A strong but elastic pelvic floor in women is a very important part of the body. It allows not only to fully bear offspring, to give birth easily, but also to maintain the he alth of the genitourinary system until old age, without fear of the numerous problems associated with this area.
Pelvic floor muscles
The muscular-fascial septum is called the pelvic diaphragm, thus indicating the importance of this area for the entire structure of the human body. It is located in the perineum, between the pubic bone and the coccyx, lining the entire inner surface between the pelvic bones, forming something similar to a stretched fabric, like an awning or a hammock.
This place consists of three levels:
- The muscles that lift the anus (one of the most important in the described partition).
- The urogenital diaphragm, which regulates the process of urination.
- Connections of external muscles that protect this area, as well as control small movements of the pelvic bones.
Women in the structure of the pelvic day are significantly different from men, because they have to give birth to a child, which means that the passage for him should be optimal. Therefore, in men, the diaphragmthe pelvis is a rather dense muscle zone, while in women, on the contrary, the uterus and bladder are practically not protected and supported by anything.
Is it worth mentioning again that with age, all muscles weaken, losing strength and elasticity.
Why strengthen the pelvic floor
If this hammock of muscles and tendons loses elasticity, strength and sags, then the woman has unpleasant symptoms:
- Incontinence during stress or fright.
- Incontinence when sneezing, coughing hard, jumping hard, or lifting heavy weights.
- Prolapse or prolapse of the pelvic organs, popularly called "uterine prolapse".
- Impaired circulation in these organs.
- Inability to bear a child during pregnancy.
- Loss of sensation during intimacy.
- Pain in the lower back, sacrum and ilio-sacral joints.
After studying these points, it is not difficult to understand that the pelvic diaphragm is the most important part of the female body, which also needs to be paid attention. That is, it needs to be trained to maintain a he althy tone, avoiding the unnecessary consequences of muscle weakness.
A simple exercise to tone up
The muscles of the pelvic diaphragm are easy to “pump” using the well-known Kegel exercise, named after the American obstetrician who invented how to help women restore the elasticity of the pelvic floor muscles. To do this, it is recommended to strain the muscles of the perineum for 10-15 minutes daily. In total there are threestage:
- Beginning level: lying on your back with legs bent and spread apart, try to contract the muscles of the pelvic floor, without lifting the sacrum from the floor and without reducing the hips. Repeat the same, standing on all fours and lying on your stomach, bending one leg to the side (repeat on both sides). The process lies in the rhythmic contraction and relaxation, trying to create maximum effort.
- Middle level: the position of the body is the same, but the rhythm of the contraction changes. Now you need to try to contract the pelvic floor and keep it in tension as much as possible without relaxing the muscles.
A high level lies in the ability to contract and hold the pelvic diaphragm in a variety of positions, movement, and especially when carrying loads up to 20 kg. Who reaches this level may not worry about the he alth of this area at all
How to understand what needs to be reduced?
Even if you study in detail the anatomy of the pelvic diaphragm according to medical atlases, pictures from the encyclopedia and other sources, it is still not entirely clear how to contract these muscles, or rather: how to understand that exactly what is needed is tensed?
Yoga teachers who actively use their pelvic floor muscles in asana practice in every class have a few simple explanations:
- Try to bring the buttocks and the pubic bone closer to the coccyx, and at the same time - this will be the first stage of awareness of the diaphragm.
- Tighten those muscles that a person stopsurination, that is, imagine that you really want to go to the toilet, but you can’t. This is how the necessary muscles work.
- Close the hip joints together without moving the legs, while imagining that the perineum is going up to the navel, like on an elevator.
Mula bandha in yoga practice
Pulling up the muscles of the perineum and contracting the muscles of the pelvic floor, combined with the movement of the ischial tuberosities towards each other in yoga practice, is called muscle mula bandha or root lock (bandha is Sanskrit for “castle”, mula is “root”). With this movement, yoga not only strengthens the internal muscles of the pelvis, but also helps to raise energy up, so mula bandha is one of the most important aspects of yogic practice, without which no full-fledged class is unthinkable.
Which asanas are ideal for working out the pelvic floor?
The most simple but very important asanas for activating moola bandha are as follows:
- Ardha navasana - lying on your back, tear your shoulder blades and hips off the floor, while firmly pressing your lower back into the floor, consciously rounding the lower spine and tensing the abdominal muscles. The muscles of the perineum are actively drawn inward.
- Setu bandha - half-bridge pose - lying on your back, push off with your shoulders and feet from the floor and lift your hips and chest up, trying to direct the pubic bone to the chest and qualitatively tighten the perineum.
- The well-known plank pose is also a great way to feel the diaphragm of the pelvis, activating it in various variations of thisexercises.
It is thanks to the modest but powerful work of the muscular-fascial septum described in the article that the he alth of the organs is indestructible and stable, especially the genitourinary system.
