I hear new moms in Alexandria, VA, bemoan the fact they can’t get their shape back overnight. Having been a new mom, I understand the frustration. However, pushing your body too hard or expecting immediate results can set you back. Your body needs healing time. It also took nine months for the change, so you won’t see it change back overnight. How do you protect your body, waiting at least six weeks or longer for health reasons, and still start the process of getting back into shape? You can start with walking or pelvic floor exercises, and then move to gentle exercises like yoga.
Yoga can help reduce the potential for postpartum depression.
Yoga can be strenuous or gentle, but either way, you’re getting exercise, and exercise can help prevent depression. It helps quiet the mind, allowing it to clear and provide deep relaxation. When the session ends, people find they’re calmer and have more clarity. Yoga provides the mother with time for herself to nurture her body back to fitness. If it’s group yoga, it provides the new mother with social interaction and time to share with other mothers. The deep breathing and meditative state of yoga brings calm at a time when many new moms feel out of control.
Yoga gets the body back to normal more quickly.
Yoga builds muscles. It doesn’t build the type of muscles on a bodybuilder, but strong, lean muscle tissue that builds the strength to get through all the tasks of a new Mother’s Day. It improves energy levels so moms get more done in less time. That’s a real blessing with all that new mothers have to do. It also helps posture to improve.
Not all poses are beneficial initially.
Right after childbirth, the body is subject to diastasis recti—abdominal muscle separation. It leaves women with a Buddha belly or mummy tummy that makes them look like they’re still pregnant. To avoid that, postpone doing exercises like crunches that put pressure on the abs or stretch them, like twisting exercises. Exercises with the belly facing down can also cause a gravitational tug on the loose muscles and stretch the midsection. Save yoga poses like the plank, cat, or cow exercises for later.
- A child pose is an excellent yoga pose to reduce chest, neck, or head pain. It also strengthens the pelvic floor. Combine it with Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor.
- Is back pain a problem/ Try the bridge pose. It’s the same in yoga as it is in traditional workouts. Lay on your back, knees bent and arms to the sides. Lift your buttocks off the floor until the body forms a straight line.
- Another yoga pose that can be done as soon as exercising is allowed is the cow face pose. The cow face pose stretches the neck, shoulders, and upper back muscles. It also stretches the hips and reduces tension all over your body.
- No matter what type of postpartum exercise program you do, take it easy at first and always follow the recommendations of your health care professional.
For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness
