Spring Cleaning for Your Pelvic Health: Habits to Reset Before Summer

When we think of spring cleaning, most of us picture closets, cars, garages, and junk drawers. But your pelvic floor could likely use a seasonal reset too, especially as we head into warmer weather, more activity, and more time outside.

Spring is the perfect time to declutter and eliminate habits that aren’t serving your bladder and bowel health, core, or pelvic floor, and to reset routines that help you feel stronger, supported, and symptom-free heading into summer.

Let’s look at some simple yet powerful pelvic health habits to reset this spring.

1. Declutter Harmful Bladder & Bowel Habits

Over the winter, we tend to sit more, hydrate less, and fall into patterns that quietly stress or tense our pelvic floor. Spring is the perfect moment to reset.

Habit to Ditch: Checking the clock or before you leave the house and peeing “just in case,” even if you don’t really have to go

This trains your bladder to empty before it’s full, causing urgency and frequency.

Tip: if you’re peeing lasts less than 8 seconds, your bladder was not full

Habit to Ditch: Power-peeing or pushing to speed things up

Rushing strains pelvic floor muscles and can worsen leakage or incomplete emptying.

Habit to Ditch: Ignoring constipation

Constipation increases pelvic floor tension and creates a cycle of straining → tight muscles → more constipation.

 

Spring Reset Tips:

• Aim to pee every 2–4 hours
• Sit, breathe, and fully relax your pelvic floor for each bathroom visit
• Add 1–2 glasses of water per day as weather warms (Tip: Drink water in smaller amounts to avoid frequency: ~4oz. per 15 minutes)
• Use a footstool for easier, strain-free bowel movements

A few small changes now can dramatically improve urgency, frequency, and pelvic discomfort as activity increases.

2. Reset Your Core + Pelvic Floor Routine

If your winter routine included more sitting, less movement, or tightening-based exercises (like planks & crunches), your core and pelvic floor may feel stiff, weak, or disconnected.

Spring is a great time to rebuild foundational strength and coordination.

What to Focus On:

• Connection as the focus rather than just intensity

Focus on gentle activation warm ups before heavy exercise (think breathing exercises, mobility, gentle stretching)

• Breathwork

360° breathing helps your pelvic floor lengthen and relax; you can do this sitting, standing, or lying down. Focus on your ribs expanding in all directions, and try to breath down into the pelvic floor

• Coordination WITH exercise

Learning to exhale on effort is huge for pressure management

Tip: We teach you how to do this with exercises in pelvic floor PT sessions!

 

Simple 2-minute Reset Drill:

1. Sit or lie comfortably
2. Inhale: ribs expand 360°, belly softens, breath travels down the core into the pelvic floor, allowing everything to gently expand
3. Exhale: gently lift your pelvic floor, lower core slightly engaging on exhale, like a subtle closing and lifting
4. Repeat 10 breaths

This helps your core and pelvic floor work as a team again, especially before returning to spring workouts like running, hiking, or strength training.

 

 

3. Spring Mobility Exercises to Reawaken Your Pelvic Floor

A little mobility goes a long way for pelvic health. These spring-inspired moves are perfect for releasing winter stiffness and preparing your body for more movement.

Bridges

Great for: glute activation, hip extension, pelvic floor coordination

• Keep ribs relaxed
• Exhale as you lift your hips
• Inhale to lower, gently relaxing pelvic floor
  
• Tip: Don’t over-extend and arch your back to avoid low back strain

 

 

 

 

Pelvic Circles (standing or on an exercise ball)

Great for: releasing tension, improving hip + pelvic motion

• Trace slow circles with your pelvis
• Move both clockwise and counterclockwise
  
• Keep breath easy and fluid

 

 

 

 

90/90 Hip Rotations

Great for: hip mobility, improving posture, easing pelvic tension

• Sit with both knees bent at 90 degrees
• Rotate from side to side
• Keep spine tall and breathing relaxed

These exercises open the hips, improve circulation, and help your pelvic floor move the way it’s meant to—especially important before resuming higher-impact spring activities.

 

 

 

 

Want to learn more about exercise and bladder health? The Best (and Worst) Exercises for Your Bladder.

 

 

Give Yourself a Pelvic Health Reset This Spring

Your pelvic floor does more than you probably realize! It supports your organs, stabilizes your core, affects bladder/bowel function, and plays a huge role in comfort with exercise, and confidence in your body’s ability to move with ease.

 

A seasonal spring cleaning helps you:

• Feel lighter and more mobile
• Reduce tension and urgency
• Improve bowel habits
• Build a stronger foundation for summer movement

If you want personalized instruction, struggle to relax into any of the above exercises or with getting breath “down into pelvic floor,” or you’ve noticed symptoms like leaking, pressure, pain, constipation, or a “tight but weak” feeling, a pelvic floor physical therapist can help you reset your habits and your pelvic floor, specific to your needs and goals.