This is one of the questions we get asked most - do you engage the pelvic floor on the inhale, or the exhale? The honest answer is: it depends which trimester you're in, and what your body is training for.
Second trimester: learning to engage
Earlier in pregnancy, the useful skill is engagement - learning to actively lift and connect with the pelvic floor on the exhale. In yogic terms, this is Mula Bandha, a gentle inward and upward draw timed with your out-breath.
This can be practised in all sorts of positions, not just seated stillness. Cat-Cow is a lovely one to start with - as you round through the exhale, you're not just moving the spine, you're learning to connect that same exhale to a gentle pelvic floor lift underneath it. It's less about isolated Kegel repetitions and more about building the pattern: exhale, engage.
Third trimester: learning to release
Here's where it gets interesting. As you move into the third trimester, the priority shifts - not away from the pelvic floor, but toward the opposite skill. Now it's about learning to consciously release the pelvic floor on the exhale, rather than engage it. This is often called the Birthing Breath, and it's arguably the more important skill of the two once labour is on the horizon.
A body that has only ever practised clenching on the exhale can struggle to let go when release is exactly what's needed. So at Matre we start deliberately training the opposite pattern.
A few ways to practice this:
Raise the arms on the inhale, and as you exhale, draw the arms back down while consciously softening and releasing through the pelvic floor.
Yoni Mudra - exhaling out through the mouth while releasing - can be practised standing, in a Goddess Standing Squat, letting the breath and the release work together.
Seated Supported Squat, sitting back onto a bolster, is another gentle way to explore this release with real support under you.
Why the shift matters
It's a simple pattern, once you see it: engage in the second trimester, release in the third. The pelvic floor isn't a muscle you just want to make stronger. During labour, you need it to know how to let go on cue, practising both, at the right time, means your body isn't guessing on the day.
This is why we practice pelvic floor exercises every class. If you want to build pelvic floor work into your birth prep join our next sangha of mothers → booking page
