Kegel exercises, that's whats covered today in the "Yoga Chucks Physical Routine" series.

In this post I'll explain why I would even work on such a thing.

Bladder dysfunction can occur in at least 80% of people with Multiple Sclerosis and 96% if you've had MS for 10 years or longer, you may experience bladder dysfunction at some point. What happens is uncontrollable leaking of urine from the bladder due to problems with the nerves and muscles that assist in releasing or holding urine. The brain not being able to send the signal through the nerves to the muscles that assist in releasing or holding urine.

Enjoy my first "You Tube" video below, what a topic to start with!

My problem is with the brain not releasing the urine. After multiple tests the doctors conclusion was everything works fine and I have the prostate of a man 10 years younger. So the diagnosis was MS symptoms not releasing the urine. To work on this issue I did mental relaxation with some results along with the body healing itself.

Then in 2009 I was Teacher Assisting an MS Yoga class with Jennifer Gebhart at "Yoga on High" in Columbus, Ohio when she had the class do kegels. I'm like yes this is something I can do to work the pelvic muscles that control holding and releasing the urine. If nothing else I'm doing something that might help prevent me from ending up with a diaper before age 90. After some time of doing kegel's I gained more control, it's not perfect but is great compared to where it was. I know TMI (To Much Information). Like I've mentioned before this may not work for you, I'm a Yoga Teacher not a doctor so I don't know if any studies have been done in this area but I personally believe I've gotten results in more ways than one from kegel contractions.

To find your kegel muscles next time you are urinating, stop the flow and that's the muscles you will be working. Doing kegel exercises works the muscles that control the flow of urine and semen and more positives but this is a PG site so I'll stop there. FYI it's great for men.

I do kegel's three times a week for a total of 60 Kegel contractions each workout, in the video I only demo 24 kegel contractions. I also multi task by combining hand grip, leg extension, and leg contractions. The buttocks and abdominal muscles workout are just a positive side effect of doing kegel exercises. I'll cover why I do the hand grips in the next post.

Also you don't have to have MS to have urinary dysfunction it effects millions and lots of people are to ashamed to address this issue. For a lot of cases this issue can be handled by seeing a doctor. Kegels can also benefit you if you've given birth, leak when sneezing or laughing, prostate surgery and more. So if your interested give it a try and see if it helps by exercising the pelvic muscles, it's healthy.

As with everything be creative using your imagination to come up with ideas that may work for whatever issues you may have, the older we get the more we have to deal with medically. It's better to try something than do nothing.

Healthy & Happy,

Yoga Chuck