Kegel Exercises.
Women's Best Friend for Leaks

and Better Sex

Why should women learn Kegel exercises? How could law of attraction healthy thinking concepts be helpful? Pelvic floor muscle weakness can lead to problems such as urinary leaks, or incontinence, the medical term for losing urine. This is common as we age, or after childbirth, when sneezing, straining, or when you ‘really have to go’, or for no reason you can clearly think of!

Did You Know?

1. Kegel exercises are for men too… but sorry guys, you’ll need to visit a different web site.

2. Kegels, developed by a doctor bearing the name, are exercises which work the pelvic floor, tightening the muscles attached to a woman’s pelvic bone. Those muscles act as a hammock, holding your pelvic organs in (handy).

3. The easy way to ‘find out where these muscles are’ is: try stopping and starting the flow of your urine next time you ‘go’. You’ll feel them tighten.

4. Leakage of urine is common with women aged 40+, or younger, and can lead to loss of self esteem and fear of sexual problems. These are definitely on your Don't Want Contrast List.

5. The muscles may be weakened by decreased estrogen levels, weight gain, multiple pregnancies… How did our ancestors manage with 10 and more births?!

6. The pelvic floor muscles control the urethra (tube which carries urine from bladder out).

7. Kegel exercises strengthen muscles supporting your urethra, bladder, uterus and rectum.

8. Healthy positive thinking strategies can help maximize the benefit of doing any muscle exercises.

In the 70’s, when I was birthing, our prenatal class instructors would tell us – kegels done with visualization after childbirth can help you re-connect with your pelvic floor muscles. (I can hear the Bee Gees now...) Now some of those same nurses are teaching the exercises to women in menopause and much older, with great results.

Why Do Kegel Exercises?

Weak pelvic floor muscles can contribute to problems such as losing urine. Yikes! Doing the exercises correctly and regularly, with resistance, can strengthen the muscles. Stronger muscles lead to little or no urine loss for many women. This should be on your Do Want Contrast List.

How do I do kegel exercises?. Call or visit your local public health unit, community or women’s health clinic, or primary care giver for detailed instructions. In the meantime, here are simplified instructions any registered nurse can walk you through:

1. First, empty your bladder (pee).

2. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles and hold for a count of 10. Tightening feels like you are really working hard at Not Pee-ing. Count like this: 1-one thousand. 2-one thousand. 3-one thousand etc.

3. Relax your pelvic floor muscles completely for a count of 10.

4. Do a series of 10 exercises, 3 times a day, evenly spread out .

That’s it.

Where should I do kegel exercises? Any time any place. Try lying down or sitting in a chair. After 4 - 6 weeks, you will probably notice some improvement, and it may take 3 months or more to see a major change.

What if do more? Over exercising can cause muscle fatigue and increase urine leakage. “I tried it and my back hurt.” Is a common complaint. Abdomen or back pain during or after these exercises, may mean you are doing them wrong. Avoid holding your breath or tightening your chest while exercising.

Relax. Think this A-Statement / Affirmation: “I know I will get positive results from these. This is great!” Apply your energy, attention and focus on what you do want: contracting just the pelvic floor muscles.

Boost your success with your mental skills: Just as athletes are taught mental imagery to enhance effectiveness of any muscle strengthening exercise, women can and do use this standard law of attraction tool when doing Kegels as well. Just for fun, ask your nurse, nurse practitioner, obstetrician – gynecologist or family physician about how mental imagery enhances neuromuscular learning and efficiency.

Suggestions for visualization to isolate pelvic floor muscles:

Imagine, in your mind movie, your pelvic muscles as rings squeezing tight - tighter - and tightest, as you actually do the exercise. Internal dialog. Say the words to yourself, in your mind, that you would use if you needed to use the bathroom and none were available. Imagine your pelvic floor muscles as the Kegel Elevator, rising up higher and higher as you intensify your effort.

Helpful Hints. A single Kegel should take only 10 seconds or so. These muscles fatigue easily, so you need to perform many sets of repetitions throughout the day. A good time to do Kegels is while watching TV, waiting at a light, sitting at the computer, after every bowel movement, in church, nursing your baby, and even sitting in your wheelchair.

Common Error: Women often squeeze the wrong muscles at first. Check, by inserting a finger in your vagina and squeezing. If you feel the squeeze, on your finger, you are using the right muscles. Visualize and focus on keeping other muscles relaxed. The only muscles working should be the ones you feel right around the opening of the vagina. Avoid bearing down or squeezing your thigh, back or belly muscles. Think positively about your success over time, with these methods, while breathing slowly, deeply. Try starting the exercises while holding your knees together.

Remember, the more you allow this problem to discourage and embarrass you, the more you will feel bad about your self. You need to flip that around with positive thinking and the above exercises.

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