Mind Body Spirit
By Dina Voigt
Pilates & Pregnancy
Why and How To Do It When You’re Expecting
I
t is a well-known fact that Pilates is
one of the best ways to prepare your
body for pregnancy and also one of
the best ways to get back into shape
after pregnancy. What about DURING
pregnancy? Due to the fact that Pilates
is a low impact workout that improves
postural alignment that increases
flexibility and strength, it is a safe and
fig 1: Mermaid to Side Plank (position 1)
fabulous exercise option for pregnant
women. There are many unwanted side
effects that can happen during
pregnancy including change of postural
alignment, loss of muscle tone, back
pain, poor sleep, edema, collapsing
foot arch, etc. Pilates can help combat
and avoid all of these and more as well
as ultimately help with labor and
delivery. The breathing techniques can
also help to elevate energy levels and
help boost your mood! Pilates is such
an adaptable form of exercise that can
be modified to accommodate your
needs as your body changes throughout
the pregnancy.
The benefits of Pilates on the body are
truly limitless. For purposes of this
article, I am going to touch on just a
few important points that make Pilates
so great for pregnancy.
1. Strong Core
Pilates focuses on strengthening the
deep, core, postural muscles of the
body, including the transverse
abdominals, obliques and your deep
back muscles. The transverse
abdominals are one of the deepest
layer of the abdominals and they
function much like a corset that
supports your trunk and internal
organs. During pregnancy, as the
baby grows, if the back muscles and
deep abdominals are weak, the body
adapts to a "sway back" type of
posture, pulling the pelvis forward
and under. This postural change not
only strains the lower back and
pelvic floor, but also the hips, knees
fig 2: Mermaid to Side Plank (position 2)
and feet. Strengthening these
muscles before and during pregnancy
can relieve pressure on your back
and lower extremities and teaches
your body to support the baby weight
and adapt as the baby grows
throughout the pregnancy.
2. Pelvic Floor
Pilates strengthens the pelvic floor.
This group of muscles deep inside
your pelvis works to keep your organs
(and baby) from being pulled down
by gravity. It the pelvic floor muscles
are weak before pregnancy, they can
still be strengthened during
pregnancy with specific Pilates
exercises. Pilates teaches you how to
"activate and deactivate" the pelvic
floor muscles, or "contract and
release" them. This is extremely
helpful during delivery. Strong pelvic
floor muscles are also essential in
helping the body return more quickly
to its pre-pregnancy state as well as
preventing incontinence.
3. Breathing
Pilates incorporates full, deep
breathing techniques which helps
activate the transversus abdominus
to contract. This helps pull, or draw
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the belly in during most of the
exercises, which in turn provides
integral support to the back. The
breathing techniques help to cocontract the flexors and deep extensors
of the body which in turn encourages
centered postural alignment as well as
strengthening of the entire internal
core mechanism. Other Pilates
breathing techniques help to develop
movement and flexibility in the
intercostal muscles (think of them as
the muscles between the ribs). As we
take, deeper, fuller breaths, the ribs
need to expand in order for the lungs
to fill with air. Flexibility in the
intercostal muscles allow for this
movement to happen naturally with
breath. This is extremely important for
pregnancy as the baby starts to grow
and take up more space in the
fig 2: Kneeling 100’s
abdominal cavity. and...Of
course...proper breathing aids in labor
and delivery! Many of my clients swear
that their "Pilates" breathing helped
them immensely during their labors and
deliveries!
4. Upper Back and Arm Strength
Not only are upper back and arm
strength important during pregnancy,
they are extremely important after the
baby is born. During pregnancy, upper
back strength is so important to help
support the weight of growing breasts
and baby on the front of the body. If
the upper back muscles are weak, the
upper body begins to hunch forward
into a "hyper-kyphotic" or 'hunch back"
position. Once the baby is born and
nursing begins, holding and swaddling
and attending to the needs of the baby,
encourages this hunched over posture,
which in turn has negative effects on
the rest of the body. Arm strength,
goes hand in hand with the upper back
strength, holding and carrying the
growing baby.
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