Posture, Breathwork, and Pelvic Health in the Perimenopausal Years

You might be noticing shifts in your body lately. Maybe your core feels weaker, your balance is off, or you’ve developed new pelvic pressure. What often goes overlooked is how much your posture and breath influence those symptoms—especially during perimenopause.

This post isn’t about fixing your posture or learning how to “breathe right.” It’s about understanding how hormonal changes affect your internal pressure system, and why now is the right time to reconnect with it.

Hormones and Your Pelvic Floor: What’s Actually Happening

In the perimenopausal years, estrogen doesn’t just fluctuate—it drops. That dip can impact tissue elasticity, coordination, and responsiveness throughout the pelvic floor.

What does that have to do with posture?

Everything.

As your muscles lose support, your body may start compensating in subtle ways—tucking your tailbone under, locking your knees, holding your breath when you move. These are the kinds of patterns that add pressure to the pelvic floor when it’s already under stress.

The Breath–Pelvic Floor–Posture Triangle

Your diaphragm, abdominal wall, and pelvic floor are part of a system that regulates pressure. If one part gets out of sync, the others have to work harder. That’s often when leaks, heaviness, or discomfort show up.

Breathing patterns can shift as you age, especially if stress, inactivity, or injury are involved. Shallow breathing, over-bracing, or holding your breath when lifting can overload the pelvic floor.

Learning to breathe with movement—instead of against it—is one of the most effective ways to reduce symptoms.

What You Can Pay Attention To

• Notice if your ribs move when you breathe. Try to let them expand sideways—not just lift your shoulders.

• If you feel pressure down low when lifting, twisting, or reaching, that may be your pelvic floor flagging you.

• A habit of sucking in your belly or tucking your pelvis can disrupt this system and add more tension.

You Don’t Need a New Routine—You Need a New Connection

Most of the women we work with don’t need to “get stronger” in the traditional sense. They need to reestablish connection. That’s the real goal of pelvic floor therapy in this season—not rigid rules or exercises, but awareness.

Especially during perimenopause, your body deserves care that adapts with it—not against it.

📍Located in Lawrence, KS?We help women in the perimenopausal years learn how to move, breathe, and feel stronger again—without shame or stress.

Book a consult or reach out to see if pelvic floor therapy might help.