( Kegel)

One thing that has become a major source of concern to many men is their wife's inability to respond to them sexually like she used to. It is a common thing that many women lose their ability to respond to their husbands sexually after years of marriage, and for many of these women, sex becomes a thing they engage in more as a duty than for personal enjoyment; orgasmic satisfaction becomes a mirage. This situation has caused many women to lose their husbands in addition to losing their sexual satisfaction. For many, they have no clue as to the cause of this problem, not to talk of the way out of it. A good knowledge of the cause of this problem and the way out will help to restore sexual fulfillment to many couples.
A woman's vagina is surrounded by rings of muscle which is known as pubococcygeus which can be squeezed shut at will. A normal vagina looks like a squeezed tube, wide at the entrance, narrowed for a space of about two inches and then widened again. The narrowing is brought about by the squeezing action of a strong pubococcygeus (the muscle surrounding the vagina).
This muscle may get slack and wide due to sport, childbirth and/or age. In some cultures of the world, it has been noted that sexual performance is often poorer after childbirth because of the stretching or injuring of the birth canal. When this muscle becomes slack and weak, it sags much like a hammock, causing the vagina to sag. This looseness of the vagina makes it impossible for it to exert the pressure needed for sexual satisfaction on the male organ and this is because, in a slack and wide vagina, the male organ makes poor and infrequent contact with the walls of the vagina passage which is not enough to stimulate the nerves in the surrounding musculature adequately. Women in this situation feel little physical stimulation once intercourse begins though they are psychologically normal.
Statistics have it that at least two out of three women suffer this problem in life. A specialist in female disorders known as Dr. Arnold H. Kegel, in 1940, recommended an exercise for a patient of his who had a urinary problem known as "urinary stress incontinence," a situation which is usually caused by weakened muscles resulting to uncontrolled urinary leakage when the woman laughs or coughs. This exercise was discovered to not only have brought a relief to the woman's problem but caused her to experience orgasm for the first time in 15 years of marriage. This discovery was later confirmed by many other women who were instructed to carry out this same exercise and came out with the same result.  This exercise is now known as Kegel Exercise.



In agreement with Dr. Kegel, Dr. Donald Hastings of University of Minnesota was once quoted to have said, "The exercise and contraction of the voluntary muscles which form the pelvic floor and surround parts of the vagina are important for…enhancement of sexual pleasure."  This exercise, the Kegel exercise, which helps to strengthen the pubococcygeus, is also discovered to help in improving a woman's body for childbirth, urinary control, reduction of backaches and increase sexual enjoyment for both the husband and wife.  In 1948, Dr. Kegel's work won the annual award of the Los Angeles Obstetrical Society.
The Kegel exercise helps to contract the muscle surrounding the vagina thereby causing the vagina to shrink back to it normal size and shape. The good news is that it has been said that nearly all women could be taught to contract the muscle. This exercise is safe, simple and not fatiguing.
Dr. Kegel established that if a woman can interrupt her urination, then she has been able to contract the pubococcygeus muscle, meaning that she can carry out the kegel exercise. This is because it is this same muscle that controls the voiding of urine.  To teach women this exercise, Dr. Kegel usually starts by asking them to open their legs wide while urinating, and once the legs are wide opened, and the flow of urine has begun, an effort is to be made to stop it. The voiding of urine is interrupted for about two seconds, after which they continue, then stop again and hold it for another two seconds, and on and on until the bladder is empty. With this, the muscle is contracted when the urination is stopped and released to allow for the flow. Each contraction exercises the muscle surrounding the vagina. After a few trials, most women can recognize the sensation and repeat the contractions at anytime, anywhere. Dr. Hungerford, a childbirth educator says, "Once the contraction is learned, it takes little more effort than to close an eye. In fact, it can be done as rapidly as you open and shut an eye, though when exercising, the contraction should be held for about two seconds. With good control, urine can be released a teaspoon at a time." Once this control of this muscle is learned, women are instructed to begin exercise with five to 10 contractions before arising in the morning. The contraction is easier at this time but at first, the exercise should be tried whenever urine is voided.
How much of exercise is required?
Women are usually advised to begin with 10 contractions in a row, made at six intervals during the day. This makes 60 contractions in all. Each contraction need not take more than a second. Gradually, the number of sessions and number of contractions made can be increased. For instance, 20 contractions in a session would bring the six session total to 120 a day. Dr. Kegel suggests that each voiding of urine be an opportunity for exercise. If this is done three times a day, adding exercise before arising, when retiring and at one other time, the initial program is completed.