pelvic floor

Pelvic Floor & Breathing

One role of the pelvic floor or Kegel muscles is to aid in respiration. When we cough or sneeze and a little urine leaks out, we know that those muscles are misfiring, or maybe not firing at all. It’s super common, but not something we need to accept as normal.

But what do you do about it? Let’s start simply.

First Move: Feel the Pelvic Floor

Lie on your back with your knees bent feet on the floor (or legs propped up on something that leaves you knees and hips at 90-degrees). Pick a position that is comfortable for you. Now just breathe and notice what you feel. When you do breathe are you aware of your pelvic floor doing anything?

That’s it. That’s where we start. The first thing we need to consider is simply what we feel in our body. Try not to feel frustrated with yourself if you don’t feel anything or don’t know what you feel. If you can feel that the pelvic floor is getting involved you are a step ahead. If you don’t it is truly okay. Consider doing this exercise daily…with no criticism of what you feel. Just […]

Pelvic Floor & BreathingMaggie Downie2020-02-26T15:07:16-05:00

Pelvic Floor…what is it good for

Notice the little arch in my low back. This doesn’t have to be a big move.

I often get asked about the pelvic floor muscles. It’s not an area that everyone is comfortable talking about, but it is quite important to our health and wellness.

We all—men and women—have pelvic floor muscles. I’ve found that not all men know they have pelvic floor muscles unless they wind up with a prostate issue and they learn about them. Men should be aware of these muscles because improper tone of the pelvic floor can be linked to low back pain while proper tone can help provide sustained erections. These muscles matter.

Most women are familiar with their pelvic floor. It is very common for women to urinate a little when they sneeze, cough, or do a jumping jack because the pelvic floor isn’t firing properly, especially after having children. Again, while this is a common occurrence, it is a sign that the pelvic floor muscles are not engaging properly. Also, when women experience pelvic prolapse (something men can experience too, but less often), parts that belong inside can find their way outside. The proper tone […]

Pelvic Floor…what is it good forMaggie Downie2020-02-07T18:12:57-05:00

Pelvic Floor–And So to Up

When I trained with Pilates Elder Ron Fletcher he repeatedly quoted one of his mentors who, when encouraging someone to engage their pelvic floor, would say: “And So to Up.”

In pilates when we refer to the pelvic floor we are referring to what most people know as kegels. And when engaged, the direction that your kegels should go is up. Picture your pelvic floor muscles like a sheet lying on the floor. When you engage them they should lift up as if you lifted that sheet off the floor from the center. And so to up.

It’s important to work the pelvic floor because we often take those muscles for granted, but they are the muscles that in enable us to control our bowels and our bladder. And when you consider that they are the muscles at the very bottom of your pelvis, you realize that the weight of everything inside of our trunks ultimately presses down on these muscles.

Both men and women have kegel/pelvic floor muscles. It’s not just one muscle we […]

Pelvic Floor–And So to UpMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:40-04:00

Pelvic Prolapse: The Pelvic Floor & Pilates

This blog is by request. A client said she saw this Doctor Oz show (the video is in three parts) where they discussed pelvis prolapse and she thought it was a very important topic that women are probably uncomfortable talking about if they even know about it. She asked me to spread the word.

I’ve heard of pelvic prolapse because I know of women who have had it. Pelvic prolapse is when the rectum, uterus or bladders falls out of the vagina. It can vary in degree. In pilates we work to engage the pelvic floor in every exercise—a good habit for men and women—and one way to attempt to reduce pelvic prolapse.

While I’m not sure how accurate these numbers are, I have read that 30-50% of women have some degree of pelvic prolapse. Most of these women have had children, a hysterectomy, and/or are over the age of 40 and past menopause. It is also true that up to 50% of women have difficulty engaging their pelvic floor (kegel muscles) on command. The two situations are obviously linked.

So if this is something you are concerned about, you should talk to your doctor and […]

Pelvic Prolapse: The Pelvic Floor & PilatesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:41-04:00

Gas in Class

Okay—it doesn’t matter how you say it: fart, pass gas, or pet (as my Grandma calls it), it’s potentially going to happen in a pilates class. Sometimes on exercises like Rolling-Like-A-Ball it’s an inevitability eventually.

But not to fret. You are not the only one who has done it, and quite honestly, if you keep quiet, usually no else can pinpoint exactly who did it. So, while I know it can be embarrassing, try to cut yourself some slack if and when it ever happens to you. No one is going to remember in about ten minutes—pilates keeps you too busy.

It is something to stop and ponder for a minutes because while farting during a pilates class could mean that you had beans and rice before class (always a mistake, by the way), it could also mean that instead of gently pulling your belly button towards your spine and pulling up and in on your pelvic floor muscles, you could just be attempting to clench everything—attempting to get more control, but actually getting less as revealed by the escape of some unexpected wind. Next time it happens, after the wave of embarrassment happens, just try to relax […]

Gas in ClassMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:55-04:00