Diaphragm to Pelvic Floor: The Forgotten Connection That Changes Everything with Jana Danielson

Jan 24, 2026

Jana Danielson, Pilates founder and creator of the Cooch Ball, blends movement, breathing and product design. She explains the diaphragm–pelvic floor link, why breathing rewires pelvic function, the prevalence of pelvic floor tension versus weakness, and how simple daily habits and targeted tools can change outcomes.

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ANECDOTE

From Chronic Pain To Pelvic-Floor Founder

Jana Danielson recovered from chronic digestive pain and weaned off 11 medications after practicing Pilates and body awareness.
This personal healing journey led her to build a pelvic-floor clinic and create the Cooch Ball product.

INSIGHT

Diaphragm Drives Pelvic-Floor Function

The pelvic floor functions as the core's floor and responds directly to the diaphragm's cues.
Without proper diaphragmatic breathing, pelvic-floor dysfunction commonly develops.

INSIGHT

Too Tight Or Too Loose: Two Spectrums

Pelvic floors can be hypertonic (too tight) or hypotonic (too loose), producing very different symptoms.
Tight pelvic floors can cause pain, sexual dysfunction, and impaired blood flow such as many erectile dysfunction cases.

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Over 30 million women in the US deal with some form of pelvic floor dysfunction…nearly 1 in 4 women.

In this episode, I speak with Jana Danielson, founder of Lead Pilates and creator of the Cooch Ball (and no, that's not a typo!), who reveals shocking realities about the urinary incontinence product industry.

Even though they'll top $24 billion in profit this year, 9 out of 10 people could fix incontinence if they learned to breathe correctly and stopped being such literal "tight asses" (her words, not mine).

Listen to the podcast to hear all of Jana's insights.

In this podcast, Jana and I discuss:

Why over 30 million US women deal with pelvic floor dysfunction—nearly 1 in 4 women—and the urinary incontinence product industry will top $24 billion this year
The pelvic floor can be too tight (hypertonic) or too loose (hypotonic)—too tight causes one set of symptoms, while too loose causes another
About 90% of erectile dysfunction is actually a fitness/movement issue, not medical…when pelvic floor muscles get too tight, blood flow to the penis cannot happen
There are four grades of prolapse; some grades can be completely reversed, while others require surgery. Jana explains the anatomical and energetic underpinnings of prolapse
The diaphragm is the "roof" and the pelvic floor is the "floor" of your core—doing 10-12 diaphragmatic breaths daily will wake up the pelvic floor tissues, like giving it CPR
The pudendal nerve's Latin root means "ashamed"—it's the main sensory and motor nerve from your brain to your genitals/pelvic floor in both men and women
You can do all the fancy medical spa pelvic floor contractions, but without proper breathing, your results won't last—you have to create the environment for the solution to work
When you inhale into your diaphragm, the pelvic floor is in its restful/descension phase—when you exhale, it's in its lift phase, a key distinction for pelvic floor health
Posture plays a considerable role in pelvic floor health: mechanically holding weight in an optimal position takes unnecessary stress off your pelvic floor
If you chug water rapidly, your body will excrete more of it. Sip tiny amounts throughout the day so cells absorb hydration properly and your bladder functions optimally