How to discover your Primal Pelvic Floor!!!

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In flight to Paleo f(x) in Austin, watching Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 
Did I tell you guys that I met Sam Rockwell last year in the Atlanta airport on my way home from RKC?

Gosh, could that dude be any cooler!

I didn't know he was making this movie, but I wish to God that I had, because I would have pumped him for as much info as I could. 
My hubs and I are big Martin McDonough fans and loved In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths.

Anyways, watching a film in peace is NOT something that happens to me often. 
The turbulence of the plane's got NOTHING on three boys under 8...so my brain was EASILY able to watch the movie and think about my time in Austin. 

I'm sitting there thinking about the Paleo f(x) presentations I want to catch, the new food products I'm going to try, the people I’m looking forward to visiting  and suddenly realizing there needs to be more talk at this conference about the primal pelvic floor. 

In the Paleo world, you hear about primal foods, primal movement, primal cooking, foraging, love-making…but what about the primal pelvic floor? 

Ok, so maybe nobody really cares about that right now, but hopefully by the end of this article, YOU will care and you will want to embark on a hunt to discover yours. 

Why?
Because a healthy pelvis is going to help you move better, experience less pain, have less anxiety about leakage or bathroom habits or even sexual performance. 

It’s going to make you stronger, fitter, and more confident. 

Really, WHO WOULDN’T WANT A PRIMAL PELVIC FLOOR?

So let's do this!

To kick it off, let’s define the word “primal” , because to so many of us it’s synonymous with “cave-man”, “wild”, ‘animal-like” or “paleo”, but the word “primal” ACTUALLY means essential; fundamental.

If something is primal then it’s necessary, of central importance. 

Well if that doesn’t describe the pelvic floor, then I don’t know what does?!

The pelvic floor (PF) is a group of muscles, ligaments and fascia that form this basket of support at the bottom of your trunk/core. It provides structural integrity to the body.

If you think of the body as a canister that contains most of your essential organs with appendages and a head attached, the pelvic floor is the bottom of that canister, the foundation of your body. (What about the feet? Well if you know anything about structural design, and I know VERY little, in this analogy the feet would be the “footers”. Appropriate, right?).

We all know what happens when the foundation of ANYTHING is compromised….it caves, implodes, loses structural integrity, quality, longevity, value, strength and function. 

One of the most fundamental requirements for a strong, optimally functioning body is a healthy base, therefore a healthy pelvic floor is by definition, primal. 

But how do we get one, or maybe the question is really, why don’t we all have one already?

In a word, modernity.

To get an optimally conditioned pelvic floor, we have to fight back against modern (no-) movement culture and sedentary tendencies. 

We have to resist the urge to solely think of the body in terms of “fat” or “lean”, “healthy” or “unhealthy” and adopt a systems-thinking approach that allows us to see the body and all it’s parts as systems that need to be functioning fairly well AND most importantly, as a team. 

Because pelvic floor problems are becoming more of a problem for all people and it’s a problem of systems that don’t coordinate well and these out of sync systems compromise the quality of the larger system, the body. 

We see 74% of moms of all ages experiencing some degree of pelvic floor dysfunction (leakage, pelvic/hip/low back/ pain, pain during intercourse, chronic constipation, and pelvic organ prolapse), BUT we also see non-parous women and men struggling with pelvic floor issues as well. 

And EVEN if they aren’t displaying symptoms of dysfunction YET, all you have to do is sit in an airport for an hour and watch people’s pelvis (like a creep) and you can see that we have a MAJOR problem on our hands. 

Manchester-Bedford Musculoskeletal

People are living their lives postures that is weakening their entire body, including the pelvic floor and THIS is causing them chronic pain and setting so many on the path to surgery. 

Many of these folks with tilted pelvises, flared ribs, compromised shoulder joints, compressed spines, jacked up hips, bad knees and tight hamstrings are trying to or wanting to hit the gym and get healthy, not realizing that building muscle and adding load to these structurally unsafe bodies is akin to trying to add another floor to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

Not. Kablamo. 

And so naturally they quit exercise and movement (if they can ever even start in the first place) and life a life of inactivity.

They start saying things like, “I have a bad back.” “I can’t lift heavy things” and “I need to do more yoga.”

Their lack of movement increases their body’s stress and negatively impacts mood and health.

They gain weight.

Why?

Because their body isn’t working in the way that it should, in the way that it used to before sitting and lack of movement taught their body poor movement patterns.

Because their pelvis is in poor condition. 

Because they don’t have a Primal Pelvic Floor!!!

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Ok so just to summarize what we’ve covered thus far. 

1. A well-positioned pelvis makes for a functioning pelvic floor is, which is essential for a healthy body

2. A chronically tilted pelvis is going to negatively impact movement and quality of life, and will eventually cause injury.

3. Modern sedentary culture has us unfamiliar with movement and therefore in bad alignment that leads muscle imbalances and a life of chronic pain

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So what to do?? How do we discover our primal pelvises and pelvic floors?

We can begin to do so in three easy steps!

***Just a quick disclaimer here that IF you already have pelvic floor dysfunction, you are probably going to need more individualized programming and cues than what is listed here. 

This list is for people that have little to-no pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, currently.

Step 1. Retrain the breath.  

As you can see in the photo above, the core of the body is a canister with the top being the diaphragm and the bottom the pelvic floor. 

When you inhale, the diaphragm lowers, the rib cage expands and the pelvic floor RELAXES downward.  When you exhale, the diaphragm rises, the rib cages deflates and the pelvic floor contracts (lifts). 

It’s a subtle sensation, but for many of us, we don’t even know that our breath, core and pelvic floor should all coordinate, much less HOW TO DO IT! 

How did we get here? That’s a whole other long story, but lack of regular movement or too much strictly cardio (heavy breathing) and belly sucking (you know, when you suck in your tummy to make it look less squishy) can train us to be shallow chest-breathers that never get a full breath and therefore never active our pelvic floors. 

These habits can cause some people to adopt a reverse pattern where they inhale and tighten their pelvic floor OR the position of the pelvis causes the pelvic floor to remain chronically tight no matter the breath. If you have tailbone, hip pain, trouble eliminating waste, pain during sex, premature ejaculation, or pelvic pain in general, then this might be yoU!

********Your homework!!
Begin to notice your own breathing pattern and start to practice deeper inhales and exhales WITH pelvic floor coordination. 

See if you can feel it? 

Here is a video to guide you!

Practice head on over to read Part 2!!! of this Your Primal Pelvic Floor!

Sarah Smith is a trainer, and postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate based in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
She specializes in helping women online and in-person feel strong, confident and capable in their bodies!
Her specialties include kettlebells, gut and pelvic floor health optimization , mobility and movement and making fitness fun! 
She's also a mom to three boys and one English Bulldog. 
Check her out on social media here or get on her email list!! for more free content!
 

Why you don't want to use another person as the standard for what YOU should be

"After all that, I'm just ready to be me." -Lauryn Hill

I'm work fitness. 
I help women stretch beyond their comfort zones and grow. 
I help them find time in their days and space in their lives to care for their bodies with movement and training. 
I help them crush goals, change how they feel in their bodies and even change aspects of their physique. 

I do NOT tell them that they have to be like me. 
I do NOT encourage them to look to Pinterest boards and fitness models as inspiration for whom they should become. 

I have an online presence that features me working out, sharing my accomplishments, challenging others to do more in their lives. 
I follow other women that are crushing online. 
I look to them and their accomplishments with admiration. 
I use them to challenge me. 

I work HARD to make sure that I refrain from EMULATING them or believing that I have to do exactly what they are doing to be successful, to be happy. 
 

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You see, I am 100% in opposition of is the idea that we should EVER make another individual human being the standard for what WE SHOULD BE. 

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I spent from age 13 to 19 suffering chronic whiplash from always looking around at what EVERYONE else was doing and using that as a measure of what I needed to be. 

Consequently I had NO direction. 
I felt like a failure and a fraud. 
I pretty much hated my life. 


At 19 years old I had two amazing faculty members at the University of New Hampshire, that changed my life. 
They saw me. 
They saw my talents and my potential for the successful achievement of goals. 
They believed in me. 
They weren't confused about who I was. 
They weren't comparing me to anyone else. 
They weren't telling me to become something else. 
They simply let me know that I was capable and that I could cultivate a life for myself beyond what I was doing now. 
I could do better. 

And never in a "you don't measure up" sort of manner, but in a, "I see you. You got this," sort of way. 

And suddenly I wanted to change EVERYTHING. 
I wanted to invest in myself. 
I wanted to expand my comfort zone and pursue all the things that I wanted out of life. 

I saw fellow students buckling down and succeeding in school and I went after MY OWN version of that. 

I saw my friends enjoying their hobbies and academic pursuits and I wanted to figure out how to do that for myself too!

I took a hard look at the habits, relationships and activities in my life that WERE NOT working and I changed them. 

I took another job. 
I moved. 
I studied like I had NEVER studied before. 
I set goals. 
I wrote them down. 
I changed who I spent time with. 
I found new tasks and activities that actually nourished me. 

My life suddenly looked like no one else's around me and you know what. 
It was good. 

 

“And so now, you know, I understand that it was because I was measuring myself or trying to compare myself to a standard that wasn’t reality. It wasn’t the standard at all, you know. There’s a scripture in the Bible that we, what does it say, it says ‘We compare ourselves amongst ourselves’ you know. That’s not the standard. You already are the standard. What are you trying to fit into a standard for? We were each created to be individual standards, you know. And we’re trying to fit into a standard? It doesn’t make any sense, you know....After all that, I’m just ready to be me.”

— Lauryn Hill, Unplugged

Click the image to listen to and read these lyrics about why we shouldn't compare ourselves to others!!

Of course this took place over a couple of years and while I learned this incredibly important lesson early in life, I have had to re-learn it and grow it and build upon it time and time again. 
BUT the foundation that nineteen year old Sarah Smith laid has FOREVER impacted my life and helped me to stop chasing everyone else and invest in my own life. 


And this is why I feel so passionately about speaking out against the MANY messages in fitness, social media and popular culture that tell you, 
"Be this_______[insert snapshot of popular, fit, successful person]."

Especially for pre and postnatal women, women struggling with their body image, confidence, self respect and a sense of place in this world. 
Because when we are in theses states we are vulnerable. 
We can be more susceptible to harmful messaging. 
We can do ourselves harm chasing standards set for us by the culture EVEN when we don't know that we are doing it. 


That nineteen year old young woman that was affected by what everyone else around her was doing, she came out again during my third pregnancy and postpartum period. 


I found myself being affected by what fitness culture was telling me pregnant and early postpartum women should be doing, looking like, be capable of. 

I didn't even know that I was doing it!

I was working my ass off. 
Training, lifting, chasing kiddos, not always eating enough, exhausted, a little fried...

Why?
Because I thought that's what you did. 

And then I injured my body. 


The good thing about my injury is that it taught me that I could no longer copy what anyone else was doing. 

NO one readily accessible to me rehabbing pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti, pelvic organ prolapse AND training with kettlebells. 

I had to look to my own body. 
I had to pay attention to my own life. 
I had to work around my own restrictions and capitalize on my own strength.  
Once again I had to stop using what others were doing as my meter stick for success and fitness. 

And it was good!
I now am SUPER outspoken about the fact that pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse and other injuries shouldn't stop you from living your life and crushing your goals. 

But I the way that I train and the messages that I share are always based on the idea that we need to learn what works for us as individuals. 
We need to challenge ourselves to grow. 
But trying to keep up with other people and do exactly what they are doing is both an empty, dangerous and unsatisfying pursuit. 

At the end of the day, we are 100% responsible for shifting our focus and our mindset from looking to other people to learn "What we should be."

But I also know how impactful it was to have two very successful intelligent people in my life say, "I see you. You can do more. Dig in and grow. "

And so that's what I do with my coaching and my online community. 

I see you. 
You can do it!
It doesn't have to look like what anyone else is doing to be good, valuable...to be a success. 

 

Five Ways the Pelvic Floor and Gut Impact One Another

1. Gut dysbiosis and elimination

http://gonatureswellness.com/2017/01/10/dysbiosis/

Gut dysbiosis is when there is an imbalance in the presence of beneficial and pathogenic microbes in your gut. Gut dysbiosis can cause a number of negative symptoms, but one of the most common is diarrhea. 

The frequent elimination and inflammation that occurs when one is experiencing frequent bouts of diarrhea irritates not just the rectum, but the entire pelvic floor. 
The increased incidence of elimination leads involves straining that puts consistent and persistent downward pressure on the muscles of the pelvic floor and like any muscle, they can fatigue and become weak from CONSTANT pressure. 

For those of you that don't know, weak pelvic floor muscles are not as effective at supporting the pelvic organs (rectum, bladder and uterus (if you have one)).

Weak pelvic floors can also cause urine and fecal leakage. 


2. Poor nutrient absorption and depletion of spleen Qi. 

The microbes that reside (or are supposed to reside) in your gut have the amazingly important responsibility of harvesting energy from the food that you eat.
I know you've been walking around giving yourself and your body credit for this incredible job, but sorry. Your body has LONG been outsourcing it. 
There's even research to suggest that the efficiency of nutrient absorption AND how the fuel is used  (is it being used as energy or stored as fat) is determined by specific strains of microbes. Citation

Poor nutrient absorption disregulates the metabolism which frequently results in cravings, consuming more calories than necessary and high BMI in patients, ALL of which can play a role in elimination struggles and pelvic floor dysfunction. 

Additional, a lack of nutrient absorption in the gut ALSO contributes to reduced elasticity, tension and recovery of muscles. 
Weak muscles and lack of tension/elasticity contributes to the incidence of pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic organ prolapse. (Citation)

But what's even more amazing (to me) is that the first step in the nutrient absorption process is DIGESTION. Digestion begins in the mouth with teeth and saliva. It continues in the stomach thanks to enzymes and acid. And then continues in the small intestine.

 In Chinese medicine, pelvic organ prolapse is associated with a depletion of spleen energy. The health and balance of the spleen (yang) is directly related to the health of its yin, the stomach. 

When the stomach (part of the gut!) is dysbiotic (remember that means that good microbes are absent and bad ones are present)  it produces less acid and inefficiently digests food. 
Inefficient digestion and low acid conditions allow pathogens that should otherwise be killed and starved in the stomach to thrive and survive on the undigested foods. 

Inefficient digestion negatively impacts nutrients absorption while the impaired health of the stomach ALSo negatively impacts the spleen...

"One of the most common patterns found in western people is something we call Spleen Qi Deficiency. This can arise from any number of reasons but a poor diet mixed with irregular eating patterns and stress is a common way to develop this pattern. Spleen qi deficiency involves symptoms such as poor appetite, bloating (particularly after eating), weakness of the arms and legs, fatigue and/or loose stools.

As spleen qi deficiency continues to progress a subsequent pattern may develop called Spleen Qi Sinking. This pattern is essentially the same as spleen qi deficiency but with prolapses of the stomach, uterus, anus and/or vagina along with frequency or urgency of urination. This pattern shows a more internal weakness where the body can no longer hold the organs in place."  (Reference) 

Come on! Now tell me THAT isn't interesting and a perfect illustration of how the health and wellness of the pelvic floor and gut are intricately intertwined!

Citation

3. Gut microbiome determined muscle wasting and insulin resistance

The pelvic floor is this amazing system of muscle, ligaments and fascia at the base of your trunk that stabilize and support your body!
In order to effectively do it's job, these muscles and ligaments need to have some bulk, elasticity and resilience. 

Sarcopenia, the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength is associated with aging, cancer and other diseases but it's also highly correlated with inflammation, chronic infection and malnutrition caused by imbalanced gut micro biomes deficient in legacy keystone strains of microbes.

"One recent animal study suggests a relationship between muscle wasting and alterations in the gut microbiome. Muscle wasting induced by a model of acute leukemia in mice was reduced by orally supplementing the mice with specific Lactobacillus species.(44) The Authors suggest that gut micro- biota may influence muscle physiology through altering amino acid bioavailability; influencing metabolites such as bile acids; and modulating production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.(42)"
(Citation)

In 2015 Maranhao et.al., evaluated the relationship between insulin resistance  and pelvic floor strength. 

They found that in their small sample group that as insulin resistance increased, strength of pelvic floor contractions and ability to recruit all the muscles of the pelvic floor decreased.

We know that the gut microbiome plays a significant role in the development of insulin resistance therefore this is yet another way in which the condition of the gut microbiome could impact the health of the pelvic floor.  (Citation)

Citation

4. Anxiety and mood

https://www.boredpanda.com/anxiety-comics-funny-illustrations-gemma-correll/

The research is in, the oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins are all neurotransmitters that control stress, anxiety, mood and behavior whose production by the body is MEDIATED by the bugs in your gut.
Stress, mood and anxiety are responsible for increased pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic organ prolapse symptoms.
Citation

The peer-reviewed literature is ALSO showing that the psychological state of an individual contributes to flare-ups of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 

IBS is highly associated with pelvic floor dysfunction because of the strain and pressure that bouts of diarrhea and constipation place on the pelvic floor. 

Citation

5. A hypertonic (too tight) pelvic floor

Over-recruiting the pelvic floor muscles via exercise or every day life makes for too tight pelvic floor muscles and results in pelvic floor dysfunction.
You can imagine that since your pelvic floor stretches from your bladder to your rectum if it was too tight it could make you feel urge to urinate frequently AND could make elimination difficult. 
Health routine bowel movements and urination rely upon the pelvic floors ability to relax. 
When the pelvic floor is overly and consistently tight, then elimination habits are disrupted and trouble starts. 

The colon is where water is resorbed or absorbed by the stool, depending on what is necessary to create healthy, easy to eliminate stools.
When overly-tight pelvic floor muscles make it difficult for waste to be excreted,  one becomes constipated. 
Besides being uncomfortable and causing straining to the pelvic floor, constipation ALSO negatively impacts the gut. 
When stools remain in the colon for too the toxins that are supposed to be excreted begin to accumulate. The accumulation of these toxins leads to intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome) in which the mucosal lining of the intestines breaks down and begins to allow various substances to leak out of the gut into the blood stream. 

Constipation can also mean that metabolized hormones in the stool are hanging around (causing hormonal imbalance and inflammation) preventing the body from making fresh new hormones!
 

Citation Citation

So there you have it!
If you didn't consider the pelvic floor and gut to be two parts of the body that were impacted one another AND your whole body strength BEFORE you read this article, then hopefully you are beginning to see their connection now!

The body never ceases to amaze and fascinate me.

Sarah Smith is a trainer, lifestyle coach and postnatal fitness specialist that specializes in helping women feel strong, confident and capable in their bodies!
Her specialties include kettlebells, gut health and optimization for fitness goals, pelvic floor health and function and making fitness fun! Check her out on social media here or email her!