Don’t Settle for Mediocrity

“To make the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy elegant…” – Moshen Feldenkrais                                                                              

What fascinates me is people’s impatience while in waiting in line. An elderly woman left exasperated after waiting 10 minutes in the bank line. Another woman was livid when her afternoon was ruined when a quick errand to replace her watch battery became laborious.  We don’t wait, we can’t wait, we are mad when forced to wait.

However, we accept that as we age or after childbirth that incontinence is just a fact of life. We accept racing to the toilet as soon as we arrive home. We avoid bouncy castles, we try to contain our sneezes and wear an absorbent pad or panties daily for those “accidents.” We’re neither livid nor annoyed for this inconvenience or extra cost.

Years ago, I studied with Deborah Bowes, physical therapist and Feldenkrais® Trainer. Despite all of her

medical training, doing 100 Kegels daily, she was still incontinent. I learned three things during her the

Feldenkrais® Advanced Training: The Pelvic Floor: Discovery and Integration.

I learned three keys to improving your pelvic floor function:

1. Relaxation: You have to first learn how to relax. Constantly being in a state of fight, flight, or freeze causes all of your muscles (yes, your pelvic floor muscles too) to be in a state of contraction. When muscles are contracted, the muscles fibers are shortened and weak. Kegels are ineffective when your muscles are already contracted.

1. Whole body movement: Incorporating whole body movement while contracting the pelvic floor makes Kegel exercises more effective. Doing Kegels separate from functional activity makes sensing the pelvic floor frustrating.

1. Imagery: Trying to sense muscles that are deep inside of us is like trying to find your way in the forest at night with no light. Using effective, simple imagery like a marble in a tube or pulling a scarf helps map the elusive pelvic floor.

If there is something to be mad about, how about incontinence ruining your social life? Use this fury to act and learn how to make the impossible possible. Take action the next seven weeks to discover how to reclaim your social life at my upcoming Pelvic Health and Awareness Workshop.

– Susan Yee