Having a baby is no walk in the park! The body is pretty incredible and has not only grown a tiny human but has also birthed, whether that’s a vaginal birth or an abdominal birth. You may be wondering if what you are feeling is normal. Is my pelvic floor ok? Are my abdominals “split”? It feels tender and tight around my c-section scar. These are just some of the concerns that you may have. When starting exercise it can be daunting trying to figure out what you should or shouldn’t do and which type of exercise is right for you.
Creating a good foundation is key to returning to any form of exercise. Like any rehab work, progression is vital for ensuring that you are rebuilding strength and stability safely and effectively.
We are here to help you! Areas that we’ll focus on in this class include the following…
Pelvic Floor
Regardless of the type of birth you had, the pelvic floor is a muscle that you are probably more aware of since having a baby. Like any other muscle it needs to engage when needed (coughing, sneezing, laughing, running, jumping, lifting) as well as relaxing. These classes will help you to understand how to engage and relax the pelvic floor effectively using the breath and movement.
Core
The Transverse Abdominus supports the trunk of the body and during pregnancy is stretched. Using the breath and various standing and floor exercises we will reconnect with this area to know how to engage it efficiently and increase its strength and elasticity to support the body again.
Rectus Abdominus
Also known as the “6 pack” muscles, these are also stretched during pregnancy. Diastasis Recti occurs where the soft tissue in between these muscles stretch causing what is often known as “the gap”. After birth we want to strengthen this soft tissue again to create a lovely strong and supportive bridge. We will assess these muscles in class and appropriate exercises will be given to each individual to ensure that we are repairing and restoring the abdominals safely.
Posture
Pregnancy and motherhood affects how we hold ourselves, from feeding, to rocking and all the other demands that looking after a new born places on the body. We will try to balance the body out with exercises to strengthen the weaker muscles and stretches to ease the aches and pains of the tighter muscles.
Babies are welcome to the classes and we will do our best to help you get as much out of the sessions as you can.
