When we were kids, many of us were never taught the proper names for our pelvic floor and sexual anatomy. Instead, we were given “cute” words: your flower, your foofoo, your china.

At first glance, those nicknames might feel harmless — even protective. But what happens when the words we grow up with don’t match the truth of our bodies?

We learn silence. We learn shame.

We don’t usually think about our jaw when we have pelvic floor symptoms, or vice versa, but they’re more closely linked than you might imagine. Through fascia, muscles, nerves, reflexes, and even shared developmental origins, tension in one area can ripple through the other.

Research and clinical experience have shown just how powerful this connection can be, and why releasing tension in the jaw can improve pelvic floor tone and function, and the other way around.

Piriformis syndrome is often misunderstood as just a "tight muscle" problem, but in reality, it can disrupt nerve function, alter fascia dynamics, and contribute to chronic pain that extends beyond the glutes. If you’ve ever felt sciatic pain that worsens in certain positions—particularly lying on your front—or experienced an unexplained burning sensation in your buttocks, legs, or even vulva, this might be the missing piece of the puzzle.

This post will explore why piriformis syndrome happens, how it affects the body (including its impact on fascia), why it can make lying on your stomach unbearable, and why traditional methods like the McKenzie approach may not be effective. We'll also dive into exercise modalities that actually work—including Hypopressives, a technique that promotes whole-body engagement to alleviate sciatic pain.