Pelvic Floor Relaxation Only: A Complete Guide to Passive Pelvic Floor Release

Quick Intro

Pelvic Floor Relaxation Only is a pelvic floor exercise done lying supine, letting the pelvic floor go completely soft with each exhale, without any active bearing-down or lengthening motion. It’s a passive-release entry point, built for anyone who needs to learn to let go of pelvic floor tension before attempting an active lengthening pattern.

Equipment Needed

Nothing needs to be bought or set up for this one. A folded blanket or mat under the low back can help if the floor feels hard, but it isn’t necessary.

Why It Matters

Letting a chronically engaged muscle group go fully soft is its own kind of controlled release, even without an active push. This works the pubococcygeus and iliococcygeus (the two main pelvic floor muscles) through pure relaxation rather than contraction or active lengthening, a different skill from either. Learning to feel and release baseline tension in this muscle group matters for anyone dealing with a pelvic floor that’s chronically over-tight, since that tension often goes unnoticed until someone is specifically asked to let it go. The transverse abdominis (the deep core muscle wrapping the trunk) softens right along with it, since the two rarely release independently.

When to Do It

This can be practiced daily, in a quiet moment lying down, and works well as a first step for anyone new to pelvic floor down-training or unsure whether they’re holding excess tension. It’s a useful starting point before attempting an active lengthening pattern. Anyone with pelvic pain or a diagnosed pelvic floor disorder should get individual guidance before adding relaxation-focused work, the same as with any other pelvic floor exercise.

Getting Ready

No physical warm-up is required. Lie down with the knees bent and feet flat, and take a few slow breaths, noticing where tension sits in the hips and abdomen before the first release.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Settle onto the back with the knees bent, feet flat and the abdomen soft rather than braced.
2. Breathe in slowly, allowing the belly to expand on its own.
3. On the exhale, let the pelvic floor go completely soft, without pushing or bearing down in any way.
4. Notice the sensation of full release for a few seconds before the next breath.
5. Repeat with each exhale, letting the release deepen slightly as the body settles.

How Many, How Often

Feeling a full release matters more here than how long the practice lasts.

Modifications and Variations

This exercise is the easier form of Reverse Kegel.

Harder: Reverse Kegel. Adding an active bearing-down motion on top of this same passive release is the direct next step once full relaxation feels reliable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Trying to push or bear down instead of simply letting go. This exercise is entirely passive; any active pushing motion belongs to a different, more advanced pattern.

Holding the breath while attempting to relax. Breath-holding works against the settling this exercise depends on, since a held breath itself creates a small amount of tension.

Expecting a dramatic sensation right away. For many people, this release is subtle at first and becomes clearer with repeated practice.

After Your Set

Adding an outward stretch here wouldn’t fit, since the whole exercise is already a release. Staying still with a minute or so of continued easy breathing is enough before getting up.

Going Deeper

The most common reason this doesn’t progress well is rushing toward an active bearing-down motion before the passive release itself feels reliable. Progress here looks like the release becoming easier to locate and settle into with each session, not a deeper or more dramatic sensation appearing all at once.

How to Know You’re Improving

1. The release can be located and settled into without needing several breaths.
2. The sensation of letting go feels distinct from simply not contracting.
3. Breathing stays slow and natural throughout, without holding.
4. The release feels consistent from one session to the next.
5. Moving to an active lengthening pattern feels like a manageable next step.

Muscles Worked

• Pubococcygeus (one of the two main pelvic floor muscles, letting go passively with each exhale)
• Iliococcygeus (the second main pelvic floor muscle, releasing with no active push downward)
• Transverse Abdominis (a deep core muscle that wraps around the torso like a corset, kept soft so nothing bears down on the pelvic floor)

FAQ

How is this different from just not doing a Kegel contraction? Simply not contracting leaves whatever baseline tension already exists in place. This exercise specifically asks for a deliberate, felt release of that tension, which is a different and more active form of attention than doing nothing.

What comes after this feels reliable? Reverse Kegel adds an active bearing-down motion on top of this same passive release, the natural next step for anyone comfortable with this pattern.

Why would anyone need to practice relaxing a muscle? A pelvic floor that stays chronically tight can contribute to pain and difficulty with normal urination or bowel movements. Practicing a deliberate release helps address that side of pelvic floor health directly.

Is it normal to not feel much at first? Yes. The sensation of releasing a muscle that’s used to holding tension is often subtle at first and becomes easier to notice with repeated practice.

What is the difference between this and the active version? Reverse Kegel adds a gentle, active bearing-down that lengthens the pelvic floor beyond its resting position. This exercise stops before that: the muscles are simply allowed to go soft with each exhale, with no push at all. Learning the passive release first makes the active version easier to keep gentle.

Who is this version meant for? Anyone who needs to learn to release before learning to lengthen. That includes people who suspect they hold tension in the pelvic floor without meaning to, and anyone who finds the bearing-down cue of the active version hard to follow without straining.

What should the release feel like? A sense of the area between the sit bones widening and dropping slightly, much as the shoulders drop when tension leaves them. There is no movement to see and no effort to make, only the feeling of a held muscle letting go.

Is this safe for everyone to try? Anyone with pelvic pain or a diagnosed pelvic floor disorder should get individual guidance before adding relaxation-focused work.

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Pelvic Floor Relaxation Only is the passive starting point that leads into Reverse Kegel.