The Pelvic Floor And Why You Need To Pay Attention To It

insider yoga staff | August 31, 2016 | Toning, Well Being | No Comments

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This Sequence Will Address This Important Area Of Your Body

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that attach to the bottom of your pelvis. These muscles have a very important job: They act as a hammock that holds up the internal organs above it. There are many benefits to a strong pelvic floor including better control over your bladder and bowels, improved sexual performance, and increased stability in your hips. If you let the pelvic floor go, it can lead to problems including incontinence, lower back pain, and less desire for sex.

The pelvic floor is also known as the primary holder of stress and anxiety. If your pelvic floor weakens, you may notice that you become easily stressed and it becomes harder to relax. So how does one improve the pelvic floor?

The following article provides a sequence that targets the pelvic floor. This sequence will help you build up these very important muscles.

See the article below and be sure to pass this along to anyone in your life who seems a little stressed out for no reason.

1. The Stress ON/OFF Button

It’s important to activate the muscles that you use cut your pee off mid-stream. To do this, contract, pull up, and hold. You should feel a tightening around your vagina, though try not to tighten your butt or upper belly muscles. Contrast this move by letting go of the muscles: Feel the base of the core relax, and then relax one more layer to fully surrender. If we learn to isolate these muscles with a neuromuscular or brain-body connection in order to activate and relax them then we have the power to control how we deal with stress and learn how to be calm more often which equals a sense of youthfulness.

Benefit: Empowers us to understand how our body deals with stress, and where and how we hold stress. It helps us to feel relaxed and calm, which can make us look and feel more youthful. This will also help create more fluidity and flexibility in the hips and pelvis and connect you to the base of your core.

Roller

Warm Up

2. Lateral Lunge

Stand on your mat with your feet spread into a straddle position, about three to four feet apart. Stand the roller up vertically on the floor in front of you. Place your hands on top of the roller, with arms extended and spine straight. Inhale as you lean to the left, bending your left leg and extending your right leg. Exhale as you hold the stretch. Repeat this motion on the other side.

Repeat 8 times on each side.

Benefit: Helps clear any blockages in the attachments of the inner thighs to the pelvis.

Smooth Out

3. Inner Thigh Roll

Come down to your forearms with your torso facing the mat, and place the roller under your right upper inner thigh. You will need to bend your right knee up and out to the side and place the foam roller up and under your groin. Taking care to keep your upper-body square to the ground as you move, use your forearms and left leg to power the motion as you slowly roll the roller down toward the knee (stopping just above it), and back up again. Breathe slowly and steadily throughout the move.

Repeat this motion six to eight times on each side.

Benefit: Creates circulation and blood flow to the upper inner thigh and inner thigh attachment to the pelvis. Helps activate and tone the inner thighs in a more efficient alignment.

4. Pigeon Inner Thigh Roll

Place the roller about a foot in front of you and come down to your knees. Bring your left leg in front of the roller so that your left calf is parallel to the roller, and lean forward into a pigeon hip stretch, so that the roller is now at the inner edge of your sitz bone. Use your front foot to keep the roller stable and lift up into a tall spine. Keep your right leg long and straight back behind the roller. Breathing steadily, slowly roll front and back to smooth out the pelvic floor attachment.

Repeat eight times on each side, alternating sides.

Benefit: Helps create circulation and blood flow to the attachment tissue at the base of the sitz bones and pelvis. This can help reduce low back and hamstring tension and pain.

The Triad Ball

5. Pelvis Decompression

Lay down on the mat face up with your knees bent and feet flat. Check in with the tilt of your lower back and see if you have any tense parts. Then lift your hips up into a bridge position and place the ball under your sacrum (mid-way between your tailbone and waistline).

Repeat eight times.

Benefit: The ball is an amazing prop because it helps elevate the pelvis and connect to the intrinsic and stabilizing muscles of the belly and pelvis. Helps improve posture and flatten the belly. Plus it reduces tension in the hips and lower back while also decompressing the sacrum and lumbar spine.

Reshape

6. Inverted Core Series

Lay down on the mat and place the ball under your sacrum in an elevated bridge position while maintaining a neutral spine. Bring your knees over your hips and extend your legs up to a 90-degree angle so they’re pointing to the ceiling with your heels together and your toes apart. Place your arms long by your side to keep stable and connected. Note that your spine should remain stable and neutral for the duration of this exercise.

Inhale as you slowly lower your legs a few inches and then cross your left leg over your right, engaging your upper inner thighs and pelvic floor while also keeping your lower back relaxed. Keep breathing deeply and drawing the belly in and up throughout the move.

Repeat eight times on each side, alternating as you go.

Benefit: Lifts and tones the upper inner thighs and lower abs while also helping release tension in the sacrum and lower back.