Esther Widlanski, PT, DPT

From Dance to Pelvic Health

Esther Widlanski holds a clinical doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and English from Indiana University. She is deeply committed to supporting patients of all ages and genders who are experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction.

She believes that her role is to foster healing through a collaborative, compassionate, and non-judgmental therapeutic relationship, and strives to provide individualized care to each person she works with.

A Background in Movement — and Under the Barbell

As a dancer trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance, Esther brings a keen awareness of movement and mobility to her physical therapy practice. Before earning her doctorate, Esther worked for many years as a dance teacher and choreographer, and she holds a certification as a prenatal yoga instructor. She's also a powerlifter — which means when a patient wants to get back under a barbell, she's troubleshooting the lift from experience, not from a textbook.

That range shows up in her treatment. As she puts it, her "movement menu" draws from dance, yoga, Pilates, and strength training — and she picks from it based on what each body in front of her actually needs.

Her dance years also gave her something subtler: an understanding of what people will endure for the things they love. "Dancers will dance until they cry — and I get it. I am never going to tell someone to stop doing the thing they love. Let's get you back to doing what you want to do."

Degrees, Certifications and Trainings

• BS, Kinesiology and English — Indiana University
• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) — Columbia University
• Certified Prenatal Yoga Instructor, RYT-200 (Yoga Alliance), with prenatal YTT through MahaMama
• Classical ballet and contemporary dance training; former dance teacher and choreographer

Additional trainings: Pelvic Floor 1, 2A, and 2B (Herman & Wallace); Parkinson Disease and Pelvic Rehab (Herman & Wallace); Sacroiliac Joint Current Concepts (Herman & Wallace); Functional Mobilization 1 (Institute of Physical Art); POP/SUI and Levator Avulsion (Women's Health Training Associates, Taryn Hallum); Understanding and Treating Male Pelvic Pain During Sex (Pelvic Global); Pelvicon 2024 and 2025.

Her Approach

Esther's dance background gives her an unusual ability to assess how someone moves through space — how breath, posture, alignment, and coordination either support or interfere with pelvic floor function. From a young age she's been able to look at a moving body and see not just that something looks off, but why.

She's also the therapist patients mention when they talk about finally understanding their own bodies. Her signature explanation of why "tight" doesn't mean "strong": "If I walk around with my bicep maximally contracted all the time and then try to pick up a pen, I can't do it — not because the muscle is weak, but because it never learned to relax. Your pelvic floor works the same way. We're looking for function." Many patients arrive believing they need strengthening when the real problem is a pelvic floor that never lets go.

Patients with long-standing pain often land with her for the same reason: "I get patients who've had back pain or hip pain forever, and nobody seems to be able to crack it. We look in places other people don't look."

Pregnancy as Training

Esther's philosophy on birth prep is blunt and freeing: "Pregnancy is one of the most metabolically demanding things you can do. Giving birth is one of the most athletic things you can do. Recovering from abdominal surgery takes enormous effort. Why would you not train for that?" She prepares patients for labor the way a coach prepares an athlete for an event — muscle awareness, relaxation, pushing mechanics, and conditioning — then guides the postpartum rebuild from "why can't I be on all fours without fatigue?" back to marathons, barbells, and everything in between.

Working with Men

Esther treats many men with pelvic pain, urinary symptoms, and post-surgical concerns — and she knows most of them arrive without much practice talking about any of it. Where many women have spent years discussing their bodies with friends, for many men a first pelvic PT visit is the first time they've fully described what they're feeling to anyone. So she's patient, and she's an investigator: she helps patients find the vocabulary, offers the words when they don't come, and treats the whole conversation as normal — because at Foundations, it is.

Conditions Esther Treats

• Pregnancy-related pain and birth preparation
• Postpartum recovery — especially return to running, lifting, and sport
• Painful intercourse
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Male pelvic pain and men's pelvic health
• Urinary incontinence

What Patients Say

"Esther helped diagnose and heal an injury I've had for over 20 years. Pelvic floor therapy is so much more than postpartum care."
— Verified Google review

Outside the Clinic

Esther lives in Putnam Valley with her husband, and loves hiking, going to the theater, knitting, and spinning her own yarn. When she's not in the office, you may find her playing with her dog, learning to enjoy gardening, or rocking the karaoke microphone.