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Nowadays we like to know as much as we can about our bodies, what makes them tick and how we can be healthy and look amazing. With lots of celebrities now turning to yoga and pilates for their daily regimes we have changed the way we look at our bodies, focusing on weight, flexibility and natural health to make us feel fantastic rather than the super skinny look or plastic surgery nightmares of the 90’s.

Part of the reason for the growth of pilates and yoga is that they work the bit that really concerns us – our middles! Having a strong set of core muscles is really the first step in making your body fabulous, it changes how you move, prepares your body for exercise and gets rid of unsightly sags.

A big part of getting the core in shape is working the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. The abdominals are connected with being slim and toned, the pelvic floor controls spinal stability and sexual performance so they are important muscles to keep working well.

You may not have heard much about the pelvic floor before other than in connection with having babies. It, like any other part of your body, needs a bit of looking after to stay in good shape. The unfortunate thing is that these muscles doesn’t always get worked due to the other exercises you are doing.

So what happens when they are weaker, what do you feel or what would you notice?

Simple things like your posture changes, tilting your pelvis slightly when you stand. As the pelvic floor weakens part of your spinal stability goes so you automatically start to curve your lower back You may also notice reduced sensation during sex (the pelvic floor play a huge role here). When it starts getting much weaker you may find that when you cough, sneeze, laugh you struggle to control your bladder. These are all signals that you need to do something before the muscles get seriously weak.

What can you do to keep your muscles toned?

There are some exercises that basically involve you clenching and releasing the muscles that work brilliantly. With a mix of short, intense clenches and longer, held clenches you tone the muscle up and keep it in good shape. There are various different versions of the exercises but they do have to be done right if you want to get the benefits.

To activate your pelvic floor muscles and do the exercises imagine these muscles as a hammock attaching from the base of your spine and passing underneath to your pubic bone. Breathe in, and as you breathe out, gently squeeze the muscles around your back passage, as if to stop wind escaping. Bring this feeling forward (remember the hammock) towards your pubic bone as if to stop yourself having a wee. Keep breathing as normally whilst holding onto the squeeze. Most people do get this wrong the first time they try it, so it’s important to focus on not tensing your stomach muscles but feel the contraction of the pelvic floor.

There are two types of exercise that you do once you have perfected the contraction:

• Quick squeezes are a quick 1 second maximal contraction. Ideally 10 effective quick, strong, squeezes should be performed without getting too tired. This helps bring up the control of the muscle
• Holds are a gentle squeeze of up to half of your maximum strength, held for as long as possible. Ideally it should be held for 10 seconds, and repeated 5 times with short rests in between. This improves overall tone and strength and is the main element of the exercise to help improve the core body.

These exercises should be performed 4-6 times daily, don’t be disheartened if at first you find them difficult – a lot of people can’t hold their pelvic floor for more than 3 seconds at a time. A really strong pelvic floor should be able to hold for over 15 seconds.

The easiest way to learn is by using technology called biofeedback, which actually show us how the muscle is working on a screen and help us quickly change our bodies the way we want to. This sort of service is currently available in a London centre called Tonicity where you have a few sessions with experts who help you get your pelvic floor into superb condition and show you how to keep it that way. Countless ladies have used these techniques to cure lower back pains, remove bladder problems, recover their figure after birth and also by women who want to try Tantra.

Tonicity are offering a discount to befabulous members, take a look at their listing

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