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UPPER DIASTASIS RECTI The vertical midline of yo UPPER DIASTASIS RECTI The vertical midline of your six pack muscle is called the linea alba. It needs to stretch and expand to make room for the growing baby during pregnancy. This is diastasis recti. It is normal and part of pregnancy! We can’t totally prevent it, but we CAN reduce it and prevent it from becoming an injury postpartum. There are several factors influencing how much diastasis recti you get. Here are a few: ✔️Genetics ✔️Size & number of babies ✔️What prenatal exercise you do ✔️Chronic constipation ✔️Breath mechanics ✔️Movement & breath patterns This post shows movements to improve diastasis at or above the naval. TIP: Your rib positioning has a lot to do with this! There’s a lot to dive into here but hopefully these exercises give you some ideas of what we teach in our Postnatal courses! ✨SOUND ON 🥰 1️⃣Arm Scissors 2️⃣Scarecrow 3️⃣Shin weights 4️⃣Bridge Reaches 5️⃣Modified Plank Wraps 6️⃣Banded Boat All you need is a set of small weights and a flex band. Go for three rounds, 10 reps each! There is a lot of information about diastasis recti on the Internet. Tell me below what you find most confusing. It’s helpful for me as I create more content for you! ❤️ #diastasisrecti #diastasisrectirepair #abrehab #coreworkout #postnatalfitness #absafterbaby #thebumpmethod #thebellemethod
BELLE FUSION PILATES This is what it ALL started BELLE FUSION PILATES This is what it ALL started with 14 years ago- a Pilates Fusion class I created while working at a sport Physiotherapy clinic. I called it “The Belle Method” - to help women feel strong & beautiful, inside & out. Belle is an acronym 🥰 B: Be true to yourself E: Elevate your awareness L: Learn to get results L: Live the challenge E: Evolve your life The classes sold out quickly! I started having more & more pregnant women show up to class and realized they needed their own thing! Soon after The Bump Method for pregnancy & postpartum was also born. ✨ These movements below are Belle movements (not designed for pregnancy or early postpartum). They are challenging - best once you can generate good tension in any diastasis recti. ✨SOUND ON FOR CUES ✨ 1️⃣ Burpee Slide 2️⃣ Glider Twist 3️⃣ Single Leg Glide Ups 4️⃣ Glider Hearts 5️⃣ Bear Walks 6️⃣ Bear Twists 7️⃣ Asymmetrical Spider-Man Try 3 rounds, 20 reps each 🔥 Our live virtual Sept/Oct Belle Fusion class starts tomorrow (Monday) 9:30 am EST. This is our toughest class. Use the recordings if joining live doesn’t work for you. You WILL feel a difference after our 2 months together. Link in profile. Questions? Lmk! This is the reader’s digest version of how I got started! Might have to do a podcast episode on this… 😝Left out some juicy parts! #pilatesworkout #coreworkout #athomeworkouts #strongmom #thebellemethod #moveyourbody #movementismedicine #diastasisrecti
EARLY CORE REHAB I shot this at 2 weeks postpart EARLY CORE REHAB I shot this at 2 weeks postpartum last year after baby # 2. I was dealing with pelvic floor heaviness and had leaking in late pregnancy from chronic coughing. These rehab moves are part of how I retrained my deep core. No more leaking, no more heaviness. In the first video you will notice I have diastasis recti doming as soon as I lift both of my legs into table top. I am not ready for that move yet. Too often I see moves like table top, toe taps & dead bugs being promoted as early postpartum rehab moves. NOTE: these are open kinetic chain exercises with both legs in the air that require a lot of abdominal muscle control to do correctly. They are fantastic movements, but are NOT where I suggest starting early postpartum recovery exercise. Start your rehab early, but be smart about it. TOO many women wait to get “cleared” at 6 weeks postpartum (99% of the time with no internal test of pelvic floor function) and then jump into high load exercises to “get their body back”. Doing zero rehab, then going for a run 6 weeks postpartum is why we are dealing with an epidemic of bladder leaks in postpartum women. THERE IS A BETTER WAY - and it starts with education. This is why I created our fourth trimester postpartum rehab program with a pelvic floor physiotherapist. You can start it the same week you deliver vaginally, and about 3-4 weeks post C-birth ❤️ (link in profile) SOUND ON FOR CUES ✨ 1️⃣Single Leg Marches 2️⃣Knee Fall Outs 3️⃣Cross Lateral Press 4️⃣Pelvic Floor Side Squish 5️⃣Leg Slides Aim for 3 rounds, 10 reps each! These moves are meant to help #Diastasisrecti and re-establish that pelvic floor connection. We also have virtual postpartum classes on Zoom if that’s more your jam! 😉 Questions? Lmk! Did/do you have leaking or heaviness postpartum? There is help! Also - it’s NEVER TOO LATE TO START! ❤️❤️❤️ #2weekspostpartum #abrehab #postpartumfitness #postbabybody #postnatalpilates #thebumpmethod #postpartum #pelvicfloor #incontinence #momworkout
PROLAPSE CORE-WORKOUT Did you know that 50% of wo PROLAPSE CORE-WORKOUT Did you know that 50% of women will have some degree of prolapse in their life? 😯 Pelvic organ prolapse is a sagging of the support of the uterus or vaginal walls. The low lying pelvic organs can start to descend down towards the vaginal vault (ya that’s a medical term!) Pelvic organ prolapse happens for a few reasons: childbirth injury, genetics, aging and chronic straining with constipation. Chronic coughing is also a big factor. I experienced a minor grade 1 bladder prolapse (called “cystocele”) after chronic coughing from bronchitis in the 3rd trimester of my second pregnancy. I’m happy to report that with pelvic floor PT and this kind of consistent rehab exercise, I no longer have any prolapse.🙏 Evidence suggests that a combination of pelvic floor PT and exercise can improve grade 1 and grade 2 prolapse! I am proof of this. ✨SOUND ON FOR CUES ✨ 1️⃣Inverted Marches 2️⃣Inverted Open Book 3️⃣Inverted Single Leg Stretch 4️⃣Hamstring Roll Ins 5️⃣Roller Bridges 6️⃣Arrow Lifts These inverted movements are fantastic if you’re looking to improve prolapse while working on #diastasisrecti. Why? They are challenging for the abdominal wall without adding downward pressure on your pelvic floor. If you don’t have a foam roller, use a pillow! Questions? Please let me know! We need to talk more about pelvic organ prolapse. There should be no shame! It can be hard psychologically to get that diagnosis, but there’s a lot we can do to improve things! ❤️ #prolapse #pelvicfloorexercises #pelvicorganprolapse #postnatalexercise #absafterbaby #momworkout #urogynecology #postnatalpilates #thebellemethod
Dear Gabrielle, Daughter, it is my deepest hope t Dear Gabrielle, Daughter, it is my deepest hope that you always know your worth, feel confident in your dreams and live your truth. May you be comfortable in your own skin and honour your body for all it can DO for you. May you remember to laugh through life’s challenges and see the good in people. May you know in your heart that you can achieve anything in this world. May you be kind, empathetic and brave. Love, Mom ❤️ Thank you @alexannesolomon for capturing this moment. I had asked Alex to capture more candid moments vs posed shots - she nailed it! Alex is offering 10% off photo shoots now until Sept 12. Already booking our holiday one ✨ As for my firstborn - my daughter Gabrielle - she has already become my greatest teacher. I have started to notice times when I am harder on her than her younger brother, which isn’t fair. I sometimes catch myself having greater demands of her. Still unpacking that…the mother daughter relationship is something that’s hard to articulate. I know I have lots of growing to do here. ✨ Do any of you with both sons and daughters notice this difference in how you sometimes parent? #lettertomydaughter #motherdaughter #raisingwomen #motherdaughtergoals #mybabygirl #raisinggirls #nextgeneration #girlsquad
BLOW BEFORE YOU GO It’s a simple concept - the BLOW BEFORE YOU GO It’s a simple concept - the TIMING of your exhale is key! We want to “blow before we go” - meaning, exhale and engage the core & pelvic floor before movement. Do we need to do this forever? No! Eventually we want core and pelvic floor activation to be reflexive - meaning, it happens automatically. BUT we often lose reflexive anticipatory core activation during pregnancy because of the pressure from the growing baby. This “blow before you go” technique can help maintain core connection in pregnancy and help build back your reflexive core postpartum! Here I am getting assessed by pelvic floor physiotherapist @dr.sinead at 10 weeks postpartum. I’m doing the same move 3 times, demonstrating how connecting to your breath and pelvic floor BEFORE the move makes ALL the difference in better managing intra abdominal pressure. I love the cue “blow before you go” - especially before loading your abs, sneezing, coughing and picking up heavy items (car seats anyone?!) 😏 The 1st time I lift both legs into the air, I don’t engage or breathe at all. Notice the abs popping. This is what you want to avoid as it puts pressure on your linea alba (the middle of your 6 pack muscle) and can make #diastasisrecti worse. The 2nd time I’m exhaling before lifting the legs. Notice there’s no more tummy popping. The 3rd time I’m exhaling AND lifting my internal pelvic floor muscles. Notice the abdomen is flattest with the most tension now! We can get consumed with trying to find the best “moves” for fixing diastasis recti. SPOILER ALERT - learning proper reflexive core activation is key! Timing matters. HOW & WHEN you perform a move is way more important than the move itself 😉 Questions? We dive into all this stuff in our 8-week Prenatal & Postnatal Level 1 & 2 courses. Sept/Oct is open for sign up! Link in profile ☝️✨ #postpartumjourney #diastasisrecti #postbabybody #10weekspostpartum #pelvicfloorhealth #pregnancyzone #thebellemethod #postnatalfitness #prolapse #momworkout
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