If you…
Clench your jaw or grind your teeth,
Hold tension in your shoulders,
Constantly suck your tummy in, or clench your glutes
… you may be surprised to realize how often you squeeze your pelvic floor muscles without being aware of it!
Stress and Pelvic Floor
a chain of reactions
A Defensive and Protective Instinct:
Imagine a scared dog... You probably picture it tucking its tail between its legs.
The same happens to us on some level when we’re stressed! The act of “retracting the tail” - or tensing the pelvic floor - is a primal fight or flight response, which prepares an animal, or us, to confront a perceived danger or flee from it.
“Retracting the tail” - Stress and pelvic floor tension
Unfortunately, our body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as work pressure, being stuck in traffic, receiving a stressful phone call, or simply due to the business of life and motherhood - causing chronic stress and tension to arise.
Many women constantly clench and bear down on their pelvic floor during their daily life, which can lead to hypertonic pelvic floor muscles with symptoms such as:
Pelvic, abdominal, back, or hip pain
Pain with intimacy
Constipation
Symptoms that mimic a urinary tract infection (UTI)
Urinary incontinence
etc!
This tension - that we hold subconsciously - can have a huge impact on the rest of our body and emotional state!
A Butterfly effect…
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There is a fascial connection between the pelvic floor and the jaw through a continuous line of connective tissue.
So, if you hold tension in your pelvic floor, there’s a good chance that it’s locking your jaw - or vice versa!
It may also affect what’s between your pelvic floor and jaw.
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Many women hold their tummy tight and breathe high into their chest all day long - without noticing.
When shallow breathing, your diaphragm doesn't expand optimally, which prevents your pelvic floor from lengthening and your digestive organs from functioning well.
Proper diaphragmatic breathing massages your organs, which helps with bloating and constipation, as well as stress levels and emotional health.
Releasing tension in your pelvic floor and tummy can allow you to breathe more deeply and expansively, improving your well-being, stress, and mental health!
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The tightness in your pelvic floor and tummy may also round your shoulders and close your chest.
This affects your alignment and core function, as well as the kind of energy you’re reflecting and sending out to the world.
Posture and self-confidence are closely linked.
As you start to open up and create space, you start to improve your posture as well as your pelvic health, self-confidence, and your radiance!
So, is your body subconsciously clenching, or is it more receptive and open?
You’ll find the answer by tuning into your body and becoming aware of the unnecessary and harmful tension that locks up your pelvic floor, tummy, chest, shoulders, and jaw.
This new awareness, combined with mobility exercises, breathing, and alignment adjustments, can greatly improve your pelvic and mental health!
Let’s bring more peace, and pleasure into your life.
I hope this post will encourage you to tune more deeply into your pelvic floor - not only to improve its function but also to unleash its potential to enhance your well-being and give you more control over your emotional state.
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