like, "I am seen. I am heard. I am safe, and these [00:14:00] providers are going to be transparent with me. They're gonna tell me what they know. They're gonna help me understand my own [00:14:05] body. They're gonna tell me where all of this comes together, and if they [00:14:10] are not the people to help me, they're going to help me get in and to see the providers that I need [00:14:15] to see. They're not gonna leave me saying, 'Well, good luck.' They're going to help me get [00:14:20] answers." That is what I see. That is what I hope, and why this mission is so [00:14:25] important to me. We deserve better, and it needs to change In walking into [00:14:30] Aylara, you should feel that you're welcomed right from the [00:14:35] get-go, that your questions are answered, that you feel welcomed, that you feel like you have a friend. [00:14:40] I want them to feel as an equal, that my clients are, [00:14:45] and the clients that with everyone at Aylara Pelvic Health, like your voice is just as [00:14:50] important as the knowledge that I have to give you. You are the expert in your body, and [00:14:55] I have textbook and years of knowledge on how this body should be [00:15:00] functioning and responding. And I think together, together with what [00:15:05] you already know about your body and my expertise in the body, those together [00:15:10] should align. Those should create the biggest impact [00:15:15] because you know your body better than anyone else, and I can hopefully give you [00:15:20] some tools that will help you be able to be a- to be empowered and to, to [00:15:25] leave with the tools to take care of yourself and the knowledge that it's like this can change and I know [00:15:30] how Ultimately, I'm trying to build something different, something unique, [00:15:35] something that's bougie. It's kind of fun to walk into a place that feels [00:15:40] different. I am trying to create a place where providers like myself [00:15:45] can practice the way that they wish, that they can be cutting edge, [00:15:50] that they can also be evidence-based, that they can be supported in their individual growth [00:15:55] and supporting them throughout life, that they can [00:16:00] be a mom, that they can go through perimenopause, and that they can show up to work and still [00:16:05] give everything that they have to give because they love it, because they aren't burnt out, [00:16:10] because they aren't chasing a corporate number or profit [00:16:15] schedule, but that they are individuals who are loved and cared for and who are [00:16:20] understood and who are given freedom to practice in a way that they [00:16:25] feel is best and to feel supported in that, and also to have some, some [00:16:30] support behind the growth Why should somebody wanna come be a part of this? [00:16:35] Because it's special. It's unique. It's going to be a movement. We're creating [00:16:40] change. We're doing something different. We're doing it for more than just money. It's bigger than [00:16:45] that. We're doing it because we love it, because this is our passion. We're doing it because we [00:16:50] love the clients and people that we serve, and we love the transformations that we see on the other side. [00:16:55] We love seeing the new mom who is progressing forward. We love [00:17:00] seeing the new mom who feels confident in her body's abilities to carry a baby. We [00:17:05] love supporting women through every phase of life, through every season of [00:17:10] life I'm gonna end this episode just telling you a little bit about the name of Aylara, what it [00:17:15] embodies, what it means, and hopefully that'll help you get the vision of what we're creating here [00:17:20] So, Aylara in its infancy was known as Luna [00:17:25] Physio. We had an ode to the moon because women change much as the moon does. [00:17:30] We cycle, and often we will cycle on the moon's 28-day cycle, [00:17:35] but we're never the same. Each day we're waxing and waning. Things are coming [00:17:40] and going. We're just like the tides coming in and out. Our hormones are moving and [00:17:45] we're flowing. So that was the original meaning with Luna, is that ode to the moon and [00:17:50] the cycles and the seasons that it welcomes in when life. We as women also have [00:17:55] seasons in our life. We have the time when we meet menstruation, when we meet this [00:18:00] reproductive power. We have times when we're practicing that reproductive power, when we're going [00:18:05] through the phases of childbearing and mothering, and then we have phases when we've met that [00:18:10] power, when we have, gained the wisdom from our cycle and that [00:18:15] we are now mature menopausal women. And we go through those phases and [00:18:20] just like the moon cycles and the seasons, we go through these seasons in our own life, and each [00:18:25] has its own challenges, each has its own struggles, and we can thrive through each [00:18:30] of those seasons. And oftentimes we just need a guide to go through it. [00:18:35] So as we went to move Aylara forward, we found out that [00:18:40] Luna, the name Luna Physio, was not going to be able to take us further in the physical therapy space.[00:18:45] And so we started brainstorming ideas for a new name, [00:18:50] and we went through many different things. We knew it needed to be unique because [00:18:55] often common things have been trademarked already. And so as we were [00:19:00] looking, we were looking for unique things, And we came across the [00:19:05] Turkish name for moonlight, and it's called Ayla. And it refers to kind of the [00:19:10] light that surrounds the moon. It refers to that idea of the, [00:19:15] the light without, the light that you can see around things. [00:19:20] And then we talked about Ara being our own personal light. And so [00:19:25] Aylara then means where the light from without meets the light from within, meaning [00:19:30] what we can provide to you, our knowledge, our tools, along with your own inner light and [00:19:35] how those combine to make wholeness. And that really embodies the vision of what we're [00:19:40] creating here, and we hope both patients and employees can feel that, and [00:19:45] that we're creating something bigger than ourselves. We want to change lives. We want to change [00:19:50] women's healthcare and how it shows up for us. We want to be [00:19:55] collaborative. We realize that the body is a whole system [00:20:00] Not divided into these separate silos, and that we need to be collaborating with the expert knowledge that [00:20:05] each individual specialty within our body system has. And as we can [00:20:10] collaborate and take the time for that communication, that it can change healthcare. Thanks for joining me [00:20:15] today, and I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about Aylara Pelvic [00:20:20] Health and my personal mission in moving women's health generally forward specifically with [00:20:25] pelvic health and starting these TMI conversations and the common is not normal [00:20:30] conversations. And we're so excited and hope you can continue to follow along with [00:20:35] us ​[00:20:40] [00:20:45] [00:20:50] [00:20:55]