About Dana Podell, PT, DPT, E-RYT
My Story & Approach to Care
I’ve been curious about the body for as long as I can remember. Growing up as a dancer, I spent countless nights watching my body master beautiful new movements. After years of dance related injuries, I began exploring other ways of moving and eventually found yoga. I fell in love with yoga almost instantly—not with how I looked, but with how I felt: strong, calm, and whole. Yoga taught me to be kind to my body, helped me heal, and inspired me to complete my first yoga training so I could share that experience with others.
My yoga practice eventually led me back to graduate school for my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. During my final clinical rotation, I was introduced to pelvic health physical therapy — an area I realized I knew so little about, yet saw dramatically change women's quality of life. Witnessing this transformation drew me into this specialty. Since then, I’ve practiced as a physical therapist both in the US and abroad and have completed an 800-hour yoga therapy certification to deepen my clinical skill set. Today, I integrate physical therapy and yoga therapy to offer holistic, compassionate care to help women transform pelvic discomfort into lasting wellness.
Education:
Academic Degrees:
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Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, The Ohio State University, 2016
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Doctorate in Physical Therapy, Northwestern University, 2021
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Pelvic health clinical internship as a part of doctoral studies, 2021
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Further education:
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Yoga Teacher Training 200 hour, Shri Gai Institute, 2017
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Pelvic Floor Level 1 (didactic portion), Herman & Wallace, 2020
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Manual Therapy for the Abdominal Wall, Herman & Wallace, 2021
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Pregnancy Rehabilitation, Herman & Wallace, 2021
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Happy Back Yoga Therapy Professional Training 25 hours, 2022
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Yoga Therapy 500 hour training, Yoga Therapy Greece, 2024
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Menopause Transitions and Pelvic Rehab, Herman & Wallace, 2024
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Yoga Therapy 800 hour training, Yoga Therapy Greece, July 2025
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Pessaries & Pelvic Rehab, Herman & Wallace, November 2025
Licensure:
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Licensed Physical Therapist, Illinois
Certifications:
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Certified 800-hour Yoga Therapist
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Yoga Alliance, Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher Specializing in Yoga Therapy 500-hr, 2024
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American Red Cross, CPR Certification, 2024
Why Was Jala Pelvic Health Created?
In Sanskrit, the traditional language of yoga, Jala means water. The element of water is connected to the feminine. Like water, the female body is in a constant state of change and transformation. Water is never motionless, and neither is a woman's inner physiology. Whether a woman is navigating the changes of a monthly menstrual cycle, a new pregnancy, postpartum recovery, or discovering the changes that come with menopause - women are never stagnant. We are always flowing and changing. Also, the element of water is connected to the second sacral chakra which is located in the pelvis. A chakra in yoga philosophy is an energy point in the body. The pelvis, like water, is not meant to be rigid; instead it's meant to have healthy fluid movement.
After working with women as a pelvic health physical therapist, prenatal yoga teacher, and yoga therapist I realized that women need friendly female spaces to heal. What does that mean? Since a woman's body is constantly changing, we were never meant to do the same movements, practices, exercises etc. for forever. With every new season, whether that be menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, or menopause, women need specific support. This could be physical support for the pelvic region, including the pelvic floor, through 1:1 pelvic health physical therapy sessions or emotional/spiritual support through nourishing women's focused yoga classes.
So here is Jala Pelvic Health.
A space, both in-person and virtually, for you as a woman to rehabilitate your pelvis and join like-minded women through community yoga gatherings to embrace the natural undulating water like qualities of womanhood.