Muscles of the Female Perineum
by Nina
Your pelvic floor (also called the pelvic diaphragm) consists of muscles and connective tissue that create a hammock-like structure across the bottom of your pelvic cavity. The pelvic floor muscles include the levator ani and the coccygeus muscles. Your pelvic floor muscles support your pelvic organs (including the bladder, the rectum, and female reproductive organs), keeping them in position. They also assist in both urinary and fecal continence because they connect to the urinary and anal sphincters.
Both men and women have pelvic floors! And when the pelvic floor muscles are weak or damaged due to childbirth or surgery in women, this can result in incontinence. In her post Urinary Incontinence, Shelly Prosko wrote that over one third of men and women between the ages of 30-70 years old experience urinary incontinence (the inability to control the bladder) at some point in their lives.
Although women tend to be more aware of and concerned about their pelvic floors, a significant number of men suffer from weak pelvic floor muscles. In fact, in his post Proof of the Effectiveness of Yoga for Urinary Incontinence, Ram said that women experience urinary incontinence at a rate of only twice as much as men.
For women, weak or damaged pelvic floor muscles, often as a result of childbirth or surgery, can also cause pelvic organ prolapse, when one or more organs shift out of place due to lack of proper support.
By now I think you’re guessing that if muscles are involved, yoga can help! And it turns out that over the years, we’ve compiled quite a lot of material on the pelvic floor. I’ve divided the posts into three sections so you can easily find what you’re looking for: incontinence, organ prolapse, and general pelvic health issues.
Bonus: On the plus side, strengthening your pelvic floor could help improve orgasms.
Incontinence
Proof of the Effectiveness of Yoga for Urinary Incontinence
In this post, Ram Rao discusses an evidence-based study that showed, among other things, that women who did yoga experienced an overall 70% reduction in the frequency of urine leakage, in both total and stress-type incontinence. Because the sequence used in the study was designed by Leslie Howard and Judith Lasater, we included photos of the poses in this post.
In this post, physical therapist and yoga teacher Shelly Prosko discusses the two main types of urinary incontinence: stress and urge. To treat urinary incontinence properly, it is important to know the difference between the two, and to know which one you may have or whether you have a combination of both. She also makes recommendations for yoga poses and practices that will help with both conditions.
In this post, Shelly Prosko shares more yoga poses and physical therapy exercises you can use to address incontinence issues. Although these poses are not specific to a particular individual’s needs, they address some of the overall body alignment, tightness, and weakness issues surrounding common pelvic floor dysfunctions.
Three Types of Incontinence in Women and How Yoga Can Help
In this post, Leslie Howard discusses stress incontinence, urge incontinence, and mixed incontinence, and describes how yoga can help with each condition.
Organ Prolapse
In this post, Shelly Prosko discusses the role that yoga can play in the management of reproductive organ prolapse, and she also identifies the poses, movements, and breathing methods that could potentially exacerbate the condition.
Friday Q&A: Organ Prolapse and Intra-Abdominal Pressure
In this post, Shelly Prosko answers a reader’s question to better explain her perspective about re-evaluating the use of Uddiyana Bandha for organ prolapse.
In this post, Baxter Bell answer’s a reader’s question about vaginal prolapse and vaginal hysterectomy with background information about both vaginal prolapse and hysterectomy and the relationship between the two, and makes a few recommendations about how yoga could help.
Pelvic Health
The Truth About Kegels: They’re Not for Everyone!
In this post, Leslie Howard has an important message about Kegel exercises! She says that while there is certainly a role for Kegel exercises for pelvic health, it’s just one tool, which cannot, and should not, be used across the board. It may even be harmful when used inappropriately. You wouldn’t use the hammer to fix the delicate heirloom tea set you inherited from your grandma, would you? Likewise, Kegels can be harmful for pelvic pain, some forms of incontinence, and—believe it or not—some prolapses. Leslie writes about when Kegels are useful—and when they are not—and describes how to perform them correctly.
In this post Shelly Prosko answers a reader’s question about an often under-diagnosed condition in both men and women that is characterized by varicose veins in the pelvic region and provides suggestions for how yoga can help.
The Healthy Way to Sit on the Toilet
In this post, Leslie Howard explains why it is better to squat when pooping rather than sitting like you are in a chair. And she gives several options for how to do this, along with yoga poses for getting more comfortable squatting.
The Benefits of Practicing a “Toilet Meditation”
In this post, Shelly Prosko discusses how poor toileting habits could contribute to problems associated with not fully emptying the bowel or bladder, or to issues related to a non-relaxing pelvic floor, where the pelvic floor muscles are over-recruited and not fully relaxing or releasing as they should during voiding. She says that being fully present and aware of our body, breath, mind, and emotions when we use the toilet can potentially help relax the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs), resulting in successfully completing our task. The post includes a video of her guiding you through a “toilet meditation.”
Stabilizing the Core Starts with the Pelvic Floor
In this post, Leslie Howard provides information about your core—which includes the pelvic floor—and provides instructions for practicing a yoga pose that can bring awareness to and strengthen the pelvic floor.
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