Tanya Rowenhorst, PT, DPT

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Orange City, IA
Tanya Rowenhorst, PT, DPT

I help active moms achieve their lifestyle goals - pregnancy, postpartum,& beyond! My FREE ebook👇🏼

Refine PT offers various services for whole health - body, mind AND spirit. I believe that each person was created with a good body, and when we take care of what we've been given, we are then able to live life to the fullest!

05/29/2026

It’s easy to judge someone’s body when you don’t know their story.

So often we’re quick to judge how somebody looks, their weight, body shape/size, & make assumptions about their health, discipline, & so on.
But the truth is this: you don’t know their story, & you haven’t walked in their shoes.

You don’t carry their genes/biology. You don’t know what they’ve lived through & the emotional weight they carry. You don’t know what’s going on in their life.

You don’t know their metabolic state, hormones, or the factors that make it harder or easier to gain/lose weight.

You don’t know the lies they believe about their bodies, what they hold as truth, what’s been said to them, how they were raised to view their body, & the shame that they may be carrying.

We are whole beings-mental, emotional, physical, spiritual-not just simply what you see. We can make quick judgments & statements about other people’s bodies & how they might change in different seasons.

But our bodies ARE seasonal. They’re not meant to stay the same. Unfortunately, the world has painted the picture that the only good body is one that remains looking 16 for a lifetime - and drugs and procedures can make it seem attainable.

I’m not here to judge what someone chooses to do to their body, bc I don’t carry their story. But my hope is that we can embrace our GOOD bodies through the changing seasons and appreciate the work it has done and continues to do.

If you find yourself thinking negatively about your body or other people’s - I’ve been trying to take the thought captive, reminding myself the Father would not say that about his child, & replacing it with truth. We can train our thoughts to be what God says rather than what the world says.

I hope to always encourage you in this space. I’m always trying to grow & be mindful about what I say, with the goal of pointing to Christ, & never to shame. I won’t always do it perfectly or get it right. But my hope is that you feel encouraged to find your identity in Christ & seek health as HE defines it - not the world.

05/23/2026

We celebrated another 8th grade graduation this week, and while 8th grade grad is not such a huge deal, I become ever more aware of the swift movement of time. Next year we have two in high school and launch our oldest. Our youngest 4 are all 2 grade levels apart, so every other year we graduate another and they just keep marching on to the next phase.

This summer we’ll have 3 teenagers. And while these years bring their own hard things, it’s been such a fun phase of life. Thankfully they all still like me 😏 and talk to me a lot. It’s my very favorite thing when they come in the house and they immediately look for me to tell me about their day. I love seeing their growth and maturity, hearing their thoughts, seeing their gifts emerge. I love cheering them on in what they enjoy and feeding them and all their friends. 😁

I adored the baby stage. I love it when patients bring in their babies bc I get a little dose of their sweetness. Toddlers were exhausting but the absolute cutest. I loved their hilarious antics and their cuddles. But while everyone talks about the hard of this generation (and it is hard - the culture they are growing up in is vastly different than the culture I grew up in so that a learning curve in and of itself), there is still so much good. I hope I always look for the good, even when parenting is hard. And I hope I always remember that God’s work is not done in them, just like His work is not done in me. 💕

05/22/2026

I’m considering offering a new in-person fitness class for women 55-60+, focused on:

* Building & maintaining strength
* Improving balance and mobility
* Moving well for everyday life
* Learning safe modifications
* Staying active & independent for years to come

These classes would be supportive, low-pressure, and educational, because it’s never too late to get stronger.

Right now, I’m gauging interest: Would you join a class this summer or would fall work better for you?

If you’d be interested (or know someone who would!), fill out the quick form:https://forms.gle/j3nqgq1szBAZa46V8

05/22/2026

Life is full of hard things. Difficult relationships. Unexpected bills. Tough decisions. Sickness. Disappointment. Loss. Stressful work. The list goes on.
My hard things are different from yours - many things we go through are unseen, but that doesn’t mean they don’t affect us greatly
As someone who grew up as a believer in church & school, I know the Word. I’ve memorized many verses & have the “right” answers
But there is a difference between knowing the Word & believing in your very heart & soul that it is actually TRUE. There’s a difference between memorizing & absorbing it into your very marrow
The difference is our response when hard things come. These can be big things, ie losing a job or receiving a diagnosis. Or small things - the unfair situation, gossip, frustration at work, or kid who is talking back
At that moment, what is our response? Do we let negative emotions take over & begin to spiral? Do we allow fear to lead? Do we try to take over & control/fix it? Do we begin to doubt God’s goodness bc we can’t see it in the moment?
Honestly, that has always been my initial response - to assume the worst or allow the thoughts to spiral. Even though I’ve been working on this for several years, it’s still where my mind initially goes
But I’m training to do hard things. In our fitness class, we’ve been doing hard things physically to prepare us for the hard things of life. We’ve been getting Truth into our DNA, so it’s something so solid it cannot be swayed by the storm. We internalize the Word & shift our thoughts from doubt to HOPE. That might sound weird, but it changes everything
I don’t want to live my days having a brain that knows scripture with a heart that doesn’t trust its truth. I don’t want to live my days saying I believe He’s a God who is for my good, but not trusting in the dark that He is still working for my good even when I can’t see it
If you’d like not JUST a really good workout but also want to learn how to fight your battles & take up your sword, I’d love to have you join us for our early summer session. We kick off another 6 weeks of classes on June 9, & I’d love to have you train with us - body, heart, & soul. Comment 💪 for a link

05/21/2026

I’m considering offering a summer round of our in-person Pelvic Core Rehab Class. This is for postpartum women who want to rebuild strength and confidence in their bodies. This class is for ANY postpartum woman—whether you’re 2 weeks postpartum or 20 years out.

We’ll focus on:
* Strengthening the core & pelvic floor
* Healing diastasis
* Addressing leaking, heaviness, urgency, and pain
* Learning how to move well again
* Building strength for the life you want to live

Right now, I’m trying to decide would you rather see this class offered this summer or beginning in the fall?

I’d love if you’d let me know here: https://forms.gle/4TmEAozXrbhTQJvu9

05/20/2026

The Dr told my patient this, and I was shocked…
I recently had a patient who is diagnosed with prolapse. She went to see a specialist b/c she wanted his opinion of her prolapse.
She’s super active. Runs. Has very few symptoms. Upon exam, he found her prolapse to be moderately sized.

Most Drs would immediately schedule her for surgery.
This Dr. told her he would NOT advise surgery and told her to go back to PT!

He said, “Even if you have surgery, it’s going to come back, so do all you can with PT, and we’ll only do surgery if it’s bad enough that you can’t live with it any longer.”

THIS is how prolapse should be handled. Rather than pushing her toward surgery, he considered her symptoms, recognized how much PT has helped her, & was honest that surgery is not a great long-term solution.

So, she’s going to keep strengthening her pelvic floor to provide support to the pelvic bowl & organs. She’s going to stay active & keep running. She came back to see me for a refresh, & that’s exactly what I gave her.

She’ll always have to keep up some level of pelvic floor strengthening… just as you need to keep strengthening your quads or your delts to stay strong & active, you need to keep strengthening your pelvic floor. It’s no different than any other muscle!

Surgery won’t fix weakness. Surgery won’t fix a coordination issue. Surgery won’t fix tightness. So, regardless of whether you end up having surgery, you need to strengthen your pelvic floor for long-lasting results.

Kudos to this Dr. - a very small percentage of women will need surgery, and I’m thankful for good surgeons! I’m not anti-surgery. I’m anti-unnecessary surgery when preventative or conservative measures weren’t even tried. I’m anti-quick fixes and band-aid approaches.

Need help with prolapse? There are very few women who won’t get better with pelvic PT! My patients average 3-4 visits total, and most see symptom improvement after just 1 appt! Let’s get started today, link in my bio for all the ways we can work together!

05/02/2026

April is always the start of an insane season, not only as everything barrels to the end of the school year, but also as my husband‘s work gets crazy busy and I become mostly a single parent for a couple months. Any rain is always welcome because it means that he might get to be home with us for dinner, but otherwise I’m mostly doing it all on my own, which I used to really struggle with as a young mom, but it’s gotten easier with time. The kids are older and easier, but also I’ve just learned that this is a part of life. There are good times and hard times, and really we get to choose our attitude within it.

I don’t take nearly as many pictures as I used to, but I needed to find a few and remember all the good that April held. A sweet day of prom for my oldest, beautiful walks as the weather has warmed up, quiet times snuck in wherever I can find them, fun kid moments, a sweet surprise 17th birthday party and the great group of girls that pulled it off, 28 women who attended classes at RowenHuis, projects that have been going on for months and are starting to come to a close.

There’s been many hard things this season, but I’m reminded daily from the Word that we get to choose what we focus on, we get to choose the thoughts going through our mind, and we get to look for good or we can look at everything from a negative standpoint. There are days I need to fight to see the positive, but most days I’m going to choose to fight. I can either believe that the Father is working all things for our good even when I don’t see it, or I can doubt and live in fear.

If you’re struggling, I’m just going to encourage you, start reading through the Psalms. We’ve been doing this in our faith + fitness classes and claiming every promise that we see. The Word pours out promises that you get to claim as we choose to have faith even through difficult times. The Father has, is, and will be faithful. And some days all we’re given is just enough manna for today, but that is enough. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. So today I focus on the good I can see, and I trust that the Father is also working the rest out for our good, in His time. 🤍

Address

618 8th Street SE
Orange City, IA
51041

Website

https://refine-pt.com/

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