Plie clarification

I see this reference at the top of page 129. I don't read this as a kegel, and I certainly don't do a kegel when I come up from plie (or any other time). I looked at a couple of other references in the book that used that term, but couldn't figure out for sure what that instruction might mean. I'm thinking more along the lines of just making sure that you are consciously pulled up in the chest to create that long and strong line. When I do plies, my belly is way out in front, and I do feel quite strong and tight through the pelvis. Maybe a teacher can come on and clarify. - Surviving

Hi MsNightingale'
Great question. As I understand it, when Christine uses the term 'pelvic diaphragm' she is referring to what is traditionally called the pelvic floor, which from the Whole Womanpoint of view is more of a 'pelvic wall'.

The article: 'An Open Letter to the American Physical Therapy Association by Christine Kent on October 1, 2010', on the WW Blog, may help to clarify what the 'pelvic diaphragm' is.

I know Christine doesn't advocate kegels for prolapse recovery, so I doubt she means kegels. (Although she does say, so long as they're done in a position which keeps the pelvic organs forward, esp. not on your back, they may be good for sexual intercourse as the vaginal passage muscles may be toned by them.)

In deep plie your pelvis is basically in nutation. This is explained in detail in the 'Saving the WW' book. Basically the pelvis is in nutation when we are in the WW posture. Sacral nutation is responsible for crucial elements of pelvic organ support. The pelvis is most stable when nutated. Nutation involves lumbar curvature, the pelvic wall stretched along its natural axis and the pelvic organs held forward over the pubis symphysis. Whilst walking, running etc the highly flexible pelvis alternates side to side between nutation and counter-nutation. Both nutation and counternutation are necessary for movement.

On P.29 in the book, Christine says 'consciously tighten your pelvic diaphragm (ie pelvic wall) as you rise out of the pie and sense your pelvic organs shifting up and forward over the bone'. Basically I think this needs to be practiced repeatedly experientially to gain understanding. As the pelvic organs are raised up and over there may also be a feeling of the pelvic wall raising and tightening. I don't think it's quite the same as kegels, which is solely focused on the vaginal muscles, whereas this manouevre is more holistic and has a feeling of raising as well aas tightening. At least that's how I see it.

I'd be really interested in anyone else's views and experiences.
xwholewomanuk

I could not have expressed it better. The only thing I would add is that nutation , as a part of WW posture, does in itself tighten the pelvic diaphragm, by making the boney opening, at the pelvic outlet, wider and longer.

Christine does not say to "tighten the pelvic diaphragm by contracting the pelvic floor, making it shorter and narrower, and sucking it up, as if stopping the flow or urine".

She just says to "Consciously tighten your pelvic diaphragm (ie the pelvic wall) as you rise out of the plie and sense your pelvic organs shifting up and forward over your pubic bone.". The whole sentence is about the sensation felt while rising, as much as about "tighten your pelvic diaphragm".

Perhaps she could have phrased it more clearly, but remember that this book was written several years ago, when one of Christine's earlier documents called, Doing Kegels Correctly (or something similar), was on the website. It has since been taken down, and replaced with The New Kegels (which are not Kegels as we know them).

I would say that, because some people might read "consciously tighten your pelvic diaphragm (ie the pelvic wall) as you rise ..." as "do a Kegel on the way up", she will probably re-word it for the next edition. Nothing is wrong in this second edition, but Christine's thinking has developed further in some ways since this edition was published.

Hypothetically, if I was to rephrase it for 2013 use, I would probably say something like, "consciously feel the tightening of your pelvic diaphragm (ie the pelvic wall) as you rise ...".

Hi All,

There is a whole anatomic story, which the WW practitioners learned last year, about how the pelvic organs are leveraged forward against the lower belly when hips are externally rotated and knees are bent. I don't have time to describe the anatomy of it right now (working on hips hips hips), but I think the visual of the pelvic wall closing like a pair of elevator doors, rather than the round purse string closure of a kegel, is the best way to think about it. You can feel the forward lifting of the front half of your pelvic floor, particularly when you rise up from a deep second position plie (strongly lift your tailbone while keeping all other aspects of the posture!) It does this automatically, but if you tighten a bit you can get a better sense of the leveraging-forward effect of your body in this position.

Hope this helps.

:) Christine

Thanks very much Louise and Christine for explaining and clarifying the role of the pelvic diaphragm when coming up out of plie, i.e. knees bent, thighs outwardly rotated. Much appreciated.
Also, just to apologise that I cited the wrong page no in my previous respnse by mistake. It should be ref. p; 129 not 29 in the Saving the WW book, (a wonderful resource and reference book re pop for life!), following on from Surviving60's previous post.
Wishing you all, all the best
xwholewomanuk