Let me tell you something that may shock you…. Not all postnatal Pilates or Yoga moves are safe in the postnatal period or even after for that matter. I love Pilates and found my Stott Pilates course gave me great knowledge of the anatomy and posture. However, it was whilst I was practising some of the more challenging Pilates moves such as the Pilates 100s that I found my Diastasis Recti (DR or tummy separation) started to get worse. The reason for this is that postnatal pilates exercises such as the plank and the Pilates 100s – to name just a few – cause an increase of abdominal pressure. This pressure causes our abs to bulge. Picture your abs like a zip – the bottom bit by the bikini line is zipped up and the top bit by your breasts is also connected, however the middle area of the zip has broken and the small teeth bits aren’t fixed together. Any pressure on the abdominals would then mean bulging of the abdominals out to the front and also downwards. Pressure going downwards means that the pelvic floor is weakened too.
2 out of 3 mums get diastasis recti!
Up to 50 percent of mums have Pelvic Organ Prolapse!
I am trying to educate Mums into realising that pregnancy involves a major transformation to our bodies and therefore it’s really important that you learn to strengthen the abdominals and pelvic floor with the right exercises as soon as you have had your postnatal check-up.
I totally understand that you want to zip up your pre-pregnancy jeans as soon as possible, however jumping around in a hiit type class or going for a run isn’t the answer. Can you run with milk in your breasts? Will you get two black eyes and a wet t-shirt at the front? Can your pelvic floor take the strain? Will you wet yourself?! All these need to be considered as does the effects of the hormone Relaxin in your body. This hormone makes our ligaments soft therefore injuries can easily occur.
So what should you be doing?
Attend specialist Postnatal exercise classes such as my core classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. These are a mixture of postnatal pilates and weight or resistance exercises. Babies are welcome in all classes. These classes pay particular attention to the core and if attended regularly your mind will start to reconnect with those forgotten abdominal muscles. Connecting with the core can take time and I always give my clients weekly homework to help with the strengthening. Trying to understand how all the muscles involved in core and work together can be difficult to grasp especially for those sleep deprived mums! Therefore, I make the classes fun by using analogies to help to get your brain reconnecting. Most of my mums know how to lift a 50p with their bottom, hold a Cadbury crème egg with their pelvic floor and what to do with their belly button when bumble bees fly towards them – all in the imagination of course! I can promise you I give a new twist to Postnatal Pilates classes. I also understand that you want to tone and sculpt the body therefore I include body and band resistant training in the core classes to give you some extra challenges.
You can read more about my different classes here.