May is pelvic pain awareness month. Pelvic pain affects all genders and can be really isolating. 

 

It’s a whole lot easier to talk about some shoulder pain with your friends than to talk about when sex hurts. 

 

Bowel, bladder, and sexual function are all fundamental quality of life issues. 

As pelvic health specialists, we aim to give you the tools to manage and heal on your pelvic pain journey. One tool we love is yoga.

 

We love yoga so much for pelvic pain that we’ve covered it quite a few times in our blog. You can check out one of our first yoga blogs here: https://hudsonvalleypt.com/2018/08/30/when-pelvic-floor-meets-yoga/

 

The breath work, the mindfulness, and focus on mobility and gentle strength make yoga a wonderful tool in the toolbox for pelvic pain. 

 

If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ve probably come across child’s pose and happy baby pose. These are wonderful pelvic floor opening stretches, but yoga has so many other asanas, or poses to offer.

 

This pelvic pain awareness month, we’d like to share 4 different yoga poses to help manage your pelvic pain.

 

Extended triangle pose

 

 

How to: Take a nice wide stance on your mat. Turn your back foot parallel to the short edge of your mat. Your front toes point forward.

 

Inhale and bring your arms out to the side. Reach forward with your front hand to lengthen the opposite side of the body. 

 

Exhale and hinge forward at the hips. Let your front hand rest on your shin, a block, or the floor.

 

While in the pose, think length upwards as well as lengthening horizontally through the crown of your head and the back hip.

 

Hold for 3 breaths

 

Why we love it: This asana is all about expansion and opening. In this pose you work on rotation of the spine and opening of the ribs which helps with diaphragm mobility. Your diaphragm is your breathing muscle that moves with your pelvic floor. 

 

Reclined bound angle pose

 

How to: Lie down on your mat. Bend your knees and bring the soles of the feet together. Let your knees fall out to the sides. You should feel a stretch on your inner thighs. We highly recommend pillows or blocks to support your knees. 

 

Hold for anywhere from 5 to 10 breaths

 

Why we love it: The adductors or inner thigh muscles attach to the pelvis. The adductors can be painful themselves, but through their fascial connections, they can also increase pelvic floor tension. 

 

Cobra pose

How to: Lie on your stomach and bring your hands right by your shoulders like you are going to do a push up.

 

Inhale and lift the chest off the mat any amount. Keep the elbows close to the body. Don’t force the back bend. Try not to let the shoulders sneak up toward the ears.

 

Hold for three breaths

 

Why we love it: The nerve roots that innervate your pelvic floor originate from your mid to low back. The pose works on spinal mobility into extension. If you work from home, this is even more important since your day likely consists of quite a bit of sitting. 

 

Waterfall pose

How to: Scoot all the way towards the wall. Slide a pillow under your pelvis. Swing your legs up on to the wall and then breathe for 10 breaths.

 

Why we love it: This is a great position if you’re experiencing pelvic pressure or heaviness because the pelvis is slightly higher than the heart. Breathe, relax, and let gravity gently do the work.

 

One of the hardest things about pain is the lack of control. As pelvic floor specialists, we aim to guide you on your healing journey to give YOU control over your pain.