Pelvic floor relaxation (reverse Kegel)

How to move

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat and a pillow under your head. You can also lie on your side or sit on a soft chair. Let your thighs, buttocks, tummy and jaw go loose.
2. Do one gentle pelvic floor squeeze, as if stopping wind and pee, so you know where the muscles are. Then let it go completely.
3. Breathe in slowly through your nose and let your belly and lower ribs widen. As you breathe in, let the area between your sit bones soften, widen and drop a little.
4. Breathe out slowly and let the breath go, without squeezing and without pushing.
5. Repeat for 5 to 10 slow breaths. If you can't feel anything happening, keep the breath slow and the muscles loose: that is enough.
6. Use the same letting go on the toilet: sit fully rather than hovering, rest your feet on a small step, and don't strain.
7. When it comes easily lying down, practise it sitting, then standing, and use it after every squeeze in your pelvic floor routine.

Form cues

• Let go, never push: no straining or bearing down.
• Slow breath in, soft pelvic floor.
• Avoid: holding your breath, or clenching your jaw, buttocks or tummy.

Practice and cautions

5 to 10 slow breaths, 1 to 3 times a day, plus a full release after every squeeze in your pelvic floor routine. This is an editorial starting point: no trial has tested this home technique on its own. In a 2024 expert consensus, relaxation-focused pelvic floor physiotherapy for 8 to 12 weeks is the first treatment for a tight pelvic floor, and guided relaxation at home is suggested for people who can't get to a physiotherapist.

This doesn't diagnose or treat pelvic pain on its own: see a GP or pelvic health physiotherapist about pelvic pain, pain with sex, or trouble emptying your bladder or bowel. Never push down or strain. With a prolapse, stop if you feel or see a bulge. If you cannot pee at all, get urgent help from a GP or NHS 111. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.