If you’re not sure how to do your pelvic floor exercises, or what a pelvic floor squeeze feels like, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Here are a few of the ways the mums I see in my physio clinic think is how to contract their pelvic floor muscles:
- Squeeze their bum muscles
- Squeeze their inner thigh muscles
- Take a big deep breath in
- Tighten their tummy muscles
- Push down through their vagina
Is this you too? Don’t worry if it is, I’m here to help!
When you contract your pelvic floor muscles in isolation, you shouldn’t feel your bum muscles or inner thigh muscles squeezing at the same time. You’ll also get a much more effective contraction if you time with your exhale, rather than your inhale (think exhale on the effort – E & E!).
When you engage your pelvic floor, you should feel a lift through your vagina and back passage. You may be able to feel you’re doing this more effectively if you’re sitting on a hard chair or cross legged on the floor initially so you can feel some feedback.
Here are a few imagery ideas to help you engage your pelvic floor:
- Imagine you’re holding in wind / a fart (this is usually the most effective & straight forward way to get your pelvic floor working!)
- Imagine you’re sitting on a blueberry, and try lifting the imaginary blueberry up with your vagina
- (Little bit of a gross one, but often very effective!) Imagine you have a straw coming out of your vagina into a big, thick milkshake. Imagine you’re trying to suck the milkshake up through the straw with your vagina!
Try and be mindful to exhale as you try the different imageries to contract your pelvic floor muscles. If you need help with your pelvic floor, or recovery after childbirth, then I’d love you to join my mailing list, where I send out free weekly tips on postnatal recovery & improving your pelvic health. If you enter your details below, you’ll also be sent my free download, my 12 week guide to help you recover from childbirth:
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