Deep Core & Pelvic Floor: A How-To Guide

$0.00

Learning how to engage your deep core and pelvic floor muscles is an essential skill for pelvic health. Start by practicing with your breath - inhale and relax, exhale and contract, making sure to relax fully between repetitions. If you try to engage at 100%, your compensatory strategy will win every time, so decrease the force of contraction until you can engage these muscles in isolation. Some people struggle to engage their core without overactive obliques when lying down or sitting. If this sounds like you, try practicing on your hands and knees against the pull of gravity. If you tend to grip your abdominal or pelvic floor muscles, you might benefit from massage or cupping to the abdomen and diaphragm first. My favorite cues for the deep core are to imagine an ice cube on your lower abs and pull away from it, or "sip then zip" - engage the pelvic floor first then zip up the abdominals second. For the pelvic floor, imagine a ripple in water but backwards - start the contraction from the tailbone and move inward towards the vagina. To relax, do the opposite.

Learning how to engage your deep core and pelvic floor muscles is an essential skill for pelvic health. Start by practicing with your breath - inhale and relax, exhale and contract, making sure to relax fully between repetitions. If you try to engage at 100%, your compensatory strategy will win every time, so decrease the force of contraction until you can engage these muscles in isolation. Some people struggle to engage their core without overactive obliques when lying down or sitting. If this sounds like you, try practicing on your hands and knees against the pull of gravity. If you tend to grip your abdominal or pelvic floor muscles, you might benefit from massage or cupping to the abdomen and diaphragm first. My favorite cues for the deep core are to imagine an ice cube on your lower abs and pull away from it, or "sip then zip" - engage the pelvic floor first then zip up the abdominals second. For the pelvic floor, imagine a ripple in water but backwards - start the contraction from the tailbone and move inward towards the vagina. To relax, do the opposite.