Of all of the exercise disciplines there are, I'm not aware of any of them, apart from Pilates, that mention the engagement of the pelvic floor along with the core muscles. For the uninitiated, its what you squeeze to stop a wee!
I think there is always a bit of embarrassment talking about this but the pelvic floor has a really important job, it supports the uterus, bowel and bladder in women (the bowel and bladder in men) if its not strong enough, it can lead to bowel and bladder issues. Issues can start from childbirth, heavy lifting, running and also as we get older, we can have 'little accidents' like coughing or laughing, which can cause a little wee to come out.
Through contracting this muscle over time, you can create a strong pelvic floor which will prevent any leakages, and as an added bonus - hurray! - better sexual sensations and you get stronger orgasms!!
It really is a good idea also out of the class situation, just to try and work these muscles, I tend to do mine sitting or when lying in bed (don't do it when actually having a wee), I think of the pelvic floor like a lift - going up 5 floors one by one, and down 5 floors one by one, I do about 5 or so of these, then about 5 single lifts up and down. The secret is not to squeeze the sphincter (otherwise known as your bum hole!) too much, otherwise this will make the glutes and hamstrings contract, just a light squeeze!
Another way of contracting the pelvic floor is through squats, you can squat down, and try to visualise a grape on the floor, and you trying to draw it up using your pelvic floor as you come back up! Interesting thought!!!
I've had a bit of a cough for about a week, and as we all know, the cough seems to rerverberate throughout the body, I feel it in my pelvic floor so I'll have to do a few more squeezes to make sure this stays strong!
Love this, thanks for the reminder to do the exercises at home as well as in class :)