Typically, women have some preconceived notions from a quick Google search about the do’s and don’ts of Pilates during pregnancy, or a quick phone call or email to their doctor who will most likely respond by allowing their patient to continue doing what they were doing before. At BeachFit Moms, we want to educate and help women during this very important time. We're happy to be incorporating pre and post pregnancy fitness! With this work, we now have the latest knowledge on how to best prepare the mother and baby for a successful birth and how to understand the changes of the body from the beginning of the pregnancy to post labor.
As women, we are so lucky to be able to explore new opportunities and be able to take the best care of ourselves and our children. During pregnancy it is very important to have a safe fitness program. We, as students and teachers, should remember that when the body endures great changes such as pregnancy, we also need to adapt to these changes both physically and mentally. As our hormones change with pregnancy, so should our workouts in order to prevent any complications along the way. We have many months to be able to adapt to these changes, and each day should be seen as a new day, tuning into the body and taking a mental scan to notice how these changes are occurring. Hormones play a vital role because of the way they soften the body by preparing the mother for child birth. This means that we must take into consideration that naturally the rib cage will begin to open, the lower back is a bit more vulnerable with its forward tilt of the pelvis, and our shoulders may begin to round forward a bit. It is very important to work with these natural changes and not try to change what nature intended. Because of these changes, completely eliminating flexion of the torso by lying supine is critical. This will allow the already weakened abdominal muscles to not overstretch as the uterus is beginning to grow upward toward the rib cage. It is possible that if the rectus abdominus muscle is too weak, or too strong, a Diastasis-Recti can occur. A diastasis-recti is a spilt of the rectus abdominus muscle. Understanding these crucial points of pregnancy, we, as students and teachers, can help so many mothers-to-be, and possibly even prevent complications during labor. From the first trimester to postpartum, the work is designed to realign the body for a successful birth.
PILATES MAT WORK
Stability balls are a safe, effective, and creative way to transfer the Pilates mat work into an upright, seated, and easily accessible position. Using tools such as the stability ball will challenge the mother-to-be and maintain balance while strengthening the pelvic floor. Stability balls are also commonly used as a birthing tool during labor. This may help familiarize the mother with the ball if needed during labor.
DEEP ABDOMINAL BREATHING
In my classes, I always say, “Without the breath, you are cheating yourself of the workout.” Breathing is so important and should be your focus in your pregnancy workout. Deep abdominal breathing is used to effectively relax the pelvic floor muscles, as well as contract them. It is important to explain to your client that in order to be balanced in the body, we need to find a balance between strengthening and stretching muscles. We can do that through breathing. In pregnancy, a strong pelvic floor is very important to be able to support the weight of the baby to full term; however, we do not want to sit and do our kegels hundreds of times all day long. If deep abdominal breathing is done correctly, this is all that is necessary.
HOW TO EXECUTE DEEP ABDOMINAL BREATHING
Sitting cross-legged on the floor or on a stability ball, take a deep breath, relaxing the abdominals into your hands. As you are inhaling, breath forward and down into the pelvic region. Exhale and feel your abdominal pulling away from the hands, lifting the pelvic floor up. This is a safe breathing technique for late pregnancy and can also be used to prepare for labor.
No comments:
Post a Comment