Introducing Brenna Jacobson

We are so pleased to announce today that we are bringing on Brenna Jacobson as our newest associate and team member here at Alongside You! Brenna brings a wealth of experience from all sorts of areas of life including the hospitals and medical system, to pelvic rehabilitation and therapeutic yoga! While you may have heard of pelvic rehabilitation and therapeutic yoga before (who hasn’t heard of yoga?), you may not have seen it as an individual service, which is what Brenna will be offering, starting May 1, 2016!

We’re excited to offer Brenna’s services to our clients because anyone who meets her very quickly learns how passionate she is about pelvic rehabilitation and yoga, and also how passionate she is about reaching people who may not have been introduced to these services before, or may have shied away from them in the past. Brenna’s services are all offered on a one on one basis, and her yoga practice is focusing particularly on those struggling with mental health difficulties and/or trauma. So many people can benefit from her services but may be too anxious or turned off by large groups of people and large spaces, and she will be able to create a safe space, with individual attention to each of her clients.

I could go on forever about how awesome it is that Brenna is joining us, and extoll her virtues but who better to introduce herself, than Brenna? Without further ado, I’ll hand over this space to our newest member of the team, Brenna Jacobson!

Hi everyone!

My name is Brenna Jacobson and I am so excited to be joining the team here at Alongside You! I am a BCRPA Certified Registered Fitness Professional (RFP). I retired from being an administrator at Fraser Health in 2010 and worked to get my certification as a Pfilates (Pelvic floor) Instructor/Trainer for pelvic health and fitness in the United States under gynecologist Dr. Bruce Crawford of Reno Nevada in 2012. I have also been certified in several fields of fitness, including Yoga, Osteofit, Older Adult and Weight Training. I have expanded my practice particularly under the Yoga umbrella providing Pre-natal Yoga, Gentle Yoga for Osteo, Senior’s Yoga (Sr’s 50+), and Children’s Yoga. I’m also certified as a Pre- and Post-Natal Fitness Consultant, which I enjoy immensely! My work as a Pre- and Post- Natal Fitness Consultant covers all aspects of pregnancy from preparation for delivery through strengthening the pelvic environment, often including a Yoga practice. My work with clients also provides an ongoing fitness program through pregnancy, and designs post natal programs to begin as soon as possible for recovery after delivery. I love the fact that I get to work with my clients all the way through their pregnancy journey and use my skills and knowledge to help them come up with a plan, and use their own strengths to have a fulfilling pre- and post-natal experience.

I also have a passion for helping people with health conditions that may go untreated. Many people go undiagnosed with common conditions such as urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, tummy pouch, poor posture or pelvic pain. Many of these conditions get chalked up to child bearing, old age, etc., thinking that nothing can be done about it because “that’s just life!” That couldn’t be farther from the truth, and what I teach is living proof.

I am passionate about the work I do through the services I provide using Therapeutic Yoga. An example of these services is Yoga for Fertility, and the Pelvic Rehabilitation programs, like Pfilates. They are effective and only require desire and some discipline on the client’s part, and a commitment to creating improved health through self-help. I incorporate techniques from other areas that I have studied, including specialized postural techniques and ways of dealing with conditions such as pelvic organ prolapse, which is not exclusive to women. Most people do not know that many men as well as women experience renal incontinence. Men often experience urinary incontinence post-prostatectomy and can benefit from Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) techniques.

Throughout my career I have specialized in women’s health, encompassing pelvic health of women from teens to very old age. If you have given birth, you are post natal. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) is a very effective therapy for a number of issues, such as: Stress, Urge, or Mixed Urinary Incontinence (UI), which is helped by building a strong healthy pelvic environment for delivery (for which pre-natal yoga is greatly supportive); Infertility (which generally includes both partners), where Yoga is also an important part of the therapy treatment; menstrual health through improved circulation, and for back and pelvic girdle pain by stabilizing the pelvis to support the lower back and reduce sciatic nerve and muscle pain. PFMT is also effective in prevention of injuries post-partum by countering the effects of the hormones relaxin and progesterone, which overly relax the ligaments and joints for up to 6 months after delivery. Sexual satisfaction can be improved by increasing motor and nerve supply to vital nerves, along with conditions like Dyspareunia (painful intercourse), common enough during and after pregnancy, by increasing circulation and teaching relaxation techniques for pelvic floor muscles. Posture is another common issue that we often don’t notice until it has begun to deteriorate. It is common post-partum, or in clients with osteoporosis. In either of these cases a gentle yoga practice is a good adjunct to PFMT.

Other issues I help clients deal with can be post-natal weight loss, and a condition called DRA – Diastasis Recti Abdominus, which is separation of the recti muscles, more often called Pooch or Mummy Tummy. This is an extremely common condition and will increase with successive child births. It needs to be dealt with through a fitness regime including PFMT. One final condition I need to mention, is pelvic organ prolapse, or POP. This condition exists in epidemic proportions, occurs not only seniors and the middle aged, but teens as well. The causes can range from high impact sport activities, pushing phase of childbirth, surgical procedures that remove organs (ectomies) and conditions such as emphysema with chronic coughing, to name a few.

Have you had enough information yet? I love talking about what I do because I believe that I can help a lot of people who are struggling with conditions that might not get the attention they deserve! I am continually committed to increasing my scope of knowledge and expertise, and in turn, offer it up to clients in the hope that it may relieve suffering and improve quality of life. I have a foundational belief that my work with clients can build their sense that they do have some control of the outcomes of their health. My work is about empowerment, and quality of life, and if it hasn’t come across enough yet, I love what I do!

I know this was a lot of information to throw at you – let me say, if you have any questions about what I do, or if I can help, please give me a call at the office at 604-283-7827 or email me at brenna@alongsideyou.ca and I’d love to chat about how we can move forward together!