4 Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women from Mamma Method

Have you done your pelvic floor exercises today? If you answered no, I bet there’s a strong possibility you’re doing them now! But before we dive into our top pelvic floor exercises, let’s start with the basics. What actually is the pelvic floor, what are the benefits of pelvic floor exercises for women, and why are they so important after having a baby? 

The Pelvic Floor is a hammock-like group of muscles that are located in the base of the pelvis and form the bottom of the “core”. They support and protect the bowel, uterus and bladder and together, with the other core muscles, they stabilise and support your pelvis and lower back.

The pelvic floor is intrinsically connected to the diaphragm. Say what? In laymen’s terms, with proper alignment the pelvic floor and diaphragm work in sync with every breath you take. This is why posture and breath are so important in gaining proper pelvic floor strength and function.

During pregnancy, the pelvic floor takes a lot of strain due to the weight of supporting the growing baby. This is why ALL women (whether you’ve had a vaginal delivery or cesarean section), it’s important to rehabilitate these muscles postnatally. In fact, physiotherapists recommend that new mothers start pelvic floor exercises as soon as they have had their first post-delivery pee (unless told otherwise).

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Pelvic floor muscles form the base of the core, they support and stabilize the torso along with the other core musculature, they are important for sexual enjoyment, proper continence and they also support the lower abdominal organs. The benefits of strong and functional pelvic floor muscles can be; improved lower-back pain, a strong and functional core, and improved sexual enjoyment. They also help to  avoid or improve issues such as stress incontinence (leaking urine when you cough, laugh, sneeze or exercise) and Pelvic organ prolapse (POP). You can pretty much start to activate the pelvic floor as soon as you’ve had your first post-delivery pee. So let’s get going!

HOW CAN WE STRENGTHEN THE PELVIC FLOOR?
Here are our top four pelvic floor exercises for mums…

BREATHE AND PELVIC FLOOR MOVEMENT
Sit on one corner of a chair, so that you’re turned on a diagonal and the corner of the chair is in between your legs. Make sure you’re fully upright and not leaning on anything. In this position you should be able to feel your two sitting bones more easily. These are two of the four main attachment points of your pelvic floor muscles. The other attachments are at the back, to the very end of your coccyx, and at the front at your pubic bone. Visualise for a moment these four points forming a diamond shape hammock in the base of your pelvis.

PRACTICE
1. With your abdomen relaxed and your spine long, take a few nice full breaths.
2. As you inhale, feel the rib cage widen and the abdomen expand naturally. At the same time visualise the pelvic floor muscles (the diamond shape) widening and releasing fully.
3. As you exhale naturally, feel the rib cage soften down and together. Get a sense of the four points of the pelvic floor diamond drawing together and up. Let this be very natural and relaxed. Focusing on the rib cage will allow the diaphragm to move fully, which is a really important first step in strengthening the core.
4.  Practice this breath and pelvic floor movement regularly postpartum, especially in the early days, will help you to tune into your pelvic floor. The slow, relaxed breathing pattern also has the added benefit of being both relaxing and rejuvenating!

BACK TO FRONT STRENGTHENING
Lay down comfortably, with your knees bent and feet on the floor and keep your tummy and bum muscles relaxed.

PRACTICE
1. As you inhale, send the breath wide and full around the rib-cage, and feel the pelvic floor muscles release and widen.
2. As you exhale first, lift and gather the back passage as though you’re trying to stop passing gas.
3. In the same breath, lift and gather the middle, imagine you’re trying to lift a blueberry inside.
4. Finally, imagine you’re trying to stop the flow of urine as you raise the front part of the pelvic floor round the urethra.
5. Release fully the pelvic floor on the next inhale (remember practicing the release is just as important as the lift).

SHORT & LONG HOLDS
To re-strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, we have to train them in various ways like any other muscle. Practice a combination of Speed (short lifts and releases) and Endurance (longer holds).

PRACTICE
1. Short: Raise the pelvic floor muscles for 1 second, imagining you’re trying to stop yourself from passing gas and stopping the flow of urine mid pee. Release fully. Try 10 of these and then rest.
2. Long: Raise the pelvic floor muscles and hold for 5 – 10 seconds. Release fully, rest for 3-5 seconds and repeat 10 times.
3. Repeat both 3 times per day.

TVA & MUSCLE LOADING
Once you’ve mastered the above three Pelvic Floor Exercises, next it’s time to start to integrate the transverse abdominals muscles. The transverse abdominals or the TVA are the corset muscles that wrap around, and attach at the mid-line of your stomach. It’s important to engage the pelvic floor and TVA together as this will help to protect and strengthen your core, as well as help to close a diastasis recti if you have one.

PRACTICE
Place your hands on your hip bones, exhale, raise your pelvic floor then use your hands to help wrap your lower abdominals around and draw together in the centre. Your hands will help you to feel the area of your abdomen you’re trying to focus on. Be sure to think of these muscles sliding together as the pelvic floor lifts. Hold as you inhale, then release fully.