The Part of Your Core Nobody Talks About
There’s a moment many women know.
A sneeze that caught you off guard. A hearty laugh that led to tears of embarrassment or shame. A game of tag in the backyard that ends with a quiet but quick trip to change your clothes. In those very human moments, you become frustratingly aware of something you never had to pay much attention to before.
Your pelvic floor.
I know those moments well. After having my son, I started experiencing stress incontinence firsthand. And like so many women, I managed it quietly, for too many years. My managing looked like giving up the things I wanted to do, the things I once really enjoyed. I stopped adventure racing. I stopped playing softball. I started crossing my legs before I sneezed or laughed. I made excuses to sit things out when really I was just ashamed. It wasn’t just the physical activities I stepped back from either. Even social outings and date nights were cut back. Why? Because if I wasn’t wearing a pad or protective underwear, I was terrified that a good conversation would have me tying my sweater around my waist and hurrying home.
It took me a long time to ask for help, and even longer to find the kind of help that actually felt supportive.
Asking for help looked different than I expected
While waiting for a referral to see a specialist, I decided I wasn’t going to simply sit and wait. I sought out a pelvic floor physiotherapist on my own, and that appointment changed everything, not because she fixed me, but because she helped me understand what was actually happening inside my body. For the first time I had language for what I was experiencing. I understood the anatomy, the dysfunction, and most importantly, the potential for rehabilitation through movement and awareness. That visit was the beginning of a real turning point. Why we as women don’t have access to this information from the start is baffling to me. I learned more in that 90-minute consultation than I ever thought possible about my own female anatomy.
By the time my referral came through, nearly three years later, I had already done significant work on my own healing. And in all honesty, that appointment with the specialist was sadly disappointing. The conversation moved quickly toward a pessary or surgery as my only options, and even then I was told it likely wouldn’t fix the issue permanently. There was very little discussion of therapeutic options. And when I raised it, the idea was ultimately dismissed. I left feeling like my body was a problem to be managed with a device or fixed with a procedure, rather than something I could actively work with and heal.
(To be clear, I firmly believe that medical intervention is absolutely necessary in certain situations, and I am not suggesting otherwise. What I am saying is that holistic healing deserves a much more prominent place in that conversation. Because for me, it was the missing piece. And it was what ultimately helped me heal.)
What the pelvic floor actually is
Now, I am not a pelvic floor specialist, nor do I know the body the way a medical professional does. But I do know that the pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissue that sits at the base of the pelvis. It supports your bladder, your intestines, and your reproductive organs. It plays a role in bladder and bowel function, affects menstrual flow, and has a significant influence on your posture and back health.
But its responsibilities don’t stop at the physical level.
A healthy, functioning pelvic floor also supports emotional resilience. It cultivates a felt sense of stability and safety in the body. In the Yoga tradition, this region houses what’s called Muladhara, the root chakra, the energetic foundation of your entire self. When this foundation is weak or dysregulated, it shows up not just in the body, but in how grounded and settled you feel moving through your days. Anxiety, a low sense of safety or capability, feeling unsettled without knowing why. These can all start to manifest when energy flow in this region is affected.
This layered understanding of the pelvic floor, physical, emotional, and energetic, is what drew me deeper into this work. And it’s what shapes the way I teach it today.
The work that actually helped
A large part of my own rehabilitation came through consistent, subtle practices. Not intense workouts or complicated programs, but slow, controlled movements done with attention and breath. I also want to acknowledge Kim Vopni, known as The Vagina Coach, whose work and resources helped me deepen my understanding of pelvic floor health from a women’s wellness perspective. She is a wealth of information and a fellow woman who struggled with pelvic prolapse and dysfunction after labour and delivery.
The practices that made the most difference for me were the ones I could return to regularly. Breathwork that connects to the deep inner core. Subtle contractions and releases that build awareness before they build strength. Movements that train the hip flexors and the surrounding structures that support pelvic floor function. None of it looked impressive from the outside. And yet all of it added up to big gains over time.
A simple practice to try
If you want to begin exploring this work for yourself, start with this:
Come to lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Take a moment to find what’s called a neutral spine by keeping the natural curve of your low back off the floor. Next, let your exhalation invite a slight activation of the abdominal muscles, which in turn ever so gently extends your tailbone toward your feet. The movement is slight, maybe the length of your thumbnail. You will feel your low back move gently toward the mat, but not flatten entirely against it. This small shift activates a connection to the pelvic floor without gripping or forcing anything to happen.
From here, place your hands across your low belly, roughly on your hip bones. Using your breath, simply lift one foot off the mat just a smidge on your inhale, and lower it back down on your exhale. Practice keeping your hips even, your movements simple and slow, and your awareness on the little things. Feel your belly contract as you lift one foot. Feel your pelvis work to stay stable. Feel the contact of your back body stay steady as you lift and lower, one foot at a time.
This is called marching, and it is one of the foundational exercises I return to again and again in my own practice and in my teaching. It trains the hip flexors, activates the deep core, and begins to build the kind of pelvic floor awareness that changes things over time. Start with twenty repetitions and see how it feels.
Slow but steady wins the race
This simple marching exercise, compounded with a number of other simple ones, literally changed my life. And although I haven’t gotten back into adventure racing yet, I’m well on my way to laughing out loud while I hop, skip, jump and dance to a tune I had almost forgotten about. And that, my friends, is what Yoga is all about.
If you’d like to explore these practices for yourself, come explore AUM@home free for 7 days. The community, the classes, and the work are all waiting for you when you are ready.
