Can Meditation Help Incontinence?
Meditation puts your mind at ease, you feel peace, distraction from the outside world, and focus on what truly matters.
You clicked on this article to find out one thing, though. Can meditation help incontinence? Well, the answer to that isn't that simple. To put it simply, it won’t solve your problems.
However, that doesn't mean it is useless. In fact, it can help some people, mostly by dialling down the nervous system and improving control.
Brain & Bladder
We've all dealt with stress; we know that situations, sometimes completely out of our control, can cause our heart to race, our muscles to tighten, and consequently, our bladder to become more reactive.
Slow and steady breaths. Meditate.
Instead of fight or flight, the body begins to rest and digest. Clinical studies show that women with overactive bladder and higher anxiety report worse symptoms and quality of life.
Calm the system, and the symptoms often calm with it.
In fact, there is even more evidence showing the benefits of mindfulness. An 8-week study showed the benefits of mindfulness, with a pilot group of 7 women participating. They found that the programme had reduced episodes of urge incontinence and looked about as useful as standard bladder training in older women.
Why does it help in practice?
Leaks happen. They aren't a weakness, they're more just a matter of timing.
We know when it's on the verge, we brace and hold our breath while the pelvic floor is already at work.
Breath-led awareness flips that pattern. Exhale on effort, soften what doesn’t need to grip, recruit the right muscles when you actually mean to. Good motor control pairs well with pelvic floor training, which remains first-line care.
Now meditation won't close a sphincter, reverse a prolapse or shrink a prostate, and it certainly is not a replacement for protection.
People's incontinence can be caused by different, sometimes structural other times neurological.
Meditation lowers the tension so you’re less jumpy in the moments that usually set you off. Maybe long meetings, travel, queues, bedtime. It also trims the catastrophising. You notice the urge, you don’t turn it into panic, and you make a clear decision.
Some physio urge-suppression protocols even include calm breathing as part of the drill. That’s the practical overlap.
Should I meditate?
It's completely up to you.
Meditation won't cure incontinence. It could make your system quieter, you might notice fewer spikes, less drama and more control.
If it helps you manage, then it is a great method you can use alongside pelvic floor exercises and whatever protection you trust.
If it doesn't work for you, then there are plenty of other methods that may. We are all wired differently.
Whatever you do, do what works for you.
Bladder and bowel incontinence may be caused by conditions which can be treated medically. Please consult your physician for medical advice and guidance. All sources used in this article are cited below.
