June 1, 2022 – The Lifetonic Club

In midlife pelvic floor work always seems to be about strengthening the pelvic floor and in fact, I’ve worked with some woman who have actually been afraid to do any release work for fear that it’s going to somehow increase leakage etc.

So off the back of a focused month of pelvic floor education for our members, let me explain why release work is just as important as the strength stuff and why you never have to worry about anything ‘falling out.’

The pelvic floor, is subject to a number of hormonal changes throughout the course of woman’s life – the two most notable periods being pregnancy and menopause.

That said, it’s a complete myth that pelvic floor work is only relevant if you’ve had a baby or because you’ve reached menopause; the pelvic floor muscles form part of you core muscle group, working in harmony with your diaphragm (breathing muscle) and you should be training them in all stages of your life regardless of whether you’re pre / postnatal or menopausal.

Releasing your pelvic floor muscles is an important part of control work and whether your pelvic floor is more hypertonic or relaxed, you should still incorporate some release work.

This is to help make sure that any negative tension held in the muscles is truly released before you start to contract them for strength work.

This ultimately means you will pick up more of the muscle fibres of the pelvic floor, which means you’re training them much more optimally and much more functionally.

What I can’t stress enough when you’re doing pelvic floor work is the DIRECTION for releasing and contracting work.

To release your pelvic floor, you should be thinking about a gentle unzipping of the muscles from the front of the vagina (think pubic bone), underneath you towards the back passage.

On an isolated contraction, you are drawing the muscles together from the back passage, towards the front of the vagina and then slowly working to gently draw the muscles up inside.

This is really important to realise; the directional work is key when you’re training your pelvic floor muscles; if you are just pulling up and pushing down on the pelvic floor, you are going to stretch that muscle group in the wrong way and that’s when you can get into trouble!

Other than that, don’t be afraid to do the release work – it’s an important part of maintaining a healthy pelvic floor.

Not only that, if you are someone who often feels particularly tense or stressed, then you’re probably a shallow breather and that means you can be holding tension in your pelvic floor muscles because of the unique way the pelvic floor connects with your diaphragm. And as releasing work is supported through your breath, it can be a very effective way to help you relax and release tension, not just from your pelvic floor muscles, but everywhere else too.

We looked a 4 exercises for developing control of the pelvic floor muscles through release, strength and toning work in our May Lifetonic. It’s an aspect of pilates I absolutely love teaching and developed my knowledge through becoming qualified in pre and postnatal pilates as part of my journey to become a Level 4 qualified movement teacher.

In 2021 I went on to train with specialist stoma care nurses through their ConvaTec Nurse Education Programme – this was a very kind invite from a clinical pilates teacher and core rehabilitation specialist who runs this course for them and who was a great support to me when my mum underwent two life saving surgery for colorectal cancer last year.

Mum’s surgery left her with abdominal weakness, loss of sensation in her pelvic floor and low back pain. I used this training to specifically help rehab her (she was given zero direction on what to do after her operations and no post surgery physiotherapy).

That’s just a little background on my pelvic floor education / CPD work and why I’m so passionate about helping woman maintain their health.

Back to you, are you afraid to do any release work when it comes to your pelvic floor?

Leave me a comment on this post over on Instagram and let me know if I can help you.

Sending TLC to wherever you are reading from.

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Healthy Mobile Phone Habits

Hi lovelies

I have a question for you to ponder – do you think you’re addicted to your mobile phone?

I know I do and I know it’s not great for my overall wellbeing.

I rely on my phone to run my business, keep a running list of shopping lists and to-dos, scheduling appointments, connecting with friends, booking train tickets, I even use it to control my lights at home! (I have the Hive system).

And if I’m being honest, I often feel like I am constantly connected to my phone, plus I very rarely use it to actually make a call!

Maybe you can relate?

Putting your mobile down more often is good for your health in so many ways. It helps to reduce stress and anxiety that stem from constantly being connected to email and social media, improves sleep quality, and lessens the strain we put on our necks and backs from long periods of time spent looking downward.

And by reaching for our phones less often, we also get to spend more meaningful one-on-one time with those we gather with — an important part of being able to find joy and abundance in life.

So this month in The Lifetonic Club we’re going to focus on the health benefits of reducing our phone use.

Because we rely on our phones to help us with so many things in our lives, it’s very easy to pick them up even when we don’t have anything specific to check or do. For example, I find often find myself scrolling through instagram when I am standing at the bus stop – twice I’ve been so checked out of my mind, that I’ve actually missed the bus which has made me late and angry for no reason!

If you’re up for joining me in the attempt to spend less time on our phones this month, I’m suggesting a few strategies to help you:

Use the Screen Time function (for iPhone users) or Digital Wellbeing function (for Android users) to get an idea of how much you use your phone. Then, set time limits for specific apps. Just by setting this up and giving it a try, you can see how often you open certain apps on your phone and start to be more mindful of how you use them. For the apps that you spend the most time on, consider this question: how is this app improving and supporting my wellbeing?
Set a few “down times” during the day when you can put your phone in another room. This will help you to be present throughout the day and reduce distractions that might affect the quality time you spend with others or on certain activities. I like to use the Down Time function on my iPhone to make certain apps inaccessible during specific days or windows of time.
Use the time you could be scrolling to do something for yourself! Read a book for 15 minutes, get down on your mat for a quick Pilates workout, or simply go for a walk.
Sign out of the apps that lead to you falling down a rabbit whole. This can help create a barrier between you and the app as you then have to log in to use it. You may be more inclined to think about whether or not you really want to spend your time on your phone or doing something else?

You might try one or two of these ideas each week in June to see how well they work for you. The idea is to get more mindful about how you use your phone.

Want to go one step further? Then I invite you to join me in a very simple challenge for the month:

CHALLENGE: Take a 24 hour ‘digital sabbatical.’ That means you actively turn your phone off for the whole day. And please only do this challenge if you do not rely on your phone for emergency contact things!

It may seem like quite the stretch but having tried it, I can reassure you that it can be transformational for your wellbeing.

If you do decide to give this a try, take a note each week of the thoughts, behaviours and feelings you have towards your 24 hour digital sabbatical. No judgement here. Just observations.

I’ve consciously used my phone a lot less since January and it has had a real positive impact on my wellbeing – my concentration has improved, so has my productivity, and my patience (does anyone else get unreasonably annoyed by the constant ‘bing’ of a what’s app message?).

It’s also helped to improve my mindset around not comparing myself to others (which I can often do on social media).

But the surprising revelation is how much money it’s saved me on my bill each month! With the cost of living rapidly rising in the UK, I’m seeing this an unexpected and very welcome WIN!

I’ll sign off by saying that, if you find reducing your mobile phone use to be a real challenge, here are a few resources to help your mindset towards this month’s Lifetonic: .

The New York Times recently wrote this article about how putting your phone down can actually increase your life expectancy!

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport is a good read if you want to go deeper on this month’s Lifetonic.

Courtney Carver’s 8 little tricks to spend less time on your phone are great suggestions with some novel things in there too (like 6 and 7!).

All food for food!

Start small folks and remember this is not about giving yourself a hard time! Even if you just become more mindful towards how you use your phone, you’re doing something good for your health 😊

Make a note of your progress and the results you see from taking part in this month’s Lifetonic.

How much time are you able to get back?
Do you feel less stress?
Are you able to be more present in your own life and when in the presence of others?

Share your thoughts, learnings and views in our Private Facebook Community Group.

I’m looking forward to working together on this month’s health mission!

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Struggling to define self care for yourself at midlife?

Healthy Mobile Phone Habits