Kegals Explained

To kegal or not to kegal that is the question! If you have had any type of pelvic dysfunction, pelvic pain, had babies (especially large ones) I would bet you have been told by a Doctor to do your kegals. I also bet no one told you how to do them, why you do them, or how many to do?

Fun facts about kegals:

• Only 1 in 4 women kegal correctly; even when given proper cueing and education
• The only way to assess they are being done correctly is through internal assessment on your own or with a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist
• Many people kegal themselves into pelvic floor dysfunction
• We may create pelvic floor dysfunction by cueing pelvic floor engagement during a yoga class

Kegals were developed by a man name Dr Arnold Kegal who developed the exercises to increase sexual function and address prolapse and incontinence. But not everyone should be doing them. Perhaps your problem isn’t weakness, but rather tightness in which case we should be relaxing the muscles and freeing them of tension and pain. Over keegling, mula bahnda (pelvic floor engagement) in excess such as in an Ashtanga practice can create a hypertonic floor (too tight). Kegals done wrong could overuse accessory muscles like glutes or inner thighs creating trigger points that lead to new pain and problems. To do kegals correctly is to locate your pelvic floor muscles while urinating, stop the urine from flowing by tightening the muscles. Those are the muscles you will clench and unclench in kegals.

First Step

REVERSE KEGALS

Learn to soften the pelvic floor. We are all under large amounts of stress in our environments and pain is never simply biological. It always also stems from social, environmental, mental, and emotional experiences. And just like your shoulder and neck muscles that tighten under stress, your pelvic floor also tenses too! Leading to unhelpful and painful symptoms. For anyone with a hypertonic pelvic floor or pelvic pain, this should be a key component to your wellness plan! Kegals are not the cure all for everything! We want our pelvic floor to be flexible AND strong.

When you join me for private yoga therapy (virtually and in person) tailored to your specific needs, I teach you how to heal your pelvic floor through breathing practices, gentle movements, and meditations. You’ll learn how to do a reverse kegal first, then learn how many kegals and what type of kegals to do for your specific body.

Kegals for 2 Types of Muscle Fibers

Our Pelvic Floor consist of two types of muscle fibers and we must exercise both:

• slow twitch
• fast twitch

You’ll learn the proper way to do slow kegals and fast kegals over time to work both sets of muscle fibers. Learning proper ways to do kegals and how many to do is specific to the person. We are all unique and don’t always have the same treatment plans depending on our bodies and situations. A trained yoga therapist will help you decide a program for your needs with proper breathing techniques and mind body exercises to connect you to the pelvic floor followed by yoga postures and gentle movements to increase blood flow and circulation to the area through stretches and strengthening movements. Get your free consult today by contacting me here. I meet virtually and in person in Huntsville AL area. I also have a self-paced educational program and you can join me for a retreat in May and in October of 2023 by registering here.