Strengthen your back and pelvis with Post Natal Pilates
Trusting the Healing Process
Giving birth is a blessing, something so natural yet challenging at the same time.
Just like it takes nine months to nurture and carry a baby in the womb, it will take another nine months for your body to slowly return to its natural state. While we let nature take its course, there’re things you can do to help.
Reconnecting with Your Body Through Pilates
Once you give birth, your body is never the same. That’s why Pilates is great for reconnecting to those deep layers. Moving your body is more than just “getting the body back”. It’s about gently reconnecting to your muscles, especially the abdominal, pelvic floor and back muscles – and that happens slowly, one class at a time because, contrary to what you might think, it’s not the working hard that will get you there but the reawakening of dormant muscles.
Chapter 1: Understanding Your Postpartum Core
During pregnancy, you lose muscle tone because your belly expands and the pelvis widens, and those muscles lose connection to the rest of the body; it’s like a mini trauma. And if you don’t focus on these muscles first, you can stay weak while the rest gets strong, and they won’t support the body as a whole.
Reconnecting and reawakening these muscles may take a bit, but it’s worth putting in the time for it. For example, I am a runner; as much as I wanted to be in my training shoes and go out and run ( which is something very liberating for me), luckily, because of my previous Pilates classes, I knew if I didn’t connect to core strength first, for sure I would end up in the Oestopat room because my back will have given up on me.
The Reward of Patience
After almost three months of doing Pilates, I can run again slowly, feeling stronger and more stable with every step. This gradual return to running has been a reminder that rebuilding strength is a journey, not a race, and that taking the time to reconnect with my body has laid the foundation for a more balanced and sustainable recovery. Each run now feels more supported, and I’m grateful for the patience and effort I invested in my core and overall strength.
