A bit strange...releasing physical tension "down below"

[dominick]

I do something which I thought was unusual until just recently. When under stress I squeeze my pubococcygeus muscle (the same muscle you use to stop the flow of urine, often abbreviated as the PC muscle). I didn't realize I did this until a year ago or so and even though I'm aware of it now I still find myself habitually doing it. I've read up on this and apparently it's fairly common and also can result in pelvic pain later in life (I don't have any pain yet but it sometimes does feel a bit sore after a stressful day).

Although I've seen a lot on how to cure pelvic pain caused from this (it's pretty involved!) I've yet to come across much on how to prevent subconsciously tensing this muscle in the first place. It's like I'm doing one long kegel throughout the day and I'm worried that that could have negative effects long-term.

Any suggestions?

[Nemosyne]

Orgasm more?

[The Cloud]

What other parts of your body does this tension connect to? Your body may be twisting out of alignment, and tightening of those muscles may be a compensation mechanism, so just releasing the tension when you notice it wouldn't be enough to permanently solve the problem.

Also, this may sound odd, but do you think you developed a fear of wetting yourself during toilet training or some such, and that is why you overcompensate by "holding it in"?

[dominick]

Re: Nemosyne - Orgasm doesn't really seem to help. It does appear stress-related so certainly orgasm helps with that but it's not as if when I orgasm the clenching goes away.

Re: The Cloud - I do have some tension in other parts of my body (e.g. jaw) but it's not as pronounced as what I feel in my PC muscle. As far as twisting out of alignment, I'm not quite sure how to know whether that's happening. On the wetting front, I can't ever recall have any issues or fears associated with that.

In researching I did come across one tip which was to sit on a tennis ball and use the ball to loose up the muscles down there. So I've been trying that it seems helpful (it was very uncomfortable to sit on the tennis ball the first time!).

If anyone else has any thoughts please let me know.

[desertrat]

That is the root lock in yoga , and you squeze it diblerity in some exercizes . Sory I am a bad speller . desert rat

[The Cloud]

Originally Posted by dominick

On the wetting front, I can't ever recall have any issues or fears associated with that.

It would be a really well-ingrained habit if it was developed around toilet training, and you might not be aware of the fear just because it has been such a consistent part of your experience. I know that I've kept a lot of tension in my lower abdomen for similar reasons which I never noticed until very recently, and I only figured out where I got the tension from by noticing my response when I released it temporarily. If you have tension, there is probably a reason. There could be others, wetting is just an obvious one. The tension you're experiencing could also be a compensation for other tension, so you wouldn't directly know the reason just by relaxing your pubococcygeus.

[dominick]

Thanks The Cloud. I tend to have very tight hips as well. Once, when getting a massage the therapist commented on this and mentioned that it was likely due to unresolved sexual issues. It's possible that this could be the case with the unconscious clenching of the PC muscle as well. I've had a pattern in my life of guilt/shame/anxiety related to sexuality and while I'm working to heal that it would make some sense that the physical tension is located in that area of the body.

I'd like to figure out some ways to release this. It's not area where you can really go to a massage therapist for. At least not a reputable one. I have tried self-massage a bit (no jokes) and that helps. I'd be interested in any suggestions others might have.