Strengthening the pelvic floor with yoga: little effort, big effect

The pelvic floor is one of the most underestimated parts of the body. Often, the term only comes up during pregnancy. This urgently needs to change. For both women and men, paying attention to the pelvic floor is essential for their body awareness and overall health.

Natural functionality can be weakened by physical overload, excess weight, poor posture, surgeries and medications – not to mention the stretching caused by pregnancy and childbirth.

If preventative measures aren't taken early, a weakened pelvic floor can lead to incontinence, among other things. This means that, for example, stress or jumping movements can cause you to wet yourself. Doesn't sound good, does it?

The good news is: With the right yoga exercises, you can effectively strengthen your pelvic floor. In the following article, we'll tell you why a strong pelvic floor is so important and how you can train it – and show you: Pelvic floor training with yoga is easier than you think.

Why is a strong pelvic floor important in everyday life?

The pelvic floor is the connective tissue and muscle base of the pelvic cavity. Among other things, it is responsible for closing the urethra and rectum through contraction and opening them through relaxation.

Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in sexual intercourse. In short: an erection or orgasm is hardly possible without the involvement of the pelvic floor. Another important function lies in the so-called reflexive counter-tension: when pressure is exerted on the abdominal cavity, the pelvic floor tenses up to protect it.

A weakened pelvic floor can sometimes lead to moderate to severe limitations in everyday life. Therefore, it's high time to take action if you haven't already. If you're already practicing pelvic floor yoga, you might find some inspiration for your further training in our tips.

What about pelvic floor exercises before and after pregnancy?

Statistically, women are more frequently affected by pelvic floor weakness than men. This is largely due to anatomy: female tissue is naturally more prone to weakening. Most women are familiar with connective tissue weakness – although usually only externally.

It becomes particularly clear in pregnant women why connective tissue needs to be so flexible. The female body ensures that enough space is created, even temporarily shifting organs in the process.

However, this very peak performance, which the pelvic floor accomplishes during pregnancy, also leads to weakening. The pelvic floor gives way. Therefore, after pregnancy, you should definitely strengthen it through intensive pelvic floor exercises. Only in this way can you avoid the aforementioned problems that a weakened pelvic floor unfortunately inevitably brings.

Reading tip: In our article “ Yoga after birth: Feel-good moments for you and your baby ”, you can find out how you and your little darling can relax with yoga after pregnancy.

What exercises help to strengthen your pelvic floor?

There are various exercises to stretch and strengthen the pelvic floor. In fact, pelvic floor training through yoga is particularly well-suited, as most exercises are designed for this area. Whether you practice sitting or standing, there are very simple and gentle exercises that will help you achieve good results. We've compiled a few exercises to get you started.

Before starting: Prepare for pelvic floor exercises

The descriptions of typical pelvic floor exercises say you should tighten your pelvic floor muscles. But how exactly does that work? Before you start your yoga exercises, we'd like to give you two more tips:

1. To tighten your pelvic floor muscles, imagine you are pulling in your lower abdominal muscles and letting them rise upwards, similar to an elevator.
2. Go to the toilet before you start your workout to empty your bladder. This will help you avoid unwanted surprises: Since you're activating the muscles that are partly responsible for your sphincter muscles, you might experience some urine leakage.

A chair is not just for sitting: activate your muscles

You can easily do something good for your pelvic floor using a simple piece of furniture like a chair. The following exercise is easy to perform – wherever you happen to be. One set of ten repetitions is sufficient to achieve an effect.

1. Sit upright on the seat of a chair and look forward. Feel your sit bones to locate the pelvic floor, which lies between them.
2. Activate your muscles by contracting your pelvic floor muscles. Imagine you are drawing your body inwards. Make sure you only contract your pelvic floor muscles and do not engage the surrounding muscles.
3. Hold this position for five seconds and then relax again.

Our tip: Just try it out during working hours.

It can be so simple: pelvic floor exercises while standing

Pelvic floor exercises while standing are very pleasant. You don't need any equipment, and the exercise isn't complicated. The following exercise is quick and effective. Ten repetitions are ideal.

1. Stand up straight and open your legs shoulder-width apart.
2. Then bend your knees slightly. Rest your hands on your thighs. Keep your back straight.
3. In this position, pull your pelvic floor muscles inwards and hold the tension for about five seconds.
4. Then release the tension and consciously relax your pelvic floor muscles.

Light and airy butterfly: Pelvic floor exercises while lying down

The "butterfly" exercise is an excellent strength exercise for your pelvic floor. Perform this exercise in a way that feels comfortable for you. Repeat this pelvic floor exercise ten times.

1. Lie on your back and bend your knees. Keep your neck long and flat on the floor. If needed, you can place a flat pillow under your head.
2. Let your legs fall apart, wide apart. Press the soles of your feet together. The splay doesn't need to be very wide. The important thing is to keep your back on the floor and your feet pressed together.
3. When you exhale, you tense your pelvic floor muscles strongly; when you inhale, you relax them.

Practical pelvic floor training on the go: Climbing stairs

As important as pelvic floor training is, it's easy to integrate the corresponding exercises into your everyday life. With minimal effort, for example, climbing stairs becomes the ultimate training boost:

Place only the balls of your feet on each step, engage your pelvic floor muscles, and use the energy that builds up there to push yourself upwards. This way you can climb every step and get a workout at the same time.

How do you develop a routine for your pelvic floor training through yoga?

As with all yoga exercises and sports activities in general, the same applies to pelvic floor training: regularity leads to lasting training success. Since yoga for the pelvic floor is very straightforward, you can develop a routine quite quickly:

• If you plan a regular yoga session, make pelvic floor yoga a part of your asanas.
• For example, schedule the chair exercise for your lunch break or choose another time that you already use for regular activities. Whether it's in the morning after reading the newspaper or in the evening before dinner: such fixed points help to routinely incorporate another activity into your schedule.

The only essential thing is that you quickly get used to incorporating the exercises into your daily routine. If you consider pelvic floor yoga a normal part of your day, it will quickly become second nature.

Pelvic floor training: An effort that pays off

Maintaining or restoring the natural functionality of the pelvic floor requires one thing above all: patience. As you can see, the necessary exercises are quite simple.

Or to put it another way: you simply have to take action to prevent problems like incontinence. It's absolutely worth the effort, don't you think? Give your pelvic floor the attention it deserves – you can only benefit.