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  • Writer's pictureFrance Mayotte Hunter
    • May 26, 2019
    • 3 min read

The Bottom Line

Updated: May 27, 2019

The pelvic floor is really the foundation of the whole body. These muscles sit at the base of our torso, forming the floor for all our organs. It's literally the body's bottom line. In my Wednesday post One (Wo)Man's Ceiling I presented evidence that weakness in the pelvic floor, contrary to the misconception that this is only a female problem, often affects men too.


Certainly we hear about incontinence (leakage) following pregnancy (laughing, coughing, sneezing, etc.). But we don't often hear that these muscles constitute our center of gravity and connect to the hip, back and core muscles influencing all movement, balance and stabilization. A strong pelvic floor is also vital for good sexual function (for both men and women) and prostate health.


Because the pelvic floor is an integral part of our fight/flight or stress reflex, weakness in the pelvic floor isn't the only problem that occurs. Often these muscles stay tight because of our body's response to stress; this can impact complete elimination and also the way our body responds sexually. Chances are if you have frequent urination, chronic constipation or erectile dysfunction, a tight pelvic floor probably has something to do with it. But the good news is, there's something we can do about it!


Just like all muscle groups, the pelvic floor muscles need to be both strong and flexible. Here are some exercises that can be done (mostly) anywhere, sitting or standing-- at your desk or during meetings, brushing your teeth, driving, watching TV, etc. Go ahead, multi-task! And shhh, nobody needs to know.


1. BARE BONES- The first step in creating a healthy pelvic floor is locating where it is! As the bottom line in the human body, they support all of the internal organs in the torso. These muscles attach to the pubic bone in the front and the tailbone/sacrum in the back and form a kind of hammock.


2. FIRE IN THE BELLY- Whether your pelvic floor is too loose or too tight, it's important to do the strengthening exercise (firing up the pelvic floor) to have a visceral awareness of what this tension feels like. Contracting the muscles beyond your baseline tension will allow you to tone and relax the pelvic floor even more completely. You will also feel the connection the pelvic floor has to the fight/flight response and you can use your breathing to calm the adrenaline and toxic stress hormones whenever stress/fear triggers it.

  • First lie on the floor and imagine that you are zipping up a tight pair of jeans (Zip It!), drawing energy up from the pubic bone to the navel without contracting upper abs or butts (breathe fully into the diaphragm). Now practice this sitting and then standing. Really isolate- no extra tension anywhere else.

  • Once you have isolated this action, the second step is to imagine you are giving a urine sample and stop the flow mid-stream (sounds crazy I know, but trust me).

  • Combine the two actions, zipping and stopping, and hold each contraction for 5 seconds, repeating 10 times. Practice this until you are an expert!

3. DOUBLE WHAMMY- Now that you have the fundamental mechanics of toning the pelvic floor, you can do a sequence that will first strengthen and then stretch the muscles- the full spectrum for a healthy, dynamic pelvic floor!

  • Do the above sequence just as you have been, but now add a pelvic tilt (pubic bone up toward the navel, sitz bones narrowing-- don't clench the buttocks!). Stay tall- imagine you are holding up a low ceiling with your head. It's subtle; you can still do these discretely anywhere.

  • Now release the contraction, come back to neutral and then completely relax and stretch the pelvic floor muscles by tilting the pelvis slightly backwards (butt out and sitz bones widening) and consciously releasing the muscles. Go one step further and exhale deeply. Hold both the strength part and the relaxation part each for 5 seconds and take 5 seconds to transition from one to the other. Gradually work up to 10 seconds and try to do these 30- 40 times a day. Do both sitting and standing.

Maintaining a healthy pelvic floor is important for both men and women. Not only will keeping these muscles toned and supple alleviate some bathroom issues, it will perk up your sex life and make you feel more balanced and stable in all of your life activities. It's also another dimension of interrupting the stress response in the sympathetic nervous system, the major cause of disease in the human body. So as you Mind Your Body in the week ahead by attending to your pelvic floor, remember that an aware and connected body will be reflected back to you in all other aspects of your life.



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