Our main breathing muscle is the diaphragm, a dome shaped muscle under the rib cage.  When we breathe in, the diaphragm flattens out and pushes on our abdominal contents (stomach, intestines, bladder, etc), sending them down toward our pelvis.  At the same time, the abdominal muscles tighten a little bit and the muscles of the pelvic floor, located between your pubic bone and tailbone, lengthen a little bit.  This allows us to manage the increase in pressure in our abdomen that occurs when the diaphragm flattens out. When we breathe out, essentially the opposite happens:  the diaphragm relaxes and goes back up toward the heart, the organs move up as well and the pelvic floor muscles contract.  

When we cough or shout – something that requires us to breathe out forcefully, the abdominal muscles are going to contract more forcefully.  This increases the pressure in our abdomen a lot.  The pelvic floor muscles now have to contract a lot as well, to help prevent things from being pushed down.

During pregnancy and after childbirth women may suffer with incontinence, it is often this coordinated movement that is disrupted.  Muscles may be too tight (not relaxing enough) or too weak (not contracting enough).

A place to start with pelvic floor in helping to locate these muscles:

In a seated position breathe in through your nose gently and feel the rise of your belly.  Now exhale gently through your nose.  Imagine the up and down motion of the diaphragm and the effects on the organs.  Do this a few times.  Now bring your awareness to your pelvic floor muscles.  As you breathe out, see if you can engage them by squeezing them gently.  This would be the same as stopping the flow of urine when going to the bathroom.  The key is to not only contract when you exhale, but also relax when you inhale.  As this gets easier to do, practice in a variety of positions at home.

Imagery you can use to describe the pelvic floor

Shoes laces-use this technique to liken the pelvic floor to tightening laces. Imagine a show the laces loose and relaxed the pelvic floor is relaxed inhale and as you exhale slowly start to pull those laces tight and watch as then tighten bottom to top. On the inhale slowly release the pelvic floor.

Tissue- imagine a tissue lay flt on a surface. visualize using your hand to pick up the tissue with all five fingers scooping it up and together. Now do this with the breath on the exhale scoop up the pelvic floor in this upward together movement.

The lift- Imagine starting off on the ground floor of a lift as you inhale close the doors exhale the lift moves to floor 1 we tighten the pelvic floor a little. Inhale hold the position exhale tighten again moving to floor two. Inhale pause and hold. Exhale lift to floor three tighten again. Inhale pause and hold. Exhale a long breath and release the pelvic floor, floor by floor in the lift.

See pelvic floor in the manual for other exercises.