Bridges! Probably the second most prescribed exercise in physical therapy clinics across the U.S. Second only to clams. So much going wrong with them basically every time I see someone do them. And they are a great exercise for hip extension and building those #glutesofglory so today’s post is a quick tip on using better form.

Feet closer to bum = more glutes, further from bum = more hamstrings. Make sure to get a great 360 inhale first then exhale and use your lower abs to tilt pelvis posterior, pushing low back into the floor. Hold a nice brace at the end of your exhale and inhale again, still maintaining a gentle abdominal brace. On the exhale, tighten your brace slightly and push the ground away from you, contracting those glutes.

Remember 1.0: pubis in same plane as lower ribs, and ribs knit down with a nice abdominal brace. Breathing 360 under a brace is a skill and you may need to practice this. A lot. No breath-holding here, please!

Remember 2.0: don’t make your back work to create the movement. Keeping good core control will help keep the paraspinals soft so you can focus on using those glutes appropriately.

Remember 2.1: breathe throughout the entire exercise. NO BREATH-HOLDING!

Try it out and see what you think!

Recently, I got to attend a natural movement class from MovNat Madison hosted by Mindful Motion Physical Therapy, here in Madison. It was so much fun! I discovered a fun little hip mobility move...and that crab walking is way harder than it looks!

My left hip is often much tighter but a few reps of these and it was nice and loose! Plus, it is great practice for ground mobility and transitions from sitting to standing, which is very important as we age. Hands free is the goal!

Remember, happier hips = happier pelvic floor.

Try it out and see how it feels! How did you do?? 

It’s a special Halloween edition of The Pelvic Underground. I even dressed up for the occasion!

Here’s something scary...tight glutes and pelvic floor! One of my recent favorite self-myofascial release tricks.

This one targets pelvic floor from behind and specifically deep hip rotators. It is delicious for getting a femur (the “thigh” bone) that sits too far forward in the socket to rest back and center.

Got a tight pelvic floor, hip impingement, or a labral tear? Try this out!

First, lie on the floor with knees bent and feel what you feel, particularly how much floor you can feel with your bum. Is one knee higher than the other? If so, do that side first and most.

Next, find your midline between #glutesofglory and then feel for your tailbone, place the ball an inch or so above and to the right or left of the tailbone. Don’t rest *on* the bony areas, find flesh. Then rest in that spot, breathe into it and feel yourself #relax into this. It should NOT hurt. Then move across your glutes doing this same thing until you reach the back of your “hip bone” (posterior portion of the greater trochanter). Remove the ball and now see how it feels. How much more floor can you feel? Does it feel like a wide open space now? That’s your femur resting into position 😎 Are your knees level now? Excellent!

Happy (belated) Halloween!