Top myths about movement in pregnancy

How can movement support a healthy and nourishing pregnancy?

By the end of this post I hope you will feel empowered to decide what is best for your body and that mindful healing movements go beyond a prenatal exercise class. This is a practice of self love in each moment. It’s essential to prepare for birth and postpartum to prevent unnecessary injuries, aid in recovery and support your system as a whole.

More and more people are living sedentary lives, which keeps our bodies locked in a peculiar position for hours on end. So how can Integrate practices which will nourish our entire being?

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But it’s not all about the benefits of the physical body, moving in a way that honors your body can instantly shift your mood, why? Because the body and mind are not separate. Staying stuck in a position causes unnecessary tension, and when your body is not happy, your mind will automatically recognise this disharmony. Which may cause a cascade of thoughts to be released, leaving you in a state of unease. You may ponder for a while, reach for a distraction or try to shut off from your bodymind, but what if you could appreciate the thoughts, as a reminder to drop back into your body?

As your baby starts to develop and hormones start to stimulate different areas of your body, you will start to feel and see your body change. This transformation is asking for us to dance with it! Conscious movement not only deepens your relationship with your body and baby but you will support changes that will happen naturally to accommodate your baby.

Society has created this idea that we need to pay someone to teach you how to train your body in a certain, at a certain hour, for a certain duration. My intention with this post is to offer you reminders to feel confident in your own body wisdom to know exactly what movements you are craving in each moment.

Firstly, what is your baseline health and fitness right now? What does your week of activity look like?

As you move through your pregnancy allow yourself space to flow with the way you are feeling in each moment. If you are feeling dull and heavy, ask yourself “am I tired, do I need to rest or do I need fresh air and a walk?”

This takes practice, you can start by taking a moment to tune into your breath and simply feel your body, notice areas of tension, notice any movements of energy, then ask, “What would serve me in this moment?” and wait for your body to answer.

The same goes for the other end of the spectrum, if you are feeling full of energy and / or in your head, maybe moving right now would be a distraction from what is needing to be felt. Try the above exercise, and give yourself time to feel that energy and be with it before you start the movement. Notice the difference when you make time to listen, how your mind shifts, how the action you were about to carry out may have changed.

Also remember, pregnancy is wild and free, trying to contain it into a schedule will only create aggravation. Build your knowledge around pregnancy, birth and postpartum, reconnect with your body and be inspired to include functional activities that will support you through this time.

Fuel your body. Planning ahead will help you to prepare your body for exercise. You’re not alone anymore, running on an empty stomach after you wake up is a thing of the past. Now you have to fuel smart, with the finest, most chemical free, nourishing foods you can get your hands on.

• Last meal 2 before a session

• Snack 1 hour before a session

• Staying hydrated

• A nourishing meal after your have trained

Why the focus on time between eating and exercising? As you exercise the blood wants to go to the muscles you will be using, if you eat, digestion will slow down and the food will sit in your stomach. Giving you a chance to eat and digest will offer you everything you need for a positive exercise session!

Rest & Recovery. During the session make sure you are at a comfortable temperature and notice if you start to lose control of your body and mind. Are you pushing too hard? Are you in pain? As you go through your pregnancy, you will transform in many ways and this will be unique to each mother. Be gentle with yourself and listen to what your body needs at each moment. It may be difficult to make adjustments to your training if it is a big part of your life, this is where you can anchor in on your intention,

Why are you doing this specific exercise today?

How will it support the strengthening and opening of your body as you prepare to birth your baby?

If you notice fears around your body changing or gaining weight and / or you have suffered from an unhealthy relationship with your body, you may want to call in for some support. These fears may be deeply ingrained to suit an image of an ideal woman in our society, or role you play in your own reality. Trusting in your body and strengthening your intention to have your health and your baby's health as priority will anchor you into your heart and clear the noise in the mind.

What is your belief around your body through pregnancy?

Myths Buster

Twists. Not all twists need to be avoided in pregnancy, open twists are encouraged during pregnancy as they can help support digestion and blood flow, strengthen the obliques and open the chest.

What’s the difference?

A close twist would be an exercise where you disassociate the shoulder and the hips. In this kind of exercise that is a risk of the abdominal organs and blood vessels becoming compressed

Open twists are where your shoulders and hips stay aligned, and you are able to comfortably elongate your spine and breath into your lungs.

Lying on your back. When we lie on our backs during later pregnancy, your growing organs and baby will apply weight on the vena cava, which is the main vein that carries blood back to the heart. This can cause nausea or lightheadedness or shortness of breath.

As you are tuning into your body through your daily practices, you will hear your body when it tells you “this is too much” trust in your ability to listen and make adjustments accordingly.

Inversions. If it’s not already in your practice nowa not the time to start doing handstands, headstand and shoulder stands these movements take a lot of stability. But what about forward folds downward dog? These are also inversions, the head is below the heart. Will this make your baby flip to become breech? Well, an inversion is one of the moves offered in spinning babies to flip your baby from a breech position. This is a big topic which I will talk about in another post. So for now, let’s look at the possible benefits:

Inversion allows weight to shift from the hips space, offering more space in the pelvis, baby can enjoy some extra leg room and a chance to snuggle into a position to make them more comfortable.

Baby’s love to dance around in your womb, it is preparing and strengthening their body. When the baby descends it will find the optimal position for its journey, creating space gives the more opportunity to explore a more efficient birthing position.

Inversions can offer a nice stretch and lengthening along the spine and hamstrings, which can ease any back pain you may be experiencing,

You can practice relaxing your pelvic floor muscles with an intentional breath, whilst also receiving fresh reviving blood to the head, which could relieve brain fog, low mood, fatigue!

Round ligament discomfort. Two large ligaments run from your uterus to the groin, acting as pillars to support your uterus. If you are holding your body in positions where your knees are bent, reducing the angle of the hips, or where your lower back is compressed and crunching you may start to hear your body crying out. It may feel like a dull ache around your hips, or even a sharper sensation specifically around the hip flexors. I found towards the second trimester I started to experience my hips aching and lower back pain after I’d been working at my computer. I started to adjust my pattern and included stretches and movement during my working day, which massively helped!

Of course, it’s more complex than this, what was your alignment before pregnancy?

Here are some exercises and tips to support you:

• Reduce time standing or sitting, mix it up!

• Sway your hips, dance with your baby at every opportunity

• Try crescent pose and kneeling lunges to release your hips

• Flow through cat and cow

• Move slowly and mindfully

• If you feel your about to cough, sneeze or laugh hysterically activate your thighs

Core workout. Supine flexion core exercises, think crunches and sit-ups should be avoided as it can increase the risk of diastasis, which occurs when the midline connection between the rectus muscles, called the linea alba, is stretched over time and the distance between the muscles increases. Why? Supine flexion is the action of the rectus abdominal muscles, with added abdominal pressure diastasis may occur. Also be aware of any poses that may over stretch your abdominals such as wheel pose, dancer pose etc

But, you can use core exercises which target the transversus abdominis (TVA) which acts as a corset, exercise performed correctly with the TVA engaged such as plank, side plank (with arm leg variations) with support you in building and sustaining a strong and healthy core.

My Favorite movements

Somatic movement. My favorite medicine. Moving with intention, with emotion, with the breath. It is your own unique dance. Breathing into the tightness, following its flow. Becoming animal like in your body. This cannot be taught. This is an expression of your divine individual design merging in oneness. This is more than movement, this is a chance to feel everything that is needed to be felt and honor it’s pathway through you.

Spine alignment. As your baby grows, your center of gravity shifts, and your posture adjusts to accommodate. Being aware of your posture, from your feet upwards will help you to recruit the right muscle to support a healthy alignment. For instance, as the weight shifts, your hips start to tilt forwards creating a compression in the lower back. Is your weight in the front of your feet? Are your knees locked out? Are your shoulder blades drawing together?

I find this simple and quick practice helps wonders, start by feeling the weight transfer evenly through the feet, drawing the hips bones up to the ribs and feel the top of your head move towards the sky.

Sending you a huge hug!

Blessings,

Danielle

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