My top 3 reasons for doing Pilates in pregnancy
The benefits of Pilates in pregnancy
Women’s bodies are AMAZING.
They nurture and grow a tiny person until just the right time and then we deliver those little people into the world. Whilst our bodies have been designed to do this, it doesn’t mean that all of this is easy or even that it will feel ‘natural’ to you. Having had two children and worked with many pregnant clients I can say that no pregnancy is the same, just like no two bodies are the same, so we will all feel something different and our bodies will respond to these changes differently as well.
Growing a baby puts strains on our body, so the stronger and more aligned we can be, the better we’ll withstand these strains. Whilst our bodies visibly change, our minds will also go through a lot too, pregnancy can be worrying time for many bringing with it new anxieties and pressures.
In the UK it is recommended that during pregnancy you try 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week and whether you’re already a regular at the gym or more content on the sofa, exercise priorities need to change when you’re pregnant. It can be hard to know where to begin and what’s OK and what’s not, so in this blog I’ll guide you through the benefits of Pilates during your pregnancy.
How can Pilates help me?
1. Pilates during pregnancy can support your posture
Posture effects everything from our movement patterns to our mood. We often don’t give much thought to our posture but it is an integral part of our wellbeing. If you’re having a bad day, chances are your shoulders will be slumped forward and your breath more shallow. Traditionally postural guidelines in exercise classes may have been to teach you to pull down your shoulders or to sit up straight, maybe imagining you had a book on your heads, these notions of posture are now out-dated. Through advances in bio-mechanics we now know that posture isn’t and shouldn’t be ‘fixed’ and in fact is dynamic, it evolves and it changes by responding to our environment. For example, a skyscraper isn’t designed to be a rigid and fixed structure, in fact it is built to withstand forces of nature so that it can adapt to its environment. Our bodies are no different.
It probably comes as no surprise that pregnancy deeply effects posture. Our balance and centre of gravity changes as our bump grows. Our spine alignment begins to shift to accommodate for the weight of our baby, meaning our body weight is drawn forward with more weight in the front of the foot rather than the centre. This alignment shift means that sometimes the pelvis tips forward more which exaggerates the curve of the lower back putting more strain on the lumbar spine. The upper back and shoulders may also round forwards more due to the increased size of our boobs. However your body is effected, your joints and muscles become misaligned and therefore your movement patterns will be effected.
Pilates works the muscles that help to prevent huge deviations in your posture and can help support your back and pelvis as your bump grows. If your body is well aligned your organs and muscles will be balanced correctly and perform their correct function. Pilates will teach you to be aware of your alignment at all times so that you can improve how you carry yourself and more easily manage the strains on your spine and pelvis. Pilates exercises work all muscle groups evenly and in all positions; sitting, lying, on all fours and standing - focusing in on muscles of the inner core and glutes, which you’ll find particularly helpful in labour and for quicker postnatal recovery.
Because your muscles are worked in all different planes of movement, you’ll develop a functional strength, which is easily transferred into the physical job of being a new mum. Moreover, a strong body will fatigue more slowly and help you with an active labour if that’s what you wish.
2. Pilates during your pregnancy will help you focus on your breath
We all breathe but no one ever taught us how, which means many of us may spend our whole lives in a shallow breathing pattern that could be perpetuating neck and shoulder pain or we could be missing out on the deep breathing that our diaphragm needs in order to stop leaking when we run. Breathing techniques learned in Pilates are the most important thing you can take into your daily life.
Breathing well not only helps to keep us calm and relaxed but it can also teach us how to release tension. Learning how to release tension in the jaw and pelvic floor will also help benefit us in childbirth when the pelvic floor needs to relax in order to aid easier delivery of our babies. In Pilates, you’ll learn how to utilise a 360 degree breath, breathing equally into your ribcage, your back and down into your pelvic bowl will help you connect to your deep core. Learning to activate this inner core helps hugely in faster postnatal recovery of the pelvic floor and lower abdominal muscles.
3. Pilates during pregnancy helps pelvic floor awareness
Your pelvic floor is part of a group of muscles that are part of your core. The pelvic floor muscles work with your abdominal muscles, spinal muscles and diaphragm as a support system for your spine by providing both strength and stability. Situated at the bottom of the pelvis, the pelvic floor acts as a basket, closing off the vaginal opening and supporting our pelvic and abdominal viscera against increases in pressure and gravity. Composed of muscles, ligaments, nerves and tissues, the pelvic floor creates a natural sling which stretches from the pubic bones to the tailbone, and attaches to the inside of the pelvis at the ‘sit bones’ or ischial tuberosities (the bony bits you can feel in your bum when you sit).
Your pelvic floor thins and stretches to allow our babies through the birth canal, even if you have a c-section your pelvic floor will have been under more strain due to carrying the weight of your baby. In pregnancy, we want a supple but strong pelvic floor. A healthy pelvic floor is supple and taut and has the ability to move through a full range of motion, relaxing and softening when needing to (i.e. going to the bathroom or during childbirth) and contracting appropriately when needing to (i.e. jumping or carrying).
In Pregnancy Pilates you’ll learn where your pelvic floor is situated, what muscles it is composed of and how it functions, learning not only how to contract it but equally as important, how to release and relax your pelvic floor. This increased awareness will help you to keep your pelvic floor toned and supple during pregnancy but will also help you notice if you are holding on to unnecessary tension. Putting time into pelvic floor exercises now will really help the postnatal healing process as well as help prevent leaking or pelvic organ prolapse later on.
Exercise needs to be adapted during pregnancy so we recommend that you seek a specially trained teacher to support you, someone who knows the specificities of exercise and pregnancy. At Lauren Hilton Pilates in Shrewsbury, we are passionate about helping empower women through movement at all stages of their lives. We are fully qualified in both pregnancy and postnatal Pilates and regularly update our knowledge through regular training and workshops. wE
We run Pregnancy Pilates courses throughout the year, in our courses we hope to empower you in your pregnancy journey so that you body can feel at its best. We cannot wait to support you on your pregnancy or post-natal journey and feel sure you’ll continue this passion for Pilates for the rest of your life.
