As a pre- and postnatal yoga teacher I am used to help women keeping their pelvic floor in good health and when I organized my first workshop about the health of the pelvic floor, I was amazed by the reactions of men hearing that they could attend it.

That is how I realized that there is a huge misconception about this part of the body since most men do not know that they have a pelvic floor.

Understand your pelvic floor

The pelvic floor is composed of several muscles and is located at the base of your pelvis. It goes from the pubic bone to the coccyx and wrap the urethra, the vagina (women) and the rectum. It is like a hammock supporting the inner organs (for example the bladder).

Anatomically, the pelvic floor of men is slightly different from the one of women. In particular, the pelvic floor of women consists of the vulva and the vulva is separated from the anus by an area of skin (the perineal body). This delicate fibrous zone does not exist for men. As a result, the pelvic floor of men is less fragile than the one of women, but it can become weak anyway.

What are the reasons for the pelvic floor to lose its tonicity ?

There are many factors that can cause the pelvic floor to become weak but it is mainly: activities with strong impact (running, aerobics, skipping rope, riding…), constantly carrying heavy loads, overweight, an unhealthy diet, dehydration, the age, chronic cough or a prostate operation.

What are some of the main consequences of a weak pelvic floor for men?

When the pelvic floor is weak it can cause incontinence, erection problems or even organ descent. This is why you should take care of your pelvic floor even if you do not have one of those issues yet.

So, what can you do to keep your pelvic floor toned?

One of the best and easiest exercise (as it can be done everywhere) to do is one of the Kegel exercises.

You will begin to practice it when lying down, but when you will be used to it you will be able to do it sitting down or even standing up.

The first step is to locate your pelvic floor muscles. These are the one that you use to stop your urination, the one that you use to move your penis when in erection and your anus muscles.

To locate the muscles used to stop the urine stream, stop and start your urine flow while you are urinating. Be careful, you should do this only once or twice because if you stop and start your urine stream regularly while peeing you could cause an infection.

To locate your anus muscles, contract your anus as you do when you do not want to fart. When you will do it correctly, you will feel as if your anus is lifting. This sensation of lifting is very important because you do not want to push down. This is really a contraction of the anus not a contraction of the buttocks.

Once you have located your pelvic floor muscles find the best position for you to do the exercise described below.

On an inhale, you will contract the muscles of your pelvic floor up for 5 seconds. Without pressing your muscles downwards, exhale and relax them for 10 seconds.

Repeat the exercise 10 times, 2 times a day.

Some warnings

Do the exercise without holding your breath, without contracting your buttocks or your thighs and without pulling your stomach in. You really have to focus on the pelvic floor muscles lifting up.

Relax your pelvic floor muscles between each squeeze.

Before practicing, empty your bladder.

This exercise is useful for a weak pelvic floor. If your pelvic floor is too tensed, do not do it.

I hope that this article will help you keep your pelvic floor in good health.