Akasha Physiotherapy

08/26/2025

Join us for the 3rd Annual Long Beach Women & Girls Fair!
A celebration of women, femmes, girls, and community
-Recreation Park - South Entrance, Long Beach
-3pm – 7pm
-Community • Resources • Art • Celebration
✨ Don’t miss the Fierce Women Awards at 6pm!
Hosted by &
# LongBeach

04/04/2024

Taking a break this week from my series on why we do what we do to enjoy Spring Break. I took this photo today on a walk with my kids. We are both taking some time with family and enjoying the beauty and peace of nature this week. What do you do to recharge? When is the last time you’ve done something to care for yourself - something that really fills your soul? That might be art, music, nature, or whatever your unique passion is. This week, take time for you.

04/10/2023

Great simple video on how to calm daily anxieties and have them work for us instead of against us. Of course, simple isn’t the same thing as easy. But these are still great tools that work - it just takes time to apply them in your life.

Spoiler alert / tldr / tldw: through breath and movement, you can calm your anxieties and start to notice what these feelings are trying to tell you so you can respond calmly and also notice these emotions in others to respond with empathy.

What if you could transform your anxiety into something you can actually use during your work day? Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki shares two evidence-based activities -- breathing and movement -- that can soothe your nervous system and fuel creativity and connection.

11/06/2022

Sherine and Sarah would like to welcome you to Akasha Physiotherapy, our physical therapy clinic specializing in pelvic, abdominal, and breast physical therapy. We are so excited to be serving individuals in the greater Long Beach community!

09/06/2022

New guidelines from AUA are good news for IC patients, with better guidelines recognizing the contributions of the pelvic floor, and referring patients to pelvic PT. This is a great step forward for treatment of IC!

IC Awareness Daily Fact #3 - New AUA Guidelines state that IC/BPS is NO LONGER considered a bladder disease but rather a pelvic pain syndrome with a clear neuromuscular connection in many patients.

The 2022 new guidelines acknowledge that there are (at least) three distinct patient groups, each with their own treatment priorities, including:

(1) Bladder Centric – Patients who have Hunner’s lesions, pain as the bladder fills with urine or smaller bladder capacity. This can also include patients who have estrogen atrophy (genitourinary syndrome of menopause) and chemo cystitis.

(2)Pelvic Floor Centric – Patients with tight, sensitive pelvic floor muscles.

(3) Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions – These patients have multiple pain conditions, including: IC, IBS, vulvodynia, fibromyalgia, TMJ and others.

The treatments are no longer listed in six, ordered steps to give doctors the flexibility to provide specific treatments more promptly. For example, they recommend that all patients with tight, sensitive pelvic floor muscles be immediately referred to a pelvic floor physical therapist. Similarly, if Hunner’s lesions are found, they too should be treated immediately rather than waiting several months.

Should you expect your doctor to know about these treatment guidelines? No. Many doctors are unaware of this national standard and/or may be treating IC out of old text books. Please bring a copy of these guidelines with you for your doctor!

Treatment Approach
No single treatment works over time for the majority of patients. Treatment should be tailored to the specific symptoms (phenotype/ subtype) of each patient.

Pain Management is an integral part of IC therapy and should be assessed at every appointment and treated with a variety of therapies.

If a patient is not responding to multiple treatments, the diagnosis of IC/BPS should be reconsidered. If bladder therapies are not effective and/or a patient is getting worse rather than better, the AUA strongly recommends reconsidering the diagnosis. Was something missed? Is another condition present that could be producing pelvic and/or urinary symptoms, such as: endometriosis, fibroid tumors, pelvic congestion syndrome, tarlov cyst, pudendal neuralgia or coccyx injury?

Read more diagnostic and treatment info here. https://tinyurl.com/58tk8h4j

07/29/2022

Love this. Mothers, take care of yourselves. You’re important too.

Hold the mother, not the baby.⁣
⁣
Because the baby’s being taken care of—⁣
fed, snuggled, and given all the love in the world—⁣
by not only the mother,⁣
but her partner, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and friends.⁣
⁣
But the mother,⁣
may have gaps in her mind from lack of sleep,⁣
may be mechanical in her motions as she’s healing,⁣
may feel more like a mess than a mother,⁣
may be sitting in bed, crying, feeling overwhelmed in her body and life,⁣
may be full of mom guilt because in her mind, "she's not good enough,"⁣
and she’s bleeding, wincing in pain, swollen and emotional.⁣
⁣
And the mother’s that baby's whole world and needs to be seen, so she doesn't disappear into that postpartum fog.⁣
⁣
So, hold the mother, not the baby.⁣
⁣
A mother agrees that her baby matters more.⁣
But she’s hurting, while she’s the person behind the baby,⁣
in the background, making it all happen:⁣
feeding her baby at all hours,⁣
snuggling her baby close to comfort newborn cries,⁣
and being that baby’s everything.⁣
⁣
So, it’s the mother who needs your love.⁣
⁣
And a mother will remember who held her up.⁣
⁣
So instead of “I’m coming to see the baby,”⁣
try saying, “I’m coming to see you 𝘢𝘯𝘥 meet the baby, too.”⁣
⁣
Because the mother needs to be held more.⁣

📸: This Mama Doodles
....................................................⁣⁣
My Children’s Book 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺: 𝘈𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘰 is out everywhere: https://amzn.to/317TvVc

07/18/2022

Our last topic to address for this round of is…

Stress management!

We can’t completely eliminate stress from our life. Wouldn’t that be nice??

But we can try to do a better job at managing that stress.

The first step during pregnancy is to address your mindset. Try to relax and know that in general, these changes are normal, and most of it will get better after pregnancy. I know it’s antithetical advice, but again, try to stay calm and accept some of this as inevitable. That said, DON’T let it interfere with your life more than it needs to. Take care of yourself and get help when you need it.

We can also prioritize the things that make us happy and help us to deal with our daily stresses. Maybe this is exercise, maybe it’s walking or yoga, maybe it’s music, drawing, or painting. Think about things you love to do and make time for them. We can get so focused on preparing for the baby that we forget about ourselves. It’s good practice to start taking care of ourselves before the baby comes, as it’s important to prioritize ourselves afterward too.

Guided meditations are also great resources for calming stresses. There are several apps for this including Insight Timer, Headspace, Calm, etc. You can also find thousands of meditations on YouTube.

For more, check out the link in bio for our blog post on what I wish they would tell you about having babies - part 1.

07/18/2022

And what’s our least favorite topic regarding ?

Nutrition…

I know this is a struggle. I remember wanting to eat all the cake when I was pregnant with my daughter. No, really. I actually bought a whole cake from Costco just for myself. And I wanted fried chicken strips so badly with my son (and I was vegetarian).

But the unfortunate truth is, the things we eat do have an effect on our body, particularly when it comes to our hormones. This is true outside of pregnancy as well, of course. But during pregnancy, so many of the changes we see that affect our lives are due to hormones, so it can really help to eat a generally healthy diet where we avoid inflammatory triggers, particularly sugar and maybe dairy or gluten.

This doesn’t mean we have to be perfect, but you want to shoot for plenty of veggies, some fruits, moderate amounts of whole grains, and plenty of lean protein and healthy fats. Your plate for most meals should be half veggies, 1/4 protein, and 1/4 whole grains (unless you are on a diet that limits carbs), with added healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, olives, and/or nuts.

Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not doing this perfectly. It’s hard when you’re craving all the sugar or fried chicken. Just do your best. And you may notice you feel better if you can even make small changes here.

For more, check out the link in bio for our blog post on what I wish they would tell you about having babies - part 1.

07/18/2022

What’s another big way we can help ourselves during pregnancy?

SLEEP!

Sleep patterns change during pregnancy, with a decrease in deep sleep and more awakenings during sleep.

Since you’re likely going to be stuck with some decrease in sleep quality, you may have to increase sleep quantity as a way to battle fatigue. Try to arrange your schedule so that you can get to bed earlier, wake later, and/or include naps during the day.

Sometimes we are made to feel weak for these choices, but it’s important to do these things to take care of ourselves and acknowledge that we really do have a true physiological need for more sleep due to these hormonal changes. Make it a priority.

Reduce or eliminate caffeine consumption, especially after noon. Avoid drinking too much water before bed so you wake less often at night. Avoid screens for at least 30 minutes before bed. Try meditating before bed

For more on this and other topics, check out the link in bio for our blog post on what I wish they would tell you about having babies.

07/18/2022

What’s one of the main ways we can take care of ourselves during pregnancy??

EXERCISE!

Okay, yeah, yeah, I know we all know that. Maybe. But really, staying active and moving makes a big difference! This doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Going for a walk a few times per week and doing prenatal yoga a couple times would take care of this.

For more, check out our blog post at the link in bio.

07/18/2022

So how do we take care of ourselves amidst all the hormone changes during pregnancy?!

We need to focus on Mindset, Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, and Stress Management.

For more, check out our blog post on what I wish they would tell you during pregnancy at the link in bio.

07/18/2022

Is it NORMAL to have diastasis recti during pregnancy?

YES! It is normal during pregnancy.

Diastasis recti abdominus is the separation of the abdominal muscles that happens during pregnancy but sometimes sticks around afterward. This just means that the fascia connecting the two different sides of ab muscles, called the linea alba, is weaker and thinner than before.

This can be addressed by strengthening the deep and supportive abdominal muscles to maintain the fascial tension in your abs.

For more, check out our blog post on what I wish they would tell you during pregnancy in the link in bio.