What’s up with your pelvis?

Today, I'm asking you to think about your pelvis. Finding a neutral pelvis in sitting and standing can positively affect your pelvic floor health by maintaining the appropriate level of tension in your pelvic floor muscles. Prefer to watch? Skip to the video below:

• We all have a habitual way of standing. We tend to use certain muscle groups more than other muscle groups as we stand.

• In order to have a strong, functional pelvic floor and core system, you need to have strong, functional gluteal muscles and legs. A neutral pelvis puts your glutes in an optimal position to work effectively. To get your pelvis in neutral, you need to figure out where the weight travels from your body through your pelvis to the floor.

• A neutral pelvis is often defined as ASIS (the sticky-outy-bones at the front of the pelvis) and pubic symphysis aligned in the same plane. See if you can find those points in your body. Maybe use a mirror. When your pelvis is neutral, you'll find that the weight travels primarily into your heels, not your toes. You can also gently rock aback and forth on your feet until you feel the weight of your pelvis floating over your legs—almost as if your legs were geysers, and your pelvis just floats on them.

• You don't need to walk around all day trying to find a neutral pelvis! But you can stop and take a couple of moments to notice when you're habitually out of neutral. How do you stand in line at the grocery store? Or wash dishes? See if you can find neutral then. 

A note: sometimes your pelvis is neutral, but your ribs are sheared forward and up. If that's the case for you, you'll want to relax your ribcage before you evaluate your pelvis—but that’s a whole other blog post!