Kegel exercises can be tricky. Have you ever been instructed to do them? Have you tried to make them a habit in your daily life? Are you confident that you know what they are? Generally, little to no education is shared with women about kegel exercises and the pelvic floor muscle, so unless you have proactively researched the topic, you may be feeling in the dark. You’re not alone. Many women don’t.
Even for the women who do have a solid concept of what kegel exercises for women are, most of us struggle with how to do them properly as much as we struggle with how to say it properly. Is it “Kegel” as in “bagel” or as in “beagle”? The good news is that you can pronounce it either way. They are both accurate. The more serious news is that it does matter how you kegel. If you are kegeling with improper form, then you are wasting your precious time. When done correctly, however, you will be doing yourself a huge favor that will strengthen your physical health and improve your overall confidence.
What are Kegels and Why Should I Care?
Kegels are exercises for your vagina, or more technically, your pelvic floor. The vagina is an intricate architecture of muscles that need to be tone, strong and healthy to do many important tasks, such as support sexual function, hold back urine and prevent pelvic organ prolapse, a condition where the pelvic organs literally fall. If you want to learn more about the problems that occur when the muscles of the vagina are weak, check out the blog: 5 Common Signs of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction | Kegelbell
Kegel exercises for women can take some practice to get right. Fortunately, there is information available to help, including pictures. When you initially start a kegel routine, be sure to read detailed instructions, review those associated pictures, and allow plenty of time to relax and get comfortable with the idea of exercising your vagina. While you may initially feel uncomfortable, kegel exercises are well worth your time and effort, and it will save you from lots of potentially embarrassing moments in the years to come.
Top Kegel Exercises for Women
Find your baseline. Place your washed finger inside your vagina (like you’re pushing a tampon inside you) and try to use your vaginal muscles to squeeze around your finger. You will notice the entrance (the introitus) has a band of muscle that will likely be tighter and squeeze harder than the muscles in the canal. With your finger still in you, try the following exercises:
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Focus on squeezing different regions: the entrance, the back, the front, and the sides to see if you can notice a difference. Did you have any difficulty connecting to those muscles?
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Imagine your vagina is a drawstring purse and you are pulling on the strings of a drawstring purse by contracting your muscles. Did you notice a different squeezing sensation? Did it intensify your efforts?
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Envision your vagina is a milkshake with a straw, and when you exhale contract your muscles like you are trying to suck the milkshake through the straw. When you relax, you let it go back down again. Did you notice a different kind of muscle reaction to that exercise?
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Do rapid flutter contractions around your finger, fast and fluttery pulses. Did that feel different or was it hard to get the response your mind was trying to elicit?
Any Starting Point is a Good Starting Point
These tests have no right or wrong answers. You are exploring the degree to which your mind and the muscles in this part of your body are connected and communicating. You will also gain insight into the tone and strength of your vaginal muscles. No matter how strong you think you are or aren’t, these kegel exercises for women will help make your pelvic floor stronger and your body healthier.
Worrying about your current level of strength should not be a part of your experience. In fact, you should celebrate that you took the time to get to know a part of your body that you might have been ignoring. You are now empowered and able to tend to it so that this part of your body can take care of you too.
Consistency is Key
The four tests of connection and strength above are the kegel exercises for women you should complete a few times a day. There is no need to have your finger inside while you are doing them, that was just for the first time so that you could get comfortable with the exercises. In fact, you can do kegel exercises just about anywhere, discretely, or you can do them in bed with your lover! Strive for three to five times a day for about five minutes at a time. Be sure to cycle through each of the different kinds of exercises.
Every so often, reinsert a finger and do the exercises to check your progress. You will notice your muscles responding better and creating a stronger squeeze in response to your command. Once you realize the impact that strengthening your vaginal muscles has on bladder control and sexual pleasure, you may be inspired to expand on your potential for inner power with a kegel weight training system. Keep working on your vaginal health and do your happy dance to celebrate your success! You got this.
Enjoyed reading this? Check out our blog on the 6 Best Non-Surgical Vaginal Rejuvenations Treatments!
