Reclaim Your Strength: Postnatal Pilates for Postpartum Recovery
Postnatal Pilates is more than just a fitness buzzword; it’s a gentle and caring approach to nurturing your body after the journey of childbirth. Pregnancy can take a toll on your body, especially on your core muscles such as the abdominals, pelvic floor, and back muscles.
Think of postnatal Pilates exercises as a personalised rehabilitation plan designed with love for your post-birth recovery. These exercises are your allies, helping you reconnect with your body, and focus on areas that might have felt the strain of pregnancy the most. Their primary aim is to restore strength, stability, and flexibility in your core, concentrating especially on the deep abdominal muscles and pelvic floor.
Regaining a strong and supportive core is akin to securing a safety net for your body. It plays a pivotal role in maintaining proper posture, preventing back pain, and enhancing overall functional movement – all essential elements in navigating the beautiful journey of motherhood. Our Postnatal Pilates online offers not just physical recovery but also an emotional and psychological boost, truly embodying a holistic approach to post-birth wellbeing.
With postpartum, we know there has been a lot of stretching to the abdominals and connective tissue, so it is important to get these muscles to engage again, so that posture and pelvic alignment does not pose long term compensatory patterns including putting too much pressure down into the pelvic floor.
At re-centre we focus on the most important abdominal muscles, those that are deepest in the core, as this is where we will build strength from the inside out. Instead of flexing the trunk, which is not advisable in the early postnatal stages, we work with isometric contractions, exercises where muscles work to maintain length. We will also use the Pilates overball, which provides an unstable surface for the stabilising muscles of the trunk.
Postnatal Pilates truly is a harmonious blend of recovery and resilience, fostering not just physical strength but also emotional strength. It’s an embodiment of the care, understanding, and support you need during this unique phase of life, helping you feel stronger, more confident, and empowered as you embark on the enriching journey of motherhood.
A Harmonious Relationship, Pilates and Hypopressives
The combination of pilates, and Hypopressives is a strategic fusion of postpartum recovery techniques that concentrate on the complete revitalization of a new mother’s strength, core stability, and overall health. Pilates works on the external aspects of postpartum recovery. It develops strength, guides controlled movements, and boosts flexibility, addressing the physical transformation you can see and feel.
In contrast, Hypopressives, a method of breathing and postural technique, targets the inner workings of the body. It decreases intra-abdominal pressure and tones core muscles, including the pelvic floor and transversus abdominis, from within. The outcome? Improved pelvic floor function, reduced waist circumference, and enhanced support for internal organs, leading to improved posture and superior pelvic health.
With personalised instruction and tailored exercises, we’ll rebuild your strength, reestablish core stability, and enhance your overall well-being. Plus, with the convenience of postnatal. By understanding the harmonious relationship between Pilates and Hypopressives, you can maximise your postnatal recovery experience, tapping into the myriad benefits of postnatal Pilates, aiding you through the fulfilling, yet challenging journey of motherhood.
Getting started
For the Hypopressives classes it is important that you learn the Apnea technique properly so that you can get the most out of the classes and the time you invest in yourself.
Each week Simone runs Fundamentals sessions on Zoom where she explains the technique and guides you through all the steps. She will also give you feedback to make sure that you’re doing it correctly. For some, the technique may come more quickly than others.
Some of her clients, who are tighter in the ribs and thoracic spine do tend to take a little longer. For the technique to make an impactful change she recommends doing a minimum of 3 workouts a week for 15 to 20 minutes.
