The Diaphragm and Pelvic Floor Connection in Pilates

Joseph Pilates said that above all, we should learn to breathe correctly.

I have been sitting with that lately in a new way. Not just as a teacher but as a student in my own body. I have been working through some things as a perimenopausal woman that have rekindled my fascination with the relationship between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor.

Here's what caught my attention.

These two structures - the dome of the diaphragm at the base of the ribcage and the dome of the pelvic floor at the base of the torso - move together but in opposite breathing phases.

When you inhale, the diaphragm descends in contraction and the pelvic floor softens and drops with it. When you exhale, the diaphragm lifts in release and the pelvic floor engages to rise. They are in constant conversation.

We talk a lot in Pilates about engaging the pelvic floor and that has its place, but I have been curious lately about a pelvic floor that is more responsive. One that cannot let go is is own kind of problem, often stemming from our nervous systems, and it seems to me that something in this allowing rhythm can reset things in a way I am still exploring.

I share all of this in the spirit of curiosity rather than expertise - this is me thinking out loud about something I find really interesting and that is showing up in my own practice right now.

Here are a couple of ways you can explore this yourself this week.

1. Right now in your chair - sit with your feet flat on the floor and just breathe quietly. See if you can feel the very subtle release at the base of your pelvis on the inhale, and a gentle lift on the exhale. It's not dramatic. It might even be more of an imagining at first than a feeling. Just getting curious about it is enough

2. Finding emotion - the next time you notice yourself anxious or upset, check in with your pelvic floor. Chances are it is gripping right along with the rest of you. A slow breath in and out won't fix everything but it might soften something physically or emotionally.

3. A responsive pelvic floor in movement - the next time you are doing yoga or Pilates, see if you can let the muscles of your diaphragm and pelvic floor respond to your movement rather than bracing to go or initiating the movement.

There is no wrong or right in this exploration, but perhaps a different perspective to be found. I'd love to hear how you experience this question.

Yours in living intentionally, imperfectly -

Laura