Meet Dr. Cristina Zheng | Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, Founder & CEO of Holistic Healing Physical Therapy & Wellness

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Cristina Zheng and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Cristina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my own private physical therapy practice because I felt like I was not able to make a real difference with my patients in a traditional setting. Working in outpatient clinics and various other insurance-based settings did not allow me to treat my patients with a holistic approach and their care was limited by the insurance companies’ red tape. And so starting my own business was a no-brainer! I get to actually make an impact and provide a higher level of care that women deserve.

I always knew I wanted to start my own private practice even before I even started physical therapy school. I knew I wanted to do pelvic floor PT after shadowing at a clinic that specialized in women’s health. After several years of working for hospitals and clinics, I decided it was time to finally do what I initially set out to do and that is to make a true difference in my patient’s lives.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I specialize in pelvic floor physical therapy for women of all ages and stages of motherhood and womanhood. Through my own practice, I can work with my patients and be 100% focused on their needs for 1-1.5 hours at a time. Not only does this provide tremendous value to my patients, it actually helps to speed up their recovery and get them long-term benefits.

I am passionate about educating and empowering women about their pelvic health because unfortunately this topic is still a taboo today. Many women are unaware of the sensitive issues of their pelvic floor or that there is even help for it. I do this through public workshops to the community, mom and baby workout groups, and pop-up screening clinics.

I am proud of arming women with this important knowledge that they can then pass down to the next generations. We have got to do better for women. I truly feel that prenatal & postpartum physical therapy should just be the standard of care. It is in other countries, why not the US. Pelvic health is now finally becoming more mainstream and I am excited about this as it hopefully break the taboo and cause generational shifts in women’s health.  

Lessons I’ve learned along the way:

It has definitely not been easy to get to where I am now, and I still have a long way to go because I have lots of goals and plans. Becoming a single mother, raising my daughter, caring for an aging mother, and moving in the midst of starting my business has been challenging to say the least. However, it also put a fire under my *ss to make my dreams come true. As difficult as it has been, I am here for this journey. I have seen tremendous personal growth and I continue to learn along the way. 

Nothing forces you into self-reflection more than becoming a parent and starting a business! I had no idea that being an entrepreneur meant I would have to work on myself on so many different levels. It literally is a journey of working on “all the things.”

I learned to quiet the negative self-talk, self-doubt, the negativity from those around me, and shift my mindset. Allowing my intuition to be my biggest voice helped me in my business. Simply being authentic to myself and being genuine to who I am has served me well.

Self-care is crucial and something I continue to struggle with achieving. As a solopreneur and single mom, it is difficult to squeeze in self-care. Subscribing to the hustle culture quickly led to burn out, multiple times. I learned that that was not the way. Having my business coach force me to literally pencil in self-care on my schedule has made a huge difference. Self-care has allowed me to return to work with more energy, creativity, and focus.

If starting your own business is a dream of yours and you just feel it in your bones that you are called to do it, don’t wait! There will always be a million reasons and excuses to not start now. Quiet that voice. If a single mom of a toddler going through a divorce and the worst move of her life can do it, I believe you can too.

What does that look like? 
My brand is about empowerment, healing, and helping women live their fullest lives. I am here to help women prioritize their health so that they can be more present for their children and family, be able to run around with their kids without leaking, enjoy better sex with their partners, crush their fitness goals, be ready growing their family, and to feel confident in their bodies again.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Some of my favorite things to do in San Diego include going to the beach, such as Del Mar, Coronado, and La Jolla. There is no shortage of beautiful beaches here. And while we’re there, let’s play beach volleyball or go surfing. I’d take them to check out the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park. Then grab some tacos at one of many delicious hole in the wall taco shops in town. There are too many good restaurants to list here, but food will definitely be in the itinerary. And of course, we would go hiking at Torrey Pines and Mission Trails.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Definitely my daughter. She is the biggest driving force behind all of this.

I have to give credit to my loyal patients for believing in me and encouraging me to start my own practice.

Other people that deserve recognition include my mom, brother, sister, Rebecca Valdovinos, Helen Lee, Kathryn Hanes, Robert Castruita, Anita Aguilar, Arnaz Khambatta, Mike Sakover, and Jon Chapetta for believing in me and encouraging me when things get hard.
Dr. Alison Mclean, PT, DPT, my business coach that helped me find my way to balancing self-care, wellness, and business.
Dr. Mandi Murtaugh, PT, DPT: a very kind person I met through a FB group that was gracious enough to coach me through my mental blocks and feelings of discouragment.

Website: www.ptholistichealing.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/holistichealingpt

Linkedin: drxtinadpt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holistichealingpt/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/holistic-healing-physical-therapy-san-diego-3