How do you exercise your pelvic muscles?

Before exercising your pelvic floor muscles, the first step is identifying the correct muscles.

How to find your pelvic floor muscles

Slow Your Flow

Attempt to stop or slow the flow of urine midway through emptying your bladder. This will help you to identify your pelvic floor muscles. This is NOT recommended as a regular exercise. Instead, a method to help you find what muscles are needed for bladder control.

Insert A Finger Or Dilator

Insert a finger or dilator into your vagina. Gently squeeze your pelvic floor muscles; you should feel your vagina tighten and your pelvic floor push upwards.

Visualization

Taking a few moments to visualize your pelvic floor and how it works can help you master these exercises. Your diaphragm (breathing muscle) and pelvic floor are connected like a piston. When you inhale, your pelvic floor is pushed down. When you exhale, your pelvic floor lifts. Use the momentum from your exhalation to contract your pelvic floor muscles.

How To Exercise Your Pelvic Floor With Proper Technique

  • Get into a comfortable position. Many people opt to lay on their backs with their feet firmly planted on the ground, but you can also sit or stand with legs shoulder-width apart.
  • Take some deep relaxing breaths. Release any tension in your thighs, bottom, and abdomen muscles.
  • Gently squeeze muscles as if you are trying to stop urine flow.
  • Contract the muscles around the vagina and suck upwards inside the pelvic.
  • Now gently squeeze in the muscles around the back passage to stop passing wind. But do not contract your buttocks, belly, or inner thigh muscles.
  • You will feel the muscles around the front, and back passages squeeze up and inside the pelvis if done correctly.
  • Listen to your body and identify which muscles are contracting when you do all these things simultaneously.
  • Then completely relax and loosen them.
  • Nothing above your pelvic button should be tense.
  • Don’t hold your breath!
  • It is essential to take your time to learn proper techniques. Learning how to perform pelvic floor exercises takes practice! So don’t be discouraged.
  • Once you’ve correctly isolated your pelvic floor muscles, you can begin exercising regularly. First, repeat exercises 10 times; as you get stronger, you can hold the contraction for up to 10 seconds at a time.