Two Ways to Breathe for a Strong, Supported Pelvic Floor
“Hypopressive breathing diagram showing rib lift and reflexive pelvic floor lift”
“Pfilates breathing technique with pulsed exhalation for pelvic floor control”
Hypopressives vs Pfilates
By Abby Lord
Your breath is the missing link between your diaphragm, your core, and your pelvic floor.
The way you breathe shapes how pressure moves through your body — either helping your organs lift and your core feel supported, or sending pressure downwards and leaving you feeling heavy or tense.
Two powerful breath styles used in pelvic health training — Hypopressive 3D breathing and Pfilates breathing — work in opposite but complementary ways.
One decompresses and restores reflexes.
The other rebuilds awareness and coordination.
Together, they create balance: release before lift, ease before effort.
🩵 Hypopressive 3D Breathing — The Reset Breath
“Hypopressive breathing diagram showing rib lift and reflexive pelvic floor lift”
“Pfilates breathing technique with pulsed exhalation for pelvic floor control”
Purpose:
To reduce internal pressure and restore your body’s natural, reflexive lift through the pelvic floor — without squeezing, bearing down, or tensing.
How to Practise
Sit or stand tall with soft knees and a long spine.
Inhale gently through your nose, allowing your ribs and belly to expand all the way around (a 360° breath).
Exhale softly — no pushing or bracing, just let the air leave.
When your lungs feel empty, pause the breath but keep your throat open (like you’re about to yawn).
Lift and widen your ribs upward and outward — your waist will narrow, and your belly will draw in gently on its own.
Hold for 3–5 seconds, then relax and allow the next breath to flow in naturally.
You Should Feel
A light, effortless lift — as though your organs and pelvic floor are being gently drawn upward.
Your belly should hollow naturally, never through force.
You may also feel a sense of calm or decompression through your torso and spine.
Why It Helps
Decompresses pressure from the abdomen and pelvis.
Stimulates a reflexive pelvic floor lift via pressure change and fascial tension.
Improves posture, rib mobility, and visceral support.
Encourages nervous system regulation — it’s grounding and calming.
Key Cues
“Inhale softly and wide.
Exhale gently — no effort.
Hold your breath open-throated, lift the ribs, and feel your body draw in and up.”
💪 Pfilates Breathing — The Coordination Breath
“Hypopressive breathing diagram showing rib lift and reflexive pelvic floor lift”
“Pfilates breathing technique with pulsed exhalation for pelvic floor control”
Where Hypopressives calm and decompress, Pfilates (Pelvic Floor Pilates) focuses on re-educating timing, awareness, and gentle strength.
Created by urogynecologist Dr Bruce Crawford, it combines Pilates-style movement with specific breathing patterns to retrain deep core coordination.
How to Practise
Begin sitting tall or lying comfortably.
Inhale through your nose, letting your ribs and belly expand, the pelvic floor naturally softens and descends.
Exhale slowly through pursed lips, as though blowing through a straw.
As you exhale, gently lift the pelvic floor up and in, imagine drawing up a small tissue from inside, not squeezing.
For a pulsed exhale (the hallmark of Pfilates), keep exhaling in soft rhythmic bursts —
“sss – sss – sss – sss”
feeling a mini lift with each one.Stop before you run out of air, relax completely, and let your next inhale open you again.
You Should Feel
A subtle upward motion and improved control — never a heavy bearing-down.
If you sense pressure or bulging, return to gentle 360° breathing before continuing.
Why It Helps
Builds conscious control and muscle coordination.
Reconnects pelvic floor, diaphragm, and transversus abdominis (TVA).
Enhances endurance and timing of activation.
Useful for reconnecting after childbirth, surgery, or long periods of disconnection.
“Pulse on Expiration” Explained
That phrase means intentionally using small rhythmic exhalation pulses — tiny bursts of air and micro-contractions — rather than one long breath out.
Each pulse lightly activates the deep abdominals and pelvic floor, training them to respond rhythmically with the breath.
It’s not a strong effort; it’s a neuromuscular rhythm that improves timing and fine control without creating excess pressure.
Key Cues
“Inhale wide and soft.
Exhale with gentle ‘sss-sss-sss’ pulses, feeling a tiny internal lift each time.”
How to Combine Them
These two breath styles are like different gears of the same system:
FocusHypopressivesPfilatesBreath typePassive exhale + vacuum liftActive exhale + pulsed contractionPelvic floor actionReflexive fascial liftVoluntary concentric liftPressure effectDecompressive (reduces internal load)Slightly compressive (controlled activation)Nervous systemParasympathetic / calmingSomatic / training and awarenessBest forProlapse, diastasis, tension, postureWeakness, coordination, reconnectionStage of practiceFoundation / resetIntegration / progression
Your Practice Flow
Start with Hypopressives
Do 2–3 rounds of 3D rib lift breathing.
Feel your system decompress and your core lengthen.
Add Gentle Pfilates Pulses
Once you’re relaxed, try 3–5 pulsed exhales (“sss–sss–sss”), feeling a soft internal lift each time.
Finish
One full 360° inhale and easy sigh-out to reset.
This combination lets you train coordination without pressure, layering conscious control onto a decompressed base.
What to Watch For
Never brace or push down when exhaling.
The pelvic floor should feel lighter and more responsive, not tighter or heavier.
If you feel pressure, back off the effort and return to soft rib expansion breathing.
Strength comes from ease and rhythm, not from gripping.
Why This Works
Hypopressives teach your body to let go of tension and find reflexive lift again.
Pfilates then teaches your muscles how to join the breath consciously and rhythmically.
Used together, they support your organs, spine, and pelvic floor through both reflex and control — strength through softness.
“You don’t have to push or brace to feel strong.
Your pelvic floor works best when it can move, lifting, lengthening, and responding to your breath.”Low Pressure Fitness (Hypopressives) — Official Site
Learn more about the science, benefits, and posture-based method behind Hypopressive 3D breathing.
👉 lowpressurefitness.comPfilates — Dr Bruce Crawford
Discover the origins of Pfilates, developed by urogynecologist Dr Bruce Crawford, combining Pilates-inspired movement and breath for pelvic floor coordination.
👉 pfilates.comResearch & Clinical Studies
A growing body of research supports these gentle, integrative approaches for pelvic health:
The effects of an 8-week hypopressive exercise training program on pelvic floor muscle strength and urinary symptoms (PMC10107869)
Effectiveness of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training versus Pfilates Exercise Program (ResearchGate)
✨ Continue Your Practice with The Abby Method
Ready to experience how breath and posture can transform your core and pelvic floor?
Start with my Beginner’s Hypopressives & Breathwork Course — a guided introduction to 3D breath, gentle activation, and pressure-free strength.
The Abby Method
Rooted in Breath. Guided by the Body.
#TheAbbyMethod #PelvicFloorHealth #Hypopressives #Pfilates #FunctionalBreath #WomenInHealing #PelvicSupport #BreathworkForCore
