Exercise And Infertility - Pelvic Floor Exercises

Exercise And Infertility

A very useful yogic exercise for both partners is to practise pelvic floor exercises. Just contracting and relaxing the pelvic floor greatly enhances the circulation to the reproductive system. Such practices as moola bandha, ashwini mudra and vajroli mudra are famed for enhancing sexual prowess and potency.
 
Strengthen Pelvic Floor Muscles (For Women)
 
It is recommended that all women exercise their pelvic floor muscles regularly throughout life, to prevent or correct weakness. Exercising weak muscles regularly over a period of time, can strengthen them and make them work effectively again. Regular gentle exercise, such as walking, can also have a positive effect on the strength of your pelvic floor muscles.
 

Exercise And Infertility

Exercise 1 (for strength)
 
Step 1: Sit, stand tall or lie on you back with your knees bent and legs comfortably apart.
 
Step 2: Close your eyes; imagine what muscles you would tighten to stop yourself from passing wind or to "hold on" from passing urine. If you can't feel a distinct tightening of these muscles, ask for some help from a women's health physiotherapist. She will help you to get started.
 
Step 3: Now that you can feel your pelvic floor muscles working, tighten them around your front passage, vagina and back passage as strongly as possible and hold for three to five seconds. By doing this, you should feel your pelvic floor muscles "lift" inside you and feel a definite "let go" as the muscles relax, If you can hold longer (but no more than a maximum of eight seconds), then do so.

Remember, the squeeze must stay strong and you should feel a definite "let go". Repeat up to ten times or until you feel fatigue in your pelvic floor muscles. Rest for a few seconds in between each squeeze.
 
Steps one to three count as one exercise set. If you can, do three sets per day in different positions.
 
Exercise 2 (quick squeeze for power)
 
Squeeze and lift your pelvic floor muscles as strongly and as quickly as possible. Do not try to hold on to the contraction, just squeeze and let go. Rest for a few seconds in between each squeeze. Repeat this 10 to 20 times or until you fed fatigue in your pelvic floor muscles.
 
If you can, do this exercise set one to three times per day. Always consult a physician prior to starting any exercise regime. During both exercises you should:

• Feel your pelvic floor muscles "lift" inside you, rather than feel a downward movement
• Relax your thighs and buttocks
• Keep breathing normally 
• Stop exercising if your muscles start to feel tired 

To prevent damage to your pelvic floor muscles, avoid: 

• Constipation and/or straining with a bowel motion 
• Persistent heavy lifting
• Repetitive coughing and straining
• Putting on too much weight 

Make training part of your life by tightening your pelvic floor muscles every time you cough, sneeze or lift doing some regular exercise, such as walking and progressing your exercise by doing them during the day in different positions, e.g. standing, sitting or on your hands and knees.
 
The first thing to do is to correctly identify the muscles that need to be exercised. 

• Sit or lie comfortably with the muscles of your thighs, buttocks and abdomen relaxed.
• Tighten the ring of muscle around the back passage as if you are trying to control diarrhea or wind. Relax it. Practice this movement several times until you are sure you are exercising the correct muscle. Try not to squeeze your buttocks.
• When you are passing urine, try to stop the flow midstream, then restart it. Only do this to learn which muscles are the correct ones to use and then do it no more than once a week to check your progress, as this may interfere with normal bladder emptying. 

If you are unable to feel a definite squeeze and lift action of your pelvic floor muscles or are unable to even slow the stream of urine as described above, you should seek professional help to get your pelvic floor muscles working correctly. Even men with very weak pelvic floor muscles can be taught these exercises by a physiotherapist or continence advisor with expertise in this area.

Strengthen Pelvic Floor Muscles (For Men)
 
Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and improve control of the bladder, the bowel and also improve sexual function.

To do them follow the steps below:

• Tightening and drawing in strongly the muscle around the anus and the urethra all at once. Lift them up inside. Try and hold this contraction strongly as you count to five and release and relax. You should have a definite feeling of "letting go".
• Repeat ("squeeze and lift") and relax. It is important to rest for about 10 seconds in between each contraction. If you find it easy to hold for a count of give. try to hold for longer - up to 10 seconds.
• Repeat this as many times as you are able up to a maximum of 8-10 squeezes.
• Now do five to ten short, fast, but strong contractions. 
• Do this whole exercise routine at least 4-5 times every day. 

Exercise And Infertility

While doing the exercises:

• Do not hold your breath.
• Do not push down instead of squeezing and lifting up.
• Do not tighten your tummy, buttocks or tights.

To find out more, you can check out Exercise And Infertility.