When you think of pelvic floor relaxation exercises, you may think of deep, wide knee squats and butterfly pose. But, external rotation, or wide knee focused stretches, tend to focus more on the anterior (front) half of the pelvic floor.
So what? The issue is that for most of us, we already have an overly stretched anterior pelvic floor. We tend to favor extension and external rotation as a common prenatal postural tendency, so we are usually already in this lengthened state for the front half of the pelvic floor.
So, we instead want to focus on releasing the BACK of the pelvic floor, which tends to be tighter or more restricted in most of us!
Let’s breakdown some exercises that focus on releasing the back half of the pelvic floor (where more of us need to focus on anyways).
Ready to conquer your fears and take charge of your childbirth experience? Look no further than our Childbirth Education Course.
With expert guidance and personalized attention, we’ll equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to navigate labor and delivery with confidence.
Say goodbye to anxiety and hello to empowerment – enroll now and discover the secret to a positive and fulfilling birth.
Two Pelvic Floor Relaxation Exercises to Prepare For Birth!
The posterior portion of the pelvic floor tends to be tighter in many of us due to common postural tendencies, such as external rotation at hips (toes out) and spinal extension (arching our back).
The way we can target the posterior pelvic floor is with INTERNAL ROTATION or hip shifts! When we find an internal rotation of the hip, the posterior pelvic floor STRETCHES.
We include a LOT of hip-shifted and internal rotation-focused exercises plus more thoracic and hip mobility in our prepare your pelvic floor for birth online course!
1) All Fours Hip Shift
In all fours pelvic tilt, we are focusing on finding movement on each side with pelvic tilting! Typically, the posterior or rounded back position is harder to find (you got a big ole belly in the way and we tend to favor extension during pregnancy), so you will find the elevated side feels “tighter” or more restricted.
If you find that the posterior or rounded position is more challenging, pause at the rounded point and breathe instead of rushing through each repetition.
Movement tips:
- Starting in a table top position, place one knee on an elevated surface such as a yoga block
- Shift the weight towards the elevated knee, so the elevated hip is in more internal rotation
- Round in the back to feel more of a stretch in the elevated hip backside
- Then arch in the back to feel more of a stretch in the frontside of the lower knee.
- Be mindful that you are not straining as you extend in the spine
Watch the video for a breakdown on how to do this exercise!
We incorporate pelvic floor relaxation and mobility into our prenatal fitness programs! Our programs do more than just keep you strong throughout your pregnancy. Our prenatal fitness progams also prepare you for birth!!
We test all our fitness programs with our in-person prenatal fitness clients at our gym here in Aberdeen NC, and physical therapists review our program to ensure its quality! Thousands of athletes have trusted our programs to support their pregnancies!
2) Standing Hip Shift
The standing hip shift is a more active position that can help you move DEEPER into the posterior pelvic floor release.
The standing hip shift is a movement I LOVED to include in my third trimester workouts to release my posterior pelvic floor.
Using the same movement cues as above, we can find a release in the posterior pelvic floor in this hip shifted position. (note that the following is similar from the section above)
- Hold onto a sturdy structure with one hand
- Put weight into the opposite leg (this will be the leg we are finding internal rotation on)
- You can elevate the foot on a yoga block or keep it on the floor
- Hinge forward at the hips (think butt to wall behind you, not the floor below you)
- You will feel a stretch in the lats across the back to the elevate hip side
- Focus your weight into your big toe side of the foot
- Think rotate your knee inward without moving the foot
- You should feel more of a stretch in the glute and hamstring, targeting the back hip pocket (space between your sacrum and sitz bone)
- Find a slight rounding in the back, and you may find that you feel this stretch even more
- Inhale to focus on expanding in the back, exhale to release
Watch the video for a breakdown on how to do this exercise!
If you want more of a breakdown of WHAT to do throughout your prenatal workouts, check out our prenatal fitness programs! We offer it in two formats:
- 40-Week Prenatal Strength in the Teambuildr App (traditional delivery format)
- Full Version: Workouts 45-75 minutes in length, designed for the athlete with gym access or a home gym set up
- Mini Version: Workouts 15-20 minutes in length, designed for the busy person!
- Prenatal On-Demand with full-length workout videos that you follow along as you workout
We can release tension in the pelvic floor with relaxation exercises...
We do not need to wait until birth to relax our pelvic floor!
We want to focus on releasing the posterior pelvic floor that tends to be TIGHTER for most of us with internally rotated positions!
Learn more on how to release tension in the pelvic floor in our prenatal fitness programs and pelvic floor birth prep course!