First of all, what are these magical pelvic floor exercises?

Hypopressive exercises are a type of workout technique meant to activate the involuntary fibers within your pelvic floor. They also work the abdominal muscles that function as your body’s self-girdle and bra (abdominal oblique and transverse).

When you perform a hypopressive exercise, you intensely work on your posture muscles. While breath control exercises help boost your metabolism and burn calories.

It is a breathing exercise where you contract the abdominal muscles after fully exhaling.You combine this with a couple of specific positions to tighten the muscles for the best results. After fully exhaling, you would then lift your organs into your ribcage without breathing in and then hold the position for a few seconds before relaxing. You would then breathe back in.

'Hypopressives' are referred to as gymnastics because this workout can be considered a sport in itself – and it’s quick too! No more working out at the gym for two or more hours at a time –if you don’t want to, that is.

Where did hypopressive exercises come from?

In the late ’70s, Dr. Marcel Caufriez realized that ‘traditional’ abdominal exercises were damaging women’s pelvic floors. They can accentuate urinary leaking problems (incontinence), pelvic organs moving out of position (prolapse), and abdominal distension.

Caufriz decided to look for an alternative for the abdominal exercises that would be less aggressive for women’s intimate organs. Instead of using ‘normal’ crunches, he discovered then developed a new technique called the Marcel Caufriez Hypopressive Method. He then used this method for different applications in health, prevention, and sports.

What are the benefits of hypopressive exercise?

Hypopressive exercises can give you various benefits without spending all of your free time at the gym.

Hypopressives create well-rounded pelvic floor exercise plans that fully exercise the entire pelvic floor area when using along with Kegels.

Hypopressive abdominal workouts have a lot of benefits for your health, including:

• Decreasing back pain: These abdominal exercises improve back posture, thus helping to prevent back pain.
• Reducing the waistline: Hypopressives reduce the waist's size and strengthen the abdomen without damaging the pelvic floor.  
• Preventing disc and abdominal hernia: It improves the pelvic area's tone without straining the neck and low back, as using traditional abdominal exercises do.
• Improving sexual function (performance, sensitivity, and pleasure): Gaining muscle tone in the pelvic floor improves the sensations of sex, and orgasms will become more powerful.
• Treating and preventing urinary incontinence: These exercises strengthen the pelvic floor to avoid leakage and strengthen the abdominals to relieve the area's pressure.
• Treats and prevents Pelvic Organ Prolapse: Strong abdominals help support the pelvic organs and release tension in the ligaments that support them. You can also help to fix pelvic organ prolapse due to the ‘vacuum effect.’ Hypopressives create a negative pressure in the pelvic cavity, allowing the organs to rise and return to their normal position.
• Helps women both pre and post-childbirth: It helps with urinary leaking (incontinence) and Pelvic Organ Prolapse. Common problems associated with pre and post-pregnancy.
• Improving respiratory function: Increases breathing capacity
• Improving posture and balance: The exercises activate your postural muscles, which help with posture and balance.
• Enhancing athletic performance: As a breathing exercise, it improves cardiorespiratory fitness.

The beauty of this type of exercise is that it doesn’t require a place or specific materials to do. So you can do them easily anywhere and with little time spent getting prepared (a.k.a. going to the gym).

Do you like the benefits? Would you like to try one?

Here's how to get started:

1. Sit with your back straight but relaxed.
2. First, breathe in while opening up your ribs, then let it out, releasing all of your air.
3. When there is no air left inside, don’t breathe in. Instead, block the breathing so that no air may enter or exit. If it is one of your first times, you can do this at first by pinching your nose with a hand and closing your mouth.
4. Now, open the ribs again, pretending to catch a breath. Don’t actually breathe in. You will feel your organs lift into your ribs. Now hold this position for four seconds… 1 … 2 … 3 … 4. Then breathe in and rest.

A special trick to help – prevent your shoulders and chin from rising up when performing the exercise. You need to relax.

Congratulations, you just made your first Hypopressive breath!

Now that you know all the benefits of Hypopressive exercises and have performed one, we encourage you to continue to practice. Perform these exercises for 20-60minutes, 3-5 times per week, and you will see results!

Reach out to the Mahmee Team should you need any support!

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