Benefits of Hypopressives
You’ll experience many benefits when you start practicing hypopressives and it’s one of the strengths of the technique. It’s also why people who start to practice hypopressives stick with it too; that, and the fact that it reduces their symptoms and allows them to get back to the activities they actually want to be doing.
Creating new habits is much easier if it’s pleasurable and when you look forward to those 10 minutes of your daily flow. Yes, it only takes 10 minutes 5 times a week to be able to reap all the benefits of the technique!
So let’s list some of the effects that hypopressive exercises have on your body:
Strengthening the whole core system (pelvic floor, deep and superficial core)
Improving the resting tone of your pelvic floor muscles - increasing the tone of a weakened pelvic floor or lowering the tone of an over-active pelvic floor
Myofascial release
Improving your posture
Diaphragm and pelvic floor start to work in unison
Un-learning upper abs gripping
Winding down of your sympathetic nervous system
Lifting of your pelvic organs with the vacuum breath
Strengthening of the median umbilical ligament, that attaches to the top of your bladder and to the back of your belly button, amongst other structures that will help to lift prolapses as they strengthen
Strengthening your whole body through the different poses (glutes, arms, shoulders etc)
Slimming your waist
And what do these effects lead to? Well, you’ll experience:
Less to no incontinence
Improvements in your prolapse symptoms to experiencing no prolapse symptoms at all! Some people report their prolapse reversing all together
Improvement of diastasis recti
Easier bladder and bowel emptying due to improved positioning of the pelvic organs
Ability to wear tampons again
Reduces constipation due to the vacuum breath “massaging” your bowels
Improved breathing
Your pelvic floor and core system being able to respond and function in an automatic way, with ease and efficacy
Visibly stronger abs and core
Less to no back pain
Less to no pelvic girdle pain
Calmer mind - calmer body
And an improved sex life!
I tend to think of hypopressives as a way of resetting or re-booting the system. It isn’t a very scientific way of putting it I know, but to me it describes the idea of getting back to some of the basic bodily functions happening in the background of your life again. Instead of bladder, bowel and sexual functions taking the centre stage, you can concentrate on other things in your life, to the things that make life feel good.
There are different ways hypopressives are used in different places and amongst different clientele groups. They are quite commonly used amongst the general public as a strengthening exercise method to sculpt a stronger and slimmer core. And sometimes the technique is combined together with pilates or yoga due to similar mat-based practice.
In some countries in continental Europe hypopressives are used as the go-to postnatal rehab exercise due to the low pressure and no impact to the core and pelvic floor systems.
Due to the effects the hypopressive technique has on the body, it has a unique place in pelvic floor rehab. You have the ability to reduce pelvic floor dysfunction like incontinence and prolapse with the 360-breathing, variations of poses and the vacuum breath helping to improve the core system functioning as a whole. This also explains why hypopressives are a good rehab method diastasis recti and how they improve the function of the linea alba.
The technique works on many different aspects at the same time, all of which have a direct impact on the pelvic floor, so you don’t need much more than hypopressives in your rehab. Rather than piecing your rehab programme together from many separate slivers, you might as well take the holistic package treating everything at once. Although not all the variables of the package will play a big part behind your problems, taking them into account and making sure they’re on the top form is going to help you to get better results quicker.
So it’s time efficient, comfortable and enjoyable! And hypopressives are used more and more amongst health care professionals as the understanding of the efficacy, affordability (compared to surgeries and other interventions that have a high recurrence rate) and comfort of the technique.
The Create Lift Programme that I teach lasts for 12-14 weeks. We’ll go through 17 different poses with further variations and by the time you finish your 3 months of learning with me, you are on rock sold base with your practice. This means you will be equipped to continue independently and progress further to get even greater improvements after the programme has finished, as you’ll have access to the level 2 online teaching material to work through on your own.
Head over to my Services page to learn a little bit more about what I offer. To book a free call with me to discuss your situation and to start your hypopressive journey, head over to my Contact page. There is so much hope and space for improvement when it comes to pelvic floor challenges.
Annika
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