Yoga guide
Yoga can be a good way to stay active with a weak or leaky pelvic floor, but it doesn't replace pelvic floor exercises. In the largest trial, 240 women aged 45 to 90 who leaked every day did 12 weeks of pelvic floor yoga or a general stretching and strengthening programme: leaks fell by about 2 a day in both groups, with no clear difference.
Pelvic floor muscle training is the first treatment for leaking. NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) says supervised exercise, for example yoga, may help alongside it, not instead of it. And not every pelvic floor needs strengthening: one that is too tight needs to learn to let go.
This guide covers what the trials show for leaks and prolapse, how to build the squeeze into your poses, letting go of a tight pelvic floor, pregnancy and men, the poses to change if you leak or have a prolapse, and when to see a GP. It ends with a free 30-minute class.
NICE's first treatment for stress or mixed leaking is at least 3 months of supervised pelvic floor muscle training, with at least 8 squeezes 3 times a day. In a Cochrane review, training cured stress leaking in 56% of women, against 6% without it.
In 240 women who leaked every day, 12 weeks of pelvic floor yoga cut leaks by 2.3 a day, against 1.9 with stretching and strengthening: no clear difference. Both groups had a leaflet on pelvic floor exercises, and there was no untreated group. A Cochrane review found too few earlier trials to judge.
For women doing supervised pelvic floor training who want to be active, NICE says supervised exercise, "for example, yoga", may help with their symptoms. Its incontinence guideline also says not to recommend complementary therapies for leaking. Yoga goes alongside pelvic floor training, never instead of it.
The pelvic floor moves down as you breathe in and up as you breathe out, and the UK's pelvic health physiotherapists say to keep breathing and let the muscles relax fully after every squeeze. Movement with a deliberate pelvic floor squeeze may work slightly better than squeezes alone, on low-certainty evidence.
With pelvic pain, pain with sex or trouble emptying, the pelvic floor is often too tight, and relaxation-focused physiotherapy comes first. "It is just as important to have pelvic floor muscles that can relax as it is for them to be strong", the UK's pelvic health physiotherapists say.
No study has measured pressure in the tummy during yoga poses. The UK's pelvic health physiotherapists suggest avoiding long rises in tummy pressure, such as double leg lifts, if you leak with exercise, so our suggestion is to change boat pose, double leg raises, jumps and fast, forceful breathing until you're dry. With a prolapse, the NHS advises avoiding heavy lifting, running and trampolining.
A sling of muscles from the pubic bone to the tailbone that supports the bladder and bowel (and the womb), tightens to keep you dry when you cough or lift, and relaxes to let you pee and poo. Everyone has one. The NHS describes stress leaking (with a cough, a laugh or a lift), urge leaking (with a sudden, strong need to go) and a mix of both.
The muscles "can be weak, overstretched, slow to work, too tight or torn just like the other muscles of your body", POGP (Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy) says, and trouble emptying "may be due to poor relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles". In expert consensus, a too-tight (high-tone) pelvic floor is found in 80% of women with chronic pelvic pain. That's why this guide has two halves: lifting and letting go.
The University of California programme taught Iyengar-informed hatha poses with props, mixing "active postures engaging the pelvic floor and more passive postures promoting relaxation", in two 90-minute classes a week plus an hour at home, for 12 weeks. Its pilot used 15 poses, including mountain, chair, triangle, warrior II, a garland squat, a seated twist, bound angle, a supported bridge, locust and corpse pose.
Teachers drew attention to how each pose could help the pelvic floor. The papers don't say whether a squeeze was cued in every pose.
Yoga's "root lock" is a pelvic floor lift. In two small Indian trials, a mula bandha programme changed prolapse symptoms by less than people notice, and didn't build pelvic floor strength more than no programme. Treat it like any pelvic floor squeeze: lift, then let go fully, rather than holding it all class (our suggestion, following POGP's advice to relax fully after every squeeze).
Women with leaking, an overactive bladder, a mild prolapse, a tight pelvic floor or pelvic pain; women in pregnancy and after birth; and men with leaking after prostate surgery or chronic pelvic pain. Our pelvic floor exercises guide covers the squeezes themselves in detail.
In the largest trial, 240 women aged 45 to 90 with daily leaks (3.4 a day on average) did 12 weeks of pelvic floor yoga or a time-matched stretching and strengthening programme. Leaks fell by 2.3 a day with yoga and 1.9 with the other programme, a difference of 0.3 a day that could have been zero.
Leaks fell by more than 60% in the yoga group, but both groups had a leaflet on pelvic floor exercises and bladder training, there was no untreated group, and leaking often eases over time, so the trial can't say how much of the fall was down to yoga.
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Side effects were about as common with yoga as with stretching and strengthening (45 against 47), and the one serious event, in the stretching group, was unrelated. At 24 weeks, 79% and 73% of the women followed up were still practising.
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In 140 women with an overactive bladder who leaked, urge leaks fell about as much with yoga as with stretching, though a urinary distress score improved by about 7 points more with yoga. Sexual function and sleep were no better with yoga than with stretching.
In 19 women, 6 weeks of yoga cut leaks by 70%, against 13% on a waiting list. In 56 women aged 55 to 83, 3 months of yoga cut leaks by 76% against 56% with stretching and strengthening, a difference that could have been chance, though stress leaks fell more (61% against 35%). A 2019 Cochrane review of the 2 earliest trials (49 women) couldn't say whether yoga helps, on very low-certainty evidence.
NICE: "Offer a trial of supervised pelvic floor muscle training of at least 3 months' duration as first-line treatment to women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence", with at least 8 squeezes 3 times a day. In a Cochrane review, training cured stress leaking in 56% of women against 6% without it, on high-quality evidence, and an overview of Cochrane reviews found it beat no treatment for every type of leaking.
NICE's pelvic floor guideline: "For women who are doing supervised pelvic floor muscle training and want to be physically active, advise them that supervised exercise (for example, yoga) may help with their symptoms." It says supervised because "certain exercises, if done incorrectly, can weaken the pelvic floor by increasing intra-abdominal pressure".
Its incontinence guideline says: "Do not recommend complementary therapies for the treatment of urinary incontinence or overactive bladder." So NICE doesn't recommend yoga for leaking. It says supervised exercise such as yoga may help alongside supervised pelvic floor training.
In Cochrane's 2024 review, exercise without deliberate pelvic floor squeezes worked less well than direct training, and movement with a deliberate squeeze may have done slightly better than squeezes alone (both low certainty). A 2026 review of 14 trials (797 women) found other exercise, yoga included, about as good as pelvic floor training for stress leaking. The reviews disagree, so do your squeezes, and squeeze on purpose during yoga.
Two small trials favoured yoga. In 30 women aged 60 and over, yoga eased leaking more than Pilates, but each care centre was given one programme, so differences between centres could explain it. In 46 women, yoga-based breathing training improved quality of life and relaxed the pelvic floor more than Pilates-based breathing, though both helped. Neither beat pelvic floor training.
An online yoga-Pilates programme in 60 women improved a leaking score by less than people notice, gentle yoga in 12 women with urge leaking caused no problems, and pelvic floor training plus yoga worked better supervised than unsupervised in 91 older women. Reviews say the recent trials support yoga's safety, but it hasn't been shown to beat general strengthening.
In a lab study with sensors near the anus, locust pose switched the pelvic floor on most of the poses tested (63.5% of a maximal squeeze), then side angle (35.3%), side plank (29.1%) and a front plank (26.3%). It's one small study, and it measured muscle activity, not leaks.
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Across 23 studies, exercise (yoga among it) improved a female sexual function score by about 5 points, on low-certainty evidence. In 46 women, yoga added to pelvic floor exercises helped straight after the course but not a month later, and in the largest trial, pelvic floor yoga did no better than stretching.
NICE: at least 8 squeezes 3 times a day, for at least 3 months, ideally supervised. The pelvic floor exercise move's page: start with 8 slow holds of up to 10 seconds and 8 quick squeezes, three times a day, building towards 10 of each. POGP expects an improvement in 3 to 5 months for women and 3 to 6 for men.
The largest trial used two 90-minute classes a week plus an hour at home, for 12 weeks, and the first pilot two classes a week for 6 weeks. Our editorial starting point: daily pelvic floor exercises, plus our 30-minute class 2 or 3 times a week for at least 12 weeks, judged at 3 months as NICE advises for pelvic floor training.
Breathe in and let your belly and pelvic floor soften; breathe out and lift the pelvic floor gently, as if stopping wind and pee; then let it go fully. POGP's men's leaflet says you "are more likely to breathe easily if you lift your pelvic floor on your out-breath", and its women's leaflet says to keep breathing and keep your buttocks and legs relaxed. The Bladder and Bowel Community adds: avoid tightening your upper tummy.
POGP calls it the knack: "tighten your pelvic floor muscles before any activity which involves a rise in intra-abdominal pressure", such as coughing, sneezing, lifting, carrying and bending. The NHS says to tighten them "before and during the lift".
NICE specifies supervised exercise because some exercises done incorrectly can weaken the pelvic floor by raising pressure in the tummy. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy says your GP can refer you to a specialist physiotherapist, who can check your squeeze. A yoga teacher can help you adapt poses (our suggestion).
Keep breathing, relax fully after every squeeze and lift on the out-breath: POGP's advice. Mountain pose's page gives 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times. Building the squeeze into each pose is our suggestion: the trials don't say whether every pose cued it.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Mountain pose (Tadasana)
In a 2024 expert treatment algorithm, relaxation-focused pelvic floor physiotherapy is the first treatment for a tight (high-tone) pelvic floor, with guided relaxation at home when physiotherapy isn't available. With pelvic pain, pain with sex or trouble emptying, don't add squeezes until you've been assessed: more squeezing can make a tight pelvic floor worse.
In 16 women, 6 weeks of Iyengar-based yoga was followed by 29% less worst pain, with no comparison group. A 36-woman trial compared remote pelvic yoga with stretching to test whether a full trial was feasible, and in 60 women, yoga added to anti-inflammatory tablets did better than the tablets alone. Yoga-based breathing lowered resting pelvic floor activity in 46 women with leaking.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and supported, or sit supported:
In a crossover trial of 40 men with chronic pelvic pain syndrome, an hour of supervised yoga a day for 6 weeks cut symptom scores by 8.4 points, against 10.8 with two tablets (alfuzosin and amitriptyline), a difference that could have been chance. The tablets helped urinary symptoms more, and side effects were less common with yoga (10% against 27.5%). It's one small trial.
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In the POPPY trial (447 women), one-to-one pelvic floor training eased prolapse symptoms more than a leaflet at 12 months. NICE: "Consider a programme of supervised pelvic floor muscle training for at least 16 weeks as a first option" for a mild prolapse. The NHS advises avoiding heavy lifting, running and trampolining, and doing regular pelvic floor exercises.
A review of 7 trials of other programmes (hypopressive exercise, yoga, breathing and upside-down hip exercises) found "no evidence that other exercise programs are more effective than PFMT" (pelvic floor muscle training) for prolapse. The trials labelled yoga included regular pelvic floor training, and adding upside-down hip exercises didn't improve prolapse stage. We found no trial of yoga inversions for prolapse.
In 50 women with a mild prolapse, 12 weeks of mula bandha added to usual treatment improved a symptom score by 5.7 points more than usual treatment alone, well below the 15 points that make a clinical difference.
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We found no study measuring pressure in the tummy during yoga poses. In 147 women with pelvic floor problems, standing up from a chair and coughing raised it more than lifting 10 or 20 lb (about 4.5 or 9 kg). In 53 women, "pelvic floor safe" versions of exercises often raised it no less than the usual versions, and in a lab study, Pilates moves raised it no more than standing up from a chair, on average.
In 15 women after birth, a crunch widened the opening in the pelvic floor muscles, while bird dog and a plank behaved like a squeeze. The only yoga imaging is one volunteer's MRI and an ultrasound study of fast yoga breathing in 15 teachers, which gave a mixed picture.
Our suggestion, applying POGP's advice to avoid "prolonged increases in intra-abdominal pressure e.g. double leg lifts" if you leak with exercise, and the NHS's prolapse advice. While you leak or have a prolapse:
No study has measured pressure in the tummy during yoga poses, so these swaps are our caution, not proof that the poses cause harm. NICE's reason for supervised exercise is the same worry: that some exercises, done incorrectly, raise pressure in the tummy.
In women who didn't leak beforehand, pelvic floor training in pregnancy lowered the chance of leaking late in pregnancy by about 62% (moderate certainty) and 3 to 6 months after the birth by about 29% (high certainty). NICE encourages pelvic floor training in pregnancy.
In one trial of 200 women, yoga from 13 to 20 weeks of pregnancy improved pelvic floor symptom scores in more women than usual care (24% against 8%). In 128 women after a vaginal birth, not randomised, weekly yoga went with better organ position on ultrasound at 3 months. From the end of the first trimester, keep time flat on your back short; our yoga in pregnancy guide covers timing.
NICE: "Offer supervised pelvic floor muscle training to men with stress urinary incontinence caused by prostatectomy", and continue for at least 3 months, though the trials in a Cochrane review were mixed. We found no trial of yoga for leaking after prostate surgery. Prostate Cancer UK says Pilates and yoga "may also help to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles". Don't do the squeezes while a catheter is in; start once it's out.
During radiotherapy, yoga eased fatigue and sexual function scores in 50 men, but not the urinary symptom score. In 29 men, 6 weeks of yoga before prostate removal improved sexual and quality of life scores. A review of 5 studies (129 men) said it was "premature to draw definitive conclusions".
Pelvic floor exercise: start with 8 slow holds of up to 10 seconds and 8 quick squeezes, three times a day. Pelvic floor relaxation: 5 to 10 slow breaths, 1 to 3 times a day. Slow breathing: at least 5 minutes (the moves' pages). Crocodile breathing: 1 minute to settle (our daily pelvic floor workout).
Mountain pose: 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times (the move's page). Chair pose: 3 holds of 5 breaths; warrior II: 5 breaths each side (our yoga for balance class). Triangle: 3 breaths each side (our yoga for high blood pressure class). Side angle: 5 breaths each side, forearm on your front thigh (our vinyasa flow for beginners). Lift gently on each out-breath.
3D demoMountain pose (Tadasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoChair pose (Utkatasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWarrior II (Virabhadrasana II)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoTriangle pose (Utthita Trikonasana)Intermediate · A step
3D demoExtended side angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana)Intermediate · No equipmentLocust: 3 holds of 3 breaths (our yoga for menopause class). Pelvic tilt into bridge: 6 to 8 slow reps, squeezing on the way up and letting go at the bottom; bird dog, one limb at a time: 5 each arm and leg (our Pilates for your pelvic floor workout). The strap stretch: 45 seconds each side (our yoga for runners). The lying twist: 30 seconds each side (our yoga for high blood pressure class).
3D demoLocust pose (Salabhasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoPelvic tilt into bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupine hamstring stretch with a strapBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupine spinal twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBird dog, one limb at a timeBeginner · No equipmentHappy baby: hold 30 to 60 seconds, about 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 rounds; reclining bound angle: rest 2 to 5 minutes with a support under each thigh; corpse pose: at least 5 minutes, up to 10 (the moves' pages). Child's pose: 1 minute with your knees wide (our pelvic floor relaxation routine). Legs up the wall: 2 minutes with your hips on the floor (our long COVID routine); its page's cautions apply in pregnancy and with glaucoma or high blood pressure that isn't under control.
3D demoHappy baby pose (Ananda Balasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoChild's Pose (Balasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoReclining bound angle pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)Beginner · Firm cushion
3D demoLegs up the wall (Viparita Karani)Beginner · A wall
3D demoCorpse pose (Savasana)Beginner · No equipmentOur suggestion, applying POGP's advice on double leg lifts: leave out boat pose, step back rather than jump in sun salutations, and keep squats shallow (the deep squat's page: ease off if you feel heaviness, dragging or a bulge). No study has measured pressure in the tummy during these poses.
Do the daily pelvic floor workout every day, and our 30-minute class 2 or 3 times a week. With pelvic pain, pain with sex or trouble emptying, use the relaxation routine instead of the squeezes. With a prolapse, the prolapse strength workout has no impact or crunches. In pregnancy, use the prenatal class; after birth, the postnatal exercises.
A 30-minute yoga class for your pelvic floor: poses from a trial programme, a gentle lift as you breathe out, a full release, and supported rest poses.
30 minBeginner17 movesA step, Firm cushionA 5-minute daily pelvic floor workout for women and men: slow holds and quick squeezes, three times a day, with how to find the right muscles.
5 minBeginner2 movesNo equipmentAn 8-minute routine for a tight pelvic floor: slow breathing and comfortable positions to help the muscles let go, with no strengthening squeezes.
8 minBeginner5 movesFirm cushionA 20-minute Pilates workout for your pelvic floor, built on UK pelvic health physiotherapists' booklet: squeeze as you breathe out, move, then fully release.
20 minBeginner18 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 25-minute strength workout for a pelvic organ prolapse: pelvic floor squeezes, sit-to-stands, push-ups, rows, bridges and side-lying work, with no jumping or crunches.
25 minBeginner12 movesA bench or box, A wallA 20-minute prenatal yoga workout for any trimester: seated breathing, all-fours and kneeling poses, supported standing poses and rest, none flat on your back.
20 minBeginner15 movesA step, A wallA gentle 25-minute routine for the first weeks after birth: pelvic floor, breathing, tummy and hip exercises on the floor, sit-to-stands and a walk.
25 minBeginner12 movesA bench or box, Cardio machineA 25-minute gentle yoga class for complete beginners and over-50s: slow breathing, a warm-up, supported standing poses, floor poses and a closing rest.
25 minBeginner14 movesNo equipmentThese follow the NHS and our pelvic floor exercises guide. A&E means accident and emergency. In the US, call 911 for 999.
These can be signs of a serious problem with the nerves at the base of the spine (cauda equina syndrome), or of a serious infection. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
If:
If you have:
For women who leak, NICE suggests specialist referral when it comes with lasting pain in the bladder or urethra, a bladder that can still be felt after peeing, trouble emptying the bladder, a lump in the pelvis, leaking of poo, signs of a nerve condition, or past continence surgery, pelvic cancer surgery or pelvic radiotherapy. For men, it refers bladder symptoms that come with repeated urine infections, a bladder that won't empty, kidney problems or suspected cancer. If any of these apply to you, see a doctor rather than only doing exercises.
See a GP if you notice bleeding from your vagina after the menopause, "even if it's only a small amount or it's only happened once", the NHS says.
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Stop a pose that brings on leaking, heaviness, dragging, a bulge or pain, and make it smaller or leave it out. POGP says pain when you exercise the pelvic floor, or tummy or pelvic pain afterwards, needs advice from a specialist physiotherapist; meanwhile, stop adding squeezes and use the relaxation practice (our suggestion). For men's symptoms such as a weak flow or dribbling, see our pelvic floor exercises guide.
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No trial shows yoga beating pelvic floor training, which cures stress leaking in 56% of women against 6% without it. In the largest trial, yoga did about as well as stretching and strengthening. Exercise without deliberate squeezes worked less well in Cochrane's 2024 review (low certainty), though a 2026 review found other exercise about as good. NICE puts yoga alongside supervised training, not instead of it.
Mula bandha is a pelvic floor lift. In two small trials, it changed prolapse symptoms by less than people notice and didn't build strength more than no programme. Lift and let go fully, as with any pelvic floor squeeze.
No trial supports it. In 15 yoga teachers, fast breathing gave a mixed picture on ultrasound, and fast breathing caused more side effects than slow breathing in trials of pranayama.
Resting poses such as constructive rest and knees-to-chest don't train strength: they help a tight pelvic floor let go. Strength comes from deliberate squeezes.
Upside-down hip exercises added to pelvic floor training didn't improve prolapse stage, and we found no trial of yoga inversions for prolapse. One-to-one pelvic floor training eased symptoms in 447 women.
Leaks fell by more than 60% in the yoga group of the largest trial, with no more side effects than stretching, and NICE says supervised exercise such as yoga may help alongside pelvic floor training. Adapt the poses that bring on leaking.
A pelvic floor can be too tight, and with pelvic pain, relaxation comes first. "It is just as important to have pelvic floor muscles that can relax as it is for them to be strong."
NICE's path for leaking and prolapse is pelvic floor training first, then other treatments if it isn't enough. No trial compares yoga with them: yoga is an extra.
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It can be a helpful addition. In the largest trial, 12 weeks of pelvic floor yoga cut leaks by about 2 a day, about as much as a stretching and strengthening programme. Pelvic floor exercises are still the first treatment, and NICE says supervised exercise such as yoga may help alongside them.
No. Pelvic floor training cured stress leaking in 56% of women, against 6% without it, and no trial shows yoga doing better. Do your squeezes every day and add yoga if you enjoy it.
In a lab study, locust pose switched the pelvic floor on most, then side angle, side plank and a front plank. The trial programme used standing poses such as mountain, chair, triangle and warrior II, floor poses such as locust and a supported bridge, and rest poses. Whichever you do, lift your pelvic floor gently as you breathe out and let it go fully as you breathe in.
Two small trials favoured yoga, but neither is big enough to settle it, and neither beat pelvic floor training. Choose the one you'll keep doing, and squeeze on purpose during it.
Slow breathing and supported rest poses can help the muscles let go, and in 46 women, yoga-based breathing lowered resting pelvic floor activity. If you have pelvic pain, pain with sex or trouble emptying, don't add squeezes: relaxation-focused physiotherapy is the first treatment.
Usually, with changes. Skip jumps, deep squats and long, hard holds such as boat pose, and stop any pose that brings on heaviness, dragging or a bulge. Pelvic floor training is the first treatment for a mild prolapse.
No study has measured pressure in the tummy during yoga poses. The UK's pelvic health physiotherapists suggest avoiding long rises in tummy pressure, such as double leg lifts, if you leak with exercise, so our suggestion is to leave out boat pose, double leg raises, jumping and fast, forceful breathing for now. Never hold your breath and bear down.
Mula bandha, yoga's "root lock", is a pelvic floor lift. Two small trials found little or no benefit over usual care or no programme. Treat it like any pelvic floor squeeze: lift, then let go fully, rather than holding it all class.
We found no trial of yoga for leaking after prostate surgery; NICE recommends supervised pelvic floor training. In one small trial of 40 men with chronic pelvic pain, symptoms eased nearly as much with an hour of yoga a day as with two tablets, and Prostate Cancer UK says yoga and Pilates may also help strengthen the pelvic floor.
Yes, if your midwife or doctor agrees. Pelvic floor exercises in pregnancy lower the chance of leaking late in pregnancy and after the birth, and in one trial of 200 women, yoga in pregnancy improved pelvic floor symptoms. From the end of the first trimester, keep time on your back short.
The UK's pelvic health physiotherapists say you should notice an improvement after 3 to 5 months of regular pelvic floor exercises, or 3 to 6 months for men, and NICE judges a programme at 3 months. The yoga trials ran for 6 to 12 weeks.
See a GP about any leaking, a lump or bulge in or around your vagina, blood in your pee, or bleeding after the menopause. New numbness around your genitals or bottom, or suddenly being unable to pee or control your bladder or bowel, needs A&E or 999.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
