Those of you who are familiar with me know that I love talking about the pelvic floor. I love talking about kegels, I love talking about gaining control and awareness of the pelvic floor muscles… Let’s face it, I’m a pelvic floor passionista!
I recently wrote an article that was featured on Dr. Michelle Segar’s blog (click here for the full article), and yes, it’s about pelvic floor fitness and the importance of gaining strength and control in this vital region of your body. Here’s a teaser from the article:
Learning how to properly contract and relax your pelvic floor muscles – how to do kegels – will help you gain strength, endurance, and coordination of the pelvic floor muscles, which will keep you in control of your bodily functions as you age…
Control = Confidence, and confidence is hugely connected to quality of life: If you don’t pee when you laugh, you might feel more comfortable socially. If you don’t leak when you exercise, you might be more likely to head outside for a walk. If you can hold your bladder long enough to make it to the store and back, any anxiety you might have about knowing every rest stop en route and in the shopping center should greatly decrease.
- When you have order in your home, you feel in-control of your household and confident that you can find what you need to find when you need to find it. CLEAN A CLOSET. (Click here for an archived post related to closet-cleaning.)
- When you have a sense of control over your food intake you feel confident that you are doing your best to keep your body healthy and strong. It’s fun to indulge every once in a while, but let’s face it… Over-indulging on a regular basis makes you feel like a slug, and if over-indulgence becomes a habit, it can make you feel out-of-control… Like you have become a slave to the whims of your taste buds and the animal part of your brain that says, “candy, NOW!” It feels GOOD have a sense of control over your food intake. It feels good to treat your body right. (Click here for info about treating your body like royalty.)
- When you lift weights you gain muscle mass, increase your bone mineral density, and feel rooted and strong. Your body awareness improves. You feel like you have more control over your bodily movements, your body mechanics, and your physical life in general. You feel confident about your body and your safety when you need to lift heavy objects or do something physically demanding. LIFT WEIGHTS. Don’t worry… You’re a woman. You will not end up looking like Schwarzenegger. (Click here for archived posts related to weight training for women.)
- When you get enough sleep, you don’t feel groggy or fuzzy or hazy. You feel bright, alert, and in-control of your life and your day. It may be a busy day, it may be a crappy day… But at least you’re alert enough to manage it. You feel more confident about the tasks ahead. (I’m still working on this one!)
- When you feel (largely) in-control of your health, food, and fitness routine your BODY CONFIDENCE increases significantly. You carry yourself with your head held high and you exude PRESENCE. You look and feel sexier… Stronger. Graceful. Secure. My book, FemFusion Fitness for Intimacy, is all about increasing your body confidence. Have you signed up for the Ladies Night launch party?
Mothering and Ice Skating... Control required. Confidence gained.
Love this post! I was just thinking about this today and I think its a hard concept for many women to grasp or feel okay with. You are right on – if you are completely in control of your body and you learn to value it and appreciate what it can do, your confidence soars, which I think makes you a happier, healthier person!
Erin — YES! And I thought of one more area where control = confidence… MONEY. My husband and I are heavily into budgeting and saving right now, and it feels so good to finally be in-control of our finances. We’re no longer (as) fearful of out of the blue expenses now that we have an “emergency fund.” We feel more confident about life in general. It’s a great thing!
Bri,
YES! I agree wholeheartedly on all accounts. You pretty much nailed it, nothing more to add. And you ROCK!