I recently shared on my stories that one of the symptoms of hypertonic pelvic floor dysfunction is that you might feel the urge to pee all the time and feeling like you have a hard time emptying your bladder properly, and I wanted to touch more on that. I live with hypertonic pelvic floor dysfunction, and when I don't tend to my pelvic floor as much through breath, movement, and body awareness, I get the urge to pee All The Time, and especially before going to bed. I often feel that my bladder isn't empty and then I have a hard time relaxing and falling asleep due to that. I know that I am not alone in this, and I wanted to share some tips and tricks, as well as some yoga poses you can do to be able to find more softness and relax your pelvic floor a little bit easier.
I can feel my pelvic floor not relaxing when my mind has tricked me into thinking my bladder isn't empty. So I trick my mind right back - I'm sneaky like that. If I find it very hard to relax my pelvic floor because I think I'm gonna pee myself, I place a towel under me. This creates some safety in my mind and I find it easier to find softness and relax my pelvic floor.
Something we yoga teachers often teach in yoga to prepare for relaxation is to squeeze all the muscles in the entire body, so it's easier for them to find a relaxed state - going from tension to "letting go". Same goes for your pelvic floor. Mind you, if squeezing your pelvic floor and surrounding muscles brings you more pain or makes you feel more "stuck" (spasms), then maybe opt-out of this one. Otherwise, go ahead, try it and see how it works for you. On an inhale squeeze the muscles, and on an exhale let it go, melt into the bed.
Reclining Easy Pose - Supine Sukhasana (Hello google) Imagine that you are sitting crosslegged, but you are doing it in a supine position, lying down. And bring the breath into your pelvic floor (!!).
Modified Happy Baby - Ananda Balasana For anyone that's ever been to any of my Pelvic Health Yoga classes knows that this is one of my favourite poses. I like the modified version of Happy Baby because it is easier to play around with where your tailbone is in space, do you want to guide your legs further away from the torso or closer? Breathe into your pelvic floor.
Try this out and don't forget to send me a DM with any questions or thoughts that came up for you, I absolutely love hearing from you! xx Penny
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor a pelvic floor physiotherapist and I do recommend you look for help if needed.
