How Your Nervous System Affects Your Pelvic Floor
Ever feel like your body is tense, your stomach is off, or your pelvic symptoms flare up when you're stressed or overwhelmed? You're not imagining it—your nervous system plays a huge role in how your pelvic floor feels and functions.
Let’s break it down in a simple, real-world way.
Your Body’s Control Center: The Nervous System
Your nervous system runs everything—from breathing and digestion to how your muscles tighten or relax. It works through constant two-way communication between your brain and body.
Here are the key players:
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Sympathetic Nervous System:
Also called “fight or flight.” It kicks in when your body senses stress, making your heart race, muscles tense, and digestion slow down.
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Parasympathetic Nervous System:
This is your “rest and digest” mode. It helps your body relax, process food, and even supports bowel movements and bladder emptying.
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Vagus Nerve:
This powerful nerve connects your brain to your heart, lungs, gut, and pelvic organs. It plays a big role in calming the body and promoting healing.
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Enteric Nervous System (ENS):
Known as your “second brain,” this system lives in your gut. It controls digestion and communicates with your brain through the vagus nerve. If it’s dysregulated, you might experience constipation, bloating, or even more tension in your pelvic floor muscles.
Bottom-Up Healing: Teaching Your Body Safety Again
The brain can’t always “think” its way into relaxation. Instead, the body has to send calming signals back up to the brain. That’s called bottom-up processing, and it’s a core principle in pelvic floor therapy.
Techniques you can do at home to stimulate vagus nerve:
Box Breathing (4-Part Breath)
Support your nervous system by creating rhythm and calm with your breath.
How to do it:
Start by slowly breathing out to empty your lungs.
Inhale gently through your nose while counting to 4.
Hold your breath for a count of 4.
Slowly exhale for a count of 4.
Hold again for a count of 4 (with empty lungs).
Repeat this cycle 3 to 4 times.
Why it helps:
This slow, steady rhythm tells your nervous system: “It’s safe to relax.” It activates the vagus nerve, which supports digestion, calming, and pelvic release.
Skip the breath holds if you’re pregnant or feel lightheaded.
Ear Massage for Vagus Nerve Calming
Relax your body by gently stimulating nerves around the ear.
How to do it:
Use your fingers to gently pull each ear away from your head and notice how each side feels.
Place your fingertip in the soft spot just above your ear canal and make small, slow circles.
Move your finger toward the back of the ear and repeat the circles.
Do the same on the other side.
Re-check each ear to see if it feels looser or more relaxed.
Why it helps:
The vagus nerve has a small branch near the ear, and massaging this area can gently boost relaxation and support your body’s “rest and digest” state.
Neck Release to Decompress the Vagus Nerve
Relieve neck tension and support your vagus nerve with this calming stretch.
How to do it:
Roll your shoulders up, then back and down to set your posture.
Slowly tilt your right ear toward your right shoulder—keep your face forward.
Bring your awareness to the stretch on the left side of your neck.
Once it feels gentle but firm, turn your eyes to the right and take 4–6 slow breaths.
Return to center and repeat on the left side.
Why it helps:
Tight neck muscles can put pressure on the vagus nerve, which runs behind them. Stretching these muscles gently can help the nerve function better and reduce tension signals to the body.