Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Dawson Tandy.
Hi Sam, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a small town in northern Indiana, studied Biology at Purdue University, and later moved to Salt Lake City to attend physical therapy school at the University of Utah.
During PT school, I knew I wanted to help others in a meaningful but unconventional way, I just wasn’t sure how until I discovered the pelvic health specialty. After shadowing a specialist in the field, I instantly knew this was the path for me. No other healthcare provider is uniquely positioned to assess and treat pelvic floor dysfunction quite like a pelvic floor PT. The symptoms of these conditions can quietly wreak havoc on people’s lives, self-confidence, and even their relationships. Helping people overcome these challenges and regain their quality of life is incredibly rewarding work.
I worked full time for a local private practice for about 4 years, then decided to open my own practice after having my first child. It felt scary and risky, but after going through the perinatal care system as a patient myself, I recognized the need for specialized and compassionate care outside the limitations of traditional models. I opened Live Embodied PT in 2022 to provide compassionate and expert pelvic floor care to my community. I decided to specialize in pregnant and postpartum patients, as they are a population that deserves as much support as possible.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course, it hasn’t been easy!
Becoming a physical therapist is a challenging journey, its an ultra-competitive field and an expensive one, given the cost of earning a doctorate degree.
Becoming a pelvic floor specialist adds another layer of dedication. Since it’s not part of the standard curriculum, I’ve had to invest my own time and money into extensive additional training to truly understand how to assess and treat complicated pelvic floor conditions.
On top of that, starting and running a business has been a separate learning experience, one I’ve largely navigated on my own and continue to learn from every day. And as a mother of two young children, balancing motherhood, personal growth, and my professional life has been both rewarding and tricky.
It’s definitely been quite a journey to get where I am today, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I am lucky to truly love the work I do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Live Embodied Physical Therapy?
My practice is unique in that I’m a one-woman show. I don’t have employees or other therapists working for me, and for my brand, that’s an important part of what makes it special. In healthcare, patients don’t always receive what they expect, what they’re promised, or what they’ve paid for.
In my practice, I do things differently. I’m fully transparent, personally available to my patients, and committed to providing a level of care that stands apart from other options in the community. I offer the kind of treatment I believe people truly deserve, you’re not just a number, you’re a person! My goal is to bring humanity back into healthcare.
As I mentioned before, I specialize in treating patients who are trying to conceive, are currently pregnant, or have recently given birth. The perinatal journey is full of physical changes and challenges that can be difficult to manage alone, and no one should have to! I aim to be a compassionate, knowledgeable support for people throughout that process.
That said, I also have extensive experience treating a wide range of pelvic health conditions, so I treat anyone experiencing pelvic floor symptoms, regardless of whether or not they’re planning to have children.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
There is a large network of PTs who have practices similar to mine, which is based around a group on Facebook. In this community is where I’ve found the most mentorship in my specific business.
I also took a free 6 week course from the Women in Business Center, which is a publicly funded organization through the state. They have mentorship and networking opportunities through the Women in Business Center!
Because my practice relies on referrals, I try to do as much outreach as possible. When I first started, I did a lot of free workshops to market myself. I loved that because I felt like I was giving back to others as much as I was marketing my business.
Pricing:
- 90 min evaluation: $160
- 90 min birth prep session: $180
- 60 min follow up: $120
- 90 min in home eval: $180 (+$10/5 miles from SLC clinic)
- 60 min in home follow up: $140 (+$10/5 miles from SLC clinic)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://liveembodiedpt.com
- Instagram: @liveembodiedpt
