What Is The Pelvic Floor And How Does It Affect Your Yoga Practice?

A thin yet mighty hammock of muscles located at the base of your pelvis helps contain and support the function of your entire physical system: the pelvic floor! Some people are well acquainted with this area, and others are not. It doesn’t matter what your gender, the pelvic floor plays an integral role in maintaining your core support system and health. Closely related, the yogic perspective considers the pelvic floor integral for maintaining energy and promoting a healthy flow of life.

Your pelvic floor is made up of muscles and connective tissues that support the lower internal organs like your bladder, bowel (large intestine) and reproductive organs. These muscles help hold everything in place while also providing the flexibility to allow for bodily functions. The pelvic muscles don’t hang out alone however. They line the bottom portion of the canister that makes up your torso, and are integral to deep core strength—supporting not only the base of the body, but your back, front and sides of the abdomen as well. They rise and fall with your diaphragm—the top portion of the torso canister—and allow your body to absorb outside pressure (from lifting, coughing, etc.) in a way that protects your spine and your organs. When your pelvic floor is weak, overstretched, damaged, or chronically tight, the rest of your system has a harder time functioning as it should (cue back pain and imbalances!). It is truly an important part of our physical existence as humans!

Muladhara: The Root Chakra

Touching on the energetic and yogic perspective of the pelvic floor, we look to the Chakra system. The chakras are a series of seven energetic ‘wheels’ or swirling vortices located along the central axis of our bodies. When each of these energetic systems is in balance we experience harmony in physical health, mental state, and our day-to-day lives in general. The first chakra, Muladhara, is located at the base of the spine, and very much involves the pelvic floor. It’s often called the ‘Root Chakra’ and for good reason. Like the physical pelvic floor, it is the base support from which we can build and find stability. When this chakra is in balance, we feel comfortable and safe in our lives as we are.

So, when our physical pelvic floor is functioning as it should, with plenty of bouncy flexibility and supportive strength, our energetic systems are more likely to be balanced as well! You’ll learn more about Mula Bandha, the yogic ‘Root Lock’ for activating this area, later.

How the Pelvic Floor Affects our Physical Yoga Practice 

From the physical perspective, it’s easy to connect the pelvic floor to our postural (asana) yoga practice. If we don’t have balanced strength and flexibility in our pelvic floors, performing certain poses might prove more difficult or even uncomfortable.

Standing balance poses in particular can highlight dysfunction in the pelvic floor. We need to have engagement of these muscles while standing, to help engage our other deep stabilizing muscles of the torso and therefore help us find the strength to hold ourselves centered. If our pelvic floors are too tight and don’t have the flexibility in these muscles to allow for wobbles and the constant adaptation that balancing requires, we’ll be too stiff and fall right out of that tree pose as soon as we start to lean over.

Often, many people who have given birth, experienced trauma, or had surgery, have a weaker pelvic floor muscles, or a harder time neurally connecting to the pelvic floor. This can make yoga poses that require the recruitment of strength like utkatasana (chair pose) or navasana (boat pose) more challenging. Not only does that mean it might be harder to recruit all your leg, gluteal, or core muscles required to perform these asanas, but it can also mean that a feeling of ‘bottoming out’ is experienced—as if one’s internal organs are pressing down on the pelvic floor, or almost about to fall out. Energetically this can be thought of as a ‘leak’ spot, where one loses much of one’s energy if we’re not able to engage with it and hold the bottom of our torso canister in.

So how do we support our pelvic floors with yoga? Let’s read on. 

Poses to Help Support the Pelvic Floor

Pelvic floor dysfunction can come in all different forms, and may look different for you at different times during your life. You may use some of these poses at certain times and other times not.

For increasing flexibility, blood flow, and rebound-ability to the pelvic floor use stretching type poses accompanied by deep, slow breathing—remember, the pelvic floor is intrinsically connected to your entire core canister, and should be moving with your diaphragm as you breathe!

Great poses to stretch the pelvic floor include:

• Child’s pose (Balasana) - Imagine your sit bones spreading apart and breathe deeply. Hold for 3 - 5 minutes or more!
   
• Butterfly pose (Baddha Konasana) - The inner thigh/groin is connected to the pelvic floor and stretching this area can help with release in the pelvic floor too. Try butterfly pose seated or reclined.
   
• Cat-Cow pose (Marjaryasna-Bitilasana) - From hands and knees move gently and slowly with your breath. Focus on the pelvic floor, the stretch during ‘cow’ and slight engagement during ‘cat’. Feel the movement and reboundability of your pelvic floor.
   
• Knees to chest pose (Apanasana) - Lie on your back and hug your knees in. Breathe. This pose is also sometimes called Pawanmuktasana (Wind-Relieving Pose), so don’t be surprised if you find some release!
   
• Deep squat/Garland Pose (Malasana) - This is an excellent pose for stretching the pelvic floor. If you can’t get your heels down or feel like you might fall over, place props under your heels, or even under your bum. Stay for as long as you like.

Poses to help strengthen and engage the pelvic floor:

• Standing Balance poses! - As mentioned above, try any of your favorite, or most challenging balance poses. These might include Tree Pose, Standing-Hand-to-Big-Toe pose, Dancer’s Pose or Warrior III.
   
• Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) - Requires the combination of balance and flexibility both in the legs and pelvic floor to go deeper. Challenge yourself while maintaining a flat back, lifting your sit bones behind you while you breathe.
   
• Chair Pose (Utkatasana) - While strengthening your legs, imagine the connection between your inner thighs (you could even hold a block here) and your pelvic floor to core. Draw gently in and up through the pelvic floor to secure your torso and energy.
   
• Bridge pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) with block - Another leg and glute strengthener, calling on your integrity through the hips and core. By placing a block between your thighs, you can squeeze in to strengthen the adductor-pelvic floor connection. Don’t forget to breathe!
   
• The Root Lock (Mula Bandha) - A yogic seal which involves the pelvic floor and is very similar to kegels or strengthening exercises for this area. Learn more below! 

Mula Bandha: The Root Lock

Back to the energetic system and how the pelvic floor can help us conserve and use our energy wisely!

Mula Bandha is a fundamental yogic practice that truly connects the body to its subtle energy systems. It’s often engaged during breathwork exercises (pranayama) but can also be applied to asana and meditation practices. It involves the contraction and lifting of the pelvic floor muscles—the engagement of the bottom portion of our torso canister as described above.

For those with female anatomy, this would feel like kegel type exercises. For those with male anatomy, it’s a sense of drawing in, hugging your external parts closer to you. An easier practice for some might be to visualize stopping the flow of urine, or stopping the pass of gas.

In Mula Bandha however, this engagement is not merely a physical act. It’s a method to control and direct the flow of energy (prana) in the body, especially along the spine. By practicing Mula Bandha, we aim to lock and redirect this energy upwards. It’s a way of preventing ‘leaks’ if you will, recycling and using this energy for better purpose. The root lock also supports energy flow through the chakra system, stimulating Muladhara (the root chakra). When this system is balanced, you’ll feel a sense of security and groundedness, both physically and emotionally. Your awareness (internal and external) improves, and overall life feels more balanced. 

While practicing Mula Bandha you can contemplate areas of your life where you might be ‘leaking’ energy, or giving up too much. How can you set some boundaries to conserve your energy stores so that they are available for projects you feel called to and love?

Learn more about the Pelvic Floor on DYWM

Many of our classes on DoYogaWithMe.com have components that strengthen, stretch, and engage the pelvic floor. Try some of these options to see what works for you!

• Rachel Scott’s ‘Creating Internal Lightness’ to explore how the elusive Mula Bandha can be practiced and incorporated into all the poses of your yoga practice. Not only will practicing Mula Bandha help to create lightness and ease in your yoga practice, learning to access and tone the pelvic floor will also support your functionality in daily life.
• David’s tutorial on ‘Core Activation I: The Pelvic Floor’ will guide you through the step by step process of how to become aware of your core muscles, how to strengthen them and how to use them to protect your body from injury.
• If you’re pregnant, or looking for a more gentle on-the-belly class, Tara’s ‘Active Prenatal Series 2nd and 3rd Trimester: Mindful Core and Pelvic Floor’ is a great way to build strength and awareness by utilizing breath and visualization.
• Rachel’s ‘Pelvic Floor Health and Postnatal Care’ has new birthing parents in mind, but this beginner level class can be applied to anyone. It is designed to bring strength, awareness, and healthy tone back to the pelvic floor and deep abdominals.
• For a slightly different take on the pelvic floor, try Dawn Rabey’s ‘Kundalini Yoga for the Root Chakra’. This class will help you feel more grounded and mentally calm, as well as increasing the flow of energy from the root chakra (muladhara) through the spine and right up to the head. It will also help strengthen your pelvic floor, core and back muscles.