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Yoga and Pelvic Floor: What’s the Connection?

Yoga and pelvic floor health are closely correlated. The yoga practice — and many foundational yoga poses — require contracting and releasing the pelvic floor muscles. Throughout a yoga sequence, you’ll be extending and lengthening the sheet of pelvic floor muscles. Coordinated moves within the practice will engage these muscles to further release tension.

“Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized approach that promotes balance, strength, and awareness of the pelvic floor muscles — the deep muscles that support pelvic organs, contribute to bladder and bowel control, and play a key role in posture and core stability,” says Ebe Carbone, Physical Therapist PT, MS at Spear. “For those who practice yoga, developing a deeper connection to this area enhances body awareness, supports more fluid movement, and promotes mindful breathing.”

In conjunction with the physical poses, yoga is very much centered around the breath. Each deep inhale and exhale can help relax the pelvic floor muscles. Deep diaphragmatic breathing ensures that each breath is a deep belly breath, rather than a short, constricted breath coming from the chest. A few deep breaths or a simple breathing technique such as box breath (inhaling for a count of four, holding for a count of four, exhaling for a count of four, and holding the breath out for a count of four ) can calm the nervous system, reducing stress and built-up tension within the pelvic region. For those experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction, these breathing exercises alone can help provide extended relief.

Accessing the Pelvic Floor Through Mula Bandha

Because you cannot physically see or touch the pelvic floor muscles, it can be difficult to locate and engage them. The practice of Mula Bandha, also known as the root lock, is a yoga technique that involves contracting and lifting the pelvic floor muscles through subtle engagement. Mula Bandha stimulates the perineum, the diamond-shaped area between the anus and genitals. (You may hear a yoga instructor dictate to engage the perineum, as if you were preventing yourself from urinating).

Practicing Mula Bandha can be done during yoga or meditation. For meditation, sit comfortably with a straight spine. As you breathe in, gently contract the muscles around the perineum as if trying to lift them upward and inward, tuck your chin in towards your chest, shoulders elevate towards ears, and hold your breath as you gaze into your third eye center and and after several seconds, gently release perineum, relax the shoulders, and lift your chin, allowing the breath to release through the nose.

These deep inhales and exhales are known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing. The breath originates from the pelvic floor, the very foundation. When inhaling, the diaphragm moves downward and the belly expands. When exhaling, the diaphragm rises, lengthening the pelvic floor muscles. Visualizing each deep belly breath as starting from the root lock and moving upward to the abdominal lock and throat lock can create a calming effect while also practicing lifting and toning the muscles.

Think of a tree—its roots keep it grounded, even if the branches sway or the leaves fall. The same applies to Mula Bandha. Visualize your root lock as the strong foundation for your pelvis, spine, and core stability. This visualization helps connect you to the source of your breath as you take a deep belly breath.

The beauty of the Mula Bandha technique is that it has an energetic effect. It’s believed to be the direct flow of prana, or life force energy. Engaging the root lock is a way to conserve vital energy while also stabilizing the body, strengthening the pelvic floor, and calming the nervous system. Regular practice can contribute to a strong sense of physical stability and connection as well as spiritual growth.

Whether you are prenatal or postnatal, experiencing pelvic pain, or working to prevent it, remember that engaging the pelvic floor through yoga or breathwork should always be gentle. The more you practice accessing this area, the easier it will become to engage it.

Can Yoga Help with Prenatal and Postnatal Pelvic Floor Pain?

The short answer is, yes! Through specific poses, breath work, and guided movement, yoga can do wonders for those experiencing either prenatal or postnatal pelvic floor pain. Of course, it’s best to speak with your healthcare provider and/or OBGYN before attending a yoga class. Also, let the yoga instructor know if you’re pregnant or postpartum so they can assist with modifications throughout the class.

Yoga for Prenatal Pelvic Pain

Pelvic pain is common for women during pregnancy. Sometimes known as pelvic girdle pain (PGP) or symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), pelvic pain during pregnancy is primarily caused by hormonal shifts. Leading up to birth, estrogen, progesterone, and a hormone called relaxin cause ligaments within the pelvic area to stretch. This is in preparation for childbirth, loosening the muscles to allow the baby to pass through the canal.

Of course, a growing belly also puts new pressure on the pelvic floor region. As the months progress, your posture may change, and you may also experience strain on the lower back and pelvis area. Carrying extra weight also shifts your center of gravity, making it harder to balance as the pelvis pushes forward and outward.

While these changes and shifts are temporary, incorporating yoga into your prenatal routine can be especially helpful. Certain yoga moves — such as modified chair pose, bridge pose, and cat-cow — can strengthen and stabilize the pelvic area. A yoga sequence can show you how to manage stress and prepare your body and your mind for labor.

Yoga for Postnatal Pelvic Pain

Post childbirth, you may experience new or different pelvic pain. While giving birth is a beautiful experience, it is taxing on the body. The strain and trauma of childbirth can cause muscle tears, nerve damage, diastasis recti, or pelvic organ prolapse. It’s common to feel pain or pressure now since the muscles have stretched and loosened.

Once you’ve been cleared to exercise, typically 6 to 8 weeks after childbirth, adding slow movement through yoga can support pelvic healing. Many yoga poses focus on core engagement, which is great for strengthening the abdominal muscles and supporting recovery. Pelvic tilts, bird dog, and supported bridge pose are all great poses to help relax the lower pain and reduce any tenderness in the pelvic area.

The key to any postpartum movement is to go slowly. Regardless of your exercise routine before having a baby, it’s essential to allow your body time to recover. That said, yoga can be a supportive step back into your regularly programmed exercise routine.

Yoga and Pelvic Pain Takeaways

Yoga can be beneficial in both preventing pelvic floor pain and assisting with rehabilitation, either due to injury or postpartum. “One of the greatest benefits is prevention: common concerns such as incontinence, pelvic pain, or a feeling of heaviness in the pelvis can often be prevented with proper care,” says Carbone. “Pelvic floor therapy is not only about rehabilitation — it’s also about education, self-care, and prevention. Through individualized assessment, manual techniques, targeted exercises, and breathwork, it helps optimize pelvic floor function and integrate it with the rest of the body, aligning beautifully with the principles of yoga. It’s an invitation to deepen self-awareness and care for a part of the body that is essential, yet often overlooked.”

Persistent or severe pelvic pain should be addressed by a medical professional and/or a physical therapist. They may suggest other modalities in conjunction with specific yoga moves to help with pain and recovery.