Greenpointers’ newest series, “Greenpoint at Work,” is taking a deeper look into the lives of people who work in the neighborhood.
For this week’s edition, we spoke to Marlene Handler, founder of The Lifted Lotus (202 N. 4th St.) in Williamsburg. The Lifted Lotus specializes in pelvic floor therapy, and the business recently celebrated the grand opening of its new space!
Check out our last “Greenpoint at Work” profile here.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Tell us a little about yourself, and how you ended up in this field?
I started my training as an occupational therapist 10 years ago at the recommendation of a friend. She thought this was a really unique profession for me. In 2015, I had my first child, in 2018, I had my second child, and I realized my pelvic floor needed a lot of support, and I didn’t even know what my pelvic floor was. Somebody said, “Oh, you know, you can go back to school and become specialized in pelvic floor rehabilitation,” and I was super fascinated.
At the time, I was 38, and I didn’t know anything about my own body, and I had two kids, and I just knew that my body felt like it was failing me a bit. There weren’t any people I felt like I could go to and ask questions or help me, so I started training as a pelvic floor therapist, but really just for my own benefit. Once I went to a few different trainings over the course of several months, I felt like this information and this knowledge was too valuable to keep to myself. I really was like, I have to give this to other people, I have to get the word out that this is a thing, so people don’t feel so alone.
I went to open a business, and then it was March of 2020, and the world had a very different story for me with COVID. Rather than opening my own business, I started working in a clinic that took insurance to just get as much experience as I could. That’s what led me into pelvic health, and I stayed in that insurance model for just under a year while the world got back to a little bit of homeostasis. Then I decided to open my own business in 2021, and that’s The Lifted Lotus.
For those who might not know, what is pelvic floor therapy? What kinds of issues do you deal with?
The most basic explanation is that the pelvic floor is a system of muscles and nerves and ligaments that exist at the base of our pelvis. They’re responsible for bladder health, bowel health, sexual health, and all things with reproduction and pleasure. It’s a system of muscles like a hammock that are responsible for how our peeing, pooping, and sexual health functions, basically.
Some of the conditions that people might come in to see me for are anything with any of those things—people who have urinary leakage or difficulty emptying their bladder, pain with urination, peeing frequently. Constipation is a very common one. Lots of bowel health concerns are really comorbid with other things. So if somebody has just had a child, they might have constipation and they might also have pelvic pressure. If somebody is dealing with bladder leakage, they might also be coming in with IBS-like systems or digestive issues. If somebody has pelvic pain, or pain with sex, or difficulty inserting a tampon, they might also have constipation challenges with bowel health.
I see a lot of people during pregnancy, post-partum, with bladder prolapse or rectal prolapse, people that are coming in that have endometriosis, or they’re coming in with post-surgical excision for endometriosis or a hysterectomy. Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of people going through perimenopause and menopause that are having sex that doesn’t feel comfortable, or difficult having arousal or orgasm.
What does a typical day look like?
I get up at about 6:30. I get my kids up, get them fed and get them off to school at about 8. Then I usually come into my clinic, which is on North 4th between Driggs and Roebling. I have a little quiet time for myself, I might have a cup of coffee, a little breakfast. I usually start seeing clients around 9 and then I’m working until about 3. With clients, I’m usually doing a mix of breathwork, bodywork, pelvic floor work, whether that’s internal or external, exercises, stretches, mediations, kind of a little bit of everything depending on the needs of the clients and who’s on my caseload. I might be fitting in a snack here and there for myself!
I get off around 3 and pick my kids up from school. I usually hang out with my kids for a couple of hours, and then go into documentation and admin stuff for my business. I have four people that work on my team now, not just myself, so I’m just sort of managing everybody’s schedules and everybody’s needs and everybody else’s payroll, clients, all that stuff—sort of a mix of admin, treatment for my own clients, and then just the things that I do for myself for the day.
What do you like most about your job?
I really love and feel very honored to hold space for my clients in a way that’s really safe and supportive. I think it’s really a unique position to be in, to really spend time, because I’m a private practice, so I’m not really confined to any time limits or restrictions that would be imposed upon by insurance. I really get to hear details of people’s lives that they don’t share with anybody else—not even their best friends or their spouse. I just think that that’s really a very unique position that I get to be in, to see and witness a lot of transformation in that regard. I see so many people benefit physically, but also emotionally, and just kind of overall their well-being is sort of enhanced.
When you have pelvic floor issues, you don’t realize how much they psychologically impact your life and your quality of life until they get better. I think that for me as a therapist, I’m just here as the partner in facilitating that, and it’s really a beautiful transformation to observe in with my clients. Often they come in kind of nervous and not sure of what to expect and not sure of what they really want out of the sessions, and over time, it’s this evolution and transformation that is really really beautiful to see.
What are some of your favorite local spots?
If I’m going to dinner any night of the week, I would go to Cafe Colette (79 Berry St.) or Cafe Mogador (133 Wythe Ave.). I really love a cocktail at Hotel Delmano (82 Berry St.). My partner owns a golf venue in Williamsburg called X-Golf Brooklyn (105 N 13th St.), and they have pool, darts, and golf. I don’t play golf but I love playing darts and shooting pool, if I wanna go do an activity. I love Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop (110 Franklin St.), that’s a staple. Taqueria Ramirez (94 Franklin St.), I love.
I love being on the waterfront in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. I love the accessibility to see the water. I love taking the ferry—that’s something really fun, and I think that’s a really unique thing to be able to do. I’ve been really liking Bernie’s (332 Driggs Ave.) a lot. Bernie’s is sort of a staple. If I have people visiting, I like to take them to Bernie’s, cause it’s a fun, New York City experience.
What do you do when you’re not working?
I hang out with my kids a lot! I love doing anything with my kids basically. We play UNO, we read, we watch movies, we do art projects. All of that is very therapeutic for me. I love being outdoors, so any chance I can when I’m not at work is just getting out of the city or going over to the waterfront. I love taking a walk and just being outside, even in the winter. I love nature, and I love outdoors and just feel like it really helps me prioritize my own nervous system homeostasis.
I love exercising, cold plunge, I go to the steam room and the gym a lot. I spend time with friends. I would say I’m very very active and very busy, and I just like prioritizing anything that kind of fills me up, because my work draws from a lot of vulnerability and energy, so I have to make sure I’m protecting that as much as I can when I’m not at work.
Do you have a job you’re passionate about? Whatever it is, we want to hear about it! Email [email protected] to get in touch about possibly being featured for “Greenpoint at Work.”