Your Pelvic Floor: Strengthen It in Every Yoga Class

A few of my yoga class asked me about pelvic floor work recently, so I thought I would share something about it.

First up, everyone has one

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the base of your pelvis that form a kind of basket, holding up your bladder, your bowel, and your sexual organs. It is a whole interconnected group, and when you first start working with it, it all fires together as one. More on that in a moment.

Women tend to know about this because we are told about it after having babies or as we get older. We know it loses strength. We know we should probably be doing something about it.

It’s common for men, on the other hand, to not even realise they have a pelvic floor. It supports their bladder, their bowel, and their prostate. It plays a vital role in erectile function. It matters just as much for men, and almost nobody tells them.

Image linked from wikipedia

What the pelvic floor actually does

Three things, broadly.

It keeps your bladder working properly. That means no leaking when you sneeze, cough, laugh too hard, or land a bit heavily in class.

It keeps your bowel functioning as it should. Control, regularity, all the stuff nobody wants to talk about but everybody needs.

And it is directly involved in sexual function. For women that means sensation, responsiveness, and support during and after pregnancy. For men it means erectile function and control. These muscles are literally part of the mechanism. When they are strong, things work. When they are weak, things are less responsive. It is not complicated. It is just anatomy that does not get talked about enough.

The research bit

In yoga, there is a practice called mula bandha, which translates as root lock. It is a deliberate contraction of the perineum, the area between the anus and the genitals, and it is essentially a targeted pelvic floor engagement. When your instructor says "draw up through the base of the pelvis," that is what they are referring to.

Now, in traditional yoga philosophy, mula bandha is not just physical. It is said to draw prana, your life force energy, upward through the body, stopping it from leaking out through the root. You are pulling energy in and up rather than letting it drain away.

I have always been curious about how science compares to ancient scriptures. The journal Global Advances in Health and Medicine found that that practices associated with prana, including breathwork, bandhas, and meditation, produce measurable effects on heart rate variability, blood pressure, cortisol levels, immune markers, and brain activity. The current scientific understanding is that these effects happen through autonomic nervous system regulation; your breath and your attention directly influence your nervous system, which in turn affects how your whole body functions.

So the ancient yogis were onto something real. They described it as energy flowing through channels. Modern science describes it as autonomic and neuro-muscular regulation. The language is different. The effect is the same.

On the pelvic floor specifically, a randomised controlled trial published in the International Journal of Yoga found that 12 weeks of mula bandha practice significantly improved pelvic floor muscle strength, measured using the PERFECT assessment scheme for power, endurance, repetitions, and fast contractions. While most clinical studies have focused on women, the anatomy and mechanism applies equally to men. It’s the same muscle group, the same contraction, the same potential for strengthening. Men just tend not to be told about it.

How to find it

It is simpler than you think. Imagine you are on the loo and you stop yourself mid flow. Or squeezing of the anus as if holding something in will activate this area too. That contracting and lifting up of the muscles is your pelvic floor.

When you first start working with it, everything contracts at once. You squeeze one part and your lower belly pulls in, your anus contracts, your vaginal muscles or sex muscles all fire together. That is completely normal, they work together as a gorup.

The key thing is direction. It is not just a squeeze. It is a squeeze and a lift. Imagine drawing everything upward, not clamping down. If you are clenching your buttocks, gripping your thighs, or holding your belly tight, that is your body compensating rather than your pelvic floor doing the work. Try to keep everything else soft. Just the floor, lifting.

Over time, as the muscles get stronger, you start to isolate different areas. But for now, the lift is the thing to focus on.

Two ways to work it

There are two types of contraction and they do different things.

Fast contractions — squeeze and release, squeeze and release, quite quickly. These build the fast twitch muscle fibres that respond when you sneeze or cough or jump. They are your emergency response muscles.

Long holds — squeeze, hold for five to ten seconds, then slowly release. These build endurance and deep support. They are the muscles that hold everything in place all day long.

Both matter. Try mixing them into the poses below.

Poses from class where you can work this

This is the part I like best. You do not need a separate pelvic floor routine. You can work it right there in class, without me cueing it, without anyone around you knowing. It is yours to do whenever you think of it.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana) — You are just standing there. Nobody knows what you are up to. Ground through the feet, lengthen the spine, and gently draw the pelvic floor upward. Try a few fast contractions. Then hold a long squeeze for five or more breaths.

Knees to Chest aka wind release pose (Apanasana) — The compression of the lower abdomen brings your awareness right to the area. Hug the knees in, exhale and contract. Inhale and release. You are learning how your breath and your pelvic floor talk to each other.

Chair Pose (Utkatasana) — The deep bend naturally recruits the pelvic floor. As you sink, try lifting rather than gripping. Gripping is tense. Lifting is intelligent. Hold a long contraction here and notice how it changes the stability of the whole pose.

Shoulder Stand (Sarvangasana) — Being upside down takes the gravitational pressure off the pelvic organs. Everything gets a bit of a rest. Engage the pelvic floor gently while you hold. Try some slow contractions and feel the difference the inversion makes.

Leg Lifts — Before each lift, draw the pelvic floor up and in. It protects your lower back and connects the whole core. Without that engagement, you are only getting half of what this work offers.

Squat Pose (Malasana) — Take your hands into prayer and use the elbows to press the legs outward, opening up the hips. A deep squat lengthens the pelvic floor while building strength. We take this into Crow and Headstand, and that transition is pelvic floor work in itself. Try fast contractions down in the squat before you transition out of it.

Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) — The wide stance and lateral stretch wake up the inner thighs and deep stabilisers. Lift the pelvic floor as you extend and notice whether both sides feel even. They probably will not. That is useful information.

Reclining Bound Angle (Supta Baddha Konasana) — The soft one. Let the pelvic floor release completely, then gently bring it back. Slow long holds on the exhale, letting go on the inhale. This is endurance work in a restorative position. Let it be easy.

That is really it

You do not need a special class for this. You do not need fancy equipment or a separate routine. You just need to know your pelvic floor is there, remember to engage it, and start weaving it into what you are already doing.

Which, as it turns out, is quite a lot.