Maybe you have seen this word mentioned and wondered what it means. Well this article will try to demystify Kegel and show you how you can improve your sexual functioning with some very easy-to-do exercises.
 
Kegel is a name for pelvic exercises named after a doctor who developed them as a way to improve the tone of muscles in the genital area. Not only does doing these exercises improve health and help prevent incontinence problems in middle age, but it can enhance sexual pleasure and performance!

The Kegel exercises help to tone and strengthen the muscles known as the pubococcygeus (known as the PC muscles) located on the "floor" of the pelvis. These muscles play an important part in arousal and orgasm, so keeping them toned is vital for optimal sexual health. For many years it was mostly women who performed Kegel exercises, with the intention of controlling urine leakage or other problems of incontinence that sometimes occurs after childbirth, and also as a way of helping prevent tearing of the p. But it was found that the exercises not only controlled this problem but helped improve tone in the vaginal walls and thus helped enhance sexual pleasure. So now of course men are getting into the act, although Dr. Kegel always hoped they would. Women seem to be better able to locate these muscles at first, and regularly perform these exercises without any interruption of their daily routine, so give this a try and see if your sex life and health don't improve as a result.

Doing Kegel exercises helps increase blood flow to the genital region, which helps sexual arousal. Women who experience vaginal dryness unrelated to menopause may well find that doing Kegel helps this condition. Kegel exercises are also often prescribed for women suffering vaginismus (pain during intercourse) or other conditions which make sex difficult.
 
(On a side note: It has been observed that men who thought they needed Viagra or other erectile dysfunction medication have been greatly helped by doing regular sessions of Kegel instead, and with no risk of side effects from drugs. Regular Kegel exercises can also help with muscle toning that will let me control the timing of ejaculation, in tandem with other efforts utilized during sexual activity (such as techniques designed to stimulate different areas in the genitals in order to prolong orgasm). Forget all those emails you've been getting about "pleasing her all night" with drugs–turns out all you need is Kegel and Tantra!)
 
Women's sexual experience can be enhanced using Kegel because strengethening the pelvic muscles helps to increase the frequency and intensity of vaginal sensation. If you have been experimenting with trying to experience or intensify vaginal orgasm (which is difficult for some women), you should add Kegel to your repertoire of vaginal play and experimentation with G-spot stimulation. Toning the pelvic muscles will help give you added control and sensitivity to help you achieve vaginal orgasm. Kegel will also help intensify clitoral orgasm because the entire genital region will experience increased blood flow.
 
As men and women age, there is a risk of developing prolapsing or other difficulties of the organs in the genital region such as the uterus or prostate. Doing Kegel helps prevent this by strengthening these muscles–prolapsing in particular can be helped by keeping these muscles toned. Women in danger of a prolapsed uterus have been able to completely prevent this occurrence by doing Kegel regularly, according to medical research.
         
So how does one Kegel? It is very easy actually. Some people may want to begin by lying on the floor on a yoga mat or other soft surface (like a thick towel), on your back with knees up and feet flat on the floor. Separate knees and let them hang comfortably. Press your lower back to the floor by holding in your stomach muscles, and do this every few seconds or so, as comfortable. This will help you focus on the muscles you work during the Kegel exercises. Now, as you lay there in this position, lightly clench the muscles which control the flow of urine. Since you are not using the toilet you may have to think a minute and try this several times before you can locate this sensation out of context. (For some people it helps to try this while using the toilet first; just start and stop the flow of urine and you will feel where these muscles are). Soem people find they "confuse" these muscles with their anal or abdominal muscles, so be patient and practice until you can isolate the pelvic muscles.
 
Once you find those muscles tighten them for 2-3 seconds, then release. Repeat this 10 times. Then, do it again the following day. Every couple of days, try to increase the number until you are up to 30 or 40. Some doctors recommend doing these for up to 200 repetitions a day, but you don't have to do that all at once. If your genital region is otherwise healthy, try to do 30 or 40 Kegel exercises 3 or 4 times a week, this will keep things toned and strong. Kind of like running 3 miles a day, 5 days a week for "maintenance" after you have been doing a six mile a day program to get fit.
 
Once you get used to doing these exercises, you probably will not need to lie on the floor–you can do them standing or while seated, and with no one able to detect what you are doing. You can also vary the rhythm and timing of them, with shorter clenches, fluttering them quickly, etc. This variety of movements will help you increase sexual pleasure and control even more. You may find you can do things with your vagina that you'd never even imagined, and your lover or partner is sure to notice the difference, too. Once you start Kegel, stay with it for increased sexual vitality and pleasure!