We recently connected with Ashley Zimmerman and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I think I’ve always known that I wanted to have my own practice…I just didn’t always know what it would look like. The struggle was always allowing my voice to be heard in the way I wanted it to be heard, and being okay with people not agreeing with me all the time. When I decided that it was time to really branch out on my own I had just gone through the hardest year I’ve experienced thus far (emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually). It was really hard, but something just kept telling me that I should do it. I’ve had a lot of people question my decision, and a lot of people have watched me struggle in the early days, but what I realized is the only person that had to believe in it was me. No one else’s opinion really matters.
I work in a western medicine dominated field, and I’m grateful for my education, I just don’t always believe that the hard drawn lines are best for everyone. The body is a constant flow of energy, ever changing, and always truthful. I think in a typical physical therapy setting, there’s not enough allowance for this flow. Treatments are governed by insurance companies, and there’s a lack of support that the whole body plays a role in well being. We cannot separate mind and body and spirit, and we shouldn’t, but this was/is probably the biggest challenge. So when I started my own practice, I had to be really okay with the push-back I got, and still get, regarding this.
I wish someone would have told me how much of a spiritual journey entrepreneurship is. Honestly, if I could tell anything to a new entrepreneur, it’d be that the journey to create something that you truly love is more about finding unwavering self-love than it is about numbers. It’s about finding the belief that that you have what it takes already within you, and not being afraid to truly let yourself shine.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I kind of fell into the field of physical therapy because I didn’t know what else to do. I remember one day thinking “that sounds fun” and I just never changed my mind. I thought I’d work with kids, but quickly realized I just really love babies but not necessarily treating them. And then I graduated PT school, and was like, “you just made the biggest mistake.” It definitely wasn’t love at first sight lol.And then, like most female identifying people in this country, I found that the care I was getting wasn’t the most supportive. I had some pretty big struggles that required a healthcare provider to be open, caring, and supportive in a way that doesn’t typically happen. Because this was so hard to find, I decided that I could be part of the solution, instead of just carrying along like I was. I don’t think that future generations should be in the same positions we’ve been in when it comes to knowing our bodies. We can do better, and we all deserve to know our bodies.
I am a pelvic health physical therapist and a pleasure coach. So basically, I help those with a vulva with any kind of pelvic floor dysfunction (incontinence- peeing your pants, pelvic organ prolapse, abdominal separation, pain during/after pregnancy, hip/back/pelvic/abdominal pain, constipation). But the most common pelvic floor dysfunctions I treat are pain or lack of sensation with intercourse, and postpartum pain/weakness. We don’t get taught that it’s common, but not normal to pee our pants after children or as we age, we don’t get taught that PMS is a sign that something isn’t right and it’s not just something we have to live with, and we don’t get reassured that the pain we’re having isn’t just all in our heads. I promise, you’re not crazy, and you don’t have to live in pain.
Think of pleasure coaching as a way to find your essence and inner peace. Yes, it can be about sexual experiences, but pleasure is really so much more than that. You can have pleasureable sexual encounters and not have a pleasurable life. Often, especially as owners of a vulva, we don’t pay attention to who we are and what we need. And then we wind up somewhere we don’t want to be, feeling not quite like ourselves, and get stuck. As a coach, I guide you as you gain knowledge of your body, finding what your values are and where you’re living for or against them, and really just finding that self-love that we all deserve. The sessions are really guided by you, and what you need….so no two coaching programs ever really look the same. But that’s what’s so cool about the work!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn the belief that my career was who I am. I am Ashley. I am not what I do for a living. I think “what do you do for a living” is such a common question, we forget that there’s someone behind the job. And personally, as soon as I realized that I wasn’t my job, I enjoyed it so much more. This is also true for any other title we hold, like mom. You’re you first, and these other things might affect you, but you are more than that title-always.
I’m not sure where this belief started, but probably from the general idea that success is monetary and in order to have monetary success you need a good job. So you go find a good job, and force yourself to stay there even when you hate it, because “success” demands it. Success takes work for sure, but not suffering. And don’t get me wrong, I want to be financially secure too, but I just want to be happy first.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Hands down the best strategy has been word of mouth. There’s tons of fancy marketing that can be done, and sometimes it’s very necessary. But I think for me, since the work I do is so personal, people are going to feel more comfortable taking recommendations from someone they already know and trust. I’m a firm believer in we are who we surround ourselves with, and when we share resources with those around us, we will cause a much larger ripple effect. I want to help create generations that have found healing, and we can only do that if we start first with us, and then those closest to us. So word of mouth has definitely been the best for me, and the most successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drashleyzimmerman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleydpt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyysw