I gave birth to my son, Andrew, a decade ago, and sometimes I still feel like my body is recovering from pregnancy, labor, and delivery. The biggest issue I dealt with after his birth was wetting my pants when I jumped or laughed, sneezed, or waited too long to go to the bathroom. Fortunately, as a doula, massage therapist, and yoga instructor who specializes in prenatal and post-pregnancy wellness, I knew what to do to remedy this issue.

The most important thing I had to do was reframe the way I was perceiving what was going on with my body. So many women believe that after having a baby, they have to accept wetting their pants, not feeling strong in their core, pelvic floor discomfort, pain during sex, and much more. It's easy to fall into the trap of those beliefs. What was helpful for me was to understand that my body had done exactly what it needed to do to carry and give birth to a baby. My joints had loosened due to the hormone relaxin, my hips had widened, my pelvic floor muscles had stretched along with my abdominals. What a success! My body had adapted perfectly given the circumstances.

When I embraced the wisdom of my body, I understood that what I needed to do was re-educate my body and teach my muscles, nerves, joints, ligaments, tendons, and internal organs what I needed them to start doing now that my baby was in my arms instead of in my belly. This re-education process is still going on for me because it requires ongoing awareness, movement and care for my deep core strength, my pelvic floor, my posture, my joint health, and my hormones as I age. The key is developing the re-education mindset, gaining knowledge about what kind of exercise is beneficial for your body as a woman at any stage, and working on it a little bit every day, so it becomes a part of your daily self-care routine.

There is an enormous gap in the post-pregnancy health care system. So often, doctors clear mamas for exercise six weeks after birth without providing knowledge about what kind of exercise is best post-pregnancy. Sometimes mamas start the re-education process six weeks after having a baby because they have been exposed to post-pregnancy specific exercises through programs like the ones we have at Mind the Mat. Yet, these programs are rare and hard to find, so often, it takes years for mamas to find the resources they need after giving birth.

At Mind the Mat, we have expert practitioners in post-pregnancy exercise who offer weekly classes. Our current offerings include Outdoor Mommy & Me, Virtual Mommy & Me, Post-Pregnancy Fitness 6-Week Series (offered in-person and virtual), and our NEW monthly All About Mama workshops, taught by a different expert each month. Outdoor Mommy & Me will move indoors after Thanksgiving. Stay tuned!

Join me for the first monthly All About Mama workshop on Sunday, December 12, 2-4pm. Cost: $35. If you have had a c-section, an episiotomy, or are dealing with another pregnancy/post-baby related issue such as diastasis, incontinence, uterine prolapse, or pubic symphysis disorder, I will support you with the appropriate customized exercises to keep you safe during your re-education process.

Do you know a mama who might benefit from a workshop like this? It would make a great gift! Purchase a gift card in the amount of your choice and print it out at home to put in a card or send it electronically to your loved one.

Give the gift of wellness to yourself or someone you love. Check out all our prenatal and post-pregnancy programs at Mind the Mat Pilates & Yoga.