If you have painful sex, quit the Pelvic Floor exercises (Kegels) and take up Yoga instead.
Do you experience pain during sex? or spasms and shooting pains when inserting a tampon or during intercourse? If so, it may be time to quit those Kegel exercises and substitute them for yoga.
A huge 60% of women experience pain during sex. This pain can come from a range of issues related to sex, including lubrication, skin sensitivity, anxiety or stress, organ sensitivity, or a tight pelvic floor.
Yet all we have been hearing about recently is the craze of Kegel exercises for strengthening your pelvic floor.
Kegel exercises for those who don’t know is an exercise regime that involves tightening the muscles inside your vagina by holding the muscles tight and then releasing or by inserting a ‘jade egg’ and holding it inside to strengthen your pelvic floor. Although very on trend right now, it might not be the best idea if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms
According to Heba Shaheed co-founder of The Pelvic Expert, there is a trend of overdoing your pelvic floor. “The truth is not every woman should be doing pelvic floor exercises only women who have weak (pelvic) muscles.”
“Women who experience pain during sex need to be focusing on relaxation and loosening the muscles in their pelvic floor rather than tightening them. If you don’t know if your muscles are weak or tight Heba suggests seeing a women’s health physio, especially if you experience pain during sex.
So what can women do help alleviate some of the symptoms of pelvic pain?
Heba: If you experience pelvic pain I recommend trying a soft kind of yoga like a Yin yoga for 10-15 minutes a day to release and stretch out the pelvic and abdominal area. Try deep breathing and when it comes to your pelvic floor try releasing rather than tightening the area.
Remember that sex and pain should not go hand in hand.
So don’t suffer in silence ladies, see a women’s health professional today.
You can find out more about Heba and her team at The Pelvic Expert at their website where they look at women’s pain from a holistic perspective. You can also find some of Heba’s yoga videos for pelvic pain there.
