Pelvic Floor Rehab-Energetic Connections

An aspect of my approach to bodywork is looking at emotional stressors or energetics and how that contributes to someone’s pain patterns. I always say, there are a lot of crooked people out there, but not all of them are in pain.

The root chakra and sacral chakra come into play with the pelvic floor. The root chakra can close off with anything that involves fear. I think all of us can agree that we’ve felt some amount of this over 2020-21. Any history of abuse or trauma, at any point in life, can contribute to issues in the root. Fear usually involves the breath to tighten, and as we’ve discussed, the breath mirrors into the pelvic floor. If the root gets closed off, it shuts off connection to the feet. I often feel that a lot of knee/foot issues are not just about the pelvic floor in terms of mechanics, but also this holding from current or past fear patterns.

The root is also all about stability. So any type of lack-of-safety feelings would play into dysfunction here as well. This could be financial, physical or emotional.

The sacral chakra obviously involves sexuality, but also creativity and sensuality. If you don’t feel safe, how can you feel like you have the energy or bandwidth the be creative or truly yourself?

You can bring more opening and awareness to these areas by visualizing the sphincters of the pelvic floor opening up like a valve and that water is coming down the legs. If color is your thing, the corresponding colors are red for the root and orange for the sacral.

Take this for a walk and you can visualize those colors going down one leg, back up and over to the other leg like a light up yo-yo. Check in with your body and see as you put those colors in your mind’s eye, are they vibrant? If they start off more dusky or dark, let the old stuff drop out of your feet and into the ground. Then as the light comes back up the leg, can it be a bit brighter? If you continue to do this, the colors will become clearer and you’ll feel better—promise.

This is my favorite book on energetic systems. The author connections modern psychology with the chakra system. It’s a great balance of ‘woo woo’ and philosophy.

Why I Hate Kegels

Just about every woman out there has had her doctor prescribe Kegel exercises--hold your urine flow for a few seconds to strengthen your pelvic floor. I see Kegels as a constipation view to strengthening the pelvic floor because they encourage bracing and holding in an area that is often too tight. Plus, Kegels are more often emphasized for women over men when we all need strong and flexible pelvic muscles. More about that here. If we all think pelvic floor health=Kegels, we lose the sense of how these muscles are connected to other movement in everyday life. To me, the pelvic floor is more than just your elimination muscles, it includes all the muscles of your pelvis that support your torso and posture--this includes your rear.

One of my favorite pelvic floor exercises is a squat because it works the pelvic floor in a large range-of-motion. This way, you're getting stretching on the way down and strengthening on the way up. Think of squats as coming from the bones of your pelvis to kick these muscles into gear. 

Don't feel like you need to go all the way down into a full squat if it doesn't feel good in your body. Many folks can't because of knee or hip pain. Try holding onto something, or putting something underneath your heels, and you may find you can get lower to the floor. As you descend, these muscles are stretching and opening like an umbrella. When you stand up, they contract and come closer together like the closing of an umbrella.

If you think about it, we squat every time we sit down. With a bit of mindfulness and maybe some props, you can reconnect with your pelvic floor and use it to sit down and stand up. No more plopping on the couch!

Pilates is a great modality to strengthen the pelvis for everyday movement. This includes strengthening your inner and outer thighs, which are critical for balance.  I love working with clients to rehab their pelvic floors because it's an area of much importance, and for many of us, an area of much trauma. If you've had any abuse in your past, sexual or otherwise, regardless of gender...it may be difficult for you to feel these muscles (read more about this here). This is why I love working one-on-one with clients. In a private session, you're in an environment where it is safe to go here, to connect and to heal, bringing a true sense of self. It brings me to tears when I get to witness this transformation and see my clients discover how much power they have. Love the pelvic floor!!!!

Loosen Your Pelvic Floor, Open Your Root Chakra!

When we hear "pelvic floor" it's usually with regard to women who have had children and how their pelvic floors become weak or distended. Years go by and then there's a new wave of pelvic floor awareness with prostate issues or pelvic organ prolapse. Based on my work with clients, I find tight pelvic floors to be super common due to stress and prolonged hours of sitting which contribute to lower back and hip pain/tightness.

What is the pelvic floor, exactly?

I see it as more than just our elimination muscles. If you were wearing brief underwear as in the photo, your pelvic muscles are in contact with fabric. So, there's three main sections:

• Front-lower abs, the little triangle between your hip sockets and pubic bone
• Undercarriage-elimination muscles and connective tissue
• Back-hip rotational muscles, gluteals

How does the pelvic floor tighten?

Sitting, feeling stressed and holding our breath. I wrote more about this in detail here. If you're prone to sucking in your stomach or have suffered from digestive issues, these muscles would also become chronically tense.

In addition to stress-holding, we can also have some unresolved emotional issues that can cause these muscles to restrict and hold.

What the heck is a 'root chakra'?

You can look at chakras as being areas of the body that emotionally (energetically) represent certain things we all face in life. In the case of the root chakra, it correlates to things that are foundational to our being--safety, security (including financial), family/clan identity and physical health. Issues here can come from not just our personal experience, but from the experiences of our family members. SO, pretty much everyone has crap to work through in this chakra.

Fear is a big factor in holding patterns here including, pelvic floor tightness. If we're constantly bracing for something to happen or afraid that there won't be enough, the muscles of the pelvis respond to that emotional outlook. Origins of that fear can include:

• Abuse, including abandonment or neglect
• Poverty, war
• Major personal illness or in your family
• Not having good personal boundaries so we're constantly at the whim of others' actions
• Inherited trauama and issues from our families

How can you shift these patterns?

Physically, you can practice relaxing these muscles.

In my one-on-one sessions with clients we discover where you're holding physically and emotionally and then intentionally create space there. I construct a series of exercise sequences to reinforce a new pattern in your body that doesn't involve bracing or restriction. With repetition, your body generates a new neurological pattern via flow instead of holding. To reconnect with your root chakra and maintain a relaxed pelvic floor day-to-day, try these tips.

• Breathe and feel the breath connect down to your pelvic floor. I wrote more about that here.
• Do things that honor your body and its health.
• Celebrate what you already have in your life--these things may not be material or tangible.
• Find and connect with a community to feel a sense of belonging.
• Go outside and put your bare feet in the ground. Feel how you are a living being!