I imagine like most women, the first bit of advice you received to address your pelvic health condition was to engage in pelvic floor exercises, perhaps through a leaflet or the Squeezy app. This advice often leads to the pursuit of traditional methods, not considering exercises reinvented for better effectiveness. You might have diligently followed them or struggled to know if you were doing it right. After months without seeing a difference, you’re left wondering: should you return to those solely recommended exercises that didn’t resonate or work, or is it time to explore a new path?
I know how you feel because that was me too! I felt the same way and what I found actually worked was moving more of me instead of constantly trying to isolate my pelvic floor by doing pelvic floor lifts and Kegel exercises. That was when I started to create my Whole Body Pelvic Health method.
In my last blog, I taught you the importance of breathing as your first step to healing your pelvic floor now I will explain what pelvic floor exercises to start with.
Reinventing Pelvic Floor Exercises
The exercises need to be varied just as we vary the exercises for the rest of our bodies. Your pelvic floor is designed to be highly flexible, adaptable and responsive. Therefore, the exercises you do need to reflect this and the varied roles of your pelvic floor. Its role is not solely to hold up your internal organs. Your pelvic floor is part of a suspensory system where everything near and far is linked andinteracts. It connects to your deep hip, spine and leg muscles and diaphragm and more which means that all of the movements of your spine, pelvis, hips and legs influence your pelvic floor and vice versa. I know that is not generally how we are taught to think of our pelvic floor and there is more, it has been repeatedly proven that squat movements are the most effective and reliable way to strengthen your pelvic floor. Drop the mic moment!!
So your first step after you have read my Pelvic Floor Breathing Blog and do the exercise in there you then stand up and down out of your chair aka squat 10 times per day. Job done, the most effective way to start exercising your pelvic floor.
Let’s not stop there though let’s think about other daily activities that can stimulate the responsiveness of your pelvic floor and exercises we can reinvent to achieve our goal. Walking, yes walking with a long stride is going to help you find all important balance through your pelvis. Sitting, not just sitting on a chair, can you get on the floor cross your legs and then cross them the other way. Finding more balance and releasing some tightness you might feel through your hips.
These simple steps create environments for your pelvic floor to restore, respond and rejuvenate