Ever want to know what it is like to train at MUSC?  Watch this news clip as one of our very own residents, Dr. Angela Choi, speaks with ABC News 4 about life as an Ob/Gyn resident physician. 

And now on to the third and final part of our Booty Camp Series...

by:  Tyler Cross, Personal Trainer and Running Coach and Gweneth Lazenby, MD

Core Training
Cardiovascular exercise should be part of every woman’s routine. Physical fitness is key to a long healthy life and to better satisfaction with yourself and relationships. For best results, engage in an exercise that raises your heart rate for 30 minutes to 1 hour daily. Improved exercise endurance can have great benefit in the bedroom. By increasing your body’s tolerance for prolonged workouts, you will have the sustaining power to enjoy sex longer.

In addition to improving your stamina by raising your heart rate, core training and weight lifting should be integrated into your better sex workout.  The core refers to the muscles in your back, abdomen, hips, and thighs.  These are the muscles that help us to stand up straight.  During sex, these muscles are important in providing support to your arms and legs in more challending positions.

When a woman is straddling or on top of her partner, she uses the core muscles to guide her movement.  As you can imagine, a strong core will give you the ability to sustain this pleasurable position with less effort and more energy for enjoyment.

Below, we have provided examples and pictures of exercises to strenghten your core.

Picture 1:  Alternating back extensions

Lay face down with head and neck in neutral position. Lift your opposite arm and leg a few inches off the ground. For example, lift your right arm and your left leg. Tighten your core as you alternate raising your arms and legs so that you do not rock side to side. While lifting your arm, keep your shoulder away from your ear. To do this, initiate the movement from your midback not your upper back. Point your thumb up while lifting the arm to avoid impinging on your shoulder joint.

Picture 2:  Plank with leg lift

In order to get in plank, lie flat on a mat. Have your hands in line with your shoulders, elbows bent. Flex your feet and push your toes into the ground. Push your body into a plank and balance on arms, elbows, and toes. Keep your hips lifted with the shoulders directly above the elbows and head neutral. Alternate raising your legs and holding each up for 10 seconds. Keep your hips inline with shoulders and ankle. You should feel the majority of effort in your abdominal muscles.

Picture 3:  Hip bridge

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet planted on the ground, close to your buttock. Your arms and hands are extended by your sides, with hands flat on the ground. Tighten the abdominal muscles and squeeze the buttocks. Then, tilt the pelvis into a "neutral" position and raise pelvis off the floor. Hold this position for a count of 45 seconds, and then return to the starting position. Repeat this exercise for 4-6 repetitions.

Picture 4:  Sumo deadlift

This exercise can be done with dumbbell, a kettleball, a weighted ball, or your own body weight. The focus for this exercise is the buttock and inner thighs.  Spread your feet wide apart and turn the toes out to the side.  Sit back into a squat and allow the weight in your hands to lower between the legs. Support your back by holding the abdominal muscles tight and keeping the back straight. 

Alternating back exercises

Plank with leg lift


Hip bridge

Sumo deadlift

Just in case you have been living under a rock, here is a link to an article that was in today's Post and Courier about women's libidio.  We think you will find it most helpful!

And now on to the second part of our Booty Camp Series...

by:  Gail Corvette, Yoga and Nia Instructor

YOGA
Yoga provides a body, mind and spirit workout. Similar to Pilates, the physical benefits of practicing yoga are strength, flexibility, body awareness, endurance, energy and enhanced breathing capability. In addition to improving your overall physical appearance by toning your arms, legs, and core (which makes you feel and look sexier to your mate), practicing yoga helps to quiet the mind and hone your ability to focus on the present moment. These are key when being intimate with your partner. Distraction and the inability to focus on a connection with your lover can lead to difficulty achieving adequate arousal, which leads to orgasm.

All poses (asanas) in yoga are beneficial to your overall health and strength. However, certain positions focus on bringing awareness to and both strengthening and stretching the pelvic floor muscles. Overly tight pelvic floor muscles can cause pain during penetration.  Like any muscle, the pelvic floor needs balance to be healthy—not too tight and not too loose.

A yogic "lock" mulabandha (drawing in from the anus to the pubic bone) helps to strengthen the first layer of your pelvic floor muscles.

Other poses such as malasana (squat), uttanasana (standing forward fold), upavistha konasana (seated wide leg stretch), and baddha konasana (cobbler's pose) stretch the second layer of the pelvic floor muscles which connects the sitting bones and public bone in a triangular shape. This creates a healthy balance and increases blood flow to in the pelvic area.  In Anusara yoga, one of the Universal Principles of Alignment, expanding (or inner) spiral is an action that takes the upper thighs apart and widens the pelvic floor. This action is applied to every pose.

Imagine the possibilities in your sexual play when you can engage and move your pelvic floor muscles!

Yogic Lock

Squat

NIA
Nia (a fusion of dance arts, martial arts and healing arts) is a form of exercise that focuses on finding joy in movement and increasing the pleasure of living in your body. In many ways, Nia can transform and heal your body, mind, spirit and emotions. Due to the variety of movement and expression, Nia leads to overall muscle toning, weight loss, increased strength, improved grace and flexibility, endurance, and energy. Nia creates a sense of sensuality, play and creativity which can increase your enjoyment of sex. In the book, The Nia Technique by co-Founders Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas, enhancing sexual function is number 11 on the list of the 16 benefits of Nia.

By integrating practices like Nia and yoga into your exercise routine, you may become more aware of your body and experience more pleasure in all areas of your life, including the bedroom.

Core Training will be the next exercise practice discussed in our Booty Camp Series.  Stay tuned...

Regular cardiovascular and weight-bearing exercises are recommended to improve overall health and well-being. Physical fitness resulting from regular exercise leads to improved body image and self-esteem as well as endurance. Not surprisingly, being fit and confident can improve your performance and enjoyment in the bedroom. 

Not only does exercise improve your sexual performance, it can actually increase arousal. A study from the journal Behavior Research and Therapy demonstrates that immediately following exercise, women have increased sympathetic nervous system response and heightened blood flow to the vagina. Simply put, exercise can lead to better lubrication and orgasm during sex.

In an effort to help our readers get active for all the benefits of exercise, we have asked fitness instructors from the MUSC Wellness Center to provide examples of exercises and practices that can improve your heart and your love life.

PILATES
by: TerryLynn Hamilton, RN and Pilates Instructor

Pilates can be practiced in many ways with varying results depending on your goal. Interestingly Joseph Pilates stated that the five basic principles behind his method of exercise are concentration, control, centering, flow, and breathing. All of which are applicable to improving intimacy and intercourse.          

During Pilates, we focus on controlling the breath. We breathe in and out specifically and intentionally with every exercise. Controlling your breath during intercourse can lead a better control over your physical response. You may notice that as you approach orgasm, your breath becomes more rapid and out of control. By slowing the breath, your body can focus energy on receiving pleasure.

When discussing how Pilates can improve your enjoyment of sex, we must emphasize the benefits of this exercise to the pelvic floor. Most women do not realize that the foundation of their core strength arises from the pelvic floor (the muscles that surround the hips and vagina). Every Pilates exercise is centered on engaging the pelvic floor muscles. When properly cued, these muscles will engage the lower and deeper part of the abdominal wall muscles.

Kegal exercises, rhythmic tightening and relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles, can be used to target this area. When performed on a regular basis either in class or at home, the pelvic floor and core can become very strong. These muscles also contract during orgasm, and increasing their strength through regular exercise may increase your pleasure.

Pilates is also excellent for increasing your strength and flexibility.  Flexibility in your arms, legs, spine, and core can be very beneficial, especially when exploring more challenging sexual positions during love making. For women, strengthening your leg muscles and core can improve the control of your body and movement during sex. Pilates is an excellent exercise practice for increasing core strength and toning the arms and legs.

Yoga and Nia will be the next exercise practice discussed in our Booty Camp Series.  Stay tuned...

World AIDS Day is December 1, 2010.  If you have been following our blog for a while, then you may remember this post from a year ago.  The post talks about a couple things that you can do tomorrow and this week to join in on the fight against AIDS.  We also have a few things to add to the list that are happening tomorrow on MUSC's campus: 

• Luminary and Red Ribbon Sales to Benefit Lowcountry AIDS Services
  11:00am - 2:00pm
  MUSC Portico of the Colbert Education Center / Library Lobby

• Lunch and Learn - Dr. Michael Kilby, MUSC Division of Infectious Disease
  Noon - 1:00pm
  MUSC Basic Science Building Auditorium, Room 100

• Annual Community Vigil
  5:30pm
  MUSC Horseshoe to College of Charleston Physicians Auditorium

MUSC has several clinics that support people with HIV/AIDS.  What you may not know is that MUSC Women's Services provides a specialty clinic for women affected by HIV and AIDS to address pregnancy and gynecologic care. These clinics are managed by Dr. Gweneth B. Lazenby and Dr. Oluwatosin Jaiyeoba from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. For more information, please contact us at 843-792-5300.

We are excited to have an opportunity to show off MUSC Women's Health at Northwoods brand new office space to the community we serve.  Our North Charleston Ob/Gyn office is conveniently located off of Rivers Avenue and is right across from Northwoods Mall, near Sports Authority.  The Open House is family friendly with children's books to give away, face painting and more! 

*** OPEN HOUSE ***
Saturday November 6
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
2070 Northbrook Blvd, Ste B9

The tenth day of the tenth month of the year 2010 has special meaning for a Mt. Pleasant family. Why?  Dr. Laura Stickler of East Cooper Women's Center delivered their child, Emmeline Gardner, on 10/10/10.  Not only was Emmeline delivered on 10/10/10, she also came into the world at exactly 10:10 am. 

 

We want to know, do you think we will have any babies delivered at 11:11 am or 11:11 pm on 11/11/11?

Dr. Wendy Lazenby told the readers of Cosmopolitan Magazine how to outsmart STDs.  Yes, we are talking about the same magazine with Lauren Conrad on the cover.  We want to know, did you read it?

For so many parents, telling a child about sex is about as welcome as head lice.  How do I start?  Isn’t the school covering this?  When is the right age?  No need to panic.  Just try to get to them before their friends do. And today, that means by age 8 or 9 (are you panicking?).  Really.  

The good news is that by age 9, most children have reached that magical age where they begin to understand some "adult-ish" things, but are young enough to still have that innocent sense of wonder and awe.  Unfortunately, it’s also the age (4th grade is notorious for this) where some kid in the classroom, usually with an older sibling, will share his or her understanding of what “sex” is – right or wrong—but usually wrong.  Very wrong.  That means that this magical, innocent age is the perfect time to set the “sex” record straight.

In girlology®, we always encourage parents to first ask their child what they already know about sex, because by age 8 and 9, any mention of sex will typically result in giggles.  So go ahead, ask her if she’s heard the word “sex” or “sexy”? (certainly she has).  Then ask her if she knows what it means.  This is a great strategy for almost all of the “tough topics” that arise during adolescence.  Their answers to “Tell me what you know about that” may frighten you more than the sex talk.

Now, on to the task at hand.  Hopefully, you’ll get her while she’s still in the sweet stage of pre-adolescence.  That doesn't mean she won't respond with a crinkled nose, fingers-in-ears, and, "ewwww!"  But if you can focus on the wonder and awe part (I mean, it IS amazing how we create a new life that way!) and the part about it being a special bond between two adults who love each other (if that's what you believe), it will also set the stage for imparting your own family values and expectations.              

Expectations for a 9 year old?!  Yep.  Once she knows what sex is, it’s never too early to tell her what you hope and expect of her when it comes to sharing her body with others.

There are lots of different ways you can describe sexual intercourse, and knowing your child will guide you.  For the detail oriented, inquisitive types, just brace yourself and state the facts succinctly.  For the mildly interested, creative types, you may do just as well to describe it with less detail.  I know one mom who said to her 8 year old, “A man and a woman who love each other fit together just like two puzzle pieces, and that is how they make a baby.”  And to that, her daughter replied, “That’s cool how two pieces can fit together just right, but not with any other pieces.”  Wow...if she had only known what she was saying!  Her daughter is now in her teens and I’m sure the conversations have changed significantly.  But that explanation worked well for a couple of years.

Here are a few more tips that may help. 

• Use the correct anatomical words.

• Get a book with pictures, start with the sperm and the egg and how they come together to make an embryo which becomes a baby.  This part is usually fascinating to them.

• End with, “How do you think the sperm and the egg get together?”

• State the penis-in-vagina facts briefly and without acting embarrassed (you may need to practice those few short lines that give it away).

• Answer any questions directly and honestly. 

• If you don’t know an answer, it’s ok.  You don’t have to be an encyclopedia.  But find out and answer her as soon as you can.  It will establish that you want to be your child’s sex educator and it will also set the stage for her to come to you with her questions in the future.  That’s a good thing!

Once you get the words out, you’re not done.  You also need to give her a day or two to process it.  Then, when you have a quiet moment together, ask her if she has any questions about your little chat.  The follow up is really important for clearing up the uncertainties – and there will be some, I promise!

From personal experience, I can tell you that no two children will react the same.  Your experience will be as unique as your child.  Personally, I had one child who listened intently to my very factual description and had a million questions…."Really?  Well, how do the sperm know where the egg is?  And what happens to all the other sperm that don’t make the baby?  How does the egg know when the sperm are going to be there?”  It was so scientific it was almost comical.  I had another child who just said, “ewwww. Do I have to do that?”  To which I responded,  “You don’t ever HAVE to do it, but one day when you’re a lot older, you might want to.”  To that, she let out a big sigh of relief and drifted off to sleep.  You can guess which child had questions for my “follow up” session two days later.

Good luck and enjoy the conversation.  Keep it short and simple at this age.  Hopefully, it’s just the beginning of many conversations with your daughter about your family values, making wise choices, and understanding healthy sexuality.  

Melisa Holmes, MD is the Co-Founder of Girlology and co-author of three books, including the newly released, “Girlology: There’s Something New About You” for girls ages 8-12.  Learn more at www.girlology.com

Dr. Jennifer Young and Dr. Gweneth Lazenby traveled to Arusha, Tanzania May 31st - June 19th for the purpose of completing an on-going study on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) as part of a research team from the University of Virginia Cancer Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. HPV is a virus which causes cervical, anal, and oral cancers.

The team saw a total of 324 women in a 10 day period at Selian Lutheran Hospital outside of Arusha.  Most patients were from rural areas surrounding Arusha, a largely Masai tribal population.  These African women were seeking screening for cervical cancer, which is not routinely available due to costs and lack of skilled technicians. The research team studied a rapid HPV test, which may replace pap smears for cervical cancer screening in developing nations. In addition to studying HPV, the team collected samples to screen participating women for vaginal and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Vaginitis and STI’s can increase a woman’s risk of HPV infection. 

The data collected on HPV and other infections in these women is currently being analyzed at the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of Virginia. The results will be returned to the physicians at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center with recommendations for follow up and treatment. The results of this study will also benefit women globally by demonstrating the reliability, convenience, and accuracy of the rapid HPV test. We hope that this may also effect future guidelines for cervical cancer screening in the United States.

Dr. Young and Dr. Lazenby along with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology hope to continue to provide quality research at MUSC and abroad. They hope to combine their interests and expertise in gynecologic cancer and infections in order to participate in future global health studies.