The Royal Wave

With all the fanfare of recent days with the Queen of England’s visit to Canada, I watched with interest as she greeted the Canada Day crowds with her Queen’s wave; elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist….which made me giggle as “the wave” here at Mountain Trek  in beautiful British Columbia  has quite the different movement!

One of the key components of  core training is strengthening the pelvic floor. In Mountain Trek terms it’s the wave, in yoga (Sanskrit) Mula Bandha, and in the medical community they are known as Kegels.

What is the pelvic floor?  The pelvic floor has been described as a group of muscles that form a sling from the pubic bone to the coccyx bone.  The pelvic floor muscles support and surround part of the rectum, vagina, uterus, urethra, bladder and the prostrate.

Strengthening the pelvic floor has many benefits.  It can help prevent incontinence as well as stabilize the spine and improve balance and posture which ultimately improves athletic performance.

What can you do to strengthen the pelvic floor?  Do the WAVE; using your breath as the trigger, exhale with a “tuu” sound then contract the pelvic floor muscles by imagining you’re stopping the flow of urine.  Start at the posterior of the anatomy and work towards the anterior (rectal, vaginal. urerthral), hence the WAVE action.  Hold for 5 seconds, then relax for 5 seconds.  Repeat 5 times.  Eventually build up to 5 sets, holding the contraction for 10 seconds each time.   The beauty of this exercise is it can be done anywhere…brushing your teeth, doing the dishes, standing in queue, sitting at your computer……

Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist….

Cathy, MT fitness director