Today is Day One of the year in which I have determined I
will be very seriously continuously monitoring my journey to physical fitness,
from an initial state of admittedly infinite weakness.
Today I awoke too early, having stayed awake last night just
long enough to see the ball drop at Times Square, which announced to me that
the time for exercising had offically begun. As I lay in bed just before I
dropped off to sleep, the gravity of my situation hit me: I would actually have
to do exercise, every single day, for an entire year, and then for the rest of
my life. Starting NOW!
In a panic, I determined to begin exercising immediately, just in case
I did not get a chance to exercise at all during the following day. I wanted to
be absolutely sure I would have something that I could enter into my exercise
blog, something that I actually did with my own physical body that could be counted
as exercise. Something that I could write about convincingly, and, of course,
it needed to be something that would have a positive effect on my level of physical
fitness. I needed to be able to convince, not only my readers, but also myself,
that I was following through on my commitment to full body recovery.
So, as I lay in bed in the wee hours of the morning of
January first, during those last five minutes of consciousness before I fell
asleep, I did Kegel exercises.
Yes, Kegel exercises, those tiny little pelvic floor
exercises that you rarely hear about when people talk about their vigorous workout
routines. But yes, those wee little Kegel exercises count, too, and are
actually really very, very important. As I Kegeled, I congratulated myself for
having discovered, just in time for my first day's entry into my exercise blog,
the absolutely perfect exercise for beginners, but yet one that is critical to
maintaining good health in every individual.
Kegel exercises are the one exercise that everyone should do
every single day, several times a day. You can do them anywhere, anytime, and,
though they do involve the pelvis, you can't see the internal muscles move, so
no one need be the wiser. Kegel exercises are prescribed by doctors to prevent
incontinence and to improve sexual functioning.
To do Kegel exercises, which also strengthen the pelvic
floor, improve abdominal circulation, and increase overall wellness and
well-being, one sets one's focus on the muscles of the lower pelvis, those
supporting the bladder, the rectum, and the sexual organs. You squeeze these
muscles, one by one, slowly, until you have tightened up every muscle you can
imagine, from the bottom of your torso up to a few inches below your belly button. Imagine that your pelvic area is a large
elevator shaft of ten floors. Begin on the ground floor and work your way up to the top floor. Tighten
the muscles on the ground floor, move up one flight to the next floor while
keeping the muscles on the ground floor tight, and add the tightening of the
muscles on each floor as the elevator slowly moves up to the tenth floor. Then,
release all of the muscles, one by one, just as slowly, beginning with those on
the top floor. Going down in the elevator, release muscles as you go, until you
reach the ground floor, when you will have fully relaxed all of your pelvic muscles.
Repeat until bored.
Instructions for Kegel beginners include how to find and
isolate exactly which muscles the Kegel exercises will be tightening. One way
to find the muscles is to imagine you are passing urine, and then imagine that you
stop the flow of urine by tightening a muscle - that is the muscle you want to
start with. (Don't do this while actually urinating, as it might cause a urinary
problem.) You might like to search the internet for "Kegel exercises"
for further instruction, or ask your doctor.
Kegel exercises: good for men and women, young and old. Try
them today, and make them a part of your daily routine, along with brushing
your teeth and using dental floss.