Pelvic Floor Exercises for Constipation: Awareness, Movement, and Nervous System Relief

The Power of Simple Mindfulness Exercises

One of the best tools for instantly de-stressing is surprisingly simple:

1. Sit down on a chair
2. Feel your feet on the floor
3. Sense the outline of your body
4. Feel your heartbeat

Why does this work? Because we’re not saying “think about your thoughts and analyze them.” We’re taking you into feeling your body. The minute you make that shift, you’re attending to your nervous system – literally downshifting into a different state.

Essential Components for Relief

This simple change of location – from “I’m thinking, thinking, thinking” to “I’m feeling, feeling, feeling” – is dramatically effective for regulation, stress relief, and easing chronic gripping patterns.

A comprehensive approach includes:

• Practices that create mindfulness
• Breath awareness (focusing on body sensation, feeling air enter or exit the nostrils, feeling your ribs expand as the air enters the lungs)
• Movement practices that reduce muscular tension in the abdomen and pelvic floor

For the best results with constipation, digestive regularity, or pelvic floor concerns, it helps to combine all these elements rather than focusing on just one aspect.

Many people in the Restore Your Core® program report that as they work on core and pelvic floor rehabilitation, their digestive issues naturally improve – a welcome side effect of releasing chronic tension and enhancing nervous system regulation.

Guided Movement Practice to Support Pelvic Floor Function and Ease Constipation

This routine combines several movements that work together to create ease in both your nervous and muscular systems. Each exercise builds on the previous one, helping you develop deeper awareness and release patterns of tension that contribute to constipation.

You’ll need:

• A chair or stool
• 2-3 yoga blocks (books work as substitutes)
• Wall space for the final sequence

Chair Forward Fold and Cat-Cow Movement

We’ll start standing with the chair, working to create space and opening in the body.

Starting Position:

• Place the chair on your mat
• Stand with legs slightly wide, knees gently bent
• Place hands on the chair seat
• Avoid letting the knees collapse inward or the back round

Forward Fold Sequence:

1. Imagine balancing a cup of tea on your back
2. Lower to forearms if comfortable (stay on hands if too much hamstring sensation)
3. Untuck the pelvis to spread the sitting bones
4. Drop your head and take 3 nourishing breaths
5. Release analytical thinking – just breathe without analyzing tightness

Now we’ll move through cat-cow to create more movement and space.

Cat-Cow Transition:

• Climb up to hands, bring feet closer
• Round your back like a cat
• Arch your back like a cow (can bend elbows)
• Move less mechanically – let your body flow 
• Like seaweed gently moving with the tide

Kneeling Lunge and Inner Thigh Release

Your inner thighs have a direct relationship with your pelvic floor. When they’re tight, your pelvic floor can’t function properly. This sequence addresses both areas simultaneously.

Setup:

• Come to a kneeling position
• Place blocks nearby
• Add knee support if needed

Movement Flow:

1. Step right leg out to the side
2. Dip in and out of the lunge several times
3. Drop into feeling without the analytical mind taking over
4. Straighten leg and bring hands to blocks (any height)
5. Keep back flat like a table, not tucked under
6. Shift hips forward and backward
7. Breathe through sensation without judgment

Remember: Gripping in the inner thighs inhibits the pelvic floor and affects blood flow to your entire pelvic region and digestive system.

Thread-the-Needle for Pelvic Release

This twisting movement creates space through your entire torso while gently mobilizing the organs and releasing tension patterns that contribute to constipation.

Diamond Setup:

• Hands and knees with knees  wide and toes together in a diamond pattern
• Place the left hand on the block

Movement Sequence:

1. Move your hips right while reaching your right arm up
2. Exhale: Thread the right arm under
3. Inhale: Rise and open
4. Follow your hand with your gaze
5. Continue slowly – this isn’t about speed or reps, move with your breath
6. Explore holding a position for several breaths
7. Switch sides

Note: Breath work is integrated here – inhaling to open, exhaling to thread through.

Legs Up the Wall for Relaxation and Pelvic Floor Mobility

The final sequence integrates gentle inversion and pelvic floor release. Wall support provides stability, allowing for full relaxation and effective, targeted movement.

Initial Setup:

• Bring a mat to the wall
• Lie with your bottom about a foot from the wall
• Add blankets under the head if more comfortable
• Bend your knees and place your feet on the wall wider than hip distance – adjust as needed

Progressive Sequence:

Start with simple movements to awaken awareness in your pelvic floor:

Part 1 – Basic Opening:

• Bring your feet to the wall and let your knees fall open, then close
• Inhale: Open legs
• Exhale: Close legs
• Feel your legs working (this brings essential blood flow)

Now we’ll add gentle resistance to deepen the release:

Part 2 – Adding Resistance:

• Hold legs open, place hands on thighs
• Gently press and create a small rocking
• Untuck pelvis (anus toward floor) as you open
• Allow release as legs come together
• Find your comfortable range

Finally, find your most restorative position:

Part 3 – Final Rest Position: Choose what feels most restorative:

• Legs straight up the wall
• Legs wide apart
• Knees bent with soles together

Stay for several minutes, focusing on lengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor.

Conclusion: Mindfulness and Movement Are Keys to Pelvic Floor Constipation Relief

Remember that overcoming chronic tension in your pelvic floor, constipation, and digestive issues requires targeting your nervous system. We need to downregulate, teaching our bodies how to stop and rest.

This physical practice addresses multiple systems at once:

• Getting your body into a quieter, more restful state
• Creating increased blood flow
• Enhancing muscular activity
• Aligning all systems for optimal function

It’s not just one thing – it’s the combination of mindful awareness and targeted movement that creates relief. When you take time for practices like these, you’re doing more than exercises; you’re fundamentally changing how your body responds to stress and tension.

If you’re looking for a structured whole-body approach to core and pelvic floor health and function, the Restore Your Core® program addresses the foundational movement and breathing patterns that contribute to digestive issues. It also supports nervous system regulation, helping you build a more responsive, resilient, and functional system.