The pelvic floor – a part of the female body, we don’t talk enough about. Especially when we talk about female health. This needs to change right now! Because also the choice of period products is influenced by how strong or rather weak your pelvic floor is. Moreover it is important to educate on the fact that “too strong” pelvic floor muscles are not always beneficial and can actually cause issues during your monthly bleed.

The pelvic floor area is a hammock of muscles that attach the pubic bone, tail bone and sitz bones, is to the human body. These layers of muscles literally hold your bladder, uterus, vagina, small bowel, and rectum in place.

A lot of women held on to the believe for years, that a “tight” pelvic floor is something they should achieve and work on. And in some cases this is true. Especially after giving birth the pelvic floor can be quite weak and soft and therefore the focus usually lies on strengthening this muscle group. But there is a big difference between a tight and a strong pelvic floor. A tight pelvic floor is inflexible and constantly engaged. And therefore, holds tightness and pressure all day long. This can lead to pain in the womb area. Especially during the period. And, this can lead to suffering in the lower back even. Austrian influencer and activist Daria already opened up about her suffering regarding this topic in an instagram post.

When training the pelvic floor, it therefore is important to integrate balance in the work-out routine. Especially sports like pilates and yoga focus on this group of muscles. This is beneficial until a certain degree. But as soon as one notices tightness in the area of the pelvis it is important to relax into the practice: let the bandhas be for a few months and rather integrate more relaxing and nourishing practices like yin yoga.

As always: Balance is the key, because it’s not normal and not okay to have pain during your period! It usually is a sign of imbalances in the body.

Keep your pelvic floor in mind – also when buying period products!

A lot of alternative methods for menstrual hygiene products are gaining more interest over the past years. This comes with positives changes around the topic of menstruation. More and more women openly talk about and discuss this once very private topic. On this wave of openly talking about periods, sustainability and feminism the menstrual cup became one of the most hyped products for female health. Menstrual cups are one of the favorite alternatives to tampons and pads. This is mostly because cups are sustainable for the environment and the own purse and also very healthy for the body.

But often the process of changing from disposable tampons and pads to this sustainable option is failing, when it comes to the wrong choice of product. Because most often the pelvic floor was not kept in mind in that process!

Divine is the first company, that produces menstrual cups, that keeps the individual pelvic floor areas of women in mind. Customers can choose between two levels of hardness of the menstrual cups, which are made of 100% medicinal silicon. The DivineCup HARD menstrual cup is perfect for women with a trained pelvic floor. Whereas the soft version of the cup might be easily squeezed by the trained muscle group and not open properly, which is important for full support during the bleed, the hard version will guarantee the right fit and support.

“Our DivineCup HARD is amazing for women, who engage in a lot of sports”, says Lisa Kiesewetter*, Brand & Menstruation Expert at divine, “We offer women, who practice a lot of yoga or pilates and therefore regularly train their pelvic floor muscles, a perfect sustainable solution. Although the cup is quite strong, it’s not missing any of the comfort with super soft silicon, which is also hyped and loved by our customers, who wear the DivineCup SOFT.”

With DivineCup Hard the range of the Divine Vertriebs GmbH now has even more diversity to offer: three sizes, diverse colors and two different levels of hardness. Therefore every woman, in every age and form can find her ideal menstruation cup as a sustainable alternative regarding disposable products for her monthly bleed.

For all employees of the editorial stuff we offer the option to order a sample box for a direct experience of our divine menstrual cups. Feel free to reach out via email.

*Lisa Kiesewetter is responsible for the topics of brand identity, (Female) Health and also works as a yoga teacher and Well-Being Coach.

Über den Beckenboden wird viel zu selten gesprochen, wenn es um Frauengesundheit geht. Das sollte sich aber ändern, denn gerade bei der Wahl des passenden Periodenprodukts kann die Kenntnis darüber, wie stark oder schwach die eigene Beckenbodenmuskulatur ist, sehr wichtig sein. Außerdem gilt es auch darüber aufzuklären, dass ein „zu starker“ Beckenboden nicht immer von Vorteil ist und auch Probleme während der Periode verstärken kann.

Der Beckenboden ist eine Ansammlung von Muskeln, die zwischen Schambein, Steißbein und Sitzbeinhöcker sitzen. Diese tiefen Schichten der Muskulatur halten die Blase, Uterus, Vagina, Anus und den Dünndarm an ihrem Platz.

Viele Frauen haben über Jahre die Tendenz verinnerlicht, dass ein „enger“ Beckenboden etwas ist, nach dem sie streben sollten. Gerade nach der Geburt ist die Beckenbodenmuskulatur meist weich und schwach und daher liegt der Fokus oft auf der Stärkung dieser Muskelgruppe. Allerdings gibt es einen großen Unterschied zwischen einem starken und einem harten Beckenboden. Eine harte Beckenbodenmuskulatur ist unflexibel und konstant unter Anspannung. Das kann zu Schmerzen im Unterleib – vor allen während der Periode -, und auch zu Verspannungen im unteren Rücken führen. Die Influencerin und Aktivistin Daria hatte u.a. darüber berichtet, was eine zu harte Beckenbodenmuskulatur anrichten kann.

Beim Trainieren des Beckenbodens sollte man daher unbedingt auf Balance achten. Gerade bei Sportarten wie Pilates und Yoga wird diese Muskelgruppe trainiert und gestärkt – was bis zu einem gewissen Grad sehr gesund und förderlich ist. Sollten sich aber ein Engegefühl im Bereich des Beckens einschleichen, dann gilt der Appell: lieber mal die Bhandas sein lassen und stärkende Übungen durch Entspannungsübungen und Dehnung austauschen.

Wie immer geht es hier um einen gesunden Ausgleich!

Auch bei der Auswahl der Periodenprodukte ist der Beckenboden mitzudenken!

Viele alternative Methoden der Menstruationshygiene gewinnen in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Interesse und Nachfrage. Sich auch öffentlich mit dem Thema auseinanderzusetzen, wird heute glücklicherweise deutlich weniger tabuisiert als dies noch vor Jahren der Fall gewesen ist. So ist die Menstruationstasse inzwischen eine der beliebtesten Alternativen zu verbreiteten Hygieneprodukten wie dem Tampon oder der Binde, da sie besonders nachhaltig und gesund für den Körper ist. Außerdem spart man sich die dauerhaft hohen Kosten.

Oft scheitert es bei der Anwendung der Super-Alternative zum Tampon aber bei der falschen Auswahl. Denn auch hier muss der Beckenboden mitgedacht werden!

Divine denkt als erstes Unternehmen, das Menstruationstassen herstellt, den Beckenboden bei Frauen mit. Denn Kundinnen können sich bei den aus medizinischem Silikon gefertigten divine Menstruationstassen zwischen zwei Härtegraden entscheiden. Die DivineCup HARD eignet sich vor allen Dingen für Frauen mit trainierter Beckenbodenmuskulatur. Während besonders weiche Menstruationstassen bei diesen leicht im Körper zusammengedrückt werden oder sich nach dem Einführen gar nicht erst korrekt entfalten – und so das Menstruationsblut nicht vollständig aufnehmen können – garantiert das stabilere Material perfekten Sitz und optimale Funktionalität.

„Unsere DivineCup HARD eignet sich vor allen Dingen für sportbegeisterte Frauen“, weiß Lisa Kiesewetter*, Brand & Menstruations Expertin bei divine. „Frauen, die zum Beispiel viel Yoga oder Pilates praktizieren und dabei auch ihre Beckenbodenmuskulatur fordern und trainieren, bieten wir damit eine zuverlässige Alternative. Trotz der erhöhten Widerstandskraft der Cups müssen Sie dabei nicht auf den Tragekomfort verzichten, den auch die DivineCup SOFT bietet.“

Mit der DivineCup HARD bietet die Divine Vertriebs GmbH ein umfassendes Sortiment an Menstruationstassen in unterschiedlichen Größen und Härtegraden, die Frauen jeden Alters den Umstieg von gewohnten Einwegprodukten auf eine nachhaltige, wirtschaftlich attraktive und dabei komfortable und zuverlässige Methode der Menstruationshygiene ermöglicht.

*Lisa Kiesewetter ist für das Thema Marke und (Frauen-)Gesundheit bei divine verantwortlich und arbeitet außerdem als Yogalehrerin & Achtsamkeits-Coach.

According to a representative study by Hamburg-based market research institute Splendid Research, 96% of the women asked use disposable products, such as tampons, pantyliners and sanitary pads, for menstrual hygiene. However, all the familiarity and convenience of these disposable products aside, they do have considerable disadvantages when taking a closer look. The first point to note is the sustainability factor. Example calculations have shown that, in her lifetime, a woman will use around 16,000 tampons or sanitary pads, producing around 140 kilograms of rubbish. Even beyond the environmental issues, there are many arguments against using the most popular menstrual hygiene product, the tampon, for instance. The cost is the main factor, and it is bothering more and more women. According to a calculation by a US online newspaper, a woman will spend an average of 6,000 euros on disposable sanitary products in her lifetime. Even the recent VAT reduction in Germany for female sanitary products from 19% to 7%, as well as the lower tax rate in other European countries, will have little impact, particularly since initial observers report that manufacturers are increasing the prices in return.

These and numerous other reasons are causing more and more women to show an interest in alternatives. Invented back in the 1930s, the menstrual cup is gaining increasing momentum. Inserted into the vagina and held in place by the vaginal muscles and suction, the flexible, cup-shaped silicon bell collects menstrual blood when it is being worn.

It can be reused permanently, simply by removing, emptying and rinsing it.

"A menstruation cup by Divine Cup lasts for about 10 years," affirms Andreas Kiesewetter, co-founder of Divine Vertriebs GmbH, a Baden-Württemberg startup which responded to the growing interest in alternatives to tampons, etc. by creating the Divine Cup, a menstrual cup manufactured completely in Germany, "Despite a higher one-time purchase cost, this makes the Divine Cup a much better option than paying the permanent, regular costs of conventional sanitary products."

Menstrual cups can also be beneficial from a medical perspective. Exposure to questionable substances is avoided without users having to compromise on comfort, safety and hygiene. At the same time, the use of a menstruation cup helps the early detection of any gynaecological conditions. The compatibility of the Divine Cup has been proven in an application study by independent institute Dermatest, which certified its compatibility as the only menstrual cup on the 2020 European market with the verdict "very good". In 2020, Öko-Test also rated the Papperlacup as "very good". Produced in collaboration with einhorn, this product is identical to the Divine Cup and sold via retail chain dm.

The Divine Cup, made in Germany using medical-grade silicon, is available in four colours, each of which has three sizes and two hardness types. The more stable hard Divine Cup has proven especially popular, being preferred in particular by athletic women with stronger pelvic floor muscles. In its smallest size, offered exclusively across Germany, the Divine Cup is also suitable for teenagers.

"With its appealing design and colour range, we want the Divine Cup to ease any qualms in addition to showing the demonstrable benefits of menstrual cups and give them the same clout that tampons self-evidently have today in the sanitary product sector," explains Tobias Schüber, co-founder of Divine Vertriebs GmbH.