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Comment UPR (stands for Ultimate Prenatal Retreat!

Comment UPR (stands for Ultimate Prenatal Retreat!) for the link with more details on our 2nd annual Prenatal Retreat happening October 24-26, 2025 at the stunning lakefront Bloom Retreat Centre near Kingston, Ontario.

Last year we had women join us from Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver, New York, Ohio, Toronto, Orlando, Boston, Halifax, and beyond.

Spaces are limited. It will be an absolute honour to host you and support you in preparing for your best possible birth. ✨

#prenatalretreat #prenatalpilates #prenatalclass #prenatalyoga #birthprep #thebellemethod #theworldofmybaby

Whether you give birth vaginally or by cesarean, t

Whether you give birth vaginally or by cesarean, there are certain early rehab movements that will help your recovery.

Many students begin these within the first 1 to 2 weeks after a vaginal delivery. I've found it best to delay these until at least 3-4 weeks after a cesarean birth - this is a generalization and it will vary based on the situation (severe tearing, episiotomy, planned vs emergency cesarean - it makes a big difference in readiness for movement).

(Video is sped 2x)

1️⃣ Arm Threads mobilize your t-spine. Feeling pelvic floor heaviness? Sore back from breastfeeding? Hard to breathe? Rib flare? This will help.

2️⃣Butterfly to an inner thigh squeeze and glute activation helps create pelvic symmetry and reduce pelvic girdle pain (SPD can linger after birth). Did you know that sometimes after a vaginal birth, your pelvis can become flared out, stuck in the birthing position? It happened to me and this exercise was an absolute game changer.

3️⃣Bridge Squeeze helps reconnect your brain to your pelvic floor, reduce pelvic floor heaviness and begin to activate the glutes which often atrophy in pregnancy and postpartum.

4️⃣Cross Body Press Marches are an ideal initial deep core activation. You are connecting your external oblique to your opposite adductor, which represents your anterior oblique sling. This is key for core function especially post c-section.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully provides a bit of a sense of the reason behind WHY we do the movements we do. It is definitely all by design, and not a random choreography!

Join the 12-Week Core Restore Course for step by step guidance on rehabbing diastasis recti, prolapse and incontinence and regaining deep strength as you transform your body. 5 short workouts per week (10-30 minutes) plus pelvic floor education, accountability chat, live classes with me who will answer ALL your realtime questions, recordings, nutrition plans, calendar tracker and an on demand library of workouts, stretches and technique videos.

There is a roadmap to recovery ✨❤️

Love
Nikki

The breath is often the hardest most frustrating p

The breath is often the hardest most frustrating part for students of Pilates.

It takes practice and time but once you get it you will TRANSFORM your core and pelvic floor.

Here I'm using the breath ball to visually demonstrate when my core and pelvic floor are contracting. I kept the music off so you can really hear the breath.

These are all active breath core positions. So we're inhaling more shallowly into the side ribs to maintain some degree of core activation, even on the inhale.

Is this helpful? I'm always trying to brainstorm new ways to share these concepts in short visual videos! We get into much greater detail in the courses, but hopefully these short reels help!

Love

Nikki

#thebellemethod #postnatalpilates #pilatescore #corework #abdominal #abwork #pilatesathome #pilatesworkout #diastasisrecti #pelvicfloor

Comment PUSHPREP for a [free] 30-minute workshop t

Comment PUSHPREP for a [free] 30-minute workshop to prepare your mind & body for birth.

This is information everyone deserves. From pelvic floor prep, understanding how to protect your core, reduce diastasis, reduce tearing, reduce pelvic floor injury and learning how to train physically and mentally for labour.

Because your birth has a lifelong impact on you. And it's my deepest hope to help you have the best possible birth that YOU want - whatever that looks like ❤️

Love
Nikki

#pushprep #prenatalpilates #birthpreparation #laboranddelivery #thebellemethod #pregnant #expecting #prenatalworkout #birthprep

When I first started teaching fitness at the age o

When I first started teaching fitness at the age of 18, 25 years ago, we were taught to tell our students to jam their back into the floor to "protect the back "during ab work.

It was meant to help prevent back arching during moves like double leg lifts and bicycles.

It was well meaning, but it was incomplete and frankly, lazy teaching.

This tucking and jamming into the floor overrides the deep TVA and adds pelvic floor downward pressure. It might prevent your back from arching but teaches you nothing about how to actually engage functionally.

Think about it - do you want to have to tuck your pelvis to engage your core when you're walking around in your daily life?

No - we need a better, more functional and reflexive (eventually automatic) way of engaging the deep core system.

So please don't jam your back into the mat anymore. Try this instead. It takes practice but it will be SO worth it (and you'll actually train flatter abs).

Love
Nikki

The ribs often get displaced in pregnancy from the

The ribs often get displaced in pregnancy from the growing baby - and we can get stuck “flared out” postpartum!

This messes with breathing and impacts stability & function. We want the diaphragm stacked on top of the pelvic floor. This ain’t happening if you are living in rib flare 24/7!

Permanently widened ribs impact how you breathe and how effective your core exercises will be, especially if you're trying to improve diastasis recti.

FUN FACT: rib flare leaves us in a permanently "inhaled" state, which means our diaphragm doesn't descend - so we get no vagus nerve stimulation. Basically - rib flare can make us feel more anxious because of how it impacts our breathing.

The bottom line is that we need to address rib flare to improve our core and pelvic floor (and emotional state!).

These 3 movements are a staple in our Pilates Pelvic Floor & Core Restore classes.

If the relationship of the diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles improves, then your ability to manage intra-abdominal pressure will also improve. 🙌

#thebellemethod #ribflare #postnatalfitness #postnatalrehab #bodyafterbaby #postpartumjourney #postbabybody

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