NYT - Why Not Try: Do Your Kugels - with or without raisins
Every Woman Can Benefit From This Pelvic Floor Workout
NYT’s latest article on the pelvic floor
Do Your Kugels - with or without raisins!
The latest mainstream article to address that underused and underappreciated muscle group, the pelvic floor, appears in the February 17 issue of the New York Times. The author, a recent mom who has been doing pelvic floor work since her recent pregnancy, suggests that women are seeking pelvic floor specialists to address a trend called “pandemic pelvis,” likely caused by stress combined with too much sitting.
The article presents a series of exercises demonstrated by Ms. Miracle — a physical therapist and a kind of personal trainer for the pelvis. Recommended exercises include those included in the Pelvic Health series - a focus on breathing, coordinating breath and pelvic floor action, using healing sound to clarify the sensation of the pelvic floor, and a few strengthening exercises that we do slowly and, as recommended here, at speed.
“My grandmother, a bit of a Mrs Malaprop, used to urge me to do my “Kugel” exercises. I would ask her if that was with or without raisins!”
“Historically, talking about this region of the body, even with one’s physician, has felt off limits to many. Even the name for the pudendal nerve, which runs through the pelvic floor, comes from a Latin word that means “to be ashamed.”
This prudishness has led to years of unnecessary suffering... Many conditions could be treated or avoided entirely if women felt freer to discuss their symptoms, or if the public were better informed about the pelvic floor. ..
Nearly one in three American women suffers from a pelvic floor disorder, most commonly in the form of urinary incontinence, bowel incontinence, pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse or some combination of the above...
But pelvic floor problems aren’t inevitable. Many pelvic issues can be prevented or mitigated by regularly stretching and strengthening these muscles — and understanding how they function.”
The exercises recommended are certainly worth a try. I don’t agree that women need a personal pelvic floor trainer; the Awareness Through Movement approach to pelvic floor health and awareness presents a developmental, full body program for integrating the pelvic floor one’s total body sense and health.