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Whatever brought you here, pain, leaking, pregnancy, a body that suddenly feels unfamiliar, you don't have to figure it out alone. I bring pelvic floor therapy to you, in the comfort of your own home, serving Agawam, the Pioneer Valley, and Enfield, CT.

A free, no-obligation 15-minute phone consultation is a great place to start.

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Pregnant women doing pelvic floor exercises

Pregnancy

Your body is doing something extraordinary, and it's also under real strain. Together we'll ease pelvic and back pain, build the strength and coordination your pelvic floor needs to support a growing baby, and talk through safe movement so you can stay active without second-guessing every twinge.

We'll also get ahead of the postural shifts, hormonal changes, and habits that can set the stage for incontinence or prolapse down the road, so you walk into birth feeling prepared instead of just along for the ride.

Postpartum

Recovery isn't just about time, it's about rebuilding, and that's easier with a guide who's been where you are. We'll focus on restoring core stability, healing what tore or strained, and getting your bladder and bowel control back on track.

I'll help you sort through safe lifting, a real return to exercise (not just "wait six weeks and you're cleared"), and the lingering pain so many people are told is just part of having a baby. It isn't. With a plan built around your body and your daily life, you can feel strong again, not just functional.

Pain

Pelvic pain is rarely just a muscle problem, and if you've been told to "just relax" or do more Kegels, you already know that advice doesn't work. Chronic tension often means your pelvic floor, like a constantly clenched jaw, has learned to guard.

We'll start with a thorough, whole-person assessment, then use gentle manual therapy, breathing work, and nervous system down-training to help those muscles finally let go. We'll also talk through the daily habits and stress patterns that keep pain on repeat, so relief actually sticks.

Water droplet symbolizing bladder control and incontinence treatment

Bladder & Bowel Incontinence

Leaking can shrink your life in ways nobody talks about: skipping the gym, dreading a sneeze, planning your day around the nearest bathroom. It happens at every age, for a dozen different reasons, and it is not something you just have to live with.

We'll look at your daily habits, posture, breathing, and strength and coordination together to figure out what your body actually needs, because for a lot of people, incontinence isn't really a strength problem. It's a coordination one, and more Kegels won't fix it.

Painful Intercourse

Painful intercourse is so often rooted in guarding, your nervous system deciding, somewhere below conscious thought, that this needs to be protected against. Stress, hormonal shifts, and past experiences your body hasn't fully let go of can all show up as involuntary tightness.

We'll work at your pace, with gentle hands-on techniques and nervous system regulation, to help your body learn that it's safe to soften. You stay in control of what happens and how far we go, every step of the way.

Prolapse

Prolapse can happen whether or not you've ever given birth, and it often shows up as pressure, heaviness, or a sense that something isn't quite in place. It's more common, and more treatable, than most people realize.

We'll dig into what's actually contributing to your symptoms, biomechanics, constipation, intra-abdominal pressure, positioning, even how your organs move against each other, and build a plan that addresses the whole picture instead of just the symptom.

Confident older woman enjoying active life after pelvic floor therapy during menopause

Menopause Transition & Beyond

The hormonal shift of menopause can bring bladder leaks, urgency, new prolapse, or sex that suddenly feels different than it used to. It can feel like your body changed the rules without telling you.

None of that means you're stuck. We'll build a plan around targeted exercises, lifestyle adjustments, and honest education, so you can meet this stage of life feeling capable and at home in your body, not sidelined by it.

Rainbow pride flag representing inclusive gender affirming pelvic floor care

Gender Affirming Care

Whether you're preparing for surgery or recovering from it, your pelvic floor plays a bigger role in that process than most people expect.

I offer a private, affirming space, in the comfort of your own home, built entirely around your goals, your body, and your timeline. No assumptions, no explaining yourself twice.

Helping You Feel Better and Move Better

If something here sounds like you, I'd love to talk about what's possible for your body. A free 15-minute phone consultation is a great place to start.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What ages do you treat?

I only treat individuals above the age of 18 years.

Do you treat men and women?

I provide services for vulva owners and individuals undergoing gender affirming care.

What should I expect prior to and during my first visit?

Before your first appointment, we’ll spend about 15 minutes on the phone reviewing your symptoms and discussing your main goals. This conversation helps me choose the most relevant questionnaires for you, which you’ll complete ahead of your visit. This allows us to spend your in-person time focused on understanding you, rather than paperwork.

During your first session, we’ll focus on getting to know each other and gaining a full picture of how your body functions in daily life. This includes looking at posture, movement patterns, breathing, habits, and routines. The goal is to understand the root causes of your symptoms, not just the surface issues.

A pelvic floor assessment is often not routinely performed during the first visit. Many clients benefit from building trust and comfort first. If an internal or external pelvic floor assessment is appropriate, it is always optional and guided by your comfort, consent, and readiness. Could a pelvic floor assessment happen during the first visit? Yes — but it is never required. You are always in control of what happens in your session.

Must you do an internal assessment?

You probably will not get this answer anywhere else: internal assessments are not a given. I pride myself on providing trauma informed care, and offer four different types of assessment:

Feedback Based: clothes on with you providing feedback based on various cues.
External Visual Assessment without touch: clothes off from the waist down, no touch.
External Visual Assessment with touch: clothes off from the waist down, with external touch only.
Internal Exam: internal and external vaginal and/or rectal exam.

All treatment and evaluation decisions are always your choice. Explicit consent is needed for all treatments, and can be adjusted at ANY point in time.

But which one is the best form of assessment?

The short answer? The one that you feel most comfortable with. There is a lot that can be gleaned from feedback-based assessments, as well as from the other gentle, non-invasive options I mentioned above. You can absolutely start with a feedback-based assessment and decide later if you’d like to try an internal one. This process is meant to be flexible and guided by your comfort every step of the way.

Do you accept insurance?

I am dedicated to providing personalized, one-on-one care, focused on helping each client reach their goals at their own pace — without restrictions or outside interference. I believe that decisions about your care — including how often we meet and how long treatment continues — should be made by you and your therapist, not by insurance companies. This approach allows me to focus fully on your progress and provide the quality of care you truly deserve.

Empowered Pelvic Health & Wellness is an out of network, cash based, private practice. Insurance reimbursement may be possible and is the responsibility of the insured (patient). I can, however, provide guidance for the required pre-approval steps and superbill submission for reimbursement.

What is a Superbill?

Superbills are a way to get reimbursed by your insurance for healthcare costs. Often times I can be covered under your insurance at in network rates, and is a quick and easy process.

Here is how it works:

Call your health insurance provider and request a network deficiency due to lack of access to care. Network deficiencies are found in one of two ways:

You do not have any in network providers that are covered under your insurance within a certain radius of your home.
The in network providers have an extensive, months long wait list that makes it an excessive burden to the patient.

After that you would receive confirmation from your health insurance that I would be considered an in-network or out of network provider, and billing submitted by you to your insurance company would go towards your deductible. Then we can go ahead and book!

Following our sessions you submit the costs to your insurance via your health insurance website for reimbursement, which can take just a few minutes.

Understanding Your Pelvic Floor: What It Is and Why It Matters

April 27, 2026
by Dara Clauson, OTR/L, Level 2 FPHP/TIPHP

When most people hear "pelvic floor," they think of Kegel exercises — and maybe only in the context of pregnancy or postpartum recovery. But the pelvic floor is far more than that, and its symptoms can be wide-ranging.

What Is the Pelvic Floor?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue that forms a hammock-like base at the bottom of your pelvis. It spans from your pubic bone in the front to your tailbone in the back, and from sitting bone to sitting bone side-to-side.

These muscles do a remarkable amount of work every single day:

Bladder and bowel control: they keep you continent and help coordinate the release needed for urination and bowel movements.
Core stability: the pelvic floor works in coordination with your diaphragm, deep abdominal muscles, and back muscles to stabilize your spine and pelvis during movement.
Sexual function: they contribute to sensation, arousal, and comfort during intimacy.
Supporting your pelvic organs: the bladder, uterus (if present), and rectum all rest on pelvic floor support.

What Happens During Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Pelvic floor dysfunction can show up in different ways — and understanding what is happening is the key to treatment.

Too tight: Muscles that are chronically holding tension can cause pelvic pain, painful intercourse, urinary urgency, difficulty with bowel movements, or tailbone pain. Strengthening these muscles with more Kegels would make things worse, not better.

Uncoordinated: Muscles that are uncoordinated may contribute to feelings of incomplete bladder or bowel emptying, chronic constipation, as well as leaking when you sneeze, jump, or cough. Improving your body's sense of your pelvic floor — including where it is and what it feels like to contract and relax fully — can help immensely.

Too weak: In some cases, issues such as bladder or bowel leakage, or an inability to keep flatulence in, are caused by pelvic floor weakness. Things like a birth injury, prolapse of your pelvic organs, and spinal cord injuries can result in weakness — but oftentimes weakness occurs in conjunction with some elements of tightness and poor coordination. This is why Kegels alone are not best practice.

Many people have a combination of these issues — tight in some areas, weak in others, and difficulty activating or relaxing their pelvic floor — which is why cookie-cutter approaches rarely work well.

Who Can Benefit from Pelvic Floor Therapy?

Pelvic floor therapy is not just for postpartum recovery. It can help with:

Bladder and bowel leaking (at any age)
Urinary urgency or frequency
Pelvic pain — including during or after intercourse
Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain
Chronic tailbone, back, or abdominal pain that has not responded to traditional approaches
Preparing for or recovering from pregnancy, labor, and hysterectomies
Prolapse (when organs descend beyond their original position in the pelvis)
The menopause transition-related changes in bladder, bowel, or sexual function
Gender-affirming care preparation and recovery

What Therapy Actually Looks Like

A meaningful pelvic floor evaluation begins with listening. Your symptoms, daily habits, movement patterns, posture, stress levels, and mental health history often tell us far more than any single test.

A pelvic floor assessment may be part of the visit, but it’s very different from a typical gynecological exam. You decide what that assessment looks like.

Options range from staying fully clothed with guided cues and your feedback, to external assessment without touch, external assessment with touch, or an internal vaginal or rectal assessment. An internal exam is always optional, never assumed, and guided entirely by your comfort with ongoing, explicit and implicit consent.

You remain in control of what happens throughout your session.

From there, treatment is tailored to you — which might include:

Hands-on manual therapy
Breathing and relaxation techniques
Specific exercises
Postural education
Strategies for daily activities

Another important component of treatment includes nervous system regulation. This is because a dysregulated nervous system can often be a key driver for your pelvic floor symptoms (more on this to come in future articles).

A Note on "Just Do Kegels"

Kegels have their place, but they are not the universal answer to pelvic floor problems. If your muscles are already too tight, Kegels can increase pain and dysfunction. If your problem is coordination rather than strength, isolated contractions may not address the root cause. And if you're doing them incorrectly — which is extremely common — they may not help at all.

This is why a personalized evaluation matters. The goal is to understand your pelvic floor and develop a plan that fits your body and life.

If you have questions about whether pelvic floor therapy might help you, I'm always happy to talk. A free 15-minute phone consultation is a great place to start.

Click here to start today!

The content on this website is intended for general informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered a replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or care. Always consult your licensed healthcare professional with any questions or concerns about a medical condition or treatment. Do not ignore or postpone seeking professional medical guidance because of information found on this website. Any use of the information provided is entirely at your own discretion and risk. By accessing and using this website, you confirm that you have read and understood this disclaimer.

My Story and Mission

A Patient-Led Approach

Follow me for Pelvic Wellness Tips!

Pregnancy

Postpartum

Pain

Bladder & Bowel Incontinence

Painful Intercourse

Prolapse

Menopause Transition & Beyond

Gender Affirming Care

Helping You Feel Better and Move Better

Dara Clauson, OTR/L, Level 2 FPHP/TIPHP
Functional Pelvic Health Practitioner
Trauma Informed Pelvic Health Practitioner

Frequently Asked Questions

Schedule a Consultation

Quick Reads for Better Pelvic Health

Understanding Your Pelvic Floor: What It Is and Why It Matters

What Is the Pelvic Floor?

What Happens During Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Who Can Benefit from Pelvic Floor Therapy?

What Therapy Actually Looks Like

A Note on "Just Do Kegels"

My Story and Mission

A Patient-Led Approach

Follow me for Pelvic Wellness Tips!

Pregnancy

Postpartum

Pain

Bladder & Bowel Incontinence

Painful Intercourse

Prolapse

Menopause Transition & Beyond

Gender Affirming Care

Helping You Feel Better and Move Better

Dara Clauson, OTR/L, Level 2 FPHP/TIPHPFunctional Pelvic Health PractitionerTrauma Informed Pelvic Health Practitioner

Frequently Asked Questions

Schedule a Consultation

Quick Reads for Better Pelvic Health

Understanding Your Pelvic Floor: What It Is and Why It Matters

What Is the Pelvic Floor?

What Happens During Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Who Can Benefit from Pelvic Floor Therapy?

What Therapy Actually Looks Like

A Note on "Just Do Kegels"

Dara Clauson, OTR/L, Level 2 FPHP/TIPHP
Functional Pelvic Health Practitioner
Trauma Informed Pelvic Health Practitioner