The holidays can be fun, joyful, and exciting. Let’s be real though - they can also be super stressful!

Especially when you feel the pressure to get things just right: To cook the perfect meal, give the best gifts, keep all the traditions going, and make that sure everyone around you is happy.

Prepping for the holidays while keeping up with your usual responsibilities at home and work gets overwhelming. Especially for those struggling with perfectionism.

When you google pelvic pain the list is long, like really long! This makes sense because yes, there are many reasons one might experience pelvic pain! And sometimes there are multiple reasons combined that can result in chronic pelvic pain. SO, let’s dive into it!

When it comes to women’s health, knowing and understanding how our bodies work is important. It’s the only way we can be alerted to when things are off. Unfortunately, most women, my self included were not educated about our bodies. Start the conversation about your reproductive system and menstrual cycle with Shasta Zeeman in her recent blog post, first of a 3-part series!

Janelle Daku, OT, shares her knowledge and her personal experience with endometriosis and sheds light on the collaborative team and holistic interventions that are available to women experiencing endometriosis. Definitely take a read!!

Post-partum anxiety is defined by frequent, distressing fears. Some mothers describe worrying constantly about worst-case scenarios, seeing potential risks all around them. Dr. Marnie Rogers-de Jong, PH.D., provides excellent information on the physical symptoms of post-partum anxiety, and the variety of ways to help a mom experiencing postpartum mood disorders.

Managing stress in Danielle’s life has become top of her priority list ever since going through a diagnosis and surgery for a frontal lobe brain tumor. She believes it has been one of the things that has truly helped her get back to my optimal health and happiness. Read more on her reflection.

During times of stress, the “fight or flight” (sympathetic) nervous system becomes more active to help us deal with our stress. This part of our nervous system is not meant to be turned on for a long period of time. Dr. Stephanie Liebrecht, ND provides insight on three common plants that are used to support the nervous system in naturopathic medicine.

Everyone has some level of stress or anxiety in their lives. It’s normal to feel worried at times, especially when you’re faced with tough situations - like financial problems, relationship issues, or a global pandemic! But fear and worry can go beyond that helpful range and have negative impacts on our day-to-day life. If you’re wondering whether anxiety is an issue in your life, here are five things to consider.

Danielle shares on her recent health journey and the incredible adversity that she overcame. Being diagnosed with a brain tumor in May 2020, to surgery 8 days later, and an incredible healing journey all through a global pandemic, her courage, strength, and optimism is truly inspirational. ‘I think it would be easy to look back on the last year and say, “I never want to remember that year” or “that was the worst year ever”, but instead I choose to celebrate the positives, even amongst all the negatives. I now know more than ever that I am a strong, resilient and very grateful woman, wife, mother, sister, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, aunt, cousin, friend, and therapist.’ Thank you for letting me share my story, Danielle Bararuk.

To all the mothers who have babies, are planning on having babies and who’s babies are grown up – we at HPW have something amazing in store for you. We have recently been working through a cohesive post-partum rehabilitation program for moms! We, as a team of healthcare professionals with a special interest in prenatal and perinatal care have always supported, encouraged and rehabilitated mothers navigating the 4th Trimester and beyond.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. I wanted to mark this day by highlighting how COVID-19 has impacted women’s well-being. While there’s no doubt that men are struggling too, research suggests that women have been hit hard by the economic, social, and emotional challenges of the pandemic.

Physiotherapist, Lindsey Tasker Cole dives into the differences between physical activity, exercise, & fitness. She provides insight and comfort for moms on how daily activity can be in fact fitness training! You are doing a great job momma!

Dr. Stephanie Liebrecht, ND shares how her patients inspire her to be their health advocate, and to continue bringing awareness to women’s health. She is inspired to keep learning, keep supporting, and find the root cause. Being able to guide you on your health and healing journey has been the most rewarding experience.

Dr. Madolyn Linka shares about the healing nature of the world’s “Blue Zones”, which describes five distinct areas of the globe that have the largest population of centenarians, individuals of 100 years or older. Dr. Linka had the opportunity to visit one of these Blue Zones and she shares her healing experience and what will be forever imprinted in her life.

Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates & Katrina Kenison is a staple on Dr. Madolyn Linka’s bedside table. This square four hundred and twenty three page soft cover book sits in it’s space underneath her lamp reminding her of the daily reflections on the path of yoga. She has owned this book since 2016. For four years it’s sat close to where she lays her head at night and allowed her to flip through it and land on a page that she needs to read on the day she turns to it. Explore more with Dr. Linka on Meditations from the Mat.

Our bodies are designed to deal with stress and the adrenal glands are one organ that plays a role in adapting to it. Dr. Stephanie Liebrect, BSc, ND discuss the different stages of our stress response, which includes the physiological and psychological changes that occur.

In a previous article, Dr. Stephanie Liebrecht, ND discussed what you should look for when choosing a prenatal vitamin. The next question many women ask Dr. Liebrecht, ND is what else they could be taking during their pregnancy. In this blog post, Dr. Liebrecht shares her 3 nutritional recommendations to support baby’s development as well as support the mama to be.

Maintaining and improving the function of your spine with chiropractic adjustments throughout your pregnancy helps to clear your nervous system of any interference to it. This can include tight muscles, laxity in ligaments and changes in posture as your center of gravity shifts. Dr. Madolyn Linka shares that staying well adjusted allows you to be as healthy as possible during your pregnancy.

The act of being pregnant and supporting a new life is truly remarkable. With this great task on our bodies, there are many physical (and hormonal) changes that can create challenges. Most women at some point through pregnancy experience some discomfort through their low back, hips, pubic symphysis, neck/shoulder pain, etc. And this is just to name a few! Lindsey Tasker Cole, Physiotherapist and Pelvic Health Therapist provides us with reasons why pelvic girdle pain can be common during pregnancy and how pelvic floor physiotherapy can help!

You may or may not have heard of them before, but these little “jelly-filled donuts” called discs live in between each and every vertebra in your spinal column. They are important spinal shock absorbers for the activities in our daily lives, but can also cause us some issues if they herniate, tear, or bulge in the wrong directions around the spinal nerves and cord. Dr. Madolyn Linka, DC helps us dig a little deeper into the nitty gritty of our intervertebral discs.