Daily Mindfulness for Your Pelvic Health
When we think about pelvic health, we often focus on physical strategies like strengthening, stretching, treatments by a pelvic floor physiotherapist. But what if we added mindfulness to that list?
Mindfulness is more than meditation — it’s the act of paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment without judgment. It’s a simple, accessible tool that can help us reconnect with our bodies, recognize unhelpful patterns, and support healthy pelvic floor function.
Here are three mindfulness moments you can integrate into your daily life to support your pelvic floor and overall pelvic health:
1. Are you holding tension?
Have you ever caught yourself clenching your jaw or holding your shoulders up by your ears? The same thing can happen with muscles around your pelvis — the pelvic floor, belly, inner thighs, and buttocks can hold tension without you realizing it.
Common times this happens:
Driving or sitting in traffic
While on the phone or in meetings
Trying to fall asleep
Why this matters:
When we are constantly tensing the muscles around the pelvis and at the pelvic floor it can decrease tolerance to additional stress. This means the muscles and joints can be sore with load and pressure and can even contribute to bladder urgency.
The Strategy:
Do a body scan. Start at the top of your head and slowly work your way down, mentally checking in with each area. As you go, imagine those muscles gently melting or softening. You can also try progressive muscle relaxation, where you intentionally tense and then release muscle groups from head to toe, helping your entire body relax.
2. Are you holding your breath?
Many people unintentionally hold their breath during movements like bending over, rolling out of bed, and getting out of a low chair. Holding your breath during these motions increases pressure in the abdomen and pushes down on the pelvic floor.
Why it matters:
Breath-holding can be especially problematic for those with pelvic floor weakness or pelvic organ prolapse, as it can worsen symptoms or contribute to discomfort.
The Strategy:
Exhale during the effort. For example, as you stand up or bend down, blow out gently through your mouth. This helps manage internal pressure and reduces strain on the pelvic floor.
3. How are you breathing?
In restful or low-effort moments — like watching TV, folding laundry, or doing the dishes — what’s your breath doing? Many of us stay stuck in shallow, chest-based breathing that keeps our nervous system in a more alert state.
Why it matters:
When we are in a more stressed state (think emotional stress or even physical stress during exercise) we tend to breathe more into the upper chest with shallow and quick breaths. In a more restful and calm state the breath is slower and deeper where the diaphragm moves through a larger range (ie: diaphragmatic breathing). A stressed state can affect our pain perception as well as functions of the bladder and bowel.
The Strategy:
Try “box breathing” to switch your breathing to calmer deeper breaths:
Inhale for 4 counts
Hold for 4 counts
Exhale for 4 counts
Hold at the bottom of the exhale for 4 counts
This practice can help shift your body into a calmer state and promote deeper belly breathing, which supports both nervous system regulation and optimal movement of the diaphragm and pelvic floor.
By incorporating these simple moments of mindfulness into your day, you can reduce muscle tension, improve breathing patterns, and decrease unhelpful habits that may be contributing to pelvic symptoms. Over time, this can support better pelvic floor function, improve body awareness, and overall improved pelvic health.
