PREGNANCY & THE PELVIC FLOOR

~ A New Relationship Begins ~

by Kira Cook, MayaPrenatal 26 June 2025

There is a quiet intelligence at the base of your body — a layered hammock of muscles that holds, supports, and responds. During pregnancy, your pelvic floor becomes more than anatomy. It becomes a relationship.

This isn’t just about “strength” or “core.” It’s about awareness. About learning to both hold and let go.

🌿 The Shifting Landscape

The pelvic floor is made up of three muscle layers — from the superficial outer ring, to the mid-layer that forms a sling, to the deepest layer that cradles your organs and helps hold your baby’s weight. As your pregnancy progresses, the demands on this space increase: your uterus expands, hormones like Relaxin soften the tissues, and your center of gravity shifts.

This is not a reason to brace. It’s a reason to listen more closely.

🌙 Toning and Softening

I teach that pelvic floor awareness is not only about strength — it’s about rhythm. The capacity to tone, release, pulse, and soften. This dynamic connection is what prepares you for birth — and supports your body’s healing after.

Try this simple awareness practice:

• Sit in Sukhasana on a bolster or blanket.
• Close your eyes.
• Inhale gently and feel the pelvic floor expand downward like a flower blooming.
• Exhale softly and allow a natural drawing inward and upward — not forced, but subtle.
• Repeat for a few cycles. Then let go of control. Just feel.

This breath-guided awareness is the beginning of an embodied relationship.

💫 Invitation to Reflect

During pregnancy, many of us feel disconnected from this part of our body — especially if we’ve experienced trauma, shame, or cultural silence around the pelvis and sexuality.
Begin by bringing love into this space.

Ask yourself:

• What stories do I carry in my pelvic bowl?
• Do I trust this space to open, release, and be supported?
• What kind of birth would feel safe to my body?

These few questions are not just in your mind. They are energetic. Let them land in your tissues.

🌸 A Few Yoga Tools to Support the Pelvic Floor

• Malasana (Yogi Squat): Encourages openness through the pelvic outlet, grounding, and natural release. Use support under the heels or sit on a block if needed.
• Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana): Gently tones the pelvic floor when lifting, and invites release when lowering. Only practice this if it feels comfortable in your body.
• Cat–Cow (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana): Mobilizes the pelvis and brings fluid awareness to the spine and pelvic floor.
• Sukhasana with visualization: Imagine a lotus opening and closing at the pelvic floor with breath.
• Sound: Low notes or humming on the exhale can support pelvic floor tone and relaxation.
  
  

✨ Final Note

Your pelvic floor is not a part of you to fix. It is a part of you to befriend. As you grow into motherhood, this relationship becomes a doorway — into trust, surrender, and deep embodied knowing.

 Love Kira