An ancient saying goes: "Rub the anus one hundred times daily to eliminate disease and prolong life."
Both the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and other classical texts emphasize the importance of the anus.
The "rubbing of the anus" mentioned here corresponds to what we commonly refer to as Kegel exercises.
Why are Kegel exercises so highly regarded?
Kegel exercises, also known as "building the magpie bridge," essentially replicate the common yoga bridge pose.Practicing anal lifting while lying down is a traditional health preservation method. Traditional Chinese medicine posits that three meridians converge near the anus: the Conception Vessel, the Governor Vessel, and the Thrusting Vessel.
The Conception Vessel governs the body's yin energy, the Governor Vessel oversees yang energy, and the Thrusting Vessel is the sea of blood. They respectively regulate the body's yin essence, yang energy, and sexual function.Perineal lifting exercises stimulate these three meridians, promoting the circulation of yin and yang energies. Among them, the perineum acupoint is a crucial longevity point. Regular practice of this exercise provides excellent massage to the perineum, significantly benefiting reproductive health maintenance.
When meridians flow freely, diseases find it hard to invade. During Kegel exercises, the perineum rises, falls, and pulsates, drawing primordial essence from the tailbone gate up the spinal Du Meridian into the brain, then descending via the Ren Meridian into the abdomen. This creates a meridian circulation loop. Unobstructed meridians enhance qi and blood circulation, notably improving conditions related to the anus and urogenital system.
Daily anal sphincter exercises yield visible benefits:
1.Prevent and treat anal and intestinal diseases
During the contraction process, the muscles surrounding the anus and intestines naturally tighten, including the anal sphincter. This enhances muscle contraction strength, creating a natural "pressure pump" within the body. This helps improve pelvic blood circulation, thereby preventing and alleviating conditions such as hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and rectal prolapse.
2. Promotes Postoperative Recovery from Anal Diseases
Following anal disease surgery, the anal sphincter often sustains varying degrees of damage. Restoring its function requires repeated exercise and stimulation. Kegel exercises help reawaken the sphincter, enhance local resistance to disease in the anorectal area, promote wound healing, and prevent or reduce recurrence of anal diseases.
3. Alleviating Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence occurs when urine leaks involuntarily due to bladder control issues. Causes include urethral sphincter damage, prostatitis or benign prostatic hyperplasia, and cystitis. Regular Kegel exercises strengthen pelvic floor muscle tone, enhance urethral resistance, and reduce bladder muscle overactivity.
4. Protecting the Prostate
Prostate enlargement commonly affects middle-aged and older men. Kegel exercises activate the pelvic floor muscles—including the levator ani, pubococcygeus, and urethral sphincter muscles—along with nerves, blood vessels, and the circulatory metabolism of surrounding organs.
5. Enhancing Sexual Interest
Women who have given birth or are of advanced age often experience varying degrees of pelvic floor and vaginal muscle laxity. For men, increasing life and work pressures have made sexual dysfunction increasingly common. Kegel exercises help tighten the pelvic floor muscle group. For men specifically, they enhance blood supply to the reproductive organs, prolong erection duration, and improve sexual experience.
The benefits of "bridge-building" extend far beyond mere pelvic floor muscle exercise, offering countless rewards to the body. But is Kegel exercise simply lying down, squeezing your buttocks, and arching upward?
What is the correct posture for Kegel exercises?
Though seemingly simple, achieving health benefits requires mastering its "essence"—
Breath Regulation Method: Stand with knees slightly bent, slowly close your eyes, regulate your breathing, and relax your entire body from head to toe. As your breath reaches the perineum, gently contract and lift the anus. Repeat this slowly seven times.After a moment, slowly open your eyes. Make half-fists with both hands and gently tap upward from the tip of the tailbone. Repeat the entire sequence seven times.
Simple Movement Method: This exercise can be done lying down, standing, or sitting. Tighten the anal sphincter for 5 seconds, feeling the buttock muscles clench, then slowly release for 10 seconds. Perform continuously for 15-20 minutes, three times daily.
Anal sphincter exercises prioritize precision over quantity. Overdoing it can strain the sphincter muscles, negating their health benefits. Consistency is key to achieving improved physical well-being.
It costs nothing, requires no special equipment—just remember to "give it a lift" to prevent various ailments. By the time I finish writing this, I've already completed one set. Have you started yet?