Misguided Muscles: Rewriting the Story of Your Pelvic Floor

Let’s start with a story – a classic one.

You know the type: there’s a hero, a struggle, and of course… a villain.

But what if the villain wasn’t really evil?

What if they were simply misguided, doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, and just needed someone to show them a better way?

That’s the story I see play out over and over again in women’s bodies.
Especially when it comes to the pelvic floor.

So often we think of the pelvic floor as either “strong” or “weak.” But what if that’s not the full story? What if the real issue lies with the muscles around your pelvic floor, the ones that are supposed to be part of the team, but have gotten bossy, dominant, or disconnected?

In this week’s episode of Hope For Your Pelvic Floor, I take you inside the metaphor I use all the time with clients and teachers: the story of the misguided muscles.

These aren’t “bad guys.” There are no bad friends in the body.

But just like in any good story, some characters need to be brought back onto the straight and narrow.

So who are the misguided muscles?

Here are just a few of the biggest culprits:

1. Your Glutes

Yes, your lovely bum muscles! If you find yourself clenching, tucking your tailbone under, or leaning while you stand or wash the dishes, your glutes might be overworking and pulling on your pelvis, preventing your pelvic floor from doing its job.

2. Deep Hip Muscles

Do you ever get groin pain or hip tightness? These often-overlooked muscles can tug on the pelvic floor like tight curtain tie-backs, preventing your “curtain” (the pelvic floor) from closing properly, especially during a cough, sneeze, or long walk.

 3. Hamstrings

Those tight sensations at the back of your legs? Your hamstrings connect directly to your sitting bones – the same bones your pelvic floor attaches to. When hamstrings pull too much, they can contribute to prolapse symptoms or restrict pelvic movement.

 4. Your “Six Pack” (Rectus Abdominis)

Often trained for aesthetics rather than function, this muscle can pull your body into poor alignment, disrupt your breath mechanics, and put downward pressure on the front of your pelvic floor. Not helpful if you have a bladder or uterine prolapse!

The big mindset shift?

None of these muscles are “bad.” They’re just trying to help, but they’re going about it the wrong way.

And when we bring them back into balance, incredible things happen: less tension, more function, more freedom in your body.

So where do you start?

I’m sharing three powerful takeaways from this episode to help you shift from stuck to supported, from frustrated to free.

1. Mindset: Reframe the story

• Your pelvic floor isn’t weak or broken.
• It’s not working alone, and it’s not supposed to.
• Start seeing your pelvic health as a community effort. The goal is to bring balance and teamwork back to your whole body.

2. Awareness: Start noticing habits

Now that you know who the usual suspects are, watch for them in your daily life. Are you:

• Clenching your bum while you drive or stand?
• Gripping your abs when lying down?
• Leaning into one leg or sitting with a deep slump?

Just noticing these things is already a powerful first step.

3. Re-educate through gentle, consistent practice

Here’s a simple, powerful exercise you can try today:

The Seated Number 4 Stretch
Wherever you’re sitting – sofa, chair, even the edge of the bath, cross one ankle over the opposite knee, so your legs form a figure-4 shape.

• Sit tall.
• Feel a gentle release through your hip.
• If that’s comfortable, hinge forward slightly (keeping your back straight).
• Take 5–10 slow breaths here.

This helps release those bossy glutes and deep hip rotators, giving your pelvic floor space to move and respond again.

Bonus tip: Less is more.

You don’t need to force your body into submission. In fact, trying to “feel the burn” or push through pain only creates more resistance.

Choose ease. Choose gentleness.

Let consistent practice be the path to change, not punishment.,

Let your body become a supportive cast

What’s so exciting about this work and why I created the Whole Body Pelvic Health Method – is that once we re-educate these muscles, they stop being villains and start being allies.

They support you, they coordinate with your pelvic floor, and they make movement feel good again.

Try a method for improving your pelvic floor that does NOT risk making your symptoms worse. NO Kegals, NO Surgery and NO guessing…