Episode:Â 33
The Body Episode: Pelvic Floors, Sexual Health, and the Knowledge You Were Never Given
With Layne Beachley, Tess Brouwer and Heather Ford
Powered by AIA
Calculate your AIA Vitality Age in less than 5 minutes, and get a better understanding of your health.
AIA Age CalculatorWhat if the most powerful tool for your health, your confidence, and your sex life is a muscle most of us have never been taught to use?
In this eye-opening and laugh-out-loud honest episode, Tess and Layne welcome Heather Ford, founder of Core Restore Co., sexologist, and the woman on a mission to give women the body knowledge they were never given.
Heather opens up about her own wake-up call: three months postpartum, standing on a trampoline with her toddler, when she realised she was about to leak in front of a room full of strangers. In that moment of shame, she made a decision. She went back to university, completed a Master's in Women's Medicine and a Master's in Sexology, and built five clinics across New South Wales on the belief that women deserve to understand their own bodies.
Together they unpack what the pelvic floor actually does, why most women cannot name the parts of their own vulva, and why that gap in knowledge is costing us in confidence, comfort and connection. Heather walks through the anatomy lesson most of us never got at school, from the seven holes we all have (yes, seven) to the skene's glands, the Bartholin's glands, and the real size of the clitoris (nine to twelve centimetres, and it goes inside). She explains why the pelvic floor is the body's stress response muscle, how it is connected to your jaw, your diaphragm, your breathing and your mental health, and why learning to relax it may be the most underrated health tool available to any of us.
Layne shares what a decade in menopause has actually felt like and the quiet ways she and Kirk have reimagined intimacy. Tess reflects on rebuilding trust in her body after injury and the role of nervous system regulation in reopening the door to desire. And Heather finishes the conversation by leading the entire studio through the world's first group puss-up. Yes, really.
If you have ever felt like your sex ed was missing half the picture, or you have quietly wondered why things have changed in your body and nobody gave you a map, this episode is your map.
What you will learn
- Why most women cannot label the parts of their own vulva, and why that gap in knowledge directly affects sexual confidence and satisfaction
- How the pelvic floor works as the body's stress response muscle, and the cycle that connects it to breathing, cortisol levels, and mental health
- The anatomy you were never taught: the seven holes, the female prostate, the real size and shape of the clitoris, and what the Bartholin's glands do
- Why stress kills libido, and what the difference between spontaneous and responsive arousal means for your relationship
- How to communicate about intimacy in a way that removes pressure and creates connection, including why you should never have that conversation in the bedroom
- The truth about squirting, ethical porn, and lube (short answer: everyone should be using it)
- How to do a puss-up, and why your next sexual experience starts the moment the last one ends
5 Key takeaways
- Your Pelvic Floor Is Your Stress Response Muscle And It Runs Everything Heather explains that when we are stressed, scared or overwhelmed, the pelvic floor contracts. It is connected to the diaphragm, which shortens our breathing, which triggers more cortisol, which tightens the pelvic floor further. That cycle, if left unchecked, affects everything from bladder control to libido to sleep. The good news is that deep belly breathing, jaw release and learning to consciously relax the pelvic floor can interrupt the cycle at any point. Every breath is a chance to reset.
- You Cannot Ask For What You Do Not Know You Have Heather's central argument is that women cannot guide a partner, advocate for their own pleasure, or experience the sex lives they deserve if they do not understand their own anatomy. Research shows most women cannot label the parts of their vulva. That is not personal failure. It is a systemic gap that starts in a sex education system built almost entirely around male anatomy and reproductive function. Knowledge is not just power here. It is pleasure.
- Your Next Sexual Experience Starts The Moment The Last One Ends One of the most quietly radical ideas in this episode is that foreplay is not what happens right before sex. It is every act of care, respect, presence and attentiveness that happens in between. A text message. A foot rub. Sharing the mental load. When we treat every interaction as potential foreplay, we stop treating intimacy as something to be switched on or off, and start building the conditions for it to arise naturally.
- Softening Is Science, Not Surrender Tess shares how becoming more intentional about how she moved through her home, how she walked in the door after work and how she held her body, changed the energy between her and her partner. Heather explains why this is not just intuition. When we are stressed, our pelvic floor grips. When we soften, breathe and regulate our nervous system, the pelvic floor releases, desire has room to arise, and the body becomes receptive. The soft arrival is the biology working as designed.
- Remove the Goal and You Might Actually Get There For anyone stuck in a pattern of pressure, performance anxiety or avoidance, Heather's prescription is simple: take penetration and orgasm off the table entirely for two weeks. Just play. Explore. Be curious without an outcome. In almost every case she has seen, removing the goal is what gets people there. Because the body does not perform under pressure. It opens under safety.
Â
Ready to awaken?
Monthly Live Coaching with Layne & TessÂ
Real, raw conversations + group mentoring, a vibrant community and so much more!
Connect with us
Get Awake’s transformative book: Know yourself grow yourself to live a happier more purposeful life Â
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy
Awake's TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.
If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.
Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.
