The Top 6 Hypopressives Benefits You Don’t Want to Miss Out On

Wouldn’t it be nice if one exercise “could do it all”?

Like a swiss army knife or a smartphone. 

If you like good news, I have some for you. 

There is an exercise that does it all. Well, to be fair, they are actually a series of exercises and they go by the name — Hypopressives. 

When you maintain a regular practice, there are numerous hypopressives benefits.

They can make you feel good physically, offer mental relaxation by calming the nervous system, and instill confidence that your body is a self-healing machine. 

With that said, I’m guessing you’re curious to know what exactly these exercises are. 

Let’s get into that now.

What are Hypopressive exercises?

In short, Hypopressives are a series of alignment postures and breath work, designed to heal pelvic dysfunction – along with many other women’s health issues.

Some women say they resemble certain yoga or pilates exercises.  

That’s the short version. And here’s the more detailed version!

The word “hypo” literally means low and the word “pressive” means pressure. So the word Hypopressive means low-pressure. And this is exactly what these exercises do.

They reduce internal pressure in the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic areas of the body.

Taking the pressure out of these areas is critical to healing pelvic floor dysfunction and core-related issues, like abdominal separation.

Why exactly?

Well, having excess pressure in these areas is one cause of pelvic and core-related symptoms such as prolapse, incontinence, heaviness, pain, and the inability to engage your core muscles.

Also, the pressure is connected to tension and tightness in the pelvic floor. When there is too much pressure, tension, and tightness in the pelvic floor it can lead to a hypo or hypertonic pelvic floor. 

Many women I work with either have pelvic muscles and tissues that are too tight, tense, or weak. Yet, after they start practicing Hypopressives – safety and correctly – (which I’ll talk about later), they start to feel relief.

This has to do with the design of Hypopressive exercises and the many benefits they offer.

Speaking of benefits, let’s go over them now.

Hypopressive Benefits: The Top 6

Although there’s a long list of benefits, for the sake of time, I’ll only go into detail for 6 of them. Then, at the bottom, I’ll write out the other ones.

Alright, here we go!

1. Assists in healing core & pelvic floor issues

Many of you reading this blog consider this the number one benefit of hypopressives. 

Because if you’re like most of our MoonRisers, what you’ve tried so far has had little to no healing effect.

Yet, you still have hope that something exists to assist in your healing process. This is where hypopressives come in.

They have the power to activate, relax, and vitalize your pelvic and core fascia. 

When this happens it creates ‘a lift’, thereby guiding tissues and organs back to their proper position.

This is extremely important for healing prolapse and abdominal separation also called Diastasis Recti.

2. Increases circulation & fludity

Hypopressive exercises increase circulation and fluidity in the pelvic floor and core tissues, making these areas flexible and strong. 

Having better circulation is like unclogging a pipe. Or removing debris from a river. It causes the water to flow much smoother and easier. 

And when the “unclogging” or “decluttering” effect happens in your body, nutrients reach your cells more effectively, and your cells become cleaned out.

How does this relate to healing pelvic dysfunctions, like prolapse and incontinence? 

Great question!

When your cells get the nourishment they need and get cleaned out, they are happier and healthier. 

And remember Hypopressives target your pelvic, thoracic, and abdominal areas. So when the cells in these areas get nourished and cleaned, it assists with healing pelvic and abdominal issues.

3. Dissolves scar tissue & adhesions

Earlier, I talked about excess pressure and tension being causes of pelvic dysfunction and core issues. Well, add scar tissue and adhesions to the list of causes as well.

When fascia or connective tissue has scarring or adhesions (read more about scarring and adhesions in this blog), it causes the fascia to weaken.

It also makes it harder for our cells to be nourished and cleaned out. And therefore, healing becomes less possible.

Luckily, Hypopressives come in to save the day. They have the ability to dissolve the pesky scarring and adhesions – getting you closer to healing.

4. Improves your posture

Having a better posture is not just about “looking better” physically. 

An improved, healthy posture increases your mobility and the overall functioning of your body. So, it’s a game changer in how you feel overall.

Now let’s get into how bad posture can lead to pelvic floor issues and how Hypopressives can reverse it.

When we have poor posture, we likely have restricted fascia. Which means the fascia is gripping to bone and pulling us down.

This could be the reason you’re hunched over a lot and can’t sit with your spine erect. Or why you have shoulder, back, and hip pain.

When there is a restriction in the fascia, our bodies have to compensate – this is when problems arise. In particular, restricted or compressed fascia creates a pulling-down action.

And when this occurs in the pelvic floor, you can experience symptoms like prolapse – organs being “pulled” out of place.

Fortunately, Hypopressives come to our rescue once again, because they aid in fascia release. The releasing action is what eliminates restriction.

5. Calms the mind & reduces stress

You may have noticed that the first four benefits I covered are body-focused. So, let’s get to some of Hypopressives benefits for the mind & nervous system.

The first one I want to talk about is how these exercises calm or quiet the mind. This in turn allows any stress to dissolve (at least for the time being). No matter what we may be facing health-wise, I believe we can all benefit from that.

Do you agree?

You may be wanting to know how this happens exactly. And this is possible through hypopressive breathing exercises, which includes the lateral & apnea breaths.

The nature of this breath work activates your parasympathetic nervous system, known as the rest and digest nervous system.

This gives your body a break from being in “fight or flight” otherwise known as the sympathetic nervous system.

Activating the parasympathetic nervous system allows your mind to relax, to feel calm, safe, and where stress can’t exist. This is the power of the breathwork that you’ll learn in our Hypopressives Course.

6. Increases overall energy and outlook

This benefit goes hand-in-hand with what I just talked about. When stress levels reduce, and the mind is calm and feels safe – your energy returns. Just like that! 

Stress robs you of energy, keeps you stuck, and zaps you of life.

When it’s gone, you can feel energized throughout the day, helping you think more clearly and positively.

Other Hypopressives Benefits

As promised, here are some more benefits to share with you. Women who practice hypopressives consistently for 3 to 6 months report feeling these positive changes in their lives:

• Reduce pain in the lower back
• Improve balance
• Help avoid herniation in the spine & abdomen
• Improve sleep issues or disorders
• Increases libido & sex drive
• Reduce constipation
• Alleviate swollen legs
• Prevent muscle & bone injuries
• Improve lung capacity & athletic performance

Yet, the women who get these results only get them because they are practicing hypopressives correctly and safely.

However, women who practice hypopressives by following free YouTube videos can experience side effects. Or a worsening of the current symptoms they’re experiencing.

This is why it’s essential to have guidance and feedback from a Hyopressives Trainer while practicing these exercises.

A Safe Hypopressives Course

Together with Abby Lord, we created a safe, on-demand Hypopressives course. We teach you how to practice proper alignment postures, lateral breathing, and the apnea breath, in this correct order. 

And we are there with you at every step. To ensure you are practicing the exercises correctly and safely, we ask you to send in videos of yourself practicing.

Then we can provide very specific feedback, recommendations for improvements, and advice on any corrections needed. This is what makes our course safe compared to following along with free YouTube videos.

Also, we are there for you if you have questions, or need support, inspiration, or motivation to keep going.