Engaging the PC Muscles

This post is a little, well, awkward. We're talking about the pubococcygeus muscles, also known as your pelvic floor muscles, or in yoga terms, the Mula Bandha. As I taught a Pilates mat class the other day I noticed how a few of my clients were really loose in their pelvis, letting it rock around sort of wildly, thus making their abdominal work much harder for themselves. As soon as I gave my speech about engaging the pelvic floor muscles, one woman exclaimed "Oh my gosh, this helps so much!" I think often times, especially during strenuous abdominal work, we forget to keep the pelvic floor muscles engaged and lifted, which actually makes the work a lot harder. Engaging the PC muscles stabilizes the pelvis, supports the organs of the lower abdomen, and help us to focus on developing core strength.

Childbirth, inactivity, and aging are just a few examples of what can lead to weak or even damaged PC muscles. When our pelvic floor muscles become weakened, all kinds of negative outcomes can occur--incontinence, decreased sexual satisfaction, a prolapsed uterus, and even structural imbalances in the musculature can occur, leading to abdominal or lower back pain.

So how do we engage these muscles? It's easy! Suppose you had to stop yourself from peeing. (I know, that sounds weird--just stay with me for a minute...) That muscle you pull up is your pelvic floor. So keeping that engaged and pulled up, tight into your abdomen during Pilates, yoga, or any other type of exercise will help protect and stabilize your pelvis. It will also keep that muscle strong, preventing some of the issues we discussed earlier. Kegel exercises are great too--engaging that muscle for a few seconds, releasing and repeating. People often overlook the importance of your pelvic floor, but when it's properly engaged it really does help engage those deeper abdominal muscles like the transverse abdominis.