Reclaiming the Body: A Conversation on Pelvic Floor Healing, Trauma, and Nervous System Wellness

Featuring insights from Pelvic Floor Occupational Therapist, Mayra Olivares, OTR

Many of us have heard of pelvic floor therapy, Reiki, or myofascial release, but rarely do we see them woven together in a single, trauma-informed healing space. As an occupational therapist passionate about nervous system regulation and self-care, I was curious about how these disciplines could intersect to support deeper healing.

So I collaborated with Mayra Olivares, an occupational therapist, whose work blends science, intuition, and whole-body wisdom. What unfolded was a powerful conversation on trauma, embodiment, and the liberation that happens when women begin to feel safe in their bodies again.

Where Physical and Energetic Healing Meet

When I asked Mayra how she integrates pelvic floor therapy, Reiki, and John Barnes’ Myofascial Release into one treatment approach, she reports that the process feels natural, almost like the modalities choose themselves based on each client’s story.

She begins her work through deep listening: past trauma, surgeries, birth experiences, emotional history, and the ways the body has been holding tension. This is often where she identifies the energetic component, the pieces that require compassion, stillness, or gentle support through Reiki or womb healing. MFR becomes the bridge between the physical and emotional layers. Through sustained, gentle pressure over eight to fifteen minutes, the fascia has time to unwind. The body softens. Emotional imprints often surface. The nervous system shifts out of survival mode and into a parasympathetic state, the only state where true healing happens.

“If the client is open to it,” Mayra shared, “Reiki naturally weaves in. Especially when working with womb trauma or releasing stored energy in the pelvic region.”

The result? Clients begin reconnecting with themselves, grounded, present, and more at peace in their own bodies.

Healing That Leads Back to Meaningful Occupation

From an OT lens, function, safety, intimacy, pain, and daily meaningful roles sit at the heart of pelvic floor recovery. Mayra’s approach centers the whole person, not just their symptoms.

“It starts with creating a safe space; the healing begins long before hands-on work.”

Women come to her with goals that extend beyond pain relief. They want to run again. Paint again. Lift their children without leaking. Enjoy intimacy without fear. One of her former clients, once limited by pain and low energy, eventually returned to her creative passions, even painting a mural of a whale in her home.

Mayra uses MFR to decrease restrictions and restore movement, combined with vagus nerve activation and nervous system regulation work. She teaches self-treatment techniques, empowering clients to regulate their bodies outside the clinic. “When women become grounded and regulated, they naturally show up as better mothers, partners, and humans,” she said. “It ripples into every meaningful occupation.”

Breaking the Silence Around Pelvic Pain

Pelvic floor issues carry stigma, secrecy, and often years of silent suffering. When I asked what she wished more women and providers understood, her answer was clear: “We must treat the whole being, not just the musculoskeletal system.”

She spoke deeply on the significance of womb trauma: miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, sexual assault, and traumatic medical procedures. These experiences leave emotional imprints on the tissues, often stored for years. She offers womb healing sessions to release these energies before traditional pelvic floor treatment begins. “When the womb and pelvic region are free of tension and trauma,” she said, “intimacy becomes more pleasurable, leaking decreases, and women regain a sense of safety and ownership over their body again.”

Her message to women was powerful: You don’t have to live with pain. Healing is possible, no matter how long it has been.

The First Session: Safety Above Everything

Mayra’s priority in her first session is establishing trust. Clients share their stories, sometimes for the first time in years, and are met with presence, validation, and zero judgment. This allows for trauma-informed care and an open environment. She performs a gentle postural assessment to understand where the body has been protecting itself. Hands-on work begins slowly, focusing on nervous system regulation through light MFR, allowing the client to shift into a calmer state where deeper therapeutic work becomes possible. “Empowerment is part of the session,” states Mayra. “Clients are always in control, pressure, pacing, everything.”

Bridging Science and Energy

I asked her how she addresses misconceptions about Reiki, especially for clients who may be skeptical.

“Reiki isn’t a religion,” she said. “It’s simply a method of supporting the body’s natural healing process.” For many, understanding comes through experience, feeling their nervous system settle, noticing emotional heaviness lift, or sensing warmth and release in the body. “It’s about bringing mind, body, and spirit back into balance,” she added. “Anyone can experience that.”

Her Message to Women: You Can Heal

Mayra had one message she wanted every woman to hear: “Healing is possible. Feeling safe, feeling pleasure, and trusting your body again — all of it is possible.” 

She also offered a simple grounding practice:

Place hands on the womb, breathe gently, and ask, “What do you need from me today?” Even a few moments of connection can begin restoring trust and body awareness.

Empowerment Through Knowledge and Self-Treatment

A core part of her approach is teaching women to become the experts of their own bodies again. From self-treatment techniques to simple energy healing practices, her work helps clients:

• reduce pain

• regulate their nervous systems

• reconnect with pleasure

• build confidence in their own internal wisdom

“It’s about giving women the tools to reclaim their power,” she said. “Their movement, their voice, their joy.”

A Final Invitation

Mayra would like to leave readers with an open invitation to the Vegas Wellness community:

“If you’re curious about relieving chronic pain, improving pelvic floor function, or releasing emotional trauma held in the body, I warmly invite you to reach out. I would love to support you on your healing journey.”

Her work is a reminder for all of us, that healing is not linear, not mechanical, and not purely physical.  It is emotional, spiritual, embodied, and deeply personal.  And when women feel safe and whole in their bodies again, everything else becomes possible.