A Quick Guide with 5 Best Pelvic Floor Yoga Poses

Do yoga poses help with pelvic floor health?

Can yoga help with the pelvic floor? Yes, research has shown that pelvic floor yoga can help tone your pelvic floor with consistent practice. Incontinence comes from weakened pelvic floor muscles (the group of muscles that support your bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs).

Pelvic floor yoga poses can strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which in turn can support your bladder and provide better control over your leaks.

If you want to stop your bladder leakage naturally, practicing pelvic floor yoga poses for pelvic health can be a good place to start.

Women with stress urinary incontinence may benefit from regular pelvic floor yoga practice with a focus on yoga asanas that target the pelvic floor.

Best pelvic floor yoga poses for incontinence and pelvic health

Our pelvic floor muscles, like all muscles, need time to be relaxed. These muscles, though, often hold onto tension, which can cause fatigue. When these muscles are overworked, they can’t always do their job of holding in urine well, and we can leak.

Want to try pelvic floor yoga to strengthen your pelvic floor and have fewer leaks?

Here are our top 5 yoga asanas for urinary incontinence:

1. Chair Pose – Utkatasana:
Stand up straight with your shoulders relaxed and your feet parallel to your hips. Reach your arms up above your head and gently bend your knees and push your hips and glutes backward like you’re sitting in an invisible chair.

As you do this pelvic floor yoga pose, try to imagine you need to pass gas but are holding it in. This will start to engage your pelvic floor and lift it upwards.

2. Legs Up the Wall Pose – Viparita Karani Variation:

This pelvic floor yoga pose has you lie on your back and uses the wall to support your legs.

Sit down on your yoga mat facing a wall.

Gently lay down on your floor or yoga mat with your back to the ground, perpendicular to the wall. Scoot or adjust so your glutes rest against the wall. Then, lift your legs and rest them on the wall for support. Place your hands behind your hips.

As you hold the pelvic floor yoga pose, gently arch and curve your back while breathing. Take a deep breath in through the nose, and then as you exhale, draw your pelvic floor up to engage it.

3. Mountain Pose – Tadasana:

This is a simple pelvic floor yoga pose that gently stretches and lengthens your body.

Stand up straight and relaxed with your arms down each side of your body, palms facing forward. Make sure your feet are hip-distance apart.

While you stand here, relax and practice lifting and relaxing your pelvic floor. Think about flexing your inner thighs and imagine lifting your belly button.

4. Triangle Pose- Trikonasana:

For this pelvic floor yoga posture, stand facing forward with your feet about 3 feet apart or wider than your shoulders.

Now keep your left foot facing forward and rotate the front foot outward to the side. With your feet spread apart, slowly bend down to the front foot.

Bring your right hand down and rest it either on your right shin bone, yoga mat, or supported by a yoga block. Turn your torso and your gaze to the side following your right foot. Then reach your left arm up into the air. Gently turn your head and look up at your arm.

This pelvic floor yoga pose opens your hips and stretches your lower back. With time, it can create more flexibility and tone in the pelvic floor.

5. Corpse Pose- Savasana:

Any exercise routine needs to include rest for muscles to recover. The corpse pose is perfect for giving your pelvic floor muscles a chance to relax.

This pelvic floor yoga pose begins by lying flat on your back. Make sure your feet are shoulder-width apart with the toes up.

Extend your hands at 45 degrees with your palms open and facing up toward the ceiling. Just rest here, release all muscle tension,  and practice deep breathing.