Taking Care of Your Pelvic Floor (and Why You Should)

We’ve all heard of the importance of kegels to tone our pelvic floor, but I knew little to nothing about organ prolapse. After my second birth, things did not quite feel right so I did some digging. This is when I found out what I was feeling was indicative of an organ prolapse. My first thoughts were I would have to have surgery which is the last thing I wanted to think about after having a baby. I asked some friends if they knew anything about prolapse and luckily for me, one friend shared the Hab-it website with me.

Through the Hab-it website I discovered that I would not necessarily need surgery (and, in fact, surgery may not be the best idea for prolapse anyway). The best thing to do was to strengthen my pelvic floor through exercise. I also learned that the pelvic floor is one of those things that gets neglected, yet it is an important part of our anatomy we should pay attention to. Really, every woman should take care of her pelvic floor.

I could pay to go see a physical therapist who would show me what exercises to do and walk me through how to do them. As a stay-at-home mom to a 3 1/2 year old and a newborn, however, this didn’t seem like a feasible option, never mind the expense of it. If only I could have a physical therapist come into my home at a time most convenient for me and walk me through what to do. Luckily this option does exist in the form of an exercise DVD program from the Hab-it site!

With the Hab-it DVD I really felt like I was receiving one-on-one instruction, as if a physical therapist was right there beside me coaching me. The way the exercises are portrayed is with one woman performing the exercises with the physical therapist coaching. Each exercise is explained with visuals of the muscles you are supposed to be working before you start. As a visual person, this was tremendously helpful. I have a hard time working a muscle when I don’t know where it is exactly.

Speaking of visuals, there is a whole section to watch before you even start the exercises that explains why pelvic floor exercises are important, with visuals explaining the pelvic floor and the organs within. There is a whole section on how your posture affects your pelvic floor as well and instructions with how to correct your posture to insure optimal pelvic floor support.

20120824-142043.jpgBeing someone who is not in shape (um, at all), I was a little nervous about what these exercises would entail and if they would be too hard for me. But, it turned out that it was very doable for a fitness novice like myself. There are four workouts. You start with the first one and, when you have mastered that, move on to the second and so forth. The longest of the four is only 28 minutes. However, once you no longer needed the guided instructions, you can skip to the time efficient versions of the workouts which are even shorter (longest is 23 minutes). If you have children, you can definitely do these with your kids. In fact, my 3 1/2 year old has done them alongside me. My infant son can either lay on a blanket on the floor beside me or even lay on me for some of the workouts.

20120824-142051.jpgEverything you need to complete the workouts, you have. The DVD program comes with a resistance band and the only other “equipment” you use is an exercise ball (or a chair if you don’t have one of those) and a medicine ball (or pillow if you don’t have one of those.)

If you have incontinence issues (a common issue after childbirth) or prolapse, I would highly recommend this DVD. The DVD only needs to be done 3 times a week for 6 weeks to complete the program and see results. Honestly, even if you don’t seem to have any issues following childbirth, I would still recommend completing this exercise program after each birth (and before, too!) In fact, the website has free pregnancy exercises as well as a more challenging exercise program when you’re ready to move on from the DVD and get back to your favorite physical activities.

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post but did receive a complimentary exercise DVD for the purpose of this review. I was not required to give a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own. I only review products that I either have purchased myself and love or products I have been given a chance to review by the company that I believe are products my readers would benefit from. Amazon links are affiliate links.

 

 

 

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