Fit As A Fiddle

What if your chronic pain could lead you to a completely new career and purpose? In this episode of Fit as a Fiddle, I sit down with Jenny Hoofnagle, pre and postnatal fitness specialist, birth doula, and founder of Freya Movement Studio in NYC. Jenny shares how her journey with endometriosis, pelvic floor dysfunction, and chronic pain shaped her approach to women’s health, pregnancy fitness, and...

Click here and use your exclusive 20% listener discount (Code: FIT20 ) to enroll in Master Your Pelvic Floor, our signature self-paced course that will change the way you understand and care for your body. Now onto our episode! In this episode, we are joined by a powerhouse trio of returning guests from Physical Equilibrium: Sara Dimmick, Sarah Currie, and Jesse Barnett. Based out of New York City...

Fit As A Fiddle brings you thoughtful conversations and real-world health tips to support your wellness journey, one episode at a time.

Let’s get political folks! As mental health overall has gotten more attention in the media over the last 4 years, so has the very important topic of PMADs, or Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. After the latest CDC findings on the alarming maternal mortality rate, many facets of government are starting to pay attention to mothers and birthing individuals and the toll that pregnancy and child-re...

Pain is real whether it is felt immediately after a traumatic event or in the absence of apparent tissue damage on imaging. We now know through pain neuroscience research and understanding the biopsychosocial approach to chronic pain that patients’ perceived experiences of pain are unique to them and are entirely valid.  On the show today, we have Dr. Neel Mehta, MD. He is the Division Chief of th...

Most healthcare professionals strive to put patients first. But what does that really mean? In the practice of physical therapy specifically, it means a lot of things, beginning with listening to the patient. On our show today, Dr. Diana Mayants joins us to chat about the physical therapy profession as she sees it. Diana is a dual-board certified orthopedic manual physical therapist, with over 13...

With advances in AI and robotics, neurosurgery has become an important field to begin integrating new technology for better patient care. Dr. Osama Kashlan, a Neurosurgeon at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital joins us today for a lively chat on his recent work.  On the show, he discusses the standardization of back pain and care at Weill Cornell along with the interdisciplinary app...

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a multifactorial condition that can affect people across ages and genders. It can be very difficult to diagnose as some types of EDS are very rare and symptoms can be vague or be confused with other diseases. Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is also a condition that can be difficult to diagnose for so many reasons. Both EDS and PFD are not taught to the extent to whic...

Endometriosis (commonly referred to as “Endo”) has a global impact on females of reproductive age. According to the World Health Organization, it affects about 10% of women and girls. What we know as doctors and practitioners who treat people who have endometriosis, is that it is extremely difficult to arrive at this diagnosis due to various various factors.  On average it can take more than 5 yea...

“What do you mean you’re going to poke me with needles?” You might ask this question if your medical professional believes that needles might help expedite your healing and recovery process from an injury. Typically people associate needles only with acupuncture. However, other medical professions use needles in different ways for different benefits. Today our guest is Dr. Timothy Garrison. He is...

You may see a news report on a mom giving birth in a taxi. You may see Emily Blunt giving birth in silence in the movie “A Quiet Place.” You’ll hear all the stories from your friends and family where either the baby just “slipped out” in a few minutes or tore their mother apart after “5 days” of pushing.  Regardless of what you’ve seen or heard of the birthing process, it is a very unique experien...

What are some myths and truths about screen time and how it affects our eyes? What are good practices for wearing contact lenses and glasses? How can you optimize your eye health from a young age? These questions, and so many more, are answered in today’s episode. Joining us is Dr. Antonio Capone, an internationally recognized clinician, surgeon, and educator specializing in pediatric vitreoretina...

Turning to ancient wisdom that is tried and true over centuries is one of the surest ways to help your health in the long run. Today, Nicole Kruck, one of the first practitioners of the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy, joins us today. Combining her degree in Oriental Medicine with massage therapy has helped her be one of the best holistic practitioners in NYC.  Nicole discusses how her...

Sometimes the best health practitioners are those that ended up in their field almost out of chance. Today Jeremy Quinby, a craniosacral therapist, chats with us on his interesting journey into integrative health.  We talk about how manual therapy and movement are key to improving health and the importance of trauma-informed care. He focuses on pediatrics and how he uses his modalities to help chi...

There is more than one way to feed a baby. If you choose to pump and/or breastfeed, you better tune in! Today, we have Heather McFadden joining us on the show. Heather has over 10 years of experience as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She has a thriving private practice offering home visits, virtual consults, and prenatal breastfeeding classes. I am extra lucky to ha...

Pilates can look very different depending on who you talk to. When we view Pilates as a movement practice for healing the body, it nourishes the soul too! Joining us on this episode is Brittany Crosby, a mindful movement practitioner, instructor of contemporary STOTT pilates, witchy intuitive healer, and the founder of The Co Pilates. While her roots are in teaching Pilates her focus has shifted o...

Jaw pain, headaches, and facial pain are all common and can have a profound effect on our quality of life. Lucky for us, we have an esteemed guest speaker on the show today to break these topics down and help us understand how we can overcome this pain. Donald R. Tanenbaum, DDS, MPH, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and then received his DDS degree from Columbia University Sch...

I couldn’t have asked for a better kick off this season on Fit As A Fiddle! I chatted with 2 of my dear colleagues and friends Leigh Welsh and Alicia Ferriere. What we have in common is that we are all Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists New York City, we are all business owners, and we all gave birth in 2023 to our first child! On this show, we talk about all things motherhood from our perspective h...

This week is the 1 year anniversary of the last released episode on Fit As A Fiddle! So much has happened since then, particularly the birth of little Jiya Baby in May 2023. Please excuse the coos and occasional screams of my child in the background during this season. I truly did my best to be a mom, wife, business owner, physical therapist, and podcaster. This is a health and wellness podcast an...

During pregnancy, the physical changes come in fast, and sometimes, furious! A great way to tune into these changes and create more body awareness is through “yoga asanas”, which are movements and poses from the ancient Indian tradition that promote physical & mental wellbeing. Prenatal yoga is becoming more popular these days as research and science points to the immense benefits of healthy a...

Are you the person who finds themselves feeling the opposite of grounded and centered during a movement class, yoga, or meditation? Are you the type who can’t quite relax during a massage or a pleasant walk? You’re not alone! Today we have Dan Rindler GCFP, P-SEP, chatting with us today on his approach to trauma which draws on Somatic Experiencing and Feldenkrais Methods. Difficulty relaxing can b...

Inflammation in the body can manifest in many ways and ultimately exists to protect us. However, excessive inflammation that lasts a long time, or “chronic inflammation”, can be associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other disease states. Robin Randisi is a functional nutritionist helping people improve their health using a h...

There is a lot to think about when finding support for your baby’s birth. The first thing to understand is the different roles that people play in a birth setting. What is the difference between a doula and a midwife anyway? And what about a baby nurse?! We sat down with Stephanie Heintzeler, a German educated midwife and acupuncturist as well as US-educated doula and Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)....

In our society today, we don’t quite learn how to breastfeed by observation as we once did in the past. You might think that it is completely natural for you and your baby, which it is to some extent. However, without coming into contact with the techniques involved with breastfeeding, it can truly be a foreign concept to most of modern society. And the unknown can often be scary! This is why it’s...

When it comes to sexual health for women, there always seems to be a “hush hush” about it. But what might seem to be a quiet topic or a funny joke to some, for others it can be crushing and life altering. Today we have Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus joining us to talk about how important it is to clinically look at women’s sexual health closely and provide actionable tools to make people feel more empowered...