The Online Home Of
Yoga
www.yogasuppliesonline.com
Yoga For A Strong Pelvic Floor?
Don’t blush. Today we’re going to learn about the pelvic floor. It’s a little-discussed area that can actually be the source of big problems, from incontinence to painful sex. This FAQ guide will give you the facts about the pelvic floor and how the twists and turns of yoga can be a key part of maintaining pelvic floor health.
Where is my pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor is a set of muscles and connective tissues that support the lower organs. In women, it does everything from supporting the opening and closing of the vagina, bladder, and rectum to supporting the tailbone, or coccyx. The pelvic floor in men supports the openings around the anus and urethra.
Weak pelvic floors can trigger any number of unpleasant—and sometimes embarrassing symptoms—that include:
- Incontinence of the bladder or bowel
- Prolapsed uterus, bladder, or rectum
- Constipation
- Painful intercourse
- Inability to reach orgasm or a decrease in sexual satisfaction
- Erectile dysfunction (ED)
Why does the pelvic floor become weak?
The most common reason in women is childbirth. It happens most often in the active stage of labor, when many women are encouraged to forcefully push out the baby rather than slowly exhale the little one into the world. Although it’s a common experience, it’s one that few women—or doctors—discuss, and the result is that the condition triggers unnecessary shame and embarrassment.
If you’re experiencing menopause, you may find yourself experiencing a weakened pelvic floor as well. Estrogen decreases and other hormone fluctuations might thin and weaken the pelvic floor muscles and connective tissues.
In men, a number of conditions can weaken the area, including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, chronic obesity, chronic coughing (for example, from smoking or poorly controlled asthma), and constipation.
How can yoga help me strengthen my pelvic floor?
Yoga will help you control the pelvic floor, alleviating or eliminating symptoms. Many yoga styles offer core-building poses that, like Kegel exercises, help build those oh-so-important but much-neglected muscles. Here are just a few of the poses you can use to boost your pelvic strength:
- Child’s pose
- Downward-facing dog
- Tree pose
- Cobra pose
- Triangle pose
- Fish pose
Use any of these or other core-building postures (asanas) in combination with a technique called mula bandha or “root lock.” As you hold a pose, gently lift and contract the pelvic muscles as if you were stopping the bladder or bowel from emptying. Hold it for a few moments and release then repeat the process 3 or 4 times. This is a simple technique you can do at home or on the down-low in a yoga class—which can be important if you’re in a mixed gender session.
Remember, as with any strength building exercise, you might not get overnight results. However, if you make pelvic floor techniques part of your regular yoga routine, you’ll start to see the all-natural, drug-free results within a few months.
What are the benefits of strengthening the pelvic floor?
When bladder/bowel incontinence or erectile dysfunction strikes, many in the western world turn to prescription medications. The problem is that drugs are not only expensive they also offer a host of potential and not-so-nice side effects. Yoga postures, on the other hand, are designed to increase strength throughout the entire core, naturally building the muscle control needed to alleviate problems without the expense or side effects of those little blue pills or other popular prescription meds.
In addition, an increasing number of doctors and midwives are recommending yogic pelvic floor exercises to moms-to-be. It’s believed that strengthening the pelvic muscles leads to fewer tears and fewer episiotomies.
For men, pelvic floor exercises can reverse erectile dysfunction. A British study recently found that yoga exercise boosts strength in the muscles surrounding the penis and improves blood flow to the region. In fact, the study found that the pelvic floor exercises were just as effective as erectile dysfunction prescriptions.
Although the benefits of yoga for sexual intercourse are poorly researched, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that using yoga to increase pelvic floor strength leads to better sex. Women claim the increased muscle tone relieves painful sex while yoga’s emphasis on relaxation generates better orgasms. Men who strengthen pelvic floor muscles claim it gives them better control over the sexual experience.
Whether you want to stop embarrassing incontinence or build a more satisfying sex life, yoga can give you the pelvic muscle strength and toning you need. Start using yoga to build your pelvic floor today.
Yoga Products
Recent Articles
