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Pilates in Pregnancy
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About
the author
 Lindsey
Jackson is a personal development consultant, coach and trainer.
She has been teaching fitness for over 20 years and Pilates more
than 8 years. She is the author and producer of the physio
endorsed ‘Pilates in Pregnancy’
and ‘Pilates for Mums’
plus ‘Pilates Essentials’
and ‘Pilates for Men’ DVDs.
She is passionate about teaching people how to care for their
own bodies and minds to enhance their lives.
For
more information on Pilates In Pregnancy, please see the article below... |
Pilates in Pregnancy
Most pregnant women have concerns and questions about
exercise. They ask themselves a range of relevant and
important questions like: Should I start? Should I
continue? How will it help? Are there any risks? What
kind is best?
All women respond differently. Some carry on with their
aerobic regime, making it low impact but still
maintaining their cardio vascular fitness. Some give up
exercise altogether, for fear of causing problems. There
is a view that the most risky time is between weeks 4
and 12, but there’s no evidence to suggest that exercise
has any bearing on this risk. Some try yoga for the
first time ever, needing to feel soothed and relaxed.
Some try the increasingly popular Pilates (if they can
find a teacher who’ll take them on). And some women
never do any, and still don’t. There’s no one right way.
Lindsey Jackson is an expert in Pilates, has taught
exercise for over 20 years and is a personal development
coach. Having created the worlds’ first Physio endorsed
DVD ‘Pilates in Pregnancy’ she is ready to share some of
the pros and cons about exercise during this time of
change.
The physical and emotional demands during
pregnancy
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“When we’re pregnant, we tend to focus on
the short term and the exciting (sometimes
daunting) changes that are going on in our
lives. We are also pretty focused on our
baby, not ourselves. It’s only in hindsight
that we appreciate just what a demand it all
is on our bodies, minds, emotions and
relationships. Good job probably! But I’d
like women to begin planning a little bit
more for the physical and emotional demands
placed on them both during and after
pregnancy so they can avoid feeling achy and
tired and be ready to really enjoy their
baby. Plus, if their self esteem is higher,
their relationships stay healthy and their
whole approach to life is positive. It’s
about taking control – being as responsible
as you can for your wellbeing. That is
surely a great environment to bring a new
baby into,” she says. |
Underlying her work is a
passion for women to be fit and well - taking care of
themselves enough to really enjoy motherhood. Her
message is simple. When you are pregnant you need
energy; more than normal. When you are a mum, you need
energy; even more than normal. Stamina will become a
wonderful asset for you in the next few years. To get
energy, you have to use energy. It isn’t just given to
your body, but created by what you do with your body.
What you eat, what you drink and how you move play a
great part in creating abundant energy for yourself.
We’ve all slumped in front of the TV and felt more tired
at the end of it. It simply doesn’t make you feel alive
and vibrant. And vibrant is how you want and need to be
right now. This is such a huge element to enjoying
pregnancy. Energy to cope and energy to enjoy!
How to create abundant energy
Moving well: keeping your body mobile, strengthening
your spinal support, keeping your pelvis stable, keeping
your shoulders open and released so your neck is free to
move, keeping your lymph and blood circulating well,
being aware of how you hold yourself all the time –
improved posture will reduce feelings of tiredness.
Eating & drinking well: no caffeine or tea, no alcohol,
hydrate with 10 glasses of water a day, no white
starches, no refined sugar, lots of vegetables, fruit,
seeds, good fats (e.g. avocado pear).
Sleeping well: resting and listening to your body, doing
what it needs to but not giving in to the temptation to
sit down all of the time just because you’re pregnant
(although I’ve never met any one who has actually
managed this!)
So why is Pilates such a great choice for women
who are pregnant?
As Lindsey explains,
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“I experienced the full benefits of Pilates
before I became pregnant with my second son.
I had been fit and strong during my first
pregnancy and had been lucky enough to carry
on exercising throughout that time. But
doing Pilates during my second pregnancy was
totally different. I began to realise how I
could ease out muscle tension for myself by
simply moving consciously. And I could avoid
aches and pains. I call Pilates “the iron
fist in a velvet glove”, because it looks
easy yet can be incredibly strong. Like
watching paint dry, there’s not much to see.
But boy can you feel it on the inside!
When modified it provides delightful
movement for the lumbering stages of late
pregnancy, plus gives you fantastic muscle
tone for post natal figure recovery. Every
woman who’s having a normal healthy
pregnancy can try it. In fact, even with
problems like Symphasis Pubis Dysfunction
(pain in the pubic area) or carpel tunnel
syndrome in the wrists it can still be done
with the safe instruction of a good
instructor / DVD or physio. Modified Pilates
moves are often the basis for exercises that
a physiotherapist gives women with back
problems in pregnancy. That’s not to say you
should carry on regardless. Please check out
with your GP or Midwife to be sure.” |
Jo Ribbons, mother of
4 said:
“When I became pregnant with my 4th child I was
determined to keep doing Pilates for as long as I could.
I carried on going to a class until 37 weeks. The
biggest bonus for me has been how fit I have felt since
giving birth. My pelvic floor muscles are better than
they were after any of my other pregnancies, as are my
tummy muscles”.
Why Pilates and not other exercise?
It is generally recognised as the best form of exercise
to align your posture (which is being pulled all over
the place when pregnant), develop your core strength,
learn breath control (great for labour), relax you and
support your pelvic floor and abdominals. You might miss
the buzz from aerobics or running for a few months, but
at least it doesn’t put pressure on your pelvic floor.
If you do aerobic exercise, which is possible, you have
to remember that the increased heart rate is passed on
to the baby – so go steady.
Lindsey’s view: “Unless advised otherwise by your GP, I
think all women should practise Pilates. It prevents
problems and it adds strength and awareness. It’s well
known that modified Pilates moves are some of the best
exercises a woman can do whilst pregnant.”
She explains the physical strains the body is under when
pregnant:-
“Most pregnant women allow the baby/tummy to pull
forward, making their lower back arch even more. This
shortens muscles across the front of the pelvis/hips,
adds strain to the back muscles and affects the shoulder
girdle alignment higher up. The shoulders and neck are
also affected by enlarged breasts. Legs and feet can
sometimes feel swollen and puffy with the extra blood
volume and reduced muscle tone. The hormone ‘relaxin’
slackens the tone of muscles, ligaments and tendons –
which means less of a pumping effect on veins – so blood
pooling is more likely and of course you are simply
carrying more weight.
Jo Simpson, GP, mother and Pilates advocate says:
“I found that the evenings I did Pilates I slept better
and it certainly helped relieve my lower backache
towards the end of my pregnancy. I was very lucky to
have a normal delivery - I’m sure Pilates helped me to
relax and have an awareness of some of the essential
muscles involved! I was also more able to focus on my
breathing – like we did in class – which helped me
conserve my energy and stay calm.”
Pilates will:
- Help you to keep your spine in better
alignment and counteract the exaggerated
‘arch’ that develops.
- Open out your shoulders and keep your
upper back free of tension from carrying
enlarged breasts.
- Improve lymph and blood circulation,
because the moves squeeze the calves and
legs making you less likely to feel
“twitchy” legs, get cramps or have swollen
limbs.
- Stimulate the thoracic pump action of the
diaphragm and improve lymph circulation by
better breathing.
- Strengthen your pelvic floor – avoiding
leaky bladders and also bringing you
awareness of what to relax when it’s time to
let the baby out.
- Teach you how to contract your tummy and
breathe at the same time (vital for labour!)
- Improve muscle tone recovery after birth. |
Because Pilates can be so
powerful on the deep abdominal muscles it’s important to
do moves that are sensibly modified for pregnancy. In
Lindsey’s ‘Pilates in Pregnancy’ DVD the pace is
deliberately slow – which during your early months may
seem unnecessary – but by the eighth month you are very
grateful for as it gives you time to move sensibly from
position to position. ‘Pilates in Pregnancy’ is the only
physio endorsed DVD and as long as your GP says so and
you have no pains, you can keep doing Pilates right up
to birth.
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“I couldn’t believe how the breathing
awareness helped me in labour,” says
Lindsey. “I could really focus. I knew just
how to release my pelvic floor carefully –
when the midwife said “Let the baby out” – I
felt I had more control than I ever did with
my first birth”. She adds: “My recovery was
so much faster thanks to Pilates and I felt
totally passionate about sharing with all
women how they could feel this empowered and
good about themselves.” |
Here’s one of the key moves that can be done throughout
pregnancy and will strengthen your back and posture.
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‘Swimming’
Caution: if you have carpal tunnel syndrome
or your wrists don’t like this position, you
can hold a rolled up towel under your hand
and it releases the pressure on your grip a
little. Or you can try resting on your fist
/ knuckles. If necessary, try a few and
rest. Then repeat.
Purpose and benefits:
To strengthen the postural muscles all the
way down the spine, from the back of the
neck to the tailbone. To stabilise the
pelvis by strengthening the hip muscles.
Movement:
- Start on all fours. Keep a neutral spine
throughout (this is the natural curve of
your back, so your spine isn’t flat or
rounded, but has a slight hollow in the
lower section). Have your hands under your
shoulders and knees directly under hips (not
together).
- Engage your tummy muscles.
- Slowly slide your right leg out behind on
the floor in a straight line, at the same
time as your left arm slides forward on the
floor.
- As you breathe out, slowly lift leg and
arm to the horizontal position. Work to get
your leg straight but keep your elbow soft.
It’s tempting to let your head drop, but
keep it level and look straight down.
- Draw your shoulders down away from your
ears.
- As you inhale release your arm and leg
back down. Slide your knee on the floor to
bring it back under your hip and reposition
your hand under your shoulder.
- Exhale as you slide your other arm and leg
out.
Your tummy should be drawn in tight
throughout and keep your pelvis and hips as
still as you can.
Repeat 20 times, doing opposite diagonals.
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Any questions about Pilates during pregnancy can be
emailed to Lindsey on
lj.enhance@btinternet.com
For more moves and modifications see Lindsey’s DVDs
‘Pilates in Pregnancy’.
Available from
www.enhance-wellbeing.com RRP £19.99
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