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Yoga Asanas to Restore the Pelvic Floor
 A
healthy
pelvic floor is crucial for every woman at all stages of her
life.
Aging and sedentary lifestyle tend to influence the health
of pelvic area.
Bringing tone and vitality to this area will help protect you
from many problems that might occur. By exercising your pelvic
floor you will help to strengthen the muscles which support the
urethra, bladder, uterus and rectum. In turn this could
dramatically alleviate urinary
incontinence,
support childbirth and
discourage pelvic
disease and menstrual
problems.
Below are few yoga asanas, to help restore hypertonic pelvic
floor
-
Lie prone on the floor. Stretch your legs back, with the tops of your
feet on the floor.
-
Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your waist so
that your forearms are relatively perpendicular to the floor.
-
Inhale and press your inner hands firmly into the floor and slightly
back, as if you were trying to push yourself forward along the floor. Then
straighten your arms and simultaneously lift your torso up and your legs a
few inches off the floor on an inhalation.
-
Keep the thighs firm
and slightly turned inward, the arms firm
and turned out so the elbow creases face forward. Press the tailbone toward
the pubis and lift the pubis toward the navel. Narrow the hip points. Firm
but don't harden the buttocks. Firm the shoulder blades against the back and
puff the side ribs forward.
-
Lift through the top of the sternum but avoid pushing the front ribs
forward, which only hardens the lower back. Look straight ahead or tip the
head back slightly, but take care not to compress the back of the neck and
harden the throat.
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation
sequence. You can also practice this pose individually, holding it anywhere from
15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Release back to the floor or lift into Adho
Mukha Svanasana with an exhalation.
-
Stand in Tadasana.
Place your hands on your hips, with your thumbs on your thumbs on your back
and your fingers on the front of the hips. Inhale, and spread your feet 1.2m
(4ft) apart. Your feet should be parallel to each other, the toes pointing
forward. Press the outer edges of your feet to the floor. Keep your back
erect.
-
Exhale, and lift both kneecaps. Bend forward, extending your spine, and
bring your torso down toward the floor. Look up as you bend to ensure that
your back is concave. Take both hands off your hips, and lower them to the
floor. Place your palms flat on the floor with your fingers spread out.
-
Widen your elbows, keeping your palms flat on the floor. Place the crown
of your head on the floor, between your palms. Push your sternum forward and
draw the abdomen in. Move the thighbones and groin back to reduce the
pressure on your head. Stay in the pose for 1 minute.
-
Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
-
 Stand in Tadasana, hands on hips. Exhale and bend forward from the hip
joints, not from the waist.
As you descend draw the front torso out of the groins and open the space
between the pubis and top sternum. As in all the forward bends, the emphasis
is on lengthening the front torso as you move more fully into the position.
-
If possible, with your knees straight, bring your palms or finger tips
to the floor slightly in front of or beside your feet, or bring your palms
to the backs of your ankles. If this isn't possible, cross your forearms and
hold your elbows. Press the heels firmly into the floor and lift the sitting
bones toward the ceiling. Turn the top thighs slightly inward.
-
With each inhalation in the pose, lift and lengthen the front torso just
slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward
bend. In this way the torso oscillates almost imperceptibly with the breath.
Let your head hang from the root of the neck, which is deep in the upper
back, between the shoulder blades.
-
Uttanasana can be used as a resting position between the standing poses.
Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. It can also be practiced as a
pose in itself.
-
Don't roll the spine to come up. Instead bring your hands back onto your
hips and reaffirm the length of the front torso. Then press your tailbone
down and into the pelvis and come up on an inhalation with a long front
torso.
-
In Tadasana, take a few moments to establish your center. Find a point
to gaze at either at eye level or on the floor. Shift your weight onto one
leg.
-
Inhale and bend the knee of the other leg, bringing it backwards and
grab hold of the ankle or foot with the hand of the same side. Take a moment
to balance and then move the knees so they are in alignment with the hip
joints. Hold here and breathe into the stretch from the abdominal muscles
into the quadriceps.
-
Inhale and extend the arm of opposite side-body directly up from the
shoulder, towards the sky. Feel the energy move all the way through the
fingertips. Hold here for several breaths. You may want to remain in this
phase of the posture and work up to the final pose.
-
To move further, simultaneously lengthen the arm and torso up and
forward while the opposite leg lengthens back and up. In the final posture
the thigh becomes parallel to the floor and the torso at an angle to the
floor.
-
As you hold the pose, breathe into the stretch on the inhalation and
relax on the exhalation, creating an equal and opposite stretch forward
through the arm and backward through the leg. Allow your gaze to rest
slightly above the horizon.
-
Slowly bring the torso back to center. Release the bent knee and stand
in Tadasana.
-
 Kneel in Virasana and
place a bolster behind you, the short end touching your buttocks. Place a
rolled blanket on the far end. Make sure that the inner sides of your feet
touch hips. Keep your back straight. Place your fingers on the floor beside
your toes.
-
Press your palms on the floor, bend both elbows, and lean back toward
the bolster. Place your elbows and forearms, one at a time, on the floor.
Gradually lower your back onto the bolster. To avoid strain in the pelvic
area or the thighs, ensure that your knees remain firmly on the floor.
-
Once you lower your back onto the bolster, rest the back of your head on
the rolled blanket. Keep your chest fully expanded. Press your shoulder
blades down on the bolster to lift your chest . Extend your toes and ankles
toward the bolster. Push your feet closer to your hips with your hands.
Extend the pelvis, and press your thighs close together.
-
Move your arms out to the sides, with the palms facing upward. Extend
your neck, but keep your throat relaxed. Drop your eyelids down gently.
Experience the relaxation of
the thighs and the abdomen, and the lift of the chest. Feel the continuous
stretch from the cervical spine to the tailbone. Initially, stay in the pose
for 1 minute. With practice, increase the duration to 5 - 10 minutes.
-
Lie on your side with your buttocks close to wall
-
Slowly inhale and exhale, then when you are exhaling turn your body and
move your legs up to the wall at the same time so that you create a
90-degree angle at your pelvis between your legs and body
-
Stay in this pose for a few minutes inhaling and exhaling slowly.
Regular practice of these asanas will strengthen the pelvic floor muscle and
improve blood circulation to the pelvic area. Increased blood circulation,
combined with strengthened muscles, work together to improve and regain
vitality.
Also, aim to practice diaphragmatic breathing lying
down with sandbags on the thighs.
Dated 21 September 2012
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