We were lucky to catch up with Janvi Raichura recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Janvi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

I went to USC and finished my physical therapy schooling in 2021, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a surreal time to be entering the healthcare field—treating people through masks, over Zoom, or in outdoor setups was far from traditional, but it ended up being incredibly formative. I learned how to adapt quickly, communicate clearly even without physical cues, and really see the whole person—not just the diagnosis or the body part. That experience shaped how I practice today: with creativity, flexibility, and a deep respect for the context each patient brings into the room.

Janvi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got introduced to this specialty pretty early on, during my first year in PT school at USC. I remember sitting in a lecture where a speaker compared birth to running a marathon—she said, “We’d never tell someone to gain 40 pounds, not train, and then expect them to run a marathon. But that’s exactly how we treat women when it comes to pregnancy and birth.” That line stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but it made perfect sense—and it opened my eyes to just how overlooked pelvic health is in traditional medicine and even in physical therapy. The more I learned, the more I realized this was what I wanted to do: help people feel strong, supported, and informed in a part of their body and life that’s often ignored.

At Bloom Wellness, I work with people navigating everything from postpartum recovery to chronic pelvic pain, prolapse, leakage, or just feeling disconnected from their body. What makes my approach different is how individualized it is. I spend time getting to know each person—their goals, daily routines, values, and what actually motivates them—so we can create a plan that feels realistic and sustainable. Therapy should never feel like another burden on someone’s plate. My goal is to help people make meaningful progress in a way that truly fits their life, which can be hard when they’ve got children, jobs, family obligations and just the general fast-paced of life these days.

Starting my own clinic gave me the freedom to create the kind of experience I felt was missing in a lot of healthcare settings. At Bloom, sessions are one-on-one, never rushed, and always collaborative. There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol here. Patients are listened to, educated, and included in every part of their care. We can cover as little or as much as we want. We’re not bound to one body part at a time which is usually a huge barrier in care in an insurance model. We can have as many sessions as needed. It’s something that’s decided between me and the patient and not the insurance company.

What I’m most proud of is when someone tells me they were able to do something they hadn’t thought possible—whether that’s going for a run without leaking, having pain-free intimacy, or simply feeling like themselves again. I recently had a patient who had qualified for the USA marathon Olympic Trials in 2024 and she wanted to get back to that pace of running 6 months after giving birth and we did it! Pelvic health is such an intimate part of people’s lives, and it’s an honor to be trusted with that work.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was the idea that pain always equals damage. In school, we’re often taught that pain means something is broken or injured, and the response is usually to rest, protect, and give the body time to heal. There’s definitely some truth in that, but in pelvic health especially, you quickly realize that pain is so much more complex.

A lot of what we see in this field isn’t about structural damage—it’s about how the nervous system is interpreting safety, stress, and sensation. Learning to trust the nervous system’s story, not just the tissue’s, is a huge shift. It requires a deep understanding of anatomy and biomechanics, but also a lot of nuance. You have to be able to recognize when pain is the body reacting to something unfamiliar or uncomfortable—but ultimately necessary for healing—versus pain that signals something harmful.

Equally important is understanding your patient’s personal relationship to pain. What have they been told about it? What have they learned to fear or avoid? Helping someone reframe their pain experience with empathy and education is a huge part of the work. And it’s often where some of the biggest breakthroughs happen.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Aside from clinical knowledge and training, I think one of the most important skills in pelvic floor physical therapy is something I jokingly call “the art of the yap.” This field is incredibly personal; people come in with concerns they may have never fully verbalized before. Maybe they’ve mentioned it briefly to a doctor, a partner, or a close friend, but often, you’re the first person really hearing their full story. That kind of vulnerability requires a huge amount of trust, and building that trust starts with how you connect.

I believe it’s so important to talk to people like people, not just patients. Having real conversations, asking about their hobbies, learning what lights them up, and even sharing a little about yourself helps build rapport in a way that makes the clinical work more effective. When someone feels seen and safe, they’re more likely to engage, open up, and really invest in their healing.

So yes, you need to know the anatomy and science inside and out. But you also need to know how to hold space for someone who feels ashamed, frustrated, or totally alone in what they’re going through. That human connection is where so much healing happens.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebloomwellness.com/
• Instagram: bloom.physical
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19LcjDma2n/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bloom-wellness-washington
• Other: (202) 743-2574‬ – Phone Number

  214 D St SE

  Washington DC 20003 – Address

  [email protected] – email

Image Credits

Abbie Ginis – for the second photo