Approach the pelvic floor from the top down: from lips to lips, so to speak.

This lesson explores the connections between mouth and pelvic floor ring muscles. A cork as a prop helps amplify the sensations. Blow on the cork, kiss the cork, move it in all directions. In time, the pelvic floor’s echos of these machinations come into consciousness. You may find yourself walking around the house, cork in lips, after this lesson.

Set Up:

• Lying on mat with a standing scan at start and finish.

• Or sitting on flat bottom chair so that thighs and hips are level

• Have a clean, wine-bottle sized cork or comparable object

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This is an on-your-back lesson that spotlights the left and right sides of the pelvic floor. The ‘levers of awareness’ are the legs. We feel into how, with coordination, rocking the pelvic makes space for the legs to roll outward (inhale) and inward (exhale.).

This is a deceptively simple lesson - accessible for new students, an opportunity to go deep for those who have some experience sensing inward.

Set Up:

• Lying supine on a mat

• OR sitting on a firm-bottom chair with knees and thighs level. A footstool or folded towels to raise the floor might be helpful to simulate bent knees

Tune into tone of the front and back sphincters: the urethra and anus. These two ring muscles, when wisely used, activate pelvic floor system, improve continence, elongate posture; countless benefits flow therefrom.

This lesson gently, gradually engages and strengthens the urethra and anus through the coordinated movement of the breath and pubic bone. Lying supine, we get into the groove of inhale/exhale; arch the back and open the chest/round the back, engage the abs, and roll the pubic bone towards the spine. This sets up the pattern over which to layer contracting - and releasing - the anus and urethra individually and together. The result - feel Ishtar in her power in you.

Set Up:

• Lying supine on a mat

• OR sitting on a firm-bottom chair with knees and thighs level.

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A slight detour from our ‘regularly scheduled’ pelvic floor series to put the practice into practice. Add glutes to ring muscles and pelvic floor system to find a touch of backup singer magic: a bit of “whoop.”

This lesson, a variation of a whole body listening exercise taught by David Kaetz, adds rhythm to our movement vocabulary; in this case, the squeeze, squeeze of the glutes and hands in coordination with the breath. Tune into the power of a ‘whoop’ when the abs kick in, the low back releases, the upper back rounds, the lips “kiss” and activated glutes propel the sound forward.

Set Up:

• Lying supine on a mat

• OR sitting on a firm-bottom chair with knees and thighs level.

Note: it is astoundingly difficult to find videos that focus on backup singer doing the “whoop.” “20 Feet From Stardom” indeed!

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Back to the program, with this lesson from Deborah’s second series. This busy little lesson is about driving the glutei (glutes to us) through their many possible uses: holding up upright, stabilizing the pelvis, lifting a hip, turning the torso, bending the knee, which all lead to sitting, standing, walking., jumping, dancing, skiing, singing, etc. etc.

We will ‘do the driving’ in all the possible orientations to gravity: standing, lying supine, lying prone, kneeling and lunging. If that sounds daunting, just perch on a chair.

Set Up:

• Prop: 2 stick-like items to use as pointers - knitting needles, pencils, chop sticks

• Prop: Padding for knees for ‘standing on knees’ sequence OR a low stool to perch on instead of standing on knees.

• Have a mat for lying supine, prone, kneeling, lunging

• Sit, perch or lean on on a firm-bottom chair if kneeling, lunging not fun today

Note: This recording is from an earlier class - I managed to lose this session’s recording while making room on my hard drive. Ouch.

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This busy lesson, or collection of ‘mini-lessons’ recaps the series’ major themes and suggests every day opportunities to notice/consciously activate the pelvic floor: standing in line, sitting in a waiting room, watching screens or otherwise just reclining, walking. It’s a menu of mix and match of moments to tune into the coordinated movement of the pelvic bones, thing and abdominal muscles, spine and low back muscles, breath and glutei that sum up to the pelvic floor system.

Set Up:

• Small Weight: a comfortably sized weight to amplify awareness while sitting and standing - a book is convenient

• Small Towel: a dish or hand-sized towel to fold on your chair for padding

• Have a mat for lying on your back

• A flat-bottom, armless chair for the seated sections

• A place to stand easily - with the option of a little support if desired

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