5 Pelvic Floor Exercises for Beginners

The pelvic floor sounds like something extremely complex and perhaps unknown. But the truth is, it’s a group of muscles just like the ones in your thigh or your shoulder. Each have different individual functions, but they work together to help support your organs, improve sexual function, allow for bladder and bowel control, and stabilize your hips as you walk and do your normal daily activities. So, it’s time to show a little love to your pelvic floor.

A disclaimer: I have an extreme dislike of those videos on social media that make promises to “cure your knee pain with this one exercise.” Without a comprehensive evaluation, they actually have no idea what could be causing your knee pain, and therefore cannot prescribe a miracle exercise. With that being said, this guide makes no promises to cure headaches or help you save $100 on your car insurance. This is just an easy list to refer to when you are looking to get started on your pelvic floor health.

• Walking

We know walking is an overall great exercise. But did you know there are also benefits to your pelvic floor involved? Walking strengthens the muscles that help support the pelvic floor including your core and glute muscles, while the reciprocal movement of your legs helps to reduce tension and muscle holding in your pelvic floor.

• Happy Baby

This is easily one of my favorite all-time exercises. It feels great overall, and it helps promote pelvic floor relaxation. In order to set up for strengthening exercises, it can be beneficial to practice relaxation first to allow for the proper length-tension relationship (see here for more information on this!) One of the key things to focus on during this exercise is to keep breathing - as you inhale, imagine your pelvic floor relaxing and letting go of tension. It may take a few tries to get the hang of it!

To do the happy baby pose, lay down on your back and grab hold of the outside of your feet, while bringing your knees into your armpits. If this isn’t possible, grab the outside of your thighs. Focus on taking deep breaths and releasing any tightness in your pelvic floor.

• Kegels

Ahh, kegels. We’ve all heard of them (probably.) It can be extremely hard to do them correctly, as the goal is to contract just the pelvic floor and not the surrounding musculature. The mechanism of the exercise is to contract the muscles that stop the flow of urine and stop gas from passing simultaneously.

This may sound strange, but hear me out - one of the best ways to ensure you are doing this correctly is to take a hand mirror and look at your pelvic floor as you are practicing. Is your pelvic floor moving as you contract? Is it relaxing back to normal when you let go, or does it stay engaged? Are you able to hold the contraction, or does it fatigue quickly? This may be a sign you could benefit from pelvic floor PT.

• Squats

Squats are such a great, all-around functional exercise that I would be remiss to leave them off of the list. Besides the great benefits like strengthening your quads and glutes, practicing these ensures you continue to do activities like stand up from a chair/the toilet/go up and down the stairs independently. And who doesn’t want that?

To perform a squat correctly, make sure your feet are hip width distance apart, and bring your hips down and back as if you were going to sit in a chair. If you are having some balance difficulties, hold onto a counter for support! Modify them to include pelvic floor strengthening by trying to contract and lift your pelvic floor as you stand up from the squat.

• Bridges

Bridges are another exercise that it feels like we all know about, but rarely do them. Even as a PT, I forget to keep up with my bridges at the gym. But, they are excellent for lower body and pelvic floor strengthening.

To perform a bridge correctly, lay down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Press through your heels and lift your hips up to the ceiling, while at the same time gently engaging your pelvic floor as you lift. Make sure to relax fully as you lower to the ground.

• Body Scan Meditation (bonus!!)

Okay, I admit this one is technically not an exercise. However. I LOVE body scans, because sometimes we aren’t even aware of the tension we hold in our bodies, especially our pelvic floor. Research shows that during stressful events, our upper traps muscles as well as our pelvic floor muscles are activated. A good indication you may want to check in with your body, is if your shoulders are up to your ears. That may mean your pelvic floor is clenched as well!

There are many ways to go about a body scan. However, the basic principles involve finding a comfortable position, taking calm breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth, closing your eyes if that feels okay, and taking stock in each part of your body from head to toe. This can take 30 seconds, or 5 minutes, whatever you have the time for.

I hope this was helpful! Remember, these are just a guide, and should not be taken as medical advice.