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Vaginal Fitness
         Benefits of Keeping Fit & Healthy Through Kegel Exercise

Just as men benefit from taking care of their equipment and can do exercises to enhance their penis size and control, women benefit as well when they address their sexual health through vaginal exercise. The Kegel exercise is named after Dr. Arnold Kegel who studied the pubococcygeal muscles (or muscles of the pelvic floor). These muscles form a hammock that spans the area between the anus and the pubic bone.

Lisa S. Lawless, Ph.D., C.E.O. HolisticWisdom.com Founder

Kegel exercises should be done by all women, but especially after the delivery of an infant, as a treatment for urinary incontinence and pelvic relaxation that often comes with the aging process, and for improving sexual relations by improving pelvic floor control.

Kegel exercises help tone and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles are important for proper tone of the bladder, urethra, vagina, uterus and rectum.

Good vaginal muscle tone and control are important for several reasons:

• It supports the bladder: In some circumstances, especially after childbirth or a hysterectomy a woman can find that it may lead to a dropping down of the bladder. This can result in loss of control and leakage of urine due to sneezing, coughing, laughing, running or straining.

• Allows for easier placement and support of a diaphragm.

• It reduces the chance of vaginal infections: By bringing an increased blood supply to the vaginal lining.

• Improves tightness for increased pleasure during sex: Increased interest, greater participation and more satisfaction as it allows for better control in tightening the vaginal walls as well as have better control during orgasm and female ejaculation (although it is important to note that a woman can female ejaculate without having an orgasm and can do both without doing such exercises).

For more information on this see our book "The Art Of Female Ejaculation."

How To Do Kegel Exercises

~ The muscles to be exercised are the pelvic muscles. These can be felt by
    purposely stopping the flow of urine in midstream and starting again. The muscles
     that squeeze the urethra and anus are the ones involved.

~ Remembering what it felt like to control these muscles during urination, a woman
    tries to contract them when not urinating. If the stomach or buttocks muscles
    tighten, the muscles are not being exercised correctly.

~ A woman tightens these muscles for 3 seconds and then relaxes for 3 seconds.

~ The exercises should be repeated 10 to 15 times per session. A woman should do
    these at least three sessions per day for it to be effective.

Kegel exercises can be performed while traveling, at work, or at odd moments during the day. No one will be aware that a woman is doing the exercises.

Kegel exercises are often combined with biofeedback techniques to teach the proper exercise methods and maintain exercise effectiveness. Biofeedback allows a person to see, feel, or hear when an exercise is being performed correctly. For women, this can be done by having her place a finger in her vagina or anus to feel it contract when the pelvic muscles are exercised. More elaborate devices can also be used that measure the pressure of the bladder and abdominal muscles or provide a measurement of the pressure within the vagina.

Another exercise technique involves using a weighted cone that is inserted into the vagina. The woman must contract the pelvic muscles to prevent the cone from dropping out of the vagina. A set of cones identical in size and shape but of increasing weight are provided. As treatment progresses, heavier cones are used that require stronger contractions to keep them in place.

Kegel exercises improve urinary incontinence in nearly 80% of those who use them, and improve sexual health and pleasure! Kegel exercises can build up the muscles in order to counteract any muscle loosening that occurs as a result of menopause.

There are no risks associated with these treatments. Kegel exercises with or without biofeedback techniques require a high level of motivation and frequent repetition to be successful.

Bottom line... toning your vagina is not just good for sexual pleasure, it's good for your health!