Some women have too much tightness in the pelvic floor muscles, while other women have not enough, or are too weak. Both conditions can get in the way of your sex life. If you’re too tight, you may experience pain or irritation during sex; if you’re not tight enough, your pelvic floor muscles won’t contract as powerfully as they could during orgasm.
These exercises below are fantasies for keeping things strong down there.
Air Squats
Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes turned out slightly, arms by sides.
Squat, lowering butt as close to the floor as possible, either extending arms forward or bending elbows and clasping hands lightly at chest. If your pelvic floor muscles tend toward the tight side, try to push your tail out and back while lowering down. If they’re weak, tuck your tail forward to stretch the muscles.
2. Downward Dog
Come on to hands and knees with hands directly below shoulders and knees directly below hips. Spread fingers wide and tuck toes under. Inhale and lift knees off the floor, pressing hips and sit bones up toward the ceiling. Keeping knees slightly bent will stretch tight pelvic floor muscles; if your goal is to tone the muscles, straighten knees and focus on pressing heels into the floor to activate the pelvic floor muscles into contraction. Take deep breaths while holding the pose.
3. Clamshell
Lie on side with hips and knees bent at 45 degrees, legs stacked.
Keeping feet in contact with each other, raise upper knee as high as possible without moving the pelvis. Do not allow lower leg to move off the floor. Pause, then return to the starting position. That’s on rep. Repeat on the opposite side. (For an extra challenge, wrap a resistance band around thighs, just above knees.)
4. Bridge
Lie face-up on the floor with knees bent and feet on the floor.
Driving through heels and lifting balls of feet off the floor, raise hips off the floor so body forms as straight line from shoulders to knees. Pause in the up position, then lower back to the starting position.
