Prenatal & Postnatal 

Pilates and yoga for pre and postnatal

Through the second and third trimesters, Pilates can help to build strength and balance to help carry the added weight of your baby while preventing varicose veins and swelling. Yoga can assist in releasing tension and controlling stress, helping you to sleep better and live more comfortably.

After the birth of your baby, Pilates can help you to regain your pre-pregnancy body faster while rebuilding pelvic floor and abdominal strength safely. Yoga will help new mothers cope with physical and mental stresses. Small infants are welcome in private and semi-private sessions, please bring carrier or stroller.

Pilates is the ideal exercise for pregnancy, with focus placed on the transversus abdominis and the pelvic floor. In Pilates, control and precision are a main principle of our movements making it the safest form of exercise during pregnancy.

Strengthen the Transversus Abdominis and Pelvic Floor …

The Transversus Abdominis wraps around the torso like a girdle and supports your spine and abdomen (including your growing baby). It is a key muscle used during tabor as it assists in “pushing.” This is also the muscle that creates a slim, toned abdomen and by keeping it strong you will more quickly regain your figure. Strengthening the Pelvic Floor helps to support the growing uterus and battle incontinence while improving sex. Pelvic Floor exercises (including kegels) promote circulation in the pelvic area to help with faster healing and reproductive health. In Pilates we learn how to fully contract and how to consciously release the Pelvic Floor, giving us a new level of control over our newly strengthened pelvic floor muscles.

Prevent and ease joint pain ….

Hormones released during pregnancy allow your ligaments to soften and become more elastic in preparation for giving birth. A side effect of this biological miracle is instability of the joints, particularly those surrounding the pelvis, leading to pain or discomfort. In Pilates, we strengthen the stabilizing muscles that surround joints to create better bone alignment to prevent or alleviate pain.

Maintain good posture, prevent back pain ….

As your pregnancy progresses, the new weight of your baby and your breasts can cause pain and weakness in the tower and upper back by causing the pelvis to tilt forward and the shoulders to slouch and round. Pilates strengthens the core muscles that support our torso and spine, including the low back and deep abdominal muscles, and works with isolation exercises to safely and effectively strengthen the upper back.

Avoid and alleviate varicose veins ….

When blood volume increases during pregnancy, hormonal changes can affect the blood valves, which can cause varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Deep, lower leg muscular exercises can boost circulation and help to alleviate or prevent this.

Reduce shortness of breath and tension ….

The deep, rhythmic breath used throughout Pilates sessions increases lung capacity, which helps with the shortness of breath caused by the ribcage elevating during pregnancy. Pilates uses breathing to assist in movement-control and to release tension and discomfort, which will be invaluable during and following delivery.

Reduce and prevent swelling ….

Many women experience Edema, fluid retention caused by an increase in lymphatic fluid, which results in swelling in the tower limbs. The safe and strong, muscular legs actions of Pilates can assist in lymphatic drainage and alleviate swelling.

Find balance and grace ….

As your center of gravity shifts it is common to feel awkward and unsteady. Pilates exercises safely challenge the deep muscles that control balance and incorporate movement techniques focused on using large muscle groups in harmony, helping you to be more balanced and graceful as your body evolves throughout your pregnancy.

Always let you instructor know that you are pregnant and how far along you are that week.

Click here to learn more about the benefits of Prenatal Pilates.