Ground Control for Bendy Bodies: How to Move Without Pain (Finally!) with Dr. Melissa Koehl
Release Date: 08/06/2025
MCAS vs Histamine Intolerance Why Your Body Reacts to Everything (And You’re Not Crazy)
Dear body, I’m listening
“A reaction is not a moral failure— it's information. Your body is just responding to something, and right now it's giving you signals that it doesn't want that or it needs some extra help.” —Donna Piper When every meal feels like a risk and symptoms seem to come out of nowhere, it can start to feel like the body has turned against us. Many in the chronic illness community are stuck between labels like “histamine intolerance” and “MCAS” while still getting no clear plan or validation. This conversation names what is happening in the body and why it is not “all in...
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Rest Without Guilt (When Your Worth Got Tied to Output)
Dear body, I’m listening
“Rest isn't a character flaw. It's what your body needs in order to heal from these invisible illnesses. And for some of us, it's also a grief process, because we're not just resting from task; we’re resting from the version of ourselves who thought we had to earn love through output.” —Donna Piper Ep 36 Shownotes: Podcast Platforms We talk about rest like it is simple, but for many bodies it brings guilt, fear, and shame. When worth gets tied to productivity, stopping can feel dangerous even when the body is breaking down. This conversation meets the tension...
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Is It POTS? When Standing Up Feels Like a Trap
Dear body, I’m listening
“You're not making it up. You're not weak, you're not failing. Your body is working hard to keep you upright, and you deserve support that matches the reality of that.” —Donna Piper Standing up should not require strategy, recovery time, or mental math. When heart rate spikes, dizziness hits, and showers wipe us out, the hardest part is not the symptom. It is being told nothing is wrong while our body says otherwise. Donna shares lived experience with POTS, dysautonomia, and multiple comorbidities, blending physiology with trauma-informed insight. Her work is shaped by years...
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Traveling with Chronic Illness: Germany Edition
Dear body, I’m listening
“If you're traveling with chronic illness, I want you to hear me. There is nothing wrong with you. You just have to prepare a little bit. You deserve to travel in a way that doesn't punish you, that helps you, that makes you feel good.” —Donna Piper Travel takes more out of the body than most people admit. For those living with chronic illness, the cost shows up before the suitcase is even packed. Energy drains through lines, noise, time pressure, swelling, and the fear of crashing far from home. Donna shares her real-time approach to spending a month in Germany while...
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Pack, Move, Fly, Heal: Why I’m Choosing Germany for Lipedema Surgery
Dear body, I’m listening
“Movement and less pain is why I'm doing this and why I've chosen to go to Germany.” —Donna Piper Big life changes rarely wait their turn. When health decisions collide with exhaustion, logistics, and uncertainty, clarity matters more than certainty. Donna shares the personal and medical reasoning behind traveling to Germany for lipedema surgery while managing multiple chronic conditions. This episode traces how lived experience, failed conservative treatments, and the need for long-term care shaped a choice rooted in mobility, pain reduction, and nervous system safety. Press play...
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Lipedema Surgery Vs. Non-Surgical Care… Do I Have To Choose?
Dear body, I’m listening
“Anything you choose is not weakness. It's the best for you… Instead of thinking surgery or no surgery, try this question: ‘What would make my next step safer?’... Safety is a step, not a switch.” —Donna Piper Pressure around medical choices can turn care into panic. When the body is complex and money, time, and fear are involved, certainty starts to feel like a deadline. This conversation slows that moment down and gives it room to breathe. In this episode, Donna shares her lived experience navigating lipedema and the long road of conservative care, research, and...
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Hot Flashes, Heavy Legs: Lipedema Meets Perimenopause & Menopause
Dear body, I’m listening
“Lipedema is not a willpower issue. Shame is not a treatment plan. Late diagnosis does not mean late reality. It means late recognition. Your best advocate is yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. You've just been navigating a body that hasn't been understood by the medical world yet. Be gentle with your capacity. Meet yourself where you are.” —Donna Piper Bodies can change in ways that do not follow the rules we were taught. Pain, swelling, and heaviness show up, and the explanations never quite fit. Many women carry this quietly for years, assuming it is just weight or age....
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How Trauma Rewrites Pain Part 4: Flare or Trauma Response? When the Body’s Signals Get Confusing
Dear body, I’m listening
“Flares and trauma responses often look the same because fascia remembers, the nervous system protects, and the immune system overreacts to help defend itself, and the body is trying to keep you alive, not confused. So your job isn't to decode perfectly. Your job is to offer safety consistently, because when the body feels safe, the symptoms soften, and when the symptoms soften, the story changes, and when the story changes, the healing becomes possible.” —Donna Piper The body can shift from steady to overwhelmed without warning, leaving confusion about what just took over. Pain,...
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Transformation Boundaries: Protect Energy And Design A Purposeful Life with Didi Selwa
Dear body, I’m listening
“Move forward, take action. It may happen, it may not, but it's just about putting one step in front of the other— doing that is so important. When you go forward, you realize, ‘oh, that's not for me’, but in the process, you discover what is.” —Didi Selwa Drop the guilt of being stuck and discover a movement that meets your body where it is. Press play to hear how embodiment, faith, and small practical steps shift shame, chronic illness limits, and stalled dreams into forward motion. Didi Selwa went from a 25-year banking career to a Certified Transformational Life...
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The Science of Feeling Safe: Gentle Practices to Regulate Chronic Stress with Ann Diment
Dear body, I’m listening
"We are the experts in our well-being and our own bodies, and it's important for us to advocate for ourselves. We're not defined by our past. Our past is gone. It's in the past, and the beliefs we formed about ourselves based on what we've been told by other people or experienced in the past aren't necessarily true." —Ann Diment Some seasons of life push us past our limits, and the body keeps score long before we understand why. Many of us try to outwork the chaos, yet the real shift begins when we finally question the version of resilience we were taught to admire. There is a quieter...
info_outline"You have to give your body the time to repair between sessions and respect from a cellular perspective how much energy they can effectively produce on any given day." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
Why does exercise leave you in more pain—even when you're doing 'everything right’?
If you’re hypermobile, traditional fitness advice might be sabotaging your body instead of healing it. The truth? Bendy bodies need a whole new rulebook for movement—one that prioritizes stability over stretching and rest over reps.
Dr. Melissa Koehl is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Pilates instructor, and founder of Chimera Health. With 24 years of experience—and her own late-stage EDS diagnosis—Melissa bridges clinical expertise with hard-won personal insight to redefine what "healthy movement" really means for connective tissue disorders.
Ready to finally move without pain? Tune in to uncover why less is more, how to spot the hidden signs of overexertion, and the game-changing strategies Dr. Melissa uses to help her clients reclaim strength (and sanity).
Connect with Donna:
Website: https://www.donnapiper.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnapiper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedonnapiper
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedonnapiper
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedonnapiper
Episode Highlights:
04:09 Melissa’s Journey Living with Hypermobility
07:15 The Ground Control Program
10:26 Common Symptoms and Misconceptions of Hypermobility
21:13 The Role of Rest and Recovery in Hypermobility
32:08 The Importance of Diagnosis and Self-Advocacy
36:31 Resources and Support for Patients
39:43 You Are an Orchid, Not a Dandelion
Resources:
Ground Control is starting again in October: https://www.chimera-health.com/ground-control-october-2025-waitlist
Two courses that are always available:
- Navigating Healthcare as a Hypermobile Human: https://www.chimera-health.com/NavigatingHealthcare
- ChimeraFit Video library: https://www.chimera-health.com/ChimeraFit-Video-Library
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If your joints are 'too flexible' but your pain is relentless, you’ve been lied to about exercise.
Hypermobility isn’t just about bendy limbs—it’s fatigue, brain fog, and a body that rebels against normal workouts.
Doctor of Physical Therapy and Pilates Instructor, Dr. Melissa Koehl, drops truth bombs on the shocking links between EDS, mast cells, and why your PT might be missing the big picture.
Listen now to learn how to move smarter, not harder.
#DearBodyImListening #MCAS #Lymphedema #Lipedema #ChronicIllness #dysautonomia #hypermobility #painmanagement #EDS
Quotes:
02:54 "Even though I had been hypermobile my whole life, I had no idea it affected my daily living as much as it did." —Donna Piper
04:52 "I definitely didn't know anything about EDS or connective tissue disorders or anything like that. It just really like it made sense to me that, because I was bendy, I might have more injuries." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
11:40 "I think a big thing is understanding that your body shouldn't be in pain all the time." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
12:17 "Fatigue is a huge common symptom of hypermobility. I have yet to meet a patient or client of mine that doesn't struggle with it in a very serious way." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
17:02 "If more of your blood is hanging out in your feet and at the bottom of your pelvis, not as much as getting back up to your heart and up to your head, and that's a big driver of brain fog and fatigue as well." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
21:40 "It's not just your muscles that you're working out when we move, it's all of the tendons and the ligaments and the fascia, all of it needs to repair." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
22:24 "You have to give your body the time to repair between sessions and respect from a cellular perspective how much energy they can effectively produce on any given day." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
30:00 "There's a misconception that hypermobility spectrum disorder is a lesser than diagnosis than hypermobile EDS, when in fact, they are two completely overlapping things. " —Dr. Melissa Koehl
40:33 "I think the one important thing that everyone benefits from hearing is that it's not your fault." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
41:31 "There are extra things that need to be considered with a connective tissue issue. It is more challenging; give yourself the time to find the providers that truly understand it. “Give yourself the time to rest without apology, give your body the rest that it needs." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
43:40 "You don't need joint dislocations to have connective tissue disorder." —Dr. Melissa Koehl
46:10 “These symptoms are just not normal, so symptom management is huge. You don't have to be a pain all the time.” —Donna Piper
Connect with Melissa:
Melissa Koehl is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Pilates instructor based in Chicago, IL, with over 24 years of experience. She's a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and spent more than a decade co-specializing in vestibular rehab.
Today, Melissa runs a virtual and mobile PT practice focused on helping people with symptomatic hypermobility, including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
Before launching her own practice, she worked at the University of Illinois Hospital, where she treated patients with complex chronic illness and trauma, and taught in their Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
After years of struggling with her own mysterious health issues—and nearly leaving the profession—Melissa was finally diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. That turning point gave her the clarity and treatment she needed to not only stay in the field, but to build a practice dedicated to helping others like her.