Pelvic Floor: Between Strength and Release

MI Magazine   /   Movement & Awareness

How the pelvic floor supports us throughout the day, how it relates to breathing, and how Pilates can help us become more familiar with an area that is not always easy to feel.

When we talk about the pelvic floor, strengthening is often the first thing that comes to mind. Squeeze, engage, hold. These actions can be important, but they tell only part of the story. Alongside the ability to contract, we also need the ability to relax, move, and adjust the level of activity to what the body is doing at that moment.

In a Pilates class, this distinction can change the way we understand support. We can develop strength while learning to recognize tension that is not needed. We can work with concentration while leaving room for breath and movement. A useful starting point is a simple understanding of the area and its roles.

01 / UNDERSTANDSupport throughout the day

The pelvic floor sits at the base of the pelvis and includes muscles and connective tissue. You can imagine it as a hammock supporting the pelvic organs, including the bladder, uterus, and rectum. The image helps us understand its location, but this is a living structure that participates in many activities throughout the day.

The muscles in this area help control the release of urine, stool, and gas, and also play a role in sexual function. Emptying the bladder and bowel comfortably requires the ability to relax appropriately. Good function therefore involves both strength and timing: responding to effort and allowing release when it is needed.¹

Both women and men have a pelvic floor. Here, we focus on the female body, but its importance is not limited to pregnancy or the period after childbirth. It is part of everyday function throughout life.

02 / ALLOW RELEASERelaxation has a role too

A tight muscle is not necessarily a strong muscle. Some women have difficulty relaxing their pelvic floor, and increased tension and weakness can sometimes exist together. In that situation, automatically adding more contractions may not be the right next step. It helps to understand what is needed before choosing the exercise.

The distinction matters in the other direction too: there is no reason to assume that every difficulty comes from excessive holding, or that relaxation alone will resolve it. Depending on the individual situation, the work may involve learning to relax, gradual strengthening, coordination exercises, or a combination of these.²

What we feel during class can help us describe our experience, but it is not enough to determine whether the muscles are weak or tense. There is no need to diagnose ourselves through an exercise, and no requirement to feel every internal muscle clearly or immediately.

03 / COORDINATEWhere breathing fits in

The pelvic floor works alongside the diaphragm and abdominal muscles within a system that responds to changes in pressure inside the abdomen. Breathing and movement change the demands on this system, and coordination between its parts is one aspect of how it functions.

In a small imaging study of healthy women, the diaphragm and pelvic floor were observed moving downward during inhalation and upward during exhalation. This describes a pattern observed in a study; it is not an instruction to push downward as you inhale or squeeze forcefully with every exhale.³

During practice, breathing can help us notice how we are meeting the effort. Does the breath continue? Can the rib cage move? Does the attempt to engage the body become prolonged holding? These observations offer useful information for adapting an exercise, without turning breathing into another test we need to pass.

04 / PRACTICEWhat Pilates can contribute

Pilates provides a framework for developing strength, movement, and body awareness. Within that framework, we can explore how breathing fits into an exercise, adjust the amount of resistance, and practice movement without trying to hold every area at the same intensity throughout the class.

A Pilates class is not, however, the same as specific pelvic floor muscle training or pelvic health physical therapy. In studies of physical activity and the pelvic floor, exercise is sometimes combined with specific pelvic floor training, making it difficult to attribute improvements to Pilates alone.⁴

When a treatment plan is needed, Pilates may fit into it in accordance with professional recommendations. Sharing the relevant guidance with your instructor can help them adapt the class. This makes room for both the experience of exercise and individual needs, without expecting a group class to address every condition.

05 / PERSONALIZEIndividual guidance begins with attention

Urinary leakage, pain in the pelvic area or during sex, a feeling of heaviness or a bulge, and difficulty emptying the bladder or bowel are reasons to seek a professional assessment. There is no need to wait until symptoms become severe. You can begin with a physician or a physical therapist specializing in pelvic health, who can help identify the source of the difficulty and the options that are appropriate for you.⁵

Individual adjustments also matter during pregnancy and after childbirth. Physical activity is suitable for many women, and returning to it after delivery should be gradual, taking recovery, the type of delivery, and medical circumstances into account. There is no need to compare your pace with someone else's or treat a particular date as automatic clearance for every exercise.⁶

06 / OBSERVEA perspective from the studio

In the studio, I sometimes see women putting a great deal of effort into doing everything correctly. They hold their center, engage their bodies, and try to control every detail, yet their movement looks effortful and their breathing less free.

When there is room to reduce unnecessary holding, I sometimes see more fluid movement and more comfortable breathing. This is an observation from my work in the studio, not a way to diagnose the pelvic floor. It reminds me of the value of paying attention to the quality of effort, alongside the desire to become stronger.

From here, we can take a simple question into the next practice: can I give my body the support it needs, and also allow myself to release when the effort ends? Within that transition, there is room for learning, precision, and a deeper familiarity with the body.