The short explanation
This is a very common difficulty. The pelvic floor muscles are hidden, and many women end up squeezing their buttocks, thighs or stomach instead, or even pushing down. A correct squeeze feels like lifting and closing around the back passage, vagina and urine opening at the same time, as if you are stopping wind and holding in urine, with a gentle upward pull. You should be able to keep breathing normally, without holding your breath or tightening your thighs. Fully letting go after each squeeze matters as much as the squeeze itself.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Some women find it easier to feel the muscles lying down first. Using a mirror, or gently placing a clean finger at the vaginal opening to feel a lift, can help. Stopping urine midstream is sometimes suggested to find the muscles once, but it should not be done regularly as an exercise.
- If you are unsure, a women's health physiotherapist or a gynaecologist can check during an internal or external assessment and give you a programme suited to you. Results usually take a few months of regular practice.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This answer cannot check your technique or tell whether your pelvic floor is weak or overly tight. A trained clinician can assess that in person.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Can you check whether I am contracting the right muscles?
- How long and how often should I practise for my situation?
- Could my pelvic floor be too tight rather than weak?
- Is there a physiotherapist you can refer me to?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Book an appointment soon
- See a clinician within a few days if you have pain during the exercises, bleeding, or new difficulty passing urine.
Raise it at a routine appointment
- Book a routine visit with a gynaecologist or women's health physiotherapist if you cannot tell whether you are doing the exercises correctly.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Pelvic floor disorders MedlinePlus (NIH)
- Urinary incontinence NHS
- Urinary incontinence MedlinePlus (NIH)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
Did this answer your question?
Whatever you choose is filed against this version of the answer, never against you, and it is never shown as a count.
“Explain more simply” asks you which part was hard to follow, so the author knows what to rewrite. “My question is different” opens a private follow-up with this answer attached.
Saving, following up and reporting are all private. Nothing you do on this page is visible to other readers or to the doctor who wrote it, unless you ask a question.