Optimal Stretches for Pelvic Health

Cat/Cow Stretch

  1. Begin on hands and knees.
  2. Inhale into Cat pose by tilting the pelvis forward and arching your spine up like a cat.
  3. Exhale into Cow pose by first dropping the tailbone and curving your back.
  4. Repeat 10-15x.

 

Happy Baby

  1. Lie on your back.
  2. Bring your feet towards the ceiling, keeping them wider than hip width apart.
  3. Breathe deeply into the sides of the rib cage and the belly.

*If you cannot reach your feet, use a yoga strap/bedsheet looped behind the knees to help grasp the legs

happy baby pose

 

Child's Pose

  1. Come to your hands and knees.
  2. Spread your knees, keeping the tops of your feet on the floor with the big toes touching.
  3. Bring your belly to rest between your thighs and root your forehead to the floor.
  4. Visualize a relaxation, dropping or “letting go” in the pelvic floor.
  5. Eventually reconnect with the steady inhales and exhales of your breath.

child's pose

 

Hamstring Stretch

  1. Prop one foot up onto a stool or chair with the knee straight.
  2. Hinge forward at the hips to lean over the stretching leg and keep the spine straight.
  3. Hold for 30 seconds.
  4. Repeat 3x, alternating legs.

 

hamstring stretch

Abductor Stretch

  1. Pull your shin toward your chest and push the thigh gently, toward the midline of your body.
  2. Do not lift your hips or pelvis from the ground.
  3. You should feel this stretch in the buttocks or on the outside of the hip.
  4. Hold for 20-30 seconds.
  5. Repeat 3x, alternating legs.

 

Obturator Internus (OI) Stretch

  1. In standing, bring your left knee up on a table keeping your back leg straight.
  2. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in the glute area.
  3. Hold for 30 seconds.
  4. Repeat 2x, alternating legs.

obturator internus stretch

 

 

Deep Squat

  1. Squat with your feet hip width apart.
  2. Drop your hips downwards as low as possible.
  3. Breathe deeply and slowly into the sides of the rib cage, allowing the pelvic muscles to let go.

*Can be done by holding onto the kitchen counter or a chair

 

Diaphragmatic Breathing

  1. Lie on your back with knees bent and both hands on the upper part of your stomach.
  2. Breathe in slowly through your nose and breath out slowly through your mouth.
  3. When breathing in, the hands on your stomach will rise and when breathing out, your hands will go down.

diaphragmatic breathing