Stretch THE Pelvic floor

I mention to my yoga classroom as a whole, if you are a man having to get up in the middle of the night to urinate,

you may be experiencing one of the first symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction.

- And know we should not tolerate having interrupted sleep.

First alignment suggestion?

Relax the pubic bone, let it drop and never ‘tuck’ the tail. We don’t want to shorten these muscles any more.

Practising Mula Bandha -

Subtle (lift) vs Gross (clench) action.

It is important to remember that activation of these muscles is not a gross, largely physical movement but more of a subtle one.

When discussing with my anatomy students how to teach a student the subtle sensations of Mula Bandha I talk about three parts:

Practise Ashwini Mudra.

The contraction of the anal sphincter, as if stopping your poop.🙂

Practise Vajroli Mudra.

The contraction of the urethra, as if stopping the stream of your pee.😊

Practice Mula Bandha.

The gentle upward tug in your perineum (the space between the genitals and the anus).

Draw ‘space’ gently upward.

Essential alignment practices also include breathing and working with the feet, loosening the hips, rising upward and inversions. These too are vital alignment principles to name a few.

An integrated, consistent not aggressive, Yoga practice can be the cure for pelvic floor dysfunction.

Causes? Sitting.

At work, driving home, riding a bike, stair climber, soft chairs, sitting eating dinner, sitting while unwinding for the night. A never ending hip flexion in a soft chair.

Start a yoga program pay attention to your feet,

do Back bends (not like you think) do retraction work for your spine.

Include stretches for hip flexion, hip extensions, hip hyperextensions.

Basically walk. Walk Second toes straight ahead.

Avoid sitting longer than 20 minutes. Stand walk move minimal 2 minutes every 20. You must stretch. Full squats with heels staying on the ground.

Yoga is the only cure.

Some life style adjustments include sitting on something firm in your auto and other personal life enhancing ideas like being barefoot.

Lastly, become Plant based and eliminate pain and dysfunction helping us live a pharmaceutical free life.