A strong but flexible pelvic diaphragm in women is a very important part of the body. It allows not only to fully carry offspring, it is easy to give birth, but also to maintain the health of the genitourinary system to a very old age, without fear of the many problems associated with this site.
Pelvic floor muscles
The muscular-fascial septum is called the diaphragm of the pelvis, thus indicating the importance of this site for the entire structure of the human body. It is located in the perineum, between the pubic bone and the pubic bone, lining the entire inner surface between the pelvic bones, forming something similar to a stretched fabric, like an awning or a hammock.
This place consists of three levels:
- Muscles that lift the anus (one of the most important in the described septum).
- Genitourinary diaphragm, which regulates the process of urination.
- The joints of the external muscles protecting this zone, as well as controlling the small movements of the pelvic bones.
Women in the structure of the pelvic day are significantly different from men, because they have to give birth to a child, which means that the passage for him should be optimal. Therefore, in men, the pelvic diaphragm is a fairly dense muscle zone, and in women, on the contrary, the uterus and bladder are practically not protected and are not supported.
Is it worth mentioning once again that with age all muscles weaken, losing strength and elasticity.
Why strengthen the pelvic diaphragm
If this hammock of muscles and tendons loses elasticity, strength and sags, then the woman has unpleasant symptoms:
- Urinary incontinence during stress or fright.
- Incontinence during sneezing, a sharp cough or a strong jump, as well as lifting significant weights.
- The prolapse or prolapse of the pelvic organs, popularly called "prolapse of the uterus."
- Circulatory disorders in these organs.
- Inability to bear a child during pregnancy.
- Loss of sensitivity in intimacy.
- Pain in the lower back, sacrum, and in the sacroiliac joint.
Having studied these points, it is not difficult to understand that the diaphragm of the pelvis is the most important part of the female body, which also needs to be paid attention. That is, it needs to be trained to maintain a healthy tone, avoiding the unnecessary consequences of muscle weakness.
A simple exercise to tone up
The muscles of the pelvic diaphragm can be easily “pumped” using the well-known Kegel exercise, named after the American obstetrician, who came up with how to help women restore the elasticity of the pelvic floor muscles. To do this, it is recommended to strain the muscles of the perineum for 10-15 minutes daily. There are three stages in total:
- Initial level: lying on your back with bent and divorced legs, try to reduce the muscles of the pelvic floor, without lifting the sacrum from the floor and not lowering the hips. Repeat the same thing, standing on all fours and lying on your stomach, bending one leg to the side (repeat on both sides). The process consists in rhythmic contraction and relaxation, trying to create maximum effort.
- Intermediate level: body position is the same, but the rhythm of contraction changes. Now you need to try to reduce the pelvic floor and keep in tension as much as possible without relaxing the muscles.
- A high level is the ability to reduce and hold the diaphragm of the pelvis in a variety of positions, movement, and especially when carrying heavy loads up to 20 kg. Who reaches this level may not worry at all about the health of this area.
How to understand what exactly needs to be reduced?
Even if you study in detail the anatomy of the pelvic diaphragm using medical atlases, encyclopedia pictures and other sources, it’s still not entirely clear how to contract these muscles, or rather: how to understand that what is needed is straining?
Yoga teachers who actively use the pelvic floor muscles in the practice of asanas in every class have a few simple explanations:
- Try to bring the sciatic tubercles and the pubic bone closer to the coccyx, and at the same time - this will be the first stage of awareness of the diaphragm.
- Tighten those muscles with which a person stops urinating, that is, imagine that you really want to go to the toilet, but you can’t. This is how the necessary muscles work.
- Bring the hip joints together without moving your legs, while imagining that the crotch rises to the navel, like on an elevator.
Mula Bandha in Yoga Practice
Pulling the perineal muscles upward and contracting the muscles of the pelvic day in combination with the movement of the sciatic tubercles to each other in yoga practice is called muscle mula bandha or root lock (bandha - in Sanskrit, “lock”, mule - “root”). This yoga movement not only strengthens the internal muscles of the pelvis, but also contributes to the lifting of energy upward, therefore, mula bandha is one of the most important aspects of yoga practice, without which no full-fledged lesson is possible.
In which asanas is the pelvic floor ideal to work out?
The simplest but very important asanas for activating the mula bandha are as follows:
- Ardha navasana - lying on your back, tear your shoulder blades and hips off the floor, while pressing the lower back firmly into the floor, deliberately rounding the lower spine and straining the abs muscles. The muscles of the perineum are actively retracted inward.
- Setu bandha - a half-bridge pose - lying on your back, push your shoulders and feet off the floor and raise your hips and rib cage, trying to direct the pubic bone to the chest and tighten the crotch.
- The well-known pose of the strap is also a great way to feel the diaphragm of the pelvis, activating it in various versions of this exercise.
It is thanks to the modest but powerful work of the muscular-fascial septum described in the article that the health of organs is unbreakable and stable, especially of the genitourinary system.