Pelvic floor muscles are just like other muscles. Exercise can make them stronger. Women with bladder control problems can regain control through pelvic muscle exercises, also called Kegel exercises.

Pelvic Fitness in Minutes a Day

Exercising your pelvic floor muscles for just 5 minutes, three times a day can make a big difference to your bladder control. Exercise strengthens muscles that hold the bladder and many other organs in place.

The part of your body including your hip bones is the pelvic area. At the bottom of the pelvis, several layers of muscle stretch between your legs. The muscles attach to the front, back, and sides of the pelvis bone.

Two pelvic muscles do most of the work. The biggest muscle stretches like a hammock. The other muscle is shaped like a triangle. These muscles prevent leaking of urine and stool.

How do you exercise your pelvic muscles?

Find the right muscles. This is very important. Your doctor, nurse, or physical therapist will help make sure you are doing the exercises the right way.

You should tighten the two major muscles that stretch across your pelvic floor. They are the “hammock” muscle and the “triangle” muscle. Here are three methods to check for the correct muscles.

1. Try to stop the flow of urine when you are sitting on the toilet. If you can do it, you are using the right muscles.
2. Imagine that you are trying to stop passing gas. Squeeze the muscles you would use. If you sense a “pulling” feeling, those are the right muscles for pelvic exercises.
3. Lie down and put your finger inside your vagina. Squeeze as if you were trying to stop urine from coming out. If you feel tightness on your finger, you are squeezing the right pelvic muscle.

Don’t squeeze other muscles at the same time. Be careful not to tighten your stomach, legs, or other muscles. Squeezing the wrong muscles can put more pressure on your bladder control muscles. Just squeeze the pelvic muscle. Don’t hold your breath.

Repeat, but don’t overdo it. At first, find a quiet spot to practice-your bathroom or bedroom-so you can concentrate. Lie on the floor. Pull in the pelvic muscles and hold for a count of 3. Then relax for a count of 3. Work up to 10 to 15 repeats each time you exercise.

Do your pelvic exercises at least three times a day. Every day, use three positions: lying down, sitting, and standing. You can exercise while lying on the floor, sitting at a desk, or standing in the kitchen. Using all three positions makes the muscles strongest.

Be patient. Don’t give up. It’s just 5 minutes, three times a day. You may not feel your bladder control improve until after 3 to 6 weeks. Still, most women do notice an improvement after a few weeks.

Exercise aids. You can also exercise by using special weights or biofeedback. Ask your health care team about these exercise aids.

Hold the Squeeze ’til After the Sneeze

You can protect your pelvic muscles from more damage by bracing yourself.

Think ahead, just before sneezing, lifting, or jumping. Sudden pressure from such actions can hurt those pelvic muscles. Squeeze your pelvic muscles tightly and hold on until after you sneeze, lift, or jump. After you train yourself to tighten the pelvic muscles for these moments, you will have fewer accidents.

Points to Remember

• Weak pelvic muscles often cause bladder control problems.
• Daily exercises can strengthen pelvic muscles.
• These exercises often improve bladder control.
• Ask your doctor of nurse if you are squeezing the right muscles.
• Tighten your pelvic muscles before sneezing, lifting, or jumping. This can prevent pelvic muscle damage.

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Hormones Play a Big Role

While you are pregnant, your body undergoes a great deal of changes. Your hormone levels change and result in changes in your body. One of these changes is that you often have an increased amount of progesterone. This can cause the blood vessels to relax, leading to varicose veins. Sometimes, if the blood vessels relax, the two halves of the valves in the veins will separate just a small amount, and won’t meet back up to block the back-flow of blood. When this happens, you’ll see varicose veins.

Family History

Family history is hard to run away from – and it is often the leading indicator of problems that you will have. If you have a history of varicose veins in your family, you’re more likely to have varicose veins. This isn’t something that you can afford or alter, unfortunately. The flip side is, of course, relevant as well. If you don’t have a family history of varicose veins, then you are less likely to have them yourself. It is important to note, as well, that varicose veins tend to get worse with each pregnancy. If you have a family history, and you had them during your first pregnancy, chances are good that you’ll have them in increasing strength in subsequent pregnancies.

Uterus Pulls

The increased blood that you have in your body during pregnancy places extra burden on your veins. In addition, as your uterus grows, it creates pressure on the major veins in your pelvic area. This pressure then adds more pressure to the large vein on the right side of your body called the inferior vena cava. This added pressure pushes on the leg veins and may result in varicose veins during pregnancy.

Additional Problems

Researchers have found a few other reasons that women may have varicose veins during pregnancy. If you are having multiple births, then you are more likely to develop varicose veins. This is partly due to the added pressure on your uterus and the added blood in your system. While this situation can’t be changed, there are others that can. If you are overweight or stand on your feet for long periods of time while pregnant, you are more susceptible to varicose veins. Both of these situations put added pressure on your veins and can lead to varicose veins.

Prevention and Solutions…

While you certainly can’t alter your family history or change your growing uterus, there are certain actions that you can take to help with varicose veins. When people tell you to put your legs up while pregnant – they may not realize that they are actually giving you varicose vein help. It is very important to put your legs up while pregnant, as it gives your veins a break and releases the pressure that is on them. You should try to make sure that you go into your pregnancy at a healthy weight and that you eat well while pregnant. The good news with varicose veins is that they usually disappear after the baby has arrived. They tend to improve three to four months after you’ve given birth. While you are still dealing with the varicose veins, it’s best to wear support hose, to exercise often and to avoid standing for long periods of time.

If you find that the varicose veins don’t go away, you’ll want to talk to a doctor to discuss treatment. In general, however, varicose veins are simply one of the many bumps in the road along the pregnancy path. Keep your sense of humor while dealing with this, and any other trying situation during pregnancy, and know that you are working to a great end – a new baby!

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It can also come in handy after you’ve had your baby, when it’s not as easy to go for a fitness walk or to an exercise class with your baby in tow. You should try to formalize a great routine now and also use it after baby is born.

Firstly, find a good spot in your house that may inspire you to work out whenever you have some free time. Maybe some place near the TV so you can catch up on your favorite shows and workout at the same time.

You might also want to opt for an exercise video or even some home equipment like a treadmill or elliptical trainer. Although the latter can be a serious investment, the cost is often no more than that of a one-year gym membership, a swim card for the local pool, or a year’s worth of drop-in aerobic classes.

Plus, you won’t have a built-in excuse not to exercise when the weather is bad or you can’t find a baby sitter.

Make sure that you keep plenty of water close by and keep your house relatively cool while you are working out. If you should feel faint or dizzy at any time, stop immediately and grab some water. Also make sure you have plenty of room to stretch and cool down afterwards. Flexibility and keeping your heart rate at a relatively low level are both very important.

Home exercises during your pregnancy

Stretching Exercises

Stretching makes the muscles limber and warm. Here are some simple stretches you can perform before and after exercising.

#Neck rotation: Relax your neck and shoulders. Drop your head forward. Slowly rotate your head to your right shoulder, back to the middle and over the left shoulder. Complete four, slow rotations in each direction.
#Shoulder rotation: Bring your shoulders forward and then rotate them up toward your ears and then back down. Do four rotations in each direction.
#Swim: Place your arms at your sides. Bring your right arm up and extend your body forward and twist to the side, as if swimming the crawl stroke. Follow with the left arm. Do the sequence ten times.
#Thigh shift: Stand with one foot about two feet in front of the other, toes pointed in the same direction. Lean forward, supporting your weight on the forward thigh. Change sides and repeat. Do four on each side.
#Leg shake: Sit with your legs and feet extended. Move the legs up and down in a gentle shaking motion.
#Ankle rotation: Sit with your legs extended and keep your toes relaxed. Rotate your feet, making large circles. Use your whole foot and ankle. Rotate four times on each side.

Tailor Exercises
Tailor exercises strengthen the pelvic, hip and thigh muscles and can help relieve low back pain.

#Tailor sit: Sit on the floor with your knees bent and ankles crossed. Lean slightly forward and keep your back straight but relaxed. Use this position whenever possible throughout the day.
#Tailor press: Sit on the floor with your knees bent and the bottoms of your feet together. Grasp your ankles and pull your feet gently toward your body. Place your hands under your knees. Inhale. While pressing your knees down against your hands, press your hands up against your knees (counter-pressure). Hold for a count of five.

Kegel Exercise
Kegel exercises help strengthen the muscles that support the bladder, uterus and bowels. By strengthening these muscles during your pregnancy you can develop the ability to relax and control the muscles in preparation for labor and birth. Kegel exercises are also highly recommended during the postpartum period to promote the healing of perineal tissues, increase the strength of the pelvic floor muscles and help these muscles return to a healthy state, including increased urinary control.

To do Kegels, imagine you are trying to stop the flow of urine or trying not to pass gas. When you do this, you are contracting the muscles of the pelvic floor and are practicing Kegel exercises. While doing Kegel exercises, try not to move your leg, buttock or abdominal muscles. In fact, no one should be able to tell that you are doing Kegel exercises. (So you can do them anywhere!)

Kegel exercises should be done every day. We recommend doing five sets of Kegel exercises a day. Each time you contract the muscles of the pelvic floor, hold for a slow count of five and then relax. Repeat this ten times for one set of Kegels.

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Pregnancy is accompanied by an increase in progesterone levels, which relaxes the walls of the veins, increasing the risk of blood vessel swelling and symptoms such as hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Blood volume increases during pregnancy, further increasing the chance of hemorrhoids and varicose veins.

In addition, pregnancy puts pressure on veins as the uterus expands and the fetus grows. This enlarges blood vessels in the anus and the legs, adding yet another factor that contributes to hemorrhoids.

Constipation is another of the more common pregnancy symptoms, and can contribute to hemorrhoid formation due to bowel straining. The combination of all these factors sharply increases the odds that a pregnant woman will experience varicose veins or hemorrhoids.

Varicose Veins and Pregnancy Symptoms

Varicose veins occur when blood vessels become congested and blood leaks back into the veins. The veins enlarge in response, become swollen and are raised above the skin surface. Varicose veins are purple or blue in color, and resemble tangled cords. During pregnancy, varicose veins may develop on the back, the inside of the legs and the calves.

Although unsightly, varicose veins are not usually painful. If pregnancy symptoms include painful varicose veins or veins that are swollen, red or tender, report the symptoms to your doctor as soon as possible.

Like many other pregnancy symptoms, varicose veins usually diminish after the pregnancy. However, some varicose veins may remain after pregnancy.

Hemorrhoids and Pregnancy Symptoms

Hemorrhoids are among the most uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms. Essentially, hemorrhoids are varicose veins that develop in the anus, and sometimes in the vagina. Hemorrhoids can be painful, especially when sitting or having a bowel movement.

Symptoms of hemorrhoids during pregnancy include:

• anal pain
• bright red blood on toilet paper or stool
• itchiness in the anus or vagina
• pain during bowel movements
• tender, firm lumps near the anus.

On occasion, hemorrhoids may be visible outside the anus, indicated by a swollen mass that is soft to the touch.
While many non-prescription treatments for hemorrhoids exist, consult your doctor before using any of them during pregnancy. Some may have adverse affects on the fetus.

Treating Hemorrhoid Symptoms

Taking ten to twenty minute sitz baths several times a day can provide relief from symptoms of hemorrhoids. Some women find relief using cold compresses or ice packs, and you can medicate the ice pack with witch hazel. In other cases, a hot compress reduces symptoms, or you can try alternating hot and cold compresses.

Preventing Hemorrhoids and Varicose Veins

Of course, the best strategy is to avoid having varicose veins or hemorrhoids in the first place. You may not be able to completely avoid them during pregnancy, but the following tips can reduce the risks:

• Avoid standing for long periods.
• Don’t cross your legs.
• Don’t hold bowel movements: go when you need to.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat a high fiber diet.
• Elevate your legs when resting.
• Exercise regularly.
• Practice regular Kegel exercises.

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Get Real! Think back to when you were pregnant and were noticing the different shapes of all the pregnant bellies. Some moms seemed to carry a bowling ball under their shirts while others plumped out nicely in all the right spots. Still others got bigger everywhere. The truth of the matter is that no two bodies are alike. So while you may envy those very few number of moms who can squeeze into their tight jeans a few weeks after childbirth, check your envy at the door. You are not that woman. In fact, most women are not that woman. The vast majority of women have to work very hard at getting their weight back to being even within eye-shot of their pre-pregnancy weight.

And once you lose your baby weight, your body still may not look the same. The fact of the matter is that you may never fit into those old tight-fitting jeans again, even when you reach that  magic number on the scale. So set your expectations accordingly and avoid the disappointment that is bound to ensue. Your body has gone through a tremendous adjustment in order to bring your little miracle into the world, so be content with your baby and the “new” you.

Finding The “New” You. Just because you have come to accept that your body will not look the same as it did pre-baby does not mean you have carte blanc to let yourself go. It’s OK to let some things slide when you have a new baby to care for, such as not vacuuming quite as often or letting the dishes pile up a little more than before. But there are other things that you need to definitely improve on. Healthy eating and exercise habits are developed very early in a child’s life. Children whose parents have poor eating habits and lead a sedentary lifestyle inevitably follow in the parents’ footsteps. You certainly want more for your little bundle of joy than that. As your child walks through the various stages of growth and development, he will mimic your behaviors, echo your words, and learn his eating and exercise habits from you. So if you weren’t the healthiest person before your child was born, you now have a living, breathing reason why you absolutely need to make a change for the better. If you had good dietary and exercise habits before the baby, take a good, hard look at additional areas you can improve upon.

Think It Over. Too often, women grab the first thing they see to munch on. And this is even more true with new moms who are exhausted. Before you continue on with this mindless eating cycle, take a moment to think through the pros and cons of eating that one item. Ask yourself if there is a better choice you could be making. You can avoid tempting your sweet tooth or enjoying other mindless snacking by making smart choices at the grocery store. When you avoid purchasing the junk foods in the first place, you will have a hard time finding bad foods to munch on throughout the week.

Make Small Changes First. Too often fad diets don’t work because they are too drastic. It’s very hard to make lasting changes to your lifestyle if the changes are too far outside of your normal lifestyle. So start with small changes first. If you drink sugar-laden soda like it’s going out of style, make a switch to diet soda. If you enjoy splurging on fast food, switch to a stop at a deli shop. Or better yet, pack a healthier meal to take with you. Exchange that bowl of fat and sugar-heavy ice cream for non-fat frozen yogurt. Take a good hard look at the foods you normally eat, and then consider what small changes you can make that will reduce the fat and sugar content. When these small changes are continued over time, you will notice your weight and body fat slowly starting to decrease. What’s more, you have made changes to your diet that you can live with on a long-term basis so those pounds won’t return!

Walk It Out. If you haven’t been hitting the gym lately, nobody blames you. After all, caring for your baby is your number one priority. Just the same, nobody is looking out for you but yourself, so be sure to take care of yourself with some daily exercise. You don’t need to hit the streets and run ten miles. Simply strolling through the park pushing your baby in a stroller will do wonders for you. When you walk 20 to 30 minutes per day, along with your healthier diet, the pounds will drop more quickly. Your baby will probably love getting some fresh air outdoors. And while you may feel completely exhausted now, daily exercise can actually make you feel more energized.

When You’re Ready. Once you start seeing the pounds come off through small changes to your exercise and eating habits, you will find the internal motivation to continue on and make increasing changes to improve your health. Perhaps you want to try jogging a little, or you want to look at getting a gym membership to try yoga, swimming, cycling, or other activities. Or you may just want to get some dumbbells and do some toning exercises in your living room. Perhaps you want to switch to leaner ground beef, or make a larger change to lean ground turkey. You may be ready to give up white, enriched pastas and breads for the whole grain variety. Make an effort to make a small but lasting change periodically to continuously improve your eating and exercise habits.

With each and every change you make to your regular eating and exercise habits, you will notice additional results in your body. The key is to make changes you can live with on a long term basis. Soon enough, you will be feeling great about the way you look!

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3. The Importance of Metabolism

There are many things that influence our rate of metabolism. Metabolism is influenced by age. Every decade of life, our metabolisms slow at a rate of about 5% per decade after we turn 40. Sex, also can determine our metabolism rate because males generally burn calories when they are resting than females do.

The proportion of lean body mass, which is the amount of muscle you have) determines the rate of metabolism too because the more muscle the faster your metabolic rate tends to be. Heredity also can make a difference in your metabolic rate too. Defects in the thyroid gland can also slow down metabolism, although this is a rare occurrence.

The more weight you are carrying on your frame, the higher your metabolism is because the extra weight causes your body to work harder, so the metabolism runs faster to keep up with your body.

This is why people tend to lose weight faster at the start of a diet than later on, because they weigh more at the beginning of their diet thus their metabolism is faster.

Later on, especially with fad diets in which you are more likely to lose muscle as well as fat, your metabolism slows down so much that it is difficult to lose weight, and you may even begin to put weight back on. When you weigh less, your body has to work less, so the metabolism slows.

Some of these things that affect metabolism we can’t change but luckily there are other influences that we can have some control over. Exercise is one way that we can influence metabolism. Aerobic workouts especially can burn more calories in a short time frame.

Weight training can build more muscle so that our metabolism will be faster. The more muscles you have the higher your resting rate of metabolism will be. Every pound of muscle that we have in our body burns 35 calories a day.

Each pound of fat in our body only burns 2 calories a day. Weight training has a longer lasting effect on boosting our metabolism than aerobic exercise does. More muscle also means that you can eat more and gain less weight. Exercise burns calories and makes muscle. It is important to exercise for both reasons.

Eating more means you will gain more weight, but eating more often means that you will lose more weight if the more often also means eating smaller meals. The more frequent meals help to keep your metabolism in higher gear than eating 3 large meals.

Those who snack also have greater energy output than those who don’t snack, and only eat 3 large meals. Snacking also can help you to eat less during meals. Following the more frequent eating pattern can lead to less calories consumed with a higher metabolic rate, which will result in a reduction in body fat.

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Caring for blackheads is usually very easy. Most of the time blackheads are related to minor or moderate forms of acne. Many people think that blackhead pimples are the cause of dirt clogging pores in your skin, the truth of the matter is that the black head is caused by your skins pigmentation.

Blackhead pimples are usually pimples that are semi clogged with sebum, an oily substance that bacteria usually feed off of. Black head pimples include sebum, bacteria and dead skin.

When you clean a black head pimple it is important that you clean out the pore but do not spread the bacteria or sebum around your face. The bacteria and sebum can cause other parts of your face to become clogged or infected and pimples or blemishes to be created.

Most health professionals recommend caring for blackheads by cleaning your face twice a day with a soap that is antibacterial. If your face has moderate or severe acne you should consult with a dermatologist, but a few pimples on your face can easily be treated with many over the counter remedies.

Many over the counter remedies include anti bacterial topical solutions and lotions that clean your skin and include certain types of acid that can help rid your face of pimples. Take a look at the above tips for caring for blackheads.

A very effective wash and facial treatment for prevention and treatment of blackheads, whiteheads and acne is ClearSkin Acne Cream and Face Wash. It is 100% guaranteed and completely safe and natural – containing only pure, effective herbal and homeopathic ingredients.

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Acne’s root cause is due to a hormonal imbalance that overproduces sebum. Sebum is an oily substance found in most hair follicles. Hair follicle glands produce sebum. Many hair follicles that produce too much sebum can become clogged. Bacteria feed off the sebum and infects the follicle causing a pimple.

Acne is not just for teenagers because a shift or hormonal imbalance can cause overproduction of sebum at any time. Many women that become pregnant, experience acne due to their hormones. Other times during the life cycle that acne can be prevalent is menopause and during senior years.

While most types of acne are easily treatable, many people are amazed when they find out that acne has reared its ugly head. Many women choose to take prescription medications that control their hormones to lessen the prevalence of acne.

Birth control pills are one medication that has been proven to less the extent of acne. The birth control pill requires a prescription and you should consult with your dermatologist for a correct diagnosis and whether you are a good candidate for the birth control pill to work.

So if you are past your teenage years and find yourself with acne, check out the above tips on why acne is not just for teenagers. Clearskin A Acne Cream could help – visit Native Remedies for more information.

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These two precious aphrodisiacs cleanse the mind of distracting thoughts, and set a mood for sensuous pleasure and slow, romantic love.

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Mix the ingredients together well, put a small amount into the palm of your hand and apply to a previously wet face. Rub the mixture all over the face in a rolling movement; wash with a good allergenic soap; rinse off with plenty of water.

Now dab the face with a Lavender splash made by adding 5 drops of Lavender to 2 tablespoons spring water. Shake the bottle before each use and just dab the liquid over the face and leave it. Repeat this treatment each day.

The above recipes are from “The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy” by Valerie Ann Worwood

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