Soften and feel the base - pelvic floor health

Thank you Cindy! so happy you experience more softness in your body. Love to you too <3

Hi Cara, it sounds like you are in a lot of pain. Have you seen your doctor about this? Especially sharp pain is a red flag in my opinion. Furthermore; how much effort have you put into this class when you did it? If you are doing this class again, maybe put 50% of effort in to see how that works out. If the pain you experience is not because of over efforting, it can be pain that resurfaces after it has been suppresssed in the body. So try to really be present with every move you make, take extra time if needed, breathe deeply and feel your body as best as you can. I hope this will help you find some answers and ways to deal with whatever is going on in your body. Good luck to you and much love. <3

Nice :)

Dear Teresa, I am ony reading your comment now... I am so sorry for all the anxiety that has been (and for many still is) a part of the lives of many. It is a great privilege that my classes bring some relief during these times. I'm sending you much love and resilience <3

Thank you dear Sandra for all the useful tips and info! I really appreciate it. I need to practice this class again with more calm and awareness on my pelvic floor. So much needed! In this time of covid, many postpartum courses are not happening and it will be very interesting to have a postpartum program on EkhartYoga to follow for new mums. My course is in delay because now fewer people can partecipate. I'm sure you could record very useful videos.

Hi dear Francesca! So good to do this class (I'm assuming this class felt right for you) I am not a pelvic expert but I would think this class would work well because you want to bring the aspect of opening up (and strengthening the pelvic floor) in your practice too. Gentle backbending might also be good since the base of the pelvis narrows naturally in back bends. Feel how it is do do classes with Goddess stance (as far as pressure on your pf) that can also stretch and strengthen the pf naturally. I am (as you can read) a fan of doing movements and poses that naturally tone the pf more so than the regular "kegel" exercises, because they can contribute to pf disfunction in the longer term. But you have to feel and decide for yourself what feels good and right! I hope this helps you a little! Much love ❤️

You are welcome, Rick

Hi Valerie, I am sorry to read about your pelvic pain and looked for classes that may help you. In these classes you may find exercises or poses that work well for you, so I would suggest to try out what speaks to you to see what might help with the pain. I have added my "The Magical Psoas" playlist because I feel the pain may also trigger a stress response in your body (muscles) that in turn may worsen your symptoms. Please let me know if any of these work, which of course, I hope they do! https://www.ekhartyoga.com/playlists/1373/the-magical-psoas-muscle https://www.ekhartyoga.com/classes/1165/self-love-practice https://www.ekhartyoga.com/classes/581/find-your-mojo Good luck!

Great! happy you like it!

You are welcome Maria!

You are so welcome, Beth!

You are so welcome. I am so happy you are getting in touch with this part of your body! Love to you X

Hi Isabel, you are welcome to take this class (if you have no pelvic floor issues) just beware of the wide legged stances so you do not put too much pressure on your pelvic floor. You can adjust these poses by placing your feet closer together. And listen to your body, she knows best!

Hi Oceane, the pelvic floor is a direct stress responder. It tenses up unconsciously as part of your autonomic nervous system's &quot;flight or fight&quot; response. As such, there is little you can do to prevent this from happening (and in itself, it is a good and healthy response to stress!) So what we can do, is become aware of tension held there and practice to relax and soften instead of battling the stress that is already there, which happens so often. This awareness may impact how we feel and act throughout our day. love to you, thanks for your comment!

Sweet &lt;3

Yes, I have found that sometimes the opposite is true to what I always believed...

You are welcome, Prapti

Hi Caroline, can you try copying and pasting the link into your search bar and seeing if that works - it's not clickable from above.

Hi Sara, I'm so happy this class did you good :) Another more gentle class with stretches is this one https://www.ekhartyoga.com/classes/4926/pelvic-and-si-joint-reset And if you feel you are holding on to a lot of emotional tension, consider my psoas classes (you can find the psoas playlist with all of them) and my stress and trauma release course on Ekhart Academy. Sending you love x

That’s strange, it does open with me! You can also search my name and “Pelvic and SI joint reset”. You will also find the class that way! Hope that helps

I tried that link and nothing opened?

Hi Char, that is a great question. No, the vaginal muscles and pelvic floor muscles are not the same, although connected. It is possible to do practices to relax the vaginal muscles, I would be happy to help you with that. If you are interested, send me an email!

You are welcome:)

Hello Diljeet, the article link is in the description! just click on it and it will take you there:)

Hi Jessica, thank you. We involuntarily hold so much tension in the body and practicing yoga can help us start to bring awareness to this and feel this.

Hi Esther, unless your doctor recommends differently, you can start to pick up more physical exercise. And this class could be perfect for you to release any tension that may have gotten into your body during delivery or postpartum. Enjoy and let me know what you experience!

Happy you liked it :)

wow, that sounds like something shifted in you... Happy for you :)

Hi Frederikke, Thanks for your comment. Sounds like you are doing something well for your pelvis and pelvic floor, when you can emotionally release and feel energy moving. I don't know what the heaviness is that you experience. If it doesn't hurt or feel like something is wrong, you might just be able to be with that feeling and see what happens. Especially if you do the class more often. If you continue to have problems or want to know more, just email me.

Thank you Mary!

Oh so nice to read! You are SO welcome:)

Hi Ola, I've fixed the link now 👍🏻 K x

Hi Ola, thank you for your comment and I am so happy this class resonates with you :) Good muscle health and tone is all about pulsation; strengthening it and relaxing it. The pelvic floor is so chronically tight for so many women that over time it wears out and becomes weak. So merely training it, won't do the trick in finding healthy tone. That was basically what the article was about ;) I will check the link, thanks for letting us know!! ❤️

Thanks Sandra I will try that next time

Hello Linn, For all poses goes that you can use blocks, bend your knees and/or lift your heels and come onto your toes (maybe with a blanket under your heels for support). I hope this helps you!

Hi Ribka, you are so welcome! May all your yoga practices help you relax!

Hi Nan, thank you, happy you like my classes:) As far as my understanding goes, the first chakra is a little higher up in the body, not at the pelvic floor. When doing the inner rotation at the top of the thigh/hip joint, the inner thigh muscles need to lengthen and &quot;tack back&quot; (as Thomas Meyers calls it), with the tilting of the pelvis, there is more emphasis on lengthening and widening (except for the low back muscles which shorten) For the more intricate details on the biomechanics, you will have to look at an anatomy book, there is not really enough space here, hahaha!! ;)

Thank you for your sweet words! I feel too that it is important that we start to address this super important area of our bodies in a way that is respectful, soft and loving &lt;3

Hi Barbara, it's so good to read that this class helps you to release tension in your pelvic floor! It's so important for the body to release and relax. Keep practicing! Namaste :)

I am thrilled to read this! Thank you for sharing, Daniela :) Much love X

Hi Tara, you have two options when you cannot straighten your legs on the floor in the Wide Legged forward bend; Bend your knees (keep your feet flexed to engage the leg muscles) and sit on a prop. Do not be afraid to &quot;build up&quot; your props; as long as you are bending forward mostly from your spine, you will need extra props. About the tension feel around te rectum I would suggest doing my psoas classes. If it is the tissue that is tight, it sounds like it may be stress/tension you are holding there. Good luck :)

Hi Julia, in addition to this class, I can also recommend my stress release class that you can find in my Magical Psoas collection ( https://www.ekhartyoga.com/classes/168/body-and-psoas-stress-release) to help your body let go of tension. This can also affect the tension in your pelvic floor. Good luck and sweet dreams!

Wonderful! Thank you!

Thanks for your suggestion, Mir - I'll share it with the EY team 🙏🏼

Hi Mir, that is a good question. I will ask the team about this. I can also try to put a class together with more accessible poses for your pelvic floor.

Thank you Sandra...then I will engage in this practice few times a week and I must see some results at some point! :)

Sandra...I have been repeating this practice and every time I am getting more awareness of my pelvic floor when it relaxes so it's working! I have another question, on the hip openers at the beginning of the class (minute 6.32) you place the right hand side inside the right foot. I find this position very comfortable and it allows me to really move my right hip (and the same when I do with the opposite hip), though I have noticed in other practices (same pose) that the hand is placed outside the foot. This I find more challenging. Is there a specific reason as to why the hand is placed either inside or outside? Thank you in advance! T :)

Hi Teresa, thank you for your comment and question. Yes, a LOT, if not most practices and exercises are about strengthening and pulling up the pelvic floor. From my own (other) work as a trauma release facilitator and from some female pelvic health experts I have learnt that we tend to hold a lot of tension in the pelvic floor (related to emotional/mental stress or trauma). This can result in hyper-tension that, if not released over time, leads to hypo-tension. So from the chronic cramping of the muscles which the body cannot sustain, it goes in the opposite direction where the muscles weaken. So, in my opinion, we first need to learn to release tension in the pelvic floor. From that release, the body will naturally "train" the muscles again in your everyday movement, yoga etc. This way the muscles become "juicy" again by the natural pulsation of engagement-release. I hope that clarifies things!

hi Teresa, placing your hand inside the front leg in a lunge will give you more space so you can move around better. To place the hand on the outside well you have to have the space in your front hip, particular your groin and glutes and hamstrings. You can always play with the variation in other lunges too, if that feels better for you. :)

That's wonderful! So happy you feel the effects of the breathing :)

That's so good to read! Keep practicing and reach out to me if you need more guidance with this! X

Thank you!

Thank you!

Hi Angela, unfortunately I don't... I have my knowledge from all sorts of different sources but no book.... if you find one, please let me know!