How to relax the pelvic floor muscles
When we talk about the pelvic floor, we often mention strengthening the pelvic floor by contracting it. However, it is just as important to know how to relax the pelvic floor muscle and release them. But how to relax your pelvic floor musles ? There are pelvic floor relaxation exercises and breathing techniques to specifically work on relaxation to have full control of your pelvic floor.
The Pelvic Floor: What You Need to Know
The pelvic floor, more commonly known as the perineum, is a key element of female anatomy. Located in the pelvis, it is composed of a set of ligaments and muscles. All these elements are interconnected and interact continuously with every movement of the body.
The functions of the pelvic floor are numerous. It supports organs, especially the pelvic organs, keeping them in place. It controls the sphincters and therefore the opening and closing of the urethra and rectum. Finally, the perineum also plays a role in sexual pleasure: the toner it is, the more intense sensations you can experience.
Why Practice Pelvic Floor Relaxation?
One key to maintaining a healthy perineum is to regularly practice relaxation and release exercises. These exercises are particularly useful for women who experience tensions or discomfort in the perineal area.
Indeed, when the pelvic floor is too contracted or hypertonic, many unpleasant problems can arise, such as:
- Vaginismus
- Pelvic pain, such as dyspareunia
- Urinary or fecal incontinence
- Constipation
- Pain in the pelvis or back
Relaxing the pelvic floor muscles is an essential step in resolving many pelvic problems. If you experience any of the issues mentioned above, do not hesitate to seek help from a healthcare professional.
The Different Perineal Relaxation Exercises
Perineal rehabilitation is done through specific exercises, such as Kegel exercises, to strengthen this part of the body. They involve a contraction phase and a relaxation phase.
These two phases are related, it is only by learning to contract one’s pelvic floor well that one can learn to relax it, and vice versa.
If you want to calm and relax your perineum at home, Paul Grandemange, physiotherapist specialized in pelvic floor training, suggests 4 different exercises that you can do.
Belly breathing: an essential technique
To learn how to relax your perineum, we first recommend mastering abdominal breathing. This is none other than breathing through the belly.
It consists of inflating the abdomen while breathing, rather than the chest or thorax. The rib cage will then open up more, allowing the lungs to fully expand and ensure better oxygenation of the body.
How to proceed? For the first time, do the exercise lying down, with your eyes closed. Place one hand on the belly and the other on the chest to better feel the breathing movements.
Inhale for 5 seconds, feeling your belly expand to the maximum. Then exhale slowly through the mouth for 5 seconds, emptying the belly as much as possible. Repeat ten times or until you feel relaxation spreading through you.
💡 The physical therapist’s advice: over time, you can increase the inhalation and exhalation time to 10 seconds and even do this exercise sitting or standing. The pelvic floor follows the breathing movement. So, deep and calm breathing will help you achieve relaxation of the perineum.
Yoga: child’s pose
Yoga is known for its poses, and many of them aim to relax the person. It turns out that the child’s pose is an excellent relaxation exercise for the pelvic floor!
Start on your knees on a mat and sit on your heels and ankles. Slowly lower the upper body to the mat, placing the forehead on the floor. Place the hands on each side of the body, under the forehead or at the front of the body. With closed eyes, breathe calmly and hold this position for a minute or two.
💡 Physical therapist’s advice: when coming out of this position, lie on your back. Relax your body as a whole. Your legs are straight and about a meter apart. Your hands are calmly placed on either side of your body. Turn your palms towards the sky. This posture will help you completely relax.
Free Pelvic floor guide
Find out how to strengthen your pelvic floor to prevent bladder weakness and improve intimate pleasure! 💥
Body awareness to relax and release the pelvic floor
The body scan is also an effective tool to relax the body and the pelvic floor. One of the objectives of the body scan is to become aware of one’s body and enter a state of physical and mental relaxation.
Among other things, this allows you to slow down your breathing, reduce stress, and consciously and fully relax all your muscles.
During the body scan, you will pay particular attention to each part of your body, one after the other, and observe the current sensations. These sensations can be of different types, such as the feeling of the skin contact with clothes or a sensation of warmth or coolness.
Being fully aware of each part of the body will help you pay particular attention to the pelvic floor region and become aware of sensations, tensions, and any potential pains.
💡 Physical therapist’s advice: make yourself comfortable, ignore the noises around you, and start your scan! Many meditation mobile apps offer body scans. Feel free to use one as a guide.
Practice this exercise as often as possible and consider including it in a routine. For example, every evening before bed, take 5 minutes to do a body scan to work on overall relaxation of your body and muscles.
Using a connected kegel trainer to visualize relaxation
In addition to traditional pelvic floor relaxation exercises, using a connected probe can also be an interesting approach to visualize and improve relaxation of the pelvic floor.
The Emy kegel trainer, for example, is designed for home use. It provides real-time feedback on pelvic floor muscle activity thanks to its innovative biofeedback technology.
Comment travailler son relâchement avec une sonde connectée ?
La sonde connectée Emy est dotée de capteurs de pression capable de détecter les mouvements du périnée. Il est alors possible de surveiller son relâchement périnéal directement sur son smartphone, via une application dédiée.
C’est une réelle expérience interactive qui permet de voir comment les muscles réagissent aux différentes techniques de relaxation.
How to work on relaxation with a connected kegel trainer?
The key advantage of the Emy kegel trainer is real-time visualization of relaxation. This solution offers concrete, live visual feedback during relaxation exercises.
You can adjust your technique and maximize the benefits of perineal relaxation.
💡 Physical therapist’s tip: although the use of connected probes is a more advanced option, it can be particularly beneficial for those seeking a personalized, guided approach to their pelvic floor training. In fact, the Emy offers an “Advanced” mode with different levels of difficulty for performing pelvic floor relaxation exercises.
