Yin yoga and man's pelvic floor muscle

Please use this forum to ask any questions you may have about yoga in general or Yin Yoga in particular, or to discuss anything you have discovered that may be of general interest. Note, spam will be removed and the user deleted, and this includes putting website in your posting that are purely commercial.
Post Reply
YogiBalance
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:33 am

Yin yoga and man's pelvic floor muscle

Post by YogiBalance »

I read the pelvic floor muscle is beneficial to strengthen as well as doing kegel exercises for better sex.
Does yin yoga postures strengthen this muscle? If so, which postures?

This is interesting because in yin yoga practice we relax as many muscles as possible so yin yoga is the opposite of doing yang exercises like pelvic floor/kegel/ashtanga/lifting weights, etc. in which we contract muscles.

I do yin yoga about 3 times a week and resistance training with resistance bands 3 times a week as well and i find this combination very good and complementary but i would like to work more on strengthening my pelvic floor muscle.
Bernie
Posts: 1292
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Post by Bernie »

Yin yoga does not work to strengthen muscles, rather we would prefer to relax them. So, if you are looking for ways to strengthen your pelvic floor, yin is not the route to go. The following information is from my forthcoming book Your Spine, Your Yoga, so I ask that you not copy/paste this anywhere. (I will rely upon your sense of asteya ;-)
  • Dr Arnold Kegel [1894-1972] was an American gynecologist who developed a method for testing pelvic floor strength, and exercises to increase it. He first published his views in 1948 and his exercises became quite popular for the treatment of urinary stress incontinence and female pelvic organ prolapse.[1]

    The muscles of the pelvic floor are important for sexual stimulation and orgasms in women. Any weakness in these muscles can cause decreased flow of blood, a loss of vaginal sensations and block orgasms.[2] Women with pelvic organ prolapse often suffer from sexual dysfunction. Kegel exercises can increase pelvic floor strength, but whether this actually helps women with sexual dysfunction is still debated: some studies have found no correlation,[3] but other studies have found that Kegel exercises do increase sexual satisfaction.[4] As with all things, human variations makes it difficult to create an overall finding: at best we can say, it seems to work for some women, but not for all women.

    What is known is that half the women doing Kegel exercises do not do them properly.[5] As with moola bandha, there exists a lot of confusion. The Mayo clinic provides these directions:[6]

    1. First, identify the right muscles: do this by stopping your urine while in midstream. Notice which muscles you used. Once you know this, you can do Kegels exercises at any time, in any posture or position.
    2. Practice: tighten those muscles you identified in the first step, hold for 5 seconds and then relax for 5 seconds. Do this 4 or 5 times in a row, and work up to holding for 10 seconds and relaxing for 10 seconds each time.
    3. Focus: only engage the pelvic floor muscles you needed to stop your urine flow. There is no need to contract your anal, abdominal, thigh or buttock muscles.[7] Breath freely. This can be subtle: no one else needs to know you are doing this! (In other words, keep your face muscles relaxed too.)
    4. Repeat: do 3 sets of 10 repetitions spread throughout each day.[8]

    Caution: do not do this while urinating! Step 1 was a one-time only action to help you identify the right muscles. If you continue to interrupt the flow of urine with constant stops/starts, you may fail to completely empty your bladder which could lead to urinary tract infections. As with all things, you can overdo this-the intention is not to make your pelvic floor rock hard! If your doctor suggests you take 2 aspirin for a headache, he doesn't mean take a whole bottle; if you are told to do 2 sets of Kegel exercises throughout the day, why do 10? Indeed, many people need to learn to relax their pelvic floor, not engage it more.

    Men can also benefit from performing Kegel exercises: they can strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, avoid urinary incontinence (especially after prostate cancer treatment)[9] and improve sexual function.[10] Kegel exercises can be taught to all yoga students as a form of moola bandha practice. But again, everything in moderation, please: don't over do these.


I hope this helps! Cheers, Bernie

[1] See Hagen S, Stark D, Maher C, Adams E (2006). "Conservative management of pelvic organ prolapse in women". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (4): CD003882.doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003882.pub3. PMID 17054190
[2] See Nahid Golmakani, et al., “The effect of pelvic floor muscle exercises program on sexual self-efficacy in primiparous women after delivery, in Iran J Nurs Midwifery Resv.20(3); May-Jun 2015 PMC4462060
[3] See Lara S, Montenegro M, Franco M, Carvalho D, “Is the sexual satisfaction of postmenopausal women enhanced by physical exercise and pelvic floor muscle training, in J Sex Med. 2012;9:218-23.
[4] See Modarres M, Rahimikian F, Booriaie E., “Effect of pelvic muscle exercise on sexual satisfaction among primiparous women,, in J Nurs Midwifery Tehran Univ Med Sci. 012;18:10-8.
[5] See Nahid Golmakani, et al., “The effect of pelvic floor muscle exercises program on sexual self-efficacy in primiparous women after delivery, in Iran J Nurs Midwifery Resv.20(3); May-Jun 2015 PMC4462060
[6] From http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... t-20045283 accessed on September 26, 2016.
[7] Of course, you could do a version of the Kegel exercises focussing solely on strengthening the anal triangle: in that case, you would engage the muscles of your anus. This is ashwini mudra. That may help with fecal incontinence.
[8] In one formal study, subjects were asked to contract the pelvic floor muscles during examination of the vagina, and then once they learned the proper contraction of the muscle, they were asked to do 15-20 repetitions for between 5-10 seconds and then relaxing for 5-10 seconds (for about 5 minutes in total). After 2 min of rest, they repeated 3 it more times for a total of 20 minutes of exercise each session. This was done twice a day. See Nahid Golmakani, et al., “The effect of pelvic floor muscle exercises program on sexual self-efficacy in primiparous women after delivery, in Iran J Nurs Midwifery Resv.20(3); May-Jun 2015 PMC4462060
[9] See Kegel Exercises for Men at http://urology.ucla.edu/workfiles/Prost ... or_Men.pdf, accessed on September 26, 2016.
[10] See Grace Dorey et al., “Randomised controlled trial of pelvic floor muscle exercises and manometric biofeedback for erectile dysfunction, in British Journal of General Practice, 1 November 2004.
YogiBalance
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:33 am

Post by YogiBalance »

Thank you Bernie, it is helpful. Sounds like an interesting book! I'm starting my kegel practice. I practiced ashtanga in the past so i know the feeling of contracting the pelvic floor.
1. Do you have information on when and how should the pelvic floor be held during sexual intercourse from men point of view? I read that Holding it to stop ejaculation can lead to multiple orgasms.
2. Do abs contraction play its roll in this if at all especially for better sex/during sex? In ashtanga its recommended to contract the lower abs in conjunction with the pelvic floor throughout the practice.
Bernie
Posts: 1292
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Post by Bernie »

Sorry, I no of no studies on Kegels during sex. If you find out, please let us all know!

B
Post Reply