
A new post (opens in new tab) on Gwyneth Paltrow's website, Goop, suggests you're peeing all wrong every time you use the toilet. Instead, you should be popping a squat in the shower, which automatically engages the pelvic floor to lengthen and tone your pelvic floor muscles, according to Lauren Roxburgh, a fascia and structural integrative specialist who's quoted in the article.
While you might not think about those muscles as much as the ones in your butt or your biceps, strengthening your pelvic floor can improve your sexual performance and ability to orgasm; help with bladder and bowel control; stabilize your hip joints; and boost circulation in the pelvic area. "It's the key to great sex, a flat tummy, and the key to never laying in a supply of Depends," Roxburgh told Goop.
Squatting also positions your urethra perfectly for peeing so urine flows out more easily than when you're sitting on a toilet. Even if you've never had a problem peeing in a toilet, you can rest assured that you're doing your pelvic floor a favor should you ever get the urge to pee down the shower drain. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks, Gwyneth!
Elizabeth Narins is a Brooklyn, NY-based writer and a former senior editor at Cosmopolitan.com, where she wrote about fitness, health, and more. Follow her at @ejnarins.
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