This includes pelvis, buttocks, pelvic floor, legs and feet. You can test the functional unity of this segment by standing and tightening your buttocks: this will probably lead to some tightening of the pelvic floor between your legs and to extension of your knee and ankle joints so that even your toes might lift slightly. Or try pulling your pelvis back and squeezing your thighs together as you may have done as a child in holding back urination: this, too, will involve muscles down to the feet.

The pelvic floor (including the anal sphincter and the muscles at the base of the penis or of the vagina) may tighten reflexively during pelvic movement. It can also be tightened independently of the rest of the pelvis. People who have no awareness or control of the pelvic floor can tighten only the surrounding muscles, such as the buttocks or the abdomen.

This separation of the pelvic floor from the rest of the pelvic segment is so frequent in both usage and blocking as to provide grounds for treating it as an eighth segment. Nevertheless, in practice it is worked in conjunction with the rest of the pelvis.

The pelvis can express many feelings. They are not so easy to read as those of, say, the face. But the way in which the pelvis is held and the quality of its movement can express defiance, rage, shyness, stubbornness, aggression, tenderness, gentleness, eagerness, urgency, reaching, longing. Its "character" may be seductive, controlled, passive, rigid.

Inflation, in which the pelvis is pulled back, and deflation, in which the pelvis is pushed forward, have been described in the previous section. In general, the held-back pelvis signals feelings of defiance or rage which would be released if the pelvis were able to move forward. Conversely, the tucked-forward pelvis expresses compliance, what Alexander Lowen has called a "tail between the legs" attitude. In extreme cases it shows a kind of functional (i.e. emotional, not literal) castration in which the basic attitude is: "You can do what you like with me." The pelvis pulled back is "charged"; tucked forward it is "discharged." Sometimes it is jammed in a rigid in-between position.

Unfortunately, erroneous opinions about correct posture and spinal function have induced an unnaturally straight position for the pelvis. This leads to chronic lower back trouble because it imposes an artificially straight line on what is naturally a curve. A relaxed and mobile pelvis is held slightly back.

The body is not a Gothic cathedral, it is more like a vertical wave. Its curves enable strain to be taken by muscles rather than bone, and the whole body can flex backward or forward over a wide range. On a lesser scale, it can undulate with the breathing: when a baby breathes, the pelvis and legs and the head and neck can be seen to participate as well as the trunk. On the in-breath the head pulls into the body slightly as the chest and abdomen inflate, and the pelvis pulls slightly back while the knees flex slightly; on the out-breath, the head moves out and slightly back, chest and abdomen let down, and pelvis tilts slightly upward as the legs slightly extend. The picture is of observable contraction and expansion of the entire body. This pulsation occurs most markedly in the adult in the orgasm reflex. For this the mobility of the pelvis is more important than its basic starting position, although this position will effect its capacity for feeling and for sustaining excitation.

All work with the pelvic segment is aimed at mobilizing the pelvis itself, so that it is capable of full movement back and forward, and at bringing the breathing down into the lower abdomen.

7:1 Start by having the explorer lie on the back with knees up and feel flat on the floor and move the pelvis up and down gently to test its mobility. Then ask the explorer to pull the pelvis back when breathing in, and let it come up and forward when breathing fully out. On breathing in, the buttocks should be pressed back into the mattress; on breathing out they should lift off slightly but the lower back behind the waist should stay down. Some people may have to work or push at these movements, others may find them coming easily. There should be no need to push down on the feet.

7:2 Now ask the explorer to do the same movements, but with the pelvis hanging several inches above the mat. For this the feet and legs are holding the pelvis up while the shoulders take the extra weight.

7:3 After a few movements back and forth, ask the explorer to breathe down fully into the abdomen.

Again for some this is difficult. As the pelvis tilts back the abdomen can fill out right down to the groin and the pubic bone: as the pelvis comes forward the abdomen empties and contracts inward. Some people will breathe well enough in the abdomen but keep the chest popped up. See if the person can breathe fully in both chest and abdomen. The principle is to empty and fill the body with the breathing: just as when you pour water into a jug it fills from the bottom up, and you empty it out from the top first, so in the breathing the abdomen fills before the chest, the chest empties before the abdomen. Breathe in from the bottom up, breathe out from the top down. This sort of full breathing requires mobility of the pelvis. Here you are doing a mechanical sort of exercise, but it helps explore that mobility.

7:4 Now, as a further test of pelvic mobility, ask the explorer to thump the pelvis up and down on the mat. Just bang the buttocks down hard then thrust the pelvis up as high as possible. Keep breathing, though there is no need to try and synchronize this with movement unless it comes of itself. It may help to grasp the sides of the mat. Be sure the feet remain planted on the mat. Where the pelvis is tight, the feet will be lifted off or the hip joint will not be able to extend fully, so that in the thrust upward the pelvis is still held back. Ask the person to keep the mouth wide open and let out a sound during this thumping which should continue for a minute or two. If it hurts, do not pursue it further: any work on the pelvis risks making lower back problems worse. It is not completely impossible to do the work with a back problem, but the problem must be respected. As in any of these explorations, stop when it hurts.

7:5 Now have the explorer roll over onto the stomach and grasp the corners of the mat firmly with both hands, the head turned comfortably to one side. Press down with the heels of both your hands on the upper buttocks and ask the explorer to kick vigorously up and down from the hip joints, slamming the front of the legs and knees into the mat while keeping the legs straight. Holding down the upper buttocks makes sure that the whole trunk does not become involved and that the hip joint is worked fully. While the explorer is kicking, have them make a loud sound through the wide open mouth and keep breathing.

Again, this can be continued for a few minutes. It may make the explorer uncomfortable, be simply a form of exercise, or bring out a great deal of rage. If it brings out rage, have the explorer shout out anything that comes to mind.

7:6 Have the explorer roll over onto the back with knees up and breathe down easily into the abdomen for a while, but do not overdo this or push it. Take a brief break.

7:7 With the explorer still lying on their back, ask them to open the knees wide and join the soles of the feet with heels lightly pressing together and balls of the feet together. In this position the legs form a rough diamond shape with the knees several inches above the mat. The width of the leg opening is variable: it should only be as wide as it is painless. People with loose hip joints can open right down to the mat but must take care to keep the feet together. Others have a hard time at a forty-five degree angle.

Encourage a light, constant pressure between the feet. Make sure the explorer relaxes the upper body as much as possible: let the back down into the mat, head falling easily back, neck loose. The explorer should breathe low in the abdomen, easily, without forcing. The eyes may be closed. Keep pressure light in the feet; strong pressure may induce a cramp in the legs; in this case the explorer should extend the leg fully and push down and away with the heel until the cramp subsides.

7:8 The explorer should breathe along in this position for three to five minutes. Overbreathing cannot be sustained for this length of time, so make sure the breathing is steady but not intensified. The explorer may feel tension in the legs and slight pain in the muscles of the inner thighs. In the unlikely event that this becomes severe, it is best to stop. More likely there will be stretching sensations, possibly tingling or melting sensations, possibly a tendency for the legs to tremble or vibrate.

7:9 Ask the explorer to slowly raise the knees, and let the feet roll flat onto the mat but still touching at the sides. The knees should now be held at about a twenty degree angle. The explorer may now freeze or stop breathing. Encourage them to stay relaxed and keep breathing steadily. Have them move their knees slightly back and forth over a range of a few inches.

7:10 By now the legs will probably be vibrating and trembling steadily, sometimes quite violently. Encourage the explorer not to stop the trembling. It may extend up into the whole pelvis or the upper body. If the explorer becomes frightened, tell them to stretch their legs out straight and push away with their heels. The trembling will stop. Once they have been reassured by this that they can stop involuntary movement at will, encourage them to bring the knees up with the feet again touching at the sides; encourage them to accept the trembling which will probably begin again.

This trembling or vibration in the legs may either be without accompanying sensation, or be accompanied by melting or streaming (breeze-like or wave-like) sensations. The trembling itself comes from small spasms of muscles letting go of chronic tension (clonic spasm). Generally, the less the preceding chronic tension, the finer the vibration. But the main point is to accept these involuntary movements. Not everyone finds it easy to let go of control and allow the body, especially the pelvic area, to tremble. The explorer may protest that it is ridiculous, or worry that the trembling is a sign of fear. Sometimes pleasure is felt, and possibly panic at unexpected pleasure. (One area where such pleasure may be felt is the testicles, and some men are not used to this.)

7:11 After a while the trembling of the legs will subside or the explorer may feel that they have had enough. The session can end at this point, or after a brief discussion. After this intensive work on the pelvic segments, make sure the explorer takes it easy for a while. It is normal to feel somewhat shaky or vulnerable or to feel new emotions. In some cases there may be a level of genital excitement or tension.