Benefits of Pilates during pregnancy

Gosh there are so many benefits of Pilates exercise during pregnancy, but equally it’s so important to know exactly which exercises are good for you during pregnancy, but not just that it changes as you move from your second trimester to your third trimester, but also after a certain number of weeks too. It’s a great time to start your Pilates after your 12 week scan. It’s also very important indeed to know the exercises and positions that you should avoid. This is what I teach you during your pregnancy Pilates classes.

Amy-Elle sharing her baby bump during pregnancy

The wonderful thing is doing Pilates exercise during pregnancy makes you feel good, yes it improves your core stability, tones your entire body (always a bonus), improves your posture or helps you maintain good posture, strengthens your back, pelvic floor muscles, strengthens your back, gives you a chance to stretch gently and enjoy some TLC, tender loving care during the relaxations, an essential part of pregnancy. The Pilates breathing is absolutely brilliant not just for your core stability, but also for concentration, switching off and having some me time, but also learning the relaxation breathing is deeply restorative and essential for mums to be.

Core stability is a bit of a buzz word in Pilates and it’s very well known for improving your core stability and this is true during pregnancy too. However it’s important that you don’t overwork, and sit ups and those type of exercises are a no no. They are bad for you during pregnancy, equally just sitting up straight from bed isn’t good for you either, so during class, you learn how to move your body and support your body and baby the best during the movements both inbetween the exercises as well as during the actual Pilates exercise itself. Why is this? It’s important that your focus is on using your deep abdominal muscles during pregnancy, which support both your back and pelvis and help you gain better results in your abdominals. It prevents you from overworking your ‘six pack’ muscle, the rectus abdominus. (you want to do everything you can to prevent diasti recti, which is when the six pack muscle divides, it can become a real problem if it divides too much). So to get the best internal and external results you want to gently be working these muscles. 

Most people don’t realise that you can still achieve toned abdominals keeping your head down on exercises. 

The nice thing is that there are so many core stability exercises in pilates, and so much variety too, plus you can enjoy working on a physio ball for both sitting exercises, all fours and on your back too which can be very soothing, help with circulation as well as strengthening too. You get to enjoy the exercises without any strain and avoiding the more advanced repertoire of Pilates which won’t do you any good during pregnancy, enjoying nice slow controlled movements that make you feel good.

Tone Something thats wonderful about Pilates is that if you do Pilates during pregnancy and have that knowledge and put that time in for your body, mind and baby, it’s also so much easier to get back into shape after having your baby too. The important thing during pregnancy Pilates is to really listen to your body, it isn’t just about doing to recommended exercises, and of course each woman has a different fitness level, so it’s much better to work with a qualified teacher who can help you individually work at your level, this helps get you the best results.

Amy-Elle found pilates helped her tone up more easily post natally. Cat stretches great in pregnancy and post natal.

Posture Lets talk about posture, so with your growing baby during pregnancy it can be easy to slump at times and slip into bad posture, especially if you have other little ones too. Having a weekly regular lesson can really help you connect daily into your posture in how you sit and stand and also prepare you for feeding and carrying your baby when the time comes. Having good posture too helps you feel happier, more confident too, always a bonus.

There are wonderful lying on your side stretches which are such a relaxing way to improve your   posture, but link beautifully with your relaxing too. Sitting on the Pilates ball and standing exercises and adding in the resistance band can all really help too. Having plenty of head pads and cushions for class is important too to make you more comfortable.

Reduce or prevent back pain, Pilates is a wonderful and effective form of exercise to improve your back strength It’s really important to keep your back strong during pregnancy, which Pilates can help you do. Avoiding all the exercises on your tummy is important to know, but there are so many alternatives you can enjoy and benefit from to strengthen you back, exercises standing, on all fours are really brilliant for your back as well as side lying exercises to help stabilise your pelvis and keep your buttocks toned and supporting you all a bonus.

Keeping your deep abdominals strong during pregnancy really supports your back if you’re doing it properly, These muscles love to support you and the bonus is you’re more toned as a result too as well as less back pain or the prevention of back pain which is so important with your growing baby and if you’ve had previous or ongoing back problems.

Balance – your balance can improve with Pilates, giving you more stability from your exercises.

Pelvic floor muscles It’s really important to take time to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy, not just to prevent incontinence, it can have a huge impact on your recovery and is a support for both your bowels, womb and bladder. It helps you prepare for childbirth, during childbirth and post natally you will have the knowledge and practical experience of how to help the muscles heal. It is good to take dedicated time to strengthen these muscles during class, but also to know how to relax them too. This is just as important. It takes practice and helps prevent leaks such as when you cough and sneeze if the muscles have become weak. Helping you strengthen up. Prior to pregnancy there is often too much emphasis on all the other abdominal muscles, and often the pelvic floor muscles get forgotton. You’ll be glad you remembered to look after them too!!

Relaxation & breathing 

 As a pregnant woman, it’s absolutely wonderful to take time to really and deeply relax both for you and your baby, the first principles of Pilates are relaxation and breathing, and if you’re going to a good class, you’ll be breathing throughout the entire class, which in itself is deeply relaxing. But it’s also nice to indulge in relaxations on their own to feel calm, peaceful and relaxed in body and mind. 

 Practice, it’s a wonderful thing to learn during your lessons how to both enjoy practicing your Pilates at home as well as taking time out to enjoy relaxations too inbetween classes, I show you how and include pilates workouts and relaxations for you to enjoy at home inbetween lessons which helps you to achieve even more from your Pilates, feeling better on a daily basis with Pilates.

May you love the benefits of Pilates during Pregnancy, and fall in love with this amazing exercise technique forever!! It works

Love Beverley Densham Bsc (Hons), Dip

Pilates expert.

How pilates helps after caesarian and sciatica

It’s so heart warming when you see someone recover from the pain of both Caesarian and sciatica and Amy-Elle Robinson kindly shares her success story here, really hope it helps and inspires you too.

Watch the benefits of pilates after caesarean & sciatica interview here

Mum and baby doing well

Pilates can support you during pregnancy too

How many children have you got?

I have 5 children, ranging in age from 19 to 5 years old.

Bev: How did you get into Pilates?

Amy-Elle: I remember seeing you on social media after the last child which was after caesarean section, and thought I needed to do something about the re-curring sicaticato strengthen my core and get back on track after the birth of the last one. So I remember contacting you and talking to you all about the caesarean.

Bev: I actually remember teaching you at that time, and at that time you were really weak. I remember what it was like, I’ve had one caesarean and it can vary in the recovery. Cant it. How did you find it?

Amy-Elle: The last child was a caesarean, I had a caesarean, three natural births then a caesarean. The first and last were caesarean, I really struggled. After the three boys I had re-curring sciatica and it was quite debilitating. I did struggle, I had an infection after and was very weak needing lots of ways from you.

Bev: You’ve been doing Pilates for over 4 years now, how’s your recovery been?

Amy-Elle: I don’t get sciatica anymore at all. I feel so much stronger, I feel so much fitter, I’m more toned, aesthetically after caesarean you have this overhang, which most women are really self conscious of, since I’ve done the Pilates, regularly, its really sucked my tummy in, nice and toned, I feel inside those deep core muscles that you can’t get to with most forms of exercise, have really been strengthened. Then helps with your lower back and core in general, lifting the children and working in a physical job as a massage therapist. All these things helped.

Bev: Hooray for this. If you have any questions for us ask away. Now you’re able to do a lot more strengthening exercises for your back and body. How do you feel doing that? 

Really good, make you feel strong, once you feel like that it helps you overcome a lot of things, able to do more things. Things that set if off were any kind of lifting, lean over, able to do a lot more.

Bev: You got your quality of life back which is nice.

Amy-Elle: Yes

Bev: So back to the beginning, how long did it take the scar to heal. Do you mind me asking?

Amy-Elle: That’s fine, so the first time, I was much younger, fit and healthy, when I had my last child, it did take a really long time. 3 months and really up to a year before it was better. It was very sensitive after that too with clothes, 

Bev: Did you get inflammation in that area, did you get that?

Amy-Elle: Probably 3 years after it just kind of watch what I  was wearing, I didn’t wear jeans, wearing soft leggings so that nothing would press on it. 

Bev: It took me 12 years before I could wear jeans again, it too me a long time. I had to keep buying underwear and clothes that were too big for me so that it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Amy-Elle: With the Pilates with the deep core exercises, you wouldn’t be able to do that yourself, you need to be taught by a professional like yourself. You could damage yourself more, you’ve had a big operation, a procedure, you need to be really careful. You need to be told how to do it properly, make sure you’re doing it all correctly. Otherwise you could go to the gym or do something yourself and really injure your deep internal muscles. It’s quite specific toning isn’t it. 

Bev: You do need to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing. I don’t think that’s always very clear in the fitness industry. If you have a teacher who is trained in pregnancy and post natal Pilates it can make a huge difference, in your recovery as well. There’s so much out there about women getting into shape quickly after childbirth, there’s this kind of sit up thing, everyone thinks you should be doing sit ups and they are a big no no. 

Amy-Elle: That’s the worst thing to do after

Bev: Yes

Amy-Elle: I notice that the deep core work you do with me, I can feel it working , it’s very precise, it’s going from the inside out, its really deep strengthening, it has that physical effect, you just cant get that, or over do it using the superficial ones if you’re not doing the right thing. 

Bev: It really helps with pelvic floor muscles as well, 

Amy-Elle: Yes. Definitely, it’s all connected!!

Bev: What is it like having lessons with me?!!

Amy-Elle: very good Bev!!! I think also as a very busy Mum, and a business as well, it’s very busy, very hectic, the session is something completely for me, focusing on my health and wellness, as a Mum, if you’re not ok, you can’t look after everyone else, you’ve got to look after yourself as well. It’s so important to take that time for yourself. I’ve been for sessions with you before and you can have hormonal things going on, and with pregnancy and post natal, the sessions are so calming, relaxing with all of the breathing, you have that lovely calming voice at the end doing the relaxation part, which we’ve done on the beach before with the waves lapping. It’s a whole experience, I do really look forward to it, it’s part of my health maintenance and lifestyle now really. I like the fact it’s holistic and the essential oils, there’s so much breathing in pilates, the oils help, they smell so nice anyway, incorporating that into a session is quite clever! 

Bev: At the very early raw stage, before you have your post natal check up, did you find that your posture was horrendous afterwards? As there’s so much pain?

Amy-Elle: I couldn’t walk properly. Like I said before, lifting, hovering, any of these things were a struggle, 

Bev: Hopefully you weren’t doing that in the first week!!

Amy-Elle, No but trying to walk was quite impossible really. You can’t drive, you can’t do anything, Its a really tough time, the first 8 weeks, the way you’re holding yourself, got to feed your baby, can’t sleep in a proper position, just walking round the house, it’s baby steps, you can’t hardly do anything. Posture is heavily affected. 

Bev: Naturally with the pain, your body hunches forwards and your back muscles get weaker and weaker (I remember), you’re protecting yourself, how did you find it helped your posture? 

Amy-Elle: Having someone tell you how to re-gain your posture professionally is really helpful, it feel so much better once you’re able to re-gain your natural, normal posture again. Hunched up and leaning over in pain, it’s good to get back to normal. 

Any parting words

Amy-Elle: If you’re a Mum or Mum to be this can really help you in every way. It can help someone who has got children or during pregnancy and birth, definitely after caesarean, you have to be careful, its good to have an expert to help, recommend it to everyone and really enjoy our sessions. Thank you Bev

Thank you Amy-Elle

Really hope this helps and inspires you in some way

Love Bev

Beverley Densham BSc (Hons)

Pilates expert

The benefits of pilates

Pilates Is an amazing exercise technique where you learn slow controlled movements in a class or one to one with a qualified teacher. Pilates was developed by the late Joseph Pilates, so pilates exercise is very much for women and men.

Strengthen your back 

There are so many benefits: A lot of people start Pilates after they’ve had some sort of back problem because Pilates can be so good for your back, it can strengthen your back, help you to do the right exercises for you & may reduce pain and suffering in your back, it may ease your symptoms. (It’s useful to see your GP and/ or practitioner if there’s pain)

Improve your quality of life 

it builds your confidence in what you’re able to do in your life with your body again which is so rewarding, it strengthens your back, improves your core stability, Strengthening your deep abdominals and deep back muscles that support your back giving you some more support in your back and life. 

Practice 

You can learn how to practice your back exercises and pilates exercises and relaxation at home so that you achieve much more from your lessons. 

Reduce stress 

Incorporating pilates exercises and good posture into daily life can help your back feel better, reduce stress and stiffness in the muscles 

Breathe! 

The breathing in pilates helps your core strength, abdominal & back support as well as help you focus and concentrate on the exercises. The breathing is also so useful and helpful to do during the stretches, to help you relax and release tight, tense muscles

Tone up 

Pilates exercise is extremely toning and if practiced regularly can tone and strengthen your entire body which feels really good 

Strong 

Pilates exercises strengthens not just your back, your neck, shoulders, hips, arms, knees, feet and ankles, your whole body. 

Improve your posture 

Having bad posture can cause all sorts of back pain, neck pain and muscular discomfort. Pilates can help you improve your posture by stretching out tight muscles and strengthening weak muscles 

You can learn at your level to get the maximum benefits 

improve your balance

Pilates can help improve your balance, this takes regular practice but ideal for all ages

Your happiness 

You can relax more easily and feel happier too from regular classes, science has now shown that good posture makes you feel happier!  

These are just a few of the benefits, really hope that pilates exercise helps and inspires you 

Love Bev

Results of my Ultra-lates scan! How it can help your abdominals, back and bladder!

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I had a scan that educated me on the state of my abdominals and pelvic floor muscles!!

I’d booked myself in for an ultra-pilates scan on my abdominal muscles, I did have a fear of what the results would show!! Sounds crazy I know, especially when the ultra-lates scan is to help you know where you’re at and how you can make things better.

It was absolutely fascinating, during the scan the Physiotherapist explained exactly what you could see on the screen and what was happening. So on the ultrasound I could see my deep abdominals at rest, the transversus abdominus, these are your main core stability muscles, I was then cued to work those muscles, and I did what I have practiced daily since discovering Pilates and activated the muscle, it was so interesting actually seeing it on the screen both widen and thicken, yet in ‘real life’, you instantly look slimmer when you engage these muscles and they support you and your back, more about that another time. 

Then it was time to hold the contraction of the muscles and my stamina was really good, so hooray there was positive feedback so that was a relief!!! I practice Pilates daily mainly for my back and basically can’t live without it, it keeps me together and prevents sciatica as much as possible.

Then it was onto having a look at my six pack muscle, the rectus abdominus, I discovered that it hadn’t knitted back together as much as I’d thought it had after childbirth 14 years ago, which then gave me the information from the physio that me wanting to keep my head down on certain abdominal exercises is better for me, and there is still hope to reduce the division of the muscles back to an even healthier state, not that they are in the ‘diasti recti’ state, whereby there is more than 2 finger widths of a gap in the muscle which can cause all sorts of problems. So I’m now extremely glad I had the scan to find this out, so I’m working away on my daily practice and weekly lesson so reduce this. A lot of people after childbirth don’t get much proper support unless there are really big issues going on, yet everyone wants to properly heal and have abdominals that you’re both happy with and are supporting both your and your body and back.

And then it was onto the pelvic floor muscles. During the scan, you just have to have the equipment gently resting on your tummy and low tummy to check the pelvic floor, you know exactly whats happening. It was so interesting seeing the pelvic floor muscles on the screen, my pelvic floor muscles were working well, however I discovered that they weren’t holding stamina wise for very long and that I needed to work on improving this, I had started to address this recently, and since the scan it’s now much improved which I’m really pleased about, it prompted me into action to practice the pelvic floor exercises not just daily, but thinking about doing them both regularly and breakfast, lunch & tea times ish and during some of my Pilates. What can be a worrying thing I heard is that some people think they’re doing it right but actually end up with a prolpase because they’re pushing the wrong way. 

It’s something I wish I’d had after the post natal checkup because it would have allowed me to ease into exercise much more gently. I had the knowledge at the time yes, but I’d been critically ill in intensive care after a pre eclamptic fit after childbirth and I didn’t find the check up afterwards very helpful or informative at all. This would have helped 

So I’m glad there are more things out there. The other thing thats so interesting in the scan is to see how well you’re engaging the muscles during your Pilates exercises, now this is interesting stuff, both personally to see how well you’re doing, specifically what level you’re working at and should or shouldn’t be working at.

I’m so pleased I went, It’s an eye opener. The scan doesn’t lie!! It’s there to help you with your health, wellbeing, fitness so can only be a good thing. Enabling you to work at a careful level that’s exactly right for you, specialist physios can work with you when theres more going on and you need more help one to one with more re-habilitation, bringing in the right Pilates exercises and avoiding the ones that don’t help.

My conclusion. Fascinating, a must do self care thing for everyone. We all want a fitter, more toned body. Yes Pilates does do that but doing it at the right level and pace is crucial for the best results and this is a much more in depth way to do it. 

For a 47 year old woman, I’m actually pretty happy with my abdominals and tone of my body, but having the results on the inside is vital, and this is a way to go that one step deeper. Thank you BWT physios

love Bev

Beverley Densham BSc (Hons)

Pilates expert 

Pilates to feel good 

Www.pilatestofeelgood.com

Telephone 01202 802936

for more info about BWT ultra latest scans in Dorset,

Www.bwtphysio.co.uk

How pilates breathing can help your core, back & stress levels!

The Pilates breathing really helps with core stability, especially as a general rule doing the strength part of the movement on the exhalation which helps engage the deep abdominals the transversus abdominals which then enables the lower back to be more supported

Pilates breathing helps relax & release tense tight muscles, two of the principles of Pilates is breathing & relaxation & when you do this constantly throughout your exercises you gain far more benefits as working & releasing the correct muscles is important, not something everyone can spot themselves until you have a lot of Pilates experience under your belt

Breathing helps the oxygenation you the blood and around the entire body & to the brain, Pilates breathing enables you to exercise with the maximum benefits of this, exercising with more clarity, concentration & energy. It allows the gas exchange of oxygen & carbon dioxide to be balanced & breathing out through the mouth helps with this but also relaxes the jaw & neck more too.

The core muscles are activated earlier during expiration, research by Hodges et al 1997, quoted by the APPI, one of the Pilates Associations.

Some beginners find it easier only moving on the out breath until they are strong enough to move on the in & out breath.

The breathing also helps you concentrate & switch off and is incredible for stress relief giving you a relaxed effect because have been so mindful & in the moment during your exercises. Some clients find it as good as meditation or relaxation. Yet combining the two is the icing on the cake!!

Love Bev 

Beverley Densham 

Pilates expert 

Specialise in helping people with their backs to feel good 

Www.pilatestofeelgood.com

Bev teaching Janey Lee Grace breathing, relaxation & Pilates, Author, radio 2 presenter