If you haven't discovered Katy Bowman yet, that needs to happen immediately. She is a biomechanist by training and a problem-solver at heart, AND the founder of Nutritious Movement, a whole-body movement program that utilizes Movement Micronutrients, Movement Macronutrients, and habitat (lifestyle) changes to nourish all trillion of your body’s parts. She has helped thousands reduce chronic pain, increase bone density, and improve metabolic health through better movement.
The research, studies, and hard work that she has done to supply us women (and men!) with valuable and LIFE CHANGING information and resources is extensive. Lately, she has been on the front-end of a movement that tells women to STOP DOING KEGELS and start doing squats, outer hip strengthening movements, and lower body stretches!
Just to give you a taste of the things she touches on, here is a description of the pelvic floor, its weaknesses, and its strengths in a nutshell:
The Pelvic Floor muscles run between the sacrum (the triangular bone at the base of the spine) and the pubic bone (the bottom-front of the pelvis). Ideally, the Pelvic Floor needs to be long, supple, and taut, to generate long-term forces that hold up your organs, as well as have enough motor skill to open and close your bathroom muscles as needed.
When the Pelvic Floor is too tight, it can pull the sacrum out of alignment, bringing it forward, into the bowl of the pelvis. This in turn, makes the Pelvic Floor weak and creates a "hammock-like" situation.
And guess what exercise makes the Pelvic Floor WEAK and hammock-like? You guessed it: KEGELS! The kegel exercise creates movement in the sacrum, which then creates a slack and weaker pelvic floor! Yikes!
For more information on what Katy Bowman offers, and to learn the techniques, exercises, and stretches to help STRENGTHEN and heal the pelvic floor, check out the Nutritious Movement blogpost, You Don't Know Squat: https://nutritiousmovement.com/you-dont-know-squat/
To help heal and strengthen your pelvic floor, sign up for a Glow Fitness class at glowfitnessbellingham.com, where we'll incorporate some yummy stretches and exercises to keep your pelvic floor healthy and happy!
