Nurture your Vagina by Candice Jane Langford
You may or may not have come across my Instagram page, @nurtureyourvagina but I am sure that you imagine the face behind this brand is a confident, extroverted woman, comfortable with her sexuality and strong in her foundation. Insert laughing/crying emoji.
I must admit I shock myself when standing in front of a crowd, presenting all things vagina and I gasp along with my audience when I see my posts addressing Taboo women’s health topics! I think ‘Who is this and where did this confidence come from?!’.
I grew up ridiculously shy, literally hiding under my moms dress as a toddler and begging teachers not to do school orals. Not exactly a picture of confidence, I felt ashamed and embarrassed to ask the teacher to go for a wee, never mind imagining myself openly addressing pelvic health issues as an adult!
At university I was forced to come out of my shell a little, in a new city after jumping on a plane for the first time and now apart from my mom! Absolute shock to the system but I did it, my boyfriend (now husband) would encourage me (begrudgingly with heels dug in) to spend time with groups of girls and coach me into making friends (what a keeper). Eventually I felt established with friends and a part time job at Hudsons. Unfortunately, It wasn’t long until I ended up crawling straight back into my introverted ways, when a part time job as an au pair resulted in my being drugged, running for my life (successfully) and thankfully in hospital.
As you can imagine, all that self-esteem I had been working on plummeted, I blamed myself for all the ‘what if’s’ on that night and I accelerated into a conglomerate of anxiety, stress, lack of trust and fear.
These emotions manifested in a physical sense and correlated with pain during intercourse, a tight and uncomfortable pelvic floor, constipation, repeated UTI’s, excessive exercising and bulimia.
As a pelvic floor physiotherapist I now understand how these psychological scenarios are linked to physiological changes but at the time I truly did not and I wouldn’t dare speak a word of it, let alone seek help! Little did I know, my struggles with Pee, Poo and Pleasure, would have greatly appreciated the conservative and holistic approach of a pelvic floor physiotherapist!
As an adult, I realized I had a choice; allow that fear to continue to engulf my sense of worth or use it. I chose to dive out of my comfort zone and now, what previously dominated me, drives me.
As a physiotherapist, I invested my time and efforts into pelvic health and subsequently started ‘Nurture your Vagina’ with an intention of acknowledging the different facets of our lives which contribute to women’s health and connecting women with the information that they need to empower themselves.
From my experience I have realized that something that may seem relatively small can affect a woman’s body in such impactful ways and that its not always easy to connect the dots. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and through @nurtureyourvagina I hope to reach and support as many women as I can, each moving through her own journey.
I look forward to interacting with you on Instagram as we work toward; normalizing conversations relating to women’s health (Pee, Poo, Pleasure, Hormonal). Helping women acknowledge and identify pelvic health concerns. Encouraging our community to seek help where needed. Highlighting the role of a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist and Improving access to conservative care!
With Love & Kegel’s,
Candice Jane
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist
Nurture Your Vagina
IG: https://www.instagram.com/nurtureyourvagina/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/umhlangaphysioforwomen/
Web: https://www.candicejanephysio.com
Email: cjpelvicphysio@gmail.com
