Dr. Shalini Bhat - @dr.shalinibhat @themovementboutique
Pilates, functional medicine, chiro - you kind of do it all! Tell me about your journey to creating The Movement Boutique.
The Movement Boutique is sort of a collection of my journey to get my health to where it’s at. I started exploring movement first (Pilates), to help my aches and pains from being a dancer. Along that journey I discovered chiropractic care (not the crack your bones for 5 minutes kind, but the fascial release and acupuncture kind), which completely resolved lingering injuries I’d had for years! From there, I set out to heal my gut, which Western medicine could not resolve for me, so I went back to school and completed two certifications in Functional Medicine (and have finally resolved my own personal chronic bloating in the process!). The Movement Boutique is meant to be a place where you can come at any phase of your injury/healing, and you can choose your own adventure whether we start from the outside and moving/Pilates, a little deeper with treatment (chiropractic/acupuncture), or if we run stool testing and dive right into healing your gut, we kind of do it all!
What’s one thing people don’t know about you.
How to pronounce my name properly when they read it haha. No but seriously, I’m half Indian. My father is from Kerala, India. And for anyone reading this, it’s SHAL-IN-EE.
What’s your favourite pilates move?
Used to be rolldown prior to baby, but now that I’m still working on getting it back, side lying leg series!
Tell us about your family. How was your postpartum journey?
To be honest, really dark. I ended up having a C-section, and recovering from major abdominal surgery while navigating a newborn as a first time mom was REALLY challenging for me. I also felt a bit alone in it because I never really saw women talk about the challenge of recovering from major abdominal surgery while starting this wild new journey on no sleep. Funnily enough when I did mention it to people I know did have C-sections, they also did admit to me how rough it was for them too. It has also been a lesson for me in slowing down and allowing the space for recovery (not getting back to working out asap), and receiving help from others (I tend to sometimes get into the ‘i can do it all myself’ mindset).
What are your top tips for recovery postpartum?
Go SLOW and stay in the energy of receiving when it comes to help from others. I know the tendency for our culture is to “get back” to our bodies, our lives, our careers, ourselves etc., as quick as possible as if to almost erase this monumental thing we just birthed, literally. Savour the moments (even the hard ones), cause it doesn’t last forever, but getting back to work/your body/social things they’ll always be there.
What are your favourite snacks for postpartum?
To be honest once I worked on my gut, I’m all for a real meal over a snack (cause I can actually digest it now!), but my favourite meal postpartum was hearty brothy soups in all the forms. Once I started getting back on the go with a babe though, I actually do have a couple of favourite ‘bars’. One of them being Thrive meat sticks, and the other is called Honey Bar, that I just discovered recently, it’s just nuts, puffed rice and raw honey!
What’s one ingredient you put in everything?
Pink salt. Yes, even on my apples.
What are three things you can’t live without (the postpartum version)?
The wonderful humans who help me support my household when I’m at work and my clinic when I’m home. Snuggles from my son and brothy soups/delicious homemade filling meals (since I’m breastfeeding, the hunger is so real!)
What are you most excited about in your life right now?
Getting to hang out with my son as much as possible cause I know these moments won’t last forever!
Your affirmation for today?
You’ve got this.
Bio
Dr. Bhat is a Chiropractor and double certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (IFMCP, CFMP) with over 15 years of experience in the wellness field. She is the founder of TMB, the designer of multiple virtual FUNC MED programs, and the creator of THE PERFECT FIIT (a signature workout) and TMB FIIX (a unique treatment method using fascial release, movement, and acupuncture techniques).
Her signature approach to FUNC MED focuses largely on teaching. She distills complex information into relatable analogies that you can understand and activate meaningfully for your own body and lifestyle. Because when you understand WHY you’re doing something, long-lasting transformations are attainable.
Her down-to-earth nature was born from her own personal injuries and gut-health challenges that western medicine was unable to remediate. She’s felt traditional systems not working in her own body and understands first hand the frustration that comes with that.
In her private practice, her treatments and programs focus on providing patients with actionable road-maps to moving, feeling and looking their best using all her tools, from fascia and movement, to hormones and gut health. And since she truly lives the lifestyle she shares with her patients, you may end up with all sorts of extra personalized bio-hacks.
Dr. Bhat works with people who have been told they’re “normal” by their doctors, yet feel “off” (bloating, low energy etc.) She cuts through the noise and fads to bring you the most relevant, FUNC MED testing and scientific research for your body, your mind and your microbiome.