Practicing Without Bracing - Finding Safety in a Body That Learned to Stay Ready
For many incontinent yogis, the body lives in a quiet state of readiness.
Ready for urgency.
Ready for leaks.
Ready for embarrassment.
Ready to react.
That readiness often becomes bracing, a constant, unconscious tightening of the belly, hips, thighs, jaw, breath, and pelvic floor. Even when nothing is wrong, the body stays alert.
This post is about learning how to soften that vigilance.
Not by forcing relaxation, but by cultivating safety.
Why Bracing Happens (And Why It Makes Sense)
If you live with incontinence, your body has learned some protective truths:
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Urgency can come suddenly.
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Leaks can feel unpredictable.
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Being unprepared can feel emotionally unsafe.
So the nervous system adapts.
It braces.
It tightens.
It stays ready.
This isn’t weakness.
It’s intelligence.
But yoga invites something new:
✨ The possibility that safety can come from softness, not tension.
What Practicing Without Bracing Looks Like
Unbraced practice doesn’t mean total relaxation.
It means support without fear.
It might feel like:
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Letting your belly soften instead of pulling it in
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Allowing your breath to expand instead of staying shallow
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Letting your hips feel heavy instead of held
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Trusting your protection so your body doesn’t have to stay clenched
Instead of:
“Hold it together.”
The body learns:
“I am supported.”
Gentle Ways to Release Bracing on the Mat
🌬 Long Exhale Breathing
Inhale naturally.
Exhale slowly, twice as long as the inhale.
Let the belly, ribs, and pelvic floor soften together.
🪷 Heavy Hips
In seated poses, imagine your sit bones melting downward.
Let gravity hold you.
🧘 Slow Starts
Before moving, pause.
Ask: Where am I already gripping?
Soften there first, then move.
🛏 Supported Shapes
Bolsters, blocks, walls, blankets, chairs.
Support teaches safety faster than effort ever will.
Practicing Without Bracing in Public Spaces
This is where the work becomes real.
In cafés.
In yoga studios.
In waiting rooms.
In grocery stores.
Unbracing might look like:
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Trusting your diaper instead of constantly checking
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Letting your shoulders drop while standing in line
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Breathing deeply instead of shallowly
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Allowing yourself to rest into protection
Safety doesn’t come from holding harder.
It comes from trusting what holds you.
A Quiet Truth
Bracing tells the story of survival.
Softness tells the story of healing.
You don’t need to rush the transition.
Even one breath without bracing is a victory.
Even one softened moment is progress.
Living This Gently
You don’t have to practice unbracing everywhere.
You don’t have to be calm all the time.
You don’t have to “graduate” from protection.
You only need moments where your body learns:
✨ I am safe enough to soften.
✨ I am supported.
✨ I don’t have to stay ready.
What’s Coming Next in This Series
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Moving Gently Through Urgency
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Trusting Protection Without Shame
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Public Practice: Yoga Beyond the Studio
Each one builds on the last, slowly, kindly, intentionally.
🌸 Your Turn
Where do you notice yourself bracing the most?
Standing? Sitting? Public places? Transitions?
Your awareness is part of your healing.
And every softened breath matters.
— Alice in Yoga Pants ✨
#AliceInYogaPants #CrinkleAndFlow #PelvicFloorAwareness #IncontinentYogi #YogaWithDisability
#GentleStrength #ReleaseBeforeStrength #SoftPractice #DiapersAndYoga #TraumaInformedYoga
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