If you suffer from pelvic pain or dysfunction, there are many things you can do to relieve symptoms and improve your quality of life. One technique is to learn to relax the muscles that make up your pelvic floor. This guided meditation is designed to teach you how to do just that!

Pelvic floor relaxation is a form of deep breathing that is done while focusing on lengthening the muscles in the lower abdomen and pelvic region. This type of relaxation has long been used in yoga practice, in Lamaze classes for childbirth, and by therapists working with patients suffering from pelvic pain. These exercises have been shown to help activate the parasympathetic nervous system which calms the body and encourages rest. In addition, they can help reduce anxiety and stress, as well as improving emotional responses to physical/emotional threat.

For women, these exercises can be done while sitting, standing, or lying down on the back with knees bent. For men, they can be done while sitting, on the floor in quadruped position, or on their back with the buttocks pulled towards the spine. These exercises should be done slowly and evenly. Breathe deeply into the lower belly and into your lower ribcage. The inhale should be longer than the exhale.

It is suggested to listen to this audio file daily for a week or two, so that the body and mind are very familiar with the relaxing of the pelvic muscles. After that, it is important to check in throughout the day to see how these simple techniques may be affecting your pelvic pain or dysfunction.