NEW Pre-Natal & Post-Natal Group Classes
Mind Your Body is excited to announce new Pre- and Post-Natal Group Classes for our community!
Click here to schedule a Pre/Post Natal Class.
Click here to schedule a Pre/Post Natal Class.
Pre-Natal and Post-Natal exercise and conditioning must be approached in very specific ways. Especially if certain front-loaded exercise moves are performed during and after pregnancy, a woman can really do damage – particularly to the upper abdominal and frontal rib cage areas of the body. Starting from the first trimester through delivery and particularly throughout the months after the baby is born, it is important to work with a certified Pre-and Post-Natal Pilates professional.
Benefits of Pre-Natal Exercise: Promotes maternal well being while preparing mom for physical demands of motherhood. Increases energy, reduces back pain and improves maternal posture; promotes healthy muscle: fat ratio. Proper exercise can reduce constipation as well as nausea and bloating or swelling and it may prevent or help manage gestational diabetes. Pre-Natal Pilates conditioning improves sleep, reduces stress and lessens potential on-set of depression. Exercising may promote longer gestation periods and healthier birth weights as well as promoting speedier postpartum recovery. |
Need for a Specific Pre-Natal Exercise Program: The hormones produced during pregnancy cause the ligaments that support your joints to become relaxed. This makes the joints more mobile and more at risk of injury. The extra weight in the front of your body during pregnancy shifts your center of gravity and places added stress on joints and muscles, especially those in the pelvis and lower back. This can make you less stable, cause back pain, and make you more likely to lose your balance and fall, especially in later pregnancy. The extra weight you are carrying will make your body work harder than before you were pregnant. The changes in your body can make certain positions and activities unsafe for you and your baby.
Pre-Natal Pilates with its emphasis on breath, alignment and control is a great form of exercise that will not strain your joints or cause injury.
One-on-One Pilates Sessions or Small Group Pilates Classes focus on the deepest core muscles – the transverse abdominal layer – as well as strengthening the pelvic floor – creating muscle memory that helps the body recover faster post-partum – plus, women are also more likely to return to an exercise program if they worked out during the nine months of pregnancy.
85% of prenatal exercisers gained abdominal tone in the first few weeks post partum compared to 45% who did not exercise. The mind-body breath connection use in Pilates can also help mother prepare for the breathing demands during labor. Traditional Pilates exercises can be modified to meets the specific needs of each mother, helping them to cope with the physical stresses of pregnancy.
Exercise can also benefit your growing baby and give your baby a healthier start in life. The placenta, which feeds the baby with nutrients and oxygen during pregnancy, has shown a greater growth rate with mothers who exercised. Not only do babies whose mothers’ exercised have healthier birth weights – studies show that these babies are less likely to be obese or develop type 1 diabetes in childhood.
Pregnancy will inevitably stretch and weaken the core transversus abdominis muscle, and during the post partum period the body experiences a number of hormonal changes. The new mother’s body may retain fluid for milk production even if mom chooses not to breast feed. This may make her muscles feel softer and weaker. It is important to recognize that it may take time to rebuild strength, and that her exercise program should be modified in order allow the body time to heal naturally.
Allegra Lopez from Mind Your Body Pilates is certified in the BellaBellies® program of Pre and Post Natal Pilates: www.bellabellies.com - Bella Bellies® owner Anne Martens, along with the help of her mother, Registered Nurse Lorraine, created and designed the Bella Bellies® Teacher Training courses.
Note: The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is the organization/standard referred to in terms of dues and don’t of prenatal exercise. Some of the information in this blog posting comes from Martens’ notes and also ACOG’s website.
Pre-Natal Pilates with its emphasis on breath, alignment and control is a great form of exercise that will not strain your joints or cause injury.
One-on-One Pilates Sessions or Small Group Pilates Classes focus on the deepest core muscles – the transverse abdominal layer – as well as strengthening the pelvic floor – creating muscle memory that helps the body recover faster post-partum – plus, women are also more likely to return to an exercise program if they worked out during the nine months of pregnancy.
85% of prenatal exercisers gained abdominal tone in the first few weeks post partum compared to 45% who did not exercise. The mind-body breath connection use in Pilates can also help mother prepare for the breathing demands during labor. Traditional Pilates exercises can be modified to meets the specific needs of each mother, helping them to cope with the physical stresses of pregnancy.
Exercise can also benefit your growing baby and give your baby a healthier start in life. The placenta, which feeds the baby with nutrients and oxygen during pregnancy, has shown a greater growth rate with mothers who exercised. Not only do babies whose mothers’ exercised have healthier birth weights – studies show that these babies are less likely to be obese or develop type 1 diabetes in childhood.
Pregnancy will inevitably stretch and weaken the core transversus abdominis muscle, and during the post partum period the body experiences a number of hormonal changes. The new mother’s body may retain fluid for milk production even if mom chooses not to breast feed. This may make her muscles feel softer and weaker. It is important to recognize that it may take time to rebuild strength, and that her exercise program should be modified in order allow the body time to heal naturally.
Allegra Lopez from Mind Your Body Pilates is certified in the BellaBellies® program of Pre and Post Natal Pilates: www.bellabellies.com - Bella Bellies® owner Anne Martens, along with the help of her mother, Registered Nurse Lorraine, created and designed the Bella Bellies® Teacher Training courses.
Note: The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is the organization/standard referred to in terms of dues and don’t of prenatal exercise. Some of the information in this blog posting comes from Martens’ notes and also ACOG’s website.