Yoga and Your Pelvic Floor: A Workshop For Women

Dates

Sunday, June 24, 10:30a-1:30p

With

Marlene McGrath

Where

Grateful Yoga

Cost

$45 by June 17 / $55 after

A healthy pelvic floor is crucial to the health and balance of the body, but for many it remains mysterious. This safe, honest, and fun workshop is designed to introduce you to this powerful region of your anatomy.

First, we will map out the three layers of the pelvic floor and study a 3-D model. Then you will learn to sense and engage your pelvic floor muscles, first in isolation and then in a series of active and restorative yoga poses. The practice will encourage both strengthening and releasing your pelvic floor, assisted by your breath. Marlene can suggest poses for specific issues such as incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, or sexual/pelvic pain. The workshop will conclude with a grateful meditation on the sacred nature of the female pelvis.

Participants receive a detailed handout with photos and descriptions of the postures.

Open to women of all ages.  No previous yoga experience required.

Meet the Instructor, Marlene McGrath

I've been studying yoga, mostly Iyengar, in Ann Arbor for over 20 years and teaching for 14 years. I currently teach at Yoga Focus, Inward Bound Yoga, and the Women's Health Center at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. My special interest is teaching pregnant and postpartum women for the last 11 years. I also teach gentle, beginning, and intermediate level hatha yoga.

In the last few years, I developed an interested in the issues women face in relation to the functioning of the pelvic floor, and have been studying everything I can get my hands on to develop a yoga practice to honor this area which is mysterious to many. I study with Leslie Howard, who has been teaching nationally on yoga and the pelvic floor.

I have had great response from participants in these workshops. It is accessible to those with little to no yoga experience, but I have also had a number of yoga teachers attend who find it very valuable and a great reference for their own practice and teaching.