Kegel exercises (pelvic floor exercises) are done to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Your pelvic floor muscles are the set of muscles you use to stop the flow of urine mid-stream when you are sitting on the toilet. Strengthening these muscles helps you prevent urine leakage, prevent accidentally passing gas or poop and can even improve your orgasm. Finding your pelvic floor muscles is pretty simple. Try stopping the flow of your urine when you are sitting on the toilet. Only do this until you learn how it feels. You can also insert a finger into your vagina and squeeze the muscles in your vagina around it. You should feel pressure around your finger. The muscles you feel ‘lifting’ inside of you when you are trying these activities are the same ones you strengthen during Kegel exercises. These exercises are important to delay or stop pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic organ prolapse is when your uterus, bladder, and bowel sag into the vagina. It can cause a loss of control of bladder and bowels and even loss of sexual sensitivity in the vagina. Kegels are very easy to do, and they don’t require much time or effort.
