Yogic Pelvic Floor Exercises

7/30/2019 Yogic Pelvic Floor Exercises

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Yogic pelvic floor exercise

1. What and where is my pelvic floor?

The pelvic floor is a sling of muscles which hold your womb, bladder and intestines in the right place. It is like a

hammock of muscles curving downwards at the base of the body reaching from the pubis to coccyx with three

openings: Urethra Vagina Anus

The three openings are all controlled by sphincter or ring-muscles. This hammock not only supports the content

of the pelvis but is linked to the postural muscles which support the spine too. Most people find it a quite hard to

feel the pelvic floor, as it is inside the body and not visible.

2. Why is my pelvic floor so important?

The pelvic floor muscles are important because they are what keep all of your insides inside you! They also hav

an important role to play in the support and alignment of your spine. Whilst you are pregnant they are supporting

the downward pressure of the weight of the baby. They are also supporting your three important openings; the

urethra through which you urinate, your anus through which you defecate and your vagina through which you

will be birthing your baby. If your pelvic floor muscle tone is good then these functions will work well. If your

pelvic floor muscles are weak or damaged then any, or all of the functioning of these three openings can become

problematic either during pregnancy, birth, the immediate postnatal period or in later life (eg stress incontinence)

3. How can yoga help my pelvic floor?

Yoga recognises the pelvic floor as the root of the body and sees it as the place from which we generate a

stabilising, nourishing energy which is especially valuable during pregnancy. Special yoga practices designed to

heighten your awareness of the muscles of the pelvic floor can both develop these muscles tone and also train

your ability to release these muscles at the time of birthing your baby. It is as important to learn to release these

muscles as it is to learn to tighten them. By linking these practices with the movement of the breath the muscles

supporting the spine are also strengthened and this helps maintain good posture throughout all the changes of

pregnancy.

yogaforpregnancy.org


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4. How many and how often?

Little and often is best. Choose some simple daily activity and make your yogic pelvic floor practice part of it,

so that you just do a few repetitions whilst you are brushing your teeth, waiting for the kettle to boil or for the

computer to connect to the internet etc. They are perfectly invisible so only you will know youre doing them.

Dont give yourself a hard time. Just do a few each time (15 maximum is quite enough). It will then become

second nature and you wont even need to think about it.

5. What is the difference between Kegel exercises and yoga exercises for the pelvic floor?

The difference is in subtlety and wholeness awareness. Whereas Kegels and other pelvic floor practices simply

get you to lift and lower the broad sweep of pelvic floor muscles as if they were somehow separate from the rest

of you, yoga practices give you a much clearer understanding of what is really happening in your pelvic region

and how it affects your whole body. Practised with breath awareness, these yogic exercises can alter your

whole posture, as well as refining your understanding of the pelvic floor. They are invaluable for health during

pregnancy, birthing and postnatally as well as through every stage of your life as a woman.

6. I cant distinguish the different movements in my pelvic floor.

It may be that when you first practise that it feels as if the whole of the pelvic floor hammock is lifting up with ever

squeeze and lowering down with every release. This is fine. It may be that you can immediately distinguish

the three different movements of which your pelvic floor is capable. This is also fine. Just be aware of what

sensations the practices bring you now, today as you do them.

7. What should I be doing with my breath?

The following rule applies to all pelvic floor exercises; always combine the exercises with your breathing by

tensing muscles on inhalation and relaxing on exhalation unless otherwise stated. Never hold your breath

between inhalation and exhalation.

Positions for practice

Positions in which you are sitting upright or in which your back is elongated are best to get the full effect of theyoga pelvic floor stretches. You must be totally comfortable and be able to relax in this practice. The positions

shown have the benefit of giving you a sense of space around the pelvic floor and encouraging a relaxed ease in

the rest of the body. The kneeling position can be tried first in order to gain a good control of the anal sphincter.

You may find that you can feel your pelvic floor better whilst lying down or sitting rather than standing or on all

fours.



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Try different positions in the beginning then stick to the ones that work best for your and move on to the others

when you feel ready. Eventually you should be able to do all practices whatever position you assume eg sitting

on a chair or a birthing ball.

1. Right at the back the anal squeeze or ashwini mudra

Breathe in. Exhale as if you could take your breath and mental attention right down to the base of your spine.

Hold your mind there and as you inhale squeeze the ring of muscles around your anus. When you exhale,release that ring of muscle. Dont hold your breath. Dont hold the squeeze. Just squeeze on the inhale and

release on the exhale. Repeat five times following the natural rhythm of your breath. Keep your buttocks

absolutely relaxed the action is all in the anal sphincter.

2. Right at the front the urethra closure or sahajoli mudra

Breathe in. Exhale as if you could take your breath and mental attention right down to the base of your spine.

Now move your attention forward right under your pubic bone. With rapid short movements squeeze and release

alternately the short muscles that control the exit of your urethra. Dont hold your breath. Dont hold the squeezePractise this five times or more following the natural rhythm of the breath. As you gain experience you can

squeeze the left and right side of the urethra sphincter alternately and experts will be able to create a circular

motion around the sphincter.

3. Deep inside the big lift or mula bandha

Breathe in. Exhale as if you could take your breath and your mental attention right down to the base of your

spine. Move your attention to the middle, to the belly of the pelvic floor muscles. Bring your focus right down in

between the two extremes (front and back) of the previous two exercises. Now take your focus deeper inside.As you inhale lift the muscles inside the vagina right up high. Exhale and release lowering back down. It will fee

much more like a lift than a squeeze. Dont hold your breath. Dont hold the lift. Just raise on the inhale and

lower on the exhale. Repeat five or more times, following the natural rhythm of your breath.


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Yogic Pelvic Floor Exercises