By Axel Chatwin
Here are several ways to find the muscles of the pelvic floor. By using the pelvic muscles, women will feel a slight tug on the rectum and vagina. Men will feel a pull on the anus and the penis will move. Each person is unique, and different techniques work for different people.
General technique
Imagine that you are in a room full of people and you feel that you must pass gas or “wind”. Most of us will squeeze the muscles of our rectum and anus (posterior passage) to prevent the passage of gases. The muscles you squeeze are the pelvic floor muscles. If you feel a “pulling” sensation in the anus, you are using the correct muscles. In most patients, this is the most successful technique.
Technique for women
Lie down and insert a finger into your vagina. Try to squeeze around your finger with your vaginal muscles. You should be able to feel the sensation in your vagina, and you could also feel the pressure on your finger. If you can feel this, you are using the correct muscles. If you cannot detect any movement with 1 finger, try 2 fingers.
One of the most common mistakes is exercising the wrong muscles. When trying to find a new muscle, especially a weak one, most people also squeeze other muscles. Some people clench their fists or teeth, hold their breath, or grimace. This does not help. It is very tempting to use other muscles, especially the stronger ones, to support smaller, weaker muscles, such as the pelvic floor muscles. However, the use of other muscles interferes with learning how to use the correct ones. It is better to relax your body as much as possible and focus on the pelvic floor muscles.
Not your abdominal muscles
To avoid using the stomach muscles, gently rest your hand on the abdomen while squeezing the pelvic floor muscles. Do you feel like your stomach is squeezing? If you do, relax and try again. Make sure you don’t feel any movement in your stomach.
It’s not your chest muscles
If you find yourself holding your breath, you’re probably using your chest muscles. To avoid this, relax completely and watch how you breathe for a few moments. Now tighten the pelvic floor muscles while continuing to breathe normally. This will help ensure that you are not using your chest muscles because they are generally relaxed when you breathe.
They are not the muscles of your glutes
The other set of “wrong muscles” are the buttock muscles (below). To check if you are tightening your buttock muscles by mistake, squeeze your pelvic floor muscles while sitting in front of a mirror. If you see your body moving slightly up and down, you are also using your gluteal muscles.
