In this powerful episode of PCOS Unfiltered: Nourish, Heal, Thrive, I sit down with Samantha Beckton, certified bodywork therapist and founder of Knot Now Therapeutics, to challenge one of the most damaging narratives in women’s health — that feeling fatigued, bloated, inflamed, or in pain is “just normal.” Together, we unpack how the lymphatic system plays a crucial yet often-ignored role in hormone balance, detoxification, and inflammation management — especially for women living with PCOS and other chronic conditions. Samantha shares her 25-year journey through massage therapy, physical therapy, and women’s bodywork, revealing how traditional medicine often keeps women stuck on the “healthcare hamster wheel.” Discover how lymphatic therapy supports hormone balance, detoxification, and inflammation in women with PCOS. Together, we expose why so many “normal” symptoms aren’t normal — and how to reclaim your health story naturally. This episode is for every woman ready to step off the sick-care rollercoaster, reclaim her body’s wisdom, and rewrite what “normal” health looks like.
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(0:02 - 0:29) Hey there, and welcome back to PCOS Unfiltered, the space where we cut through the noise and rewrite the stories we've been handed. I'm your host, Lindsie, and today's episode is going to challenge a narrative that far too many women have been told, that's just normal. Whether it's fatigue, bloating, weight gain, or being dismissed because of your diagnosis, you've probably been told to accept a version of health that feels anything but empowering.
(0:29 - 0:58) My guest today is Samantha Beckton, owner of Knot Now Therapeutics, and she's here to flip that script. As a certified bodywork therapist, Samantha has helped countless women reconnect with their bodies and shed the idea that they just have to live with it. We'll talk about how lymphatic massage supports hormone balance, detoxification, and inflammation, and why it's a missing link for so many women, especially those navigating PCOS.
(0:59 - 1:24) Plus, we'll get real about how powerful it is to question what you've been told is normal and how you can begin to reclaim your story. So, if you're ready to ditch the diagnosis mindset and move toward healing that's actually aligned with your body, this episode is for you. As always, the content shared on PCOS Unfiltered is for informational and educational purposes only.
(1:24 - 1:45) The views and opinions expressed by the host and guests are not intended to serve as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or treatment plan. The information shared is based on personal experience and expert interviews and is not a substitute for professional medical guidance.
(1:46 - 2:10) Now grab your phone roller and let's get into it. Welcome! Super excited to have Samantha here with us today. Samantha, Sammy Tay, what do you prefer? Professionally Samantha, but my friends call me Sammy Tay.
(2:11 - 2:21) That's how I know how people know me. Okay, so we're going to stick with Samantha. But yes, thank you, thank you for being here.
(2:21 - 2:41) This is definitely the movement side of things that I have not talked about on my podcast. So, let's kind of dive right in. And of course, I want to hear about you, you know, how you, more about what you do, how you kind of got into that, which we'll kind of cover a little bit later as well.
(2:41 - 2:49) But yeah, tell us all the things. All the things. So, I've been a professional body worker for 25 years.
(2:49 - 3:12) I like very fresh out of high school, realized college was not my jam. And I was, I feel actually so fortunate now to have gotten my massage license, like all of those years ago, because it's really like been the foundation of everything. And then actually, I was like more of a high level athlete and dancer.
(3:12 - 3:20) So, I really like, I mean, you know, I was young. And so, I kind of took that route. And I always just kept the massage thing in the background.
(3:20 - 4:03) I would trade like dance teachers and things like that. But because I was a high level athlete, and I did dance performance and fire performance and aerial acrobatics and all these things, I gravitated more towards working with people in pain, instead of like going to a spa massage or something like that. And then through my own injuries, which I'm sure we'll get into more in depth later, through my own injuries and wanting to go deeper and my own inability to receive the healing that I was looking for within the confines of the traditional medical model, I did end up going to school and studying physical therapy.
(4:04 - 4:33) And while, you know, I say I didn't learn anything there in that school, and I really didn't learn anything that helped me with my problem that was this chronic pain issue in my shoulder. But being able to work in physical therapy for over a decade and working with people in chronic pain and working with people with very significant issues and transitioning to women's health and things like that, I got to see so much. I got to see so much.
(4:34 - 5:06) And more importantly, how medically mismanaged people are, you know. And because of that, because I didn't, you know, because of that, and because when I started, when I was working in PT and giving people actual tools to really help themselves, things that they could do at home, I remember because I worked for the hospital system, they were like, you know, like, stick to the exercise program, you know. And I was like, but this is what they need.
(5:06 - 5:37) And they were like, yeah, but if they could just do it for themselves, then they won't come back. And that's when I really like, I guess up until that point, I still had this naivety that like the healthcare system is there to help you. And not nicely, kindly, and lovingly, you know what I mean? But that's when I really realized that it is a business and that it does not make money if you're independently well and you're managing your own self.
(5:37 - 5:51) So what I do now is I do that for people. I'm able to do that. I'm able to help people online and give them the tools and give them the strategies so that they can be independent in their self-care.
(5:51 - 6:22) So that they can get up and down off the floor in their nineties, you know, and not just be stuck in this revolving door, what I actually refer to as the healthcare hamster wheel. Because once you get on it, that wheel starts spinning. And then you're just on it, right? And you can't start and it's just going, you're going to all these specialists and you're going to all these people and you don't even know how you've even gotten on the wheel or where it's even going, but you're spinning around in circles and then everybody's just pointing back to the other person, you know, like.
(6:23 - 6:30) Don't know. You know, and it's all this thing. And then sometimes when you get off the wheel, you feel a little dizzy and sick. (6:31 - 6:44) You know, like what just happened. Yeah. You know, and, and I would really, you know, not that I don't think that some aspects of traditional medicine have a place. (6:45 - 6:56) But I just don't think that it's the end all be all. I just think they do a very poor job of helping people be independent. And like, Get out of the system.
(6:56 - 7:05) Yeah. I mean, yeah, I saw that in my nursing, you know, my nursing background too. And that's, I think, you know, why we connected so well too.
(7:06 - 7:36) But, and I've said it on other, I feel, I know I've said it on other episodes and it's like, I don't want to be the one bashing the healthcare system. But unfortunately that is the reality, right? Because yeah, you get specialist after specialist and doctor appointment and then another follow-up. And then you're like, what the heck is going on? And why do I still feel so bad? It's it's unfortunately, yes, it says healthcare system.
(7:37 - 7:46) But. It's more of a sick care system, right? I mean, and it's, you know, it's yeah. That's the reality, unfortunately.
(7:47 - 8:04) So it's not really for managing chronic conditions and, and that's the thing too. Sure. Like it can play a role if you're doing all the other things and working with like coaches, like, you know, like us. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah.
(8:29 - 8:33) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
(8:33 - 8:41) Yeah. Like I'm not, exactly so many same as you, people think that I'm like against medications and injections. I'm not. (8:41 - 8:50) So long as it's not the only thing you're doing. And that's just not like, Oh, well, we'll just do injections until it's bad enough that you need surgery. Yeah.
(8:50 - 9:18) And not actually working on the muscular, not working on the joint integrity, not working on anything because. the actual injections in and of themselves actually make the joint integrity worse, you know, as you know, when steroid use is the number one cause of osteoporosis. So like, you're just gonna inject that right in there over and over again, it degrades the bone, it degrades the tension, you just can't feel it, you know.
(9:18 - 9:43) Until you do. And then it, I almost think, it just like, it makes it worse so that you do need surgery, but it's just, they're collecting that money. I mean, $1,000 a pop for these cortisone injections, where they're never like, hey, you know, are you doing therapeutic foam rolling? These are things that you can do to improve your joint health, you know.
(9:44 - 9:53) And then there's that confusion that people think we're gonna get into this, I'm sure, that it's just normal. Yeah, yeah. It's a normal part of aging.
(9:53 - 9:59) Arthritis is normal. All these things are normal, and it's not. It's normal, it's, I say it's common.
(10:00 - 10:10) It's actually not normal. I love that. Because we, I mean, what's normal about our lives right now? That's true.
(10:11 - 10:27) Yeah, it's very, very true. So yeah, so that does kind of take us right into what we're talking about. Yeah, what are some things that you are hearing more and more people say? I love what you said, that yeah, it's common, but it doesn't make it normal.
(10:27 - 10:59) So what are some of those things that you're hearing? Well, just like you know, like a normal blood pressure is 120 over 80, which is actually quite high. But you know, but when you have a really unhealthy system where people are consuming really unhealthy foods and all of these things, like, and we're more sedentary, and we have so much stress. Yeah, that's gonna be, we're gonna take the average and the normal is gonna be high.
(10:59 - 11:15) So regardless, anyway, things that people are told are normal notably women, right? Yeah. That's where we're focusing. Is that pain is a normal part of getting older? You know, oh, arthritis is normal.
(11:15 - 11:42) You know, things like that it's common to be leaking urine when you laugh or sneeze or cough, or not that a lot of us are jumping on trampolines anymore. But like, if these things are normal, we think that it's normal, that it's normal that we have swelling and sock lines and that our ankles are puffy. Like, it's just normal.
(11:42 - 11:56) I just, you know, it's just normal, you know, at headaches, you know, like all of these things. Oh, I just have a headache. And what's the normal for that? Oh, well, we'll just take ibuprofen.
(11:56 - 12:30) Well, you don't have a headache because your body's having a deficiency of ibuprofen or you know what I mean? Like, and then it just becomes more and more and more like what's the migraine, amitriptyline or something like that, you know what I mean? It's like things you can't even pronounce. And then it becomes very common to just be on all of these pharmaceuticals that are all interacting with each other. And then your liver has to process those on top of all the weird food that we're eating.
(12:30 - 12:40) Yeah. And then it's just, everything's normal. It's normal to have pain during your menstruation cycle.
(12:40 - 12:50) You know what I mean? Oh, it's just normal. That's normal. It's just, you know what I mean? And then people's symptoms, very real symptoms of something that could be wrong get minimized.
(12:51 - 13:26) You know, I could even go so far to say it's normal for people to have pap smears multiple times a year, right? And is that causing more problems because the scar, you know, they're taking these cells and then there's scar tissue that forms, there's all kinds of things. So I'm like, at a certain point, I think women's health can be rather invasive and that there has to be better ways. I also truly believe, and I'll say this from the bottom of my heart and soul, that men have no place in women's healthcare.
(13:29 - 13:34) That's a good, yeah. Because they definitely have not experienced it. They have no experience.
(13:35 - 13:49) They don't know what they're doing. And like, you know, like historically, if you look at it, like some of these measures that we're taking, you know, it's more of an experiment. Yeah.
(13:50 - 14:13) And if you're, you know, I just, I truly just believe that in my heart and soul, and I'll just leave that right there. No, I love what you pointed out about the menstrual cycles because I, we're gonna get personal here for a second. So, I mean, I was on birth control for years, years and years.
(14:13 - 14:26) And even, you know, of course you start your cycle and all these things are happening. And yeah, I feel like it's cramping and all this stuff. And so you think that's kind of normal.
(14:26 - 14:53) And then being on birth control for years, I still had, you know, the normal symptoms, right? And sometimes they were even worse. They were getting worse until I really changed my nutrition, changed my lifestyle, finally got off birth control. And it's funny too, because even my GYN was like, well, do you remember how your periods were before this? And I was like, yeah.
(14:53 - 15:07) And so when I first talked to her about it, she kind of scared me into like not going off of it. And so finally I was like, I'm making the decision and going off of it. And my periods are, I mean, I've never, like they've never been better.
(15:08 - 15:30) They're just, they're like- Yeah. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is actually possible. And then if something is like, you know, from the next month, if I feel it a little bit more than I'm like, huh, you know, something might be going on and I might have to reevaluate some things, but even then it's nothing, nothing, like it was in the past.
(15:31 - 15:55) And so, yeah, I think that's a huge takeaway there is that you can actually, just because people, especially at a young age, women get told that, you know, cramping and heavy bleeding and stuff are normal. No. And, you know, part of the work that I do with people, and it's so funny because people don't even think about the physical aspect of this.
(15:55 - 16:58) And so, you know, like that we sit with our legs crossed, contracting all of our pelvic floor and then hunching for like how many years did you sit in a pool? You know, and then we're like this, hunched over, pushing down on all of our organs, contracting everything, all of that's getting tightened and smashed and like fascia, like contracting down, like how could anything work effectively? One of the number one things I work on with my clients, mostly women, is to stop sitting cross-legged and you would be shocked how much resistance I run into for that one thing. Because people think, they've been told that, you know, that they have this diagnosis. And so it's like something out here that happened to them, you know, and they just feel so powerless over the fact that they could actually be doing something.
(16:59 - 17:17) You know what I mean? And like, when I talk to people about this posture, I mean, I've literally had people be like, that can't have anything to do with it. And I was like, have you tried? You know what I mean? Give it a week and just see. And it's amazing because we don't think about it.
(17:17 - 18:28) We've sat in school for 12 years, we sat in college, we sit to eat, we sit in our cars, we sit at our desk, we sit and sit and we're compressing all of our, our bodies are designed to be standing up and moving, right? And we're compressing all of, why do we have such sluggish digestion? Well, you know, if I eat a big meal and then compress all of my abdominals and my organs and my small and large intestine, like how is that gonna move through there actually if I'm not up and moving it? So it's just like, like little things like that that people don't, we don't associate with, you know, oh, well I had to have my gallbladder taken out, but why, why, why? I just don't get the like, let's just treat the symptom and not like try to understand, well, why? Yeah, that's a huge takeaway. I mean, like it makes total sense, but I'm sure a lot of people don't think about that. You know, yes, we know sitting is bad, but to think about it in that sense, I think that's, yeah, that's huge.
(18:29 - 18:36) Like if anybody listening, it's like, that's a huge one right there. Seriously. Yeah.
(18:36 - 18:45) And then I like, and you'll see me online. You see it all the time where I'm like sitting with your legs crossed is one of the worst things you can do. Oh, I just uncrossed them.
(18:46 - 19:07) You know what I mean? I'm like, how are you gonna, and then I see them like also because I'm on complain book because then it's very same people are like, oh, my back and my hip and my this. And I'm like, oh, well that can't be it. Yeah.
(19:07 - 19:17) Like, okay. I have to catch myself because I travel quite a bit. So especially on the plane, but I've definitely like, yeah, definitely, definitely.
(19:17 - 19:25) It's top of mind. So I'll occasionally catch myself and then I'm like, I'm grotsome. That's probably my biggest culprit.
(19:26 - 19:34) Yeah. It's ladylike, right? We've been taught that that is ladylike. Every lady that you see on TV wearing those got awful heels and skirts.
(19:34 - 19:38) You know what I mean? It ding, ding, ding. And so it's good to emulate. Our granny said like that.
(19:38 - 20:04) Her mom said like, we forget that they had pelvic floor dysfunction and were peeing themselves. Right. But if being ladylike means that I'm four to one more likely to have a total hip replacement, that I'm more likely to have cramping with menstrual cycles, that I'm more likely to have pain with intercourse, that I'm more likely to have urinary incontinence, I'd rather not be ladylike.
(20:05 - 20:09) Yeah. Yeah. That's a good trade off.
(20:10 - 20:19) You know what I mean? And it's so funny. It's so funny. Because it's like a security blanket for some people.
(20:19 - 20:37) And I think that oftentimes, and we've been trained through programming and the medical system that I don't hate, but that we just go take a pill for it and everything's fine. Yeah. I'd be coping with state way drugs. (20:39 - 20:40) I don't know. Just masking. Yeah.
(20:41 - 20:51) Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, we talked about kind of part of that is that you're just getting older, or it's part of your diagnosis.
(20:52 - 21:12) And why do you think that that narrative is just so harmful? Because it excuses finding real healing. And it minimizes your actual experience. And then these are people that we trust.
(21:13 - 21:35) We have been programmed hook, line, and sinker to trust the things that doctors say to us. And in all honesty, I mean this nicely, kindly, and lovingly, they're not smart. You know what I mean? Like, of all their learning is how to write the prescription for the symptom.
(21:35 - 21:48) You know what I mean? Like, what else are they doing? I've been in relationships with doctors. My ex-boyfriend was a gynecologist, OB-GYN. And so obviously I have some feelings.
(21:49 - 22:07) But when, and that's actually spawned a lot of how I feel about that profession. But even when I was having pelvic floor dysfunction, and I knew what to do for it, because I went and trained and studied pelvic floor dysfunction. And I had my pelvic floor wand and whatever.
(22:07 - 22:27) And I was like, why am I using that? When I have a trained professional, right? And I'm like, can you just go like really? And he was just like, I don't know what those muscles are. I don't know what that is. And I was like, what do you, you know what I mean? And we just think, we think that because somebody is something, they know something.
(22:28 - 22:35) So when they're just like, oh, you're just getting older. You just need to lose some weight. You just need to da, da, da, da, da, da.
(22:35 - 22:54) It minimizes our experience, and it disempowers us from believing that there is a different experience. Yeah. And then we can excuse not having to work on it because our doctor told us that it's just normal.
(22:54 - 23:00) Yeah, yeah. They're the authority figure. That's, I mean, that's what we've been trained to think is that that's, they're the authority.
(23:01 - 23:16) But I mean, I've said it to clients before. There are doctors out there that finished last in their class. So just because we know them as the authority figure doesn't mean that they were at the top of their class.
(23:17 - 23:34) And yeah. And I mean, gosh, I'd be like, go on Google, look up the doctors who are diagnosing people with cancer and treating them that don't even have cancer. Look at, you know, how some doctors were treating our Olympic athletes.
(23:34 - 23:45) Look at, you know what I mean? Just because somebody's a doctor doesn't necessarily mean that they're a fantastic human being. Yeah, yeah. And in general, I mean, they're not taught that stuff.
(23:45 - 23:54) They're not taught what we know. They're not taught about nutrition or all the, you know, the bodywork stuff that you know. I mean, that's just not part of it.
(23:54 - 24:09) And so, you know, it takes a team, really. Yeah, and I mean, obviously, okay. So like, if my appendix ruptured and I needed to have my appendix out, I'm not gonna try to do that at home myself.
(24:09 - 24:12) No. It's like, somebody get me the scalpel. I know where it is.
(24:13 - 24:40) You know, like, if I fell off my motorcycle and I have a bone sticking out of my leg, I'm not gonna be like, bro, I'm gonna, you know what I mean? Like, obviously those are situations where I would probably go to a medical professional, but like daily health stuff, chronic pain issues, headaches, you know, like my periods are heavy. I'm not going to those people because I know what they have for me. I know what they have for me.
(24:40 - 25:04) And if I want that, I can figure that out later, but I just, yeah, I've been around the block long enough to know what it offers me. And again, not that I'm down on the medical system. I think it's good for what it's good for, but just being a doctor only tells me that you had enough money to put yourself through school and you passed it down.
(25:04 - 25:29) And that you want to make money. So based on your experience, you know, what happens emotionally and physically, you know, for these women that just accept that? I think that there's a lot of depression that happens. I think that we feel like there's something wrong with us, that we're broken.
(25:30 - 25:43) I mean, I've struggled with my own personal issues. I remember for years, years, going to all these people and they tell you, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. This is in your head.
(25:43 - 25:50) I've had that said to me. I'm like, and you have to fight. And some people just don't have that fight.
(25:50 - 26:12) You know, I do, but some people just don't, you know, they just sink into this depression. They feel disempowered. They don't, you know what I mean? And you, you probably talk to people who are very skeptical, right? And they're just like, well, if my doctor can't help me, like- Exactly, who can? Yeah.
(26:12 - 26:24) Yeah, totally. Because again, we have this pedestal, but, and then we just accept. We accept that we're stuck like this forever and that this is just life now.
(26:25 - 26:44) And, and, and, and I don't want to use, I don't want to use the term like, but we become a victim. You know what I mean? And there can be some of that mentality where we feel like the world is against us and all of these things. And then there's a lack of trust.
(26:44 - 27:01) Like when somebody like us comes along, like I run into this often, where people just lash at, they're angry. Mm-hmm. And, and, and then lashing out, taking that out on me or somebody else who's like, actually, there's another way.
(27:01 - 27:08) And they're like, whatever. But I also understand. I understand that.
(27:09 - 27:29) I mean, I've been the person, I've been in, I was in school for physical therapy and went to physical therapy and literally ripped the electrodes off of my body, walked out there, like, do you want to do physical therapy? And I was like, I'm not wasting my time. I'm in work here. You know what I mean? I was angry.
(27:29 - 27:55) I was in pain. It made me not my best self. It made me not able to, I'm just speaking from my own experience, right? But like, how do you show up for your children in the best way when you are in 100% pain, your relationships suffer, partnerships suffer, you know, like when spouses just like cannot help you, you know what I mean? You're just in pain all the time.
(27:55 - 28:23) And then you just feel like you're complaining all the time. And then you don't even want to say anything because you don't want to bother everybody else in your life. All people start doing is checking on you and you start to feel like everybody's woe is me, you, or whatever the thing, you, you know what I mean? And it becomes like, it just becomes your entire life is wrapped up in this quote unquote diagnosis.
(28:25 - 28:37) And that's the wheel. You're on the wheel, right? And it's just spinning. And you just feel like anytime you put one foot forward, it's just spinning the wheel and you can't get off of it.
(28:38 - 28:57) You can. If this conversation with Samantha would have fire in you, if you're thinking, wait a minute, maybe this isn't my forever, then know this, you are not broken and you don't have to settle for survival mode. Healing starts when we question the labels, the limitations and the lies.
(28:57 - 29:17) And it deepens when we tap into the tools that support our body's natural rhythm, like the lymphatic system that's been overlooked for far too long. I will put the links in the show notes so you can connect with Samantha and learn more about her work at Not Now Therapeutic. Her session, her philosophy, and her heart for women's healing are truly one of a kind.
(29:18 - 29:22) Until next time, keep nourishing, keep healing and thriving.