Category: AnteNatal

New Ante-Natal Class Starts

Priya Tew

May saw the launch of a New Ante-Natal Pilates class for our little studio. Taught by Priya this is now our second Ante-Natal Class and is already full of lovelies mums to be. It’s lovely to be getting such an influx of pregnant ladies that a second class has had been put on to cater for demand. We only take a maximum of 7 people so there is plenty of time for individual help. In fact that’s one thing Priya loves to do, go round the class and advise.

All the ladies tonight turned up with their own birthing balls, ready for action. These classes are designed to help strengthen your core, stretch out your upper back, correct postural imbalances and prepare you for not only labour but life afterwards too.

So now we have 2 Ante-Natal classes plus we have a fabulous Post Natal Class for after baby comes so you can come along with baby, do some Pilates and have a cuppa and chat afterwards 😉

 

Pelvic Floor Muscles

Pelvic Floor, use it or lose it.

Priya Tew

This week in my classes, the pelvic floor has come up a few times. Now as a dietitian I end up talking about bowels a lot and as a Pilates instructor I now get to talk about pelvic floors – you can see how glam I am 😉 , I thought I’d add a quick blog post on it to help you out.

In Pilates we use the “CORE” muscles these include the “transversus abdominis”  (TA) muscle, which is similar to a corset, wrapping round the  body, I describe it as being below the belly button, and the pelvic floor.

The muscles of the pelvic floor can be thought of as being like a hammock going from your front to your back passage, holding everything in! When these muscles are weak most people know it can result in stress incontinence, but did you also know the pelvic floor muscles aid the emptying of your bowel and bladder, and they can make sex more enjoyable!

Pelvic Floor Muscles
Pelvic Floor Muscles

So how do you find these muscles? It sounds crude but I’d suggest when you go for a wee try stopping the slow of urine part way through and this will show you were there muscles are. Or think about going on a long car journey and being desperate for a wee but having a husband (like mine) who refuses to pull into the services 😉 It’s those muscles you have to use to hold it in!

Your pelvic floor is pretty much like the foundation of  a house, if that is strong you’ll function better. After a while in Pilates you learn to get both your TA and pelvic floor muscles firing when you are doing exercises, but in the early stages you may need to remember to engage both of these seperately. What will end up happening is when you contract one the other will co-contract.

So I’d encourage you to start training your pelvic floor and keep using my reminders in class to check you’ve got your CORE engaged. Use it or Lose it 😉

Pilates for Bumps.

Priya TewLeave a Comment on Pilates for Bumps.

It’s now been 16 months since my bump became a baby and just 2 months since I started teaching AnteNatal Pilates. Teaching this class has reminded me how much Pilates helped me when I was pregnant. All those aches and pains were so helped by some simple exercises such as standing in a neutral spine position, shoulder bridges, pelvic tilts and side lying exercises.

Pilates can also help strengthen the pelvic floor, strengthen the core muscles and help you prepare for birth. We practise strengthening and relaxing the core muscles. The exercises also help you focus on your breathing and build your body awareness. Bands and upper body strength are also worked on to prepare you for when baby arrives 🙂

Ante Natal Pilates

Currently I have 2 ladies who are both around the 37 week mark, those babies will be making an entrance to the world very shortly, and it’s exciting to work with these mummies to be. Last week we focused more on standing Pilates and then moved to the Birthing Balls. Most pregnant ladies seem to have these balls but few really know how to use them.

Here’s a photo of the beautiful ladies, bumps and balls. I’m hoping some of them will move into my post natal class later on so I can meet the beautiful babies too.

Ladies, Bumps and Balls

So if you you are pregnant or know anyone who is, why not suggest some Pilates to them?

Ante Natal/Post Natal Pilates

Priya TewLeave a Comment on Ante Natal/Post Natal Pilates

I’m going to be running some ante natal/post natal Pilates sessions on Tuesdays 2.30-3.30pm at St Denys Church Centre. Small babies are welcome, we shall be placing them next to mums so they can engage in the class too. The class is an hour but this allows for a little time of mums needing to comfort babies so we won’t all get an hour of Pilates done! There will be someone on hand to help with babies to give mums a break too so mums can get some Pilates done even if babies need cuddles 🙂

I will also have space in my Monday evening class at 5.30pm for pregnant mums or post-natal ladies.

Please contact me to book a space.

Pilates in Pregnancy

Priya TewLeave a Comment on Pilates in Pregnancy

So as will know, if you attend my classes, I’m most definately pregnant now, so it seemed like a good topic to blog on.

Pregnancy changes the natural curve of your spine and mine has most definitely curved in more in the lumbar (lower) back region. This is a normal occurrence due to the baby sticking out the front so the back compensating! However it does leads to some back pain. My Pilates has really helped reduce this pain, especially if I do a few exercises before bed.

I’ve found Pilates really helpful all the way through my pregnancy. In my first trimester I could do all the exercises and felt I was strengthening my muscles ready for the baby to grow, in the second trimester I had to adapt a little but have found new exercises to add in and have really enjoyed teaching in this time. Now in the third trimester I’m certainly slowing down so Pilates is perfect for those evenings when I want to do some exercise but know I shouldn’t be doing anything with too much impact.

For me the benefits have been – stronger core muscles and a smaller bump making it easier for me to keep going for longer, reduced lower back pain, exercises I can do at home reducing my time at the gym (when you teach a lot of classes you don’t always fancy a gym session!) and hopefully nice, strong pelvic floor muscles to push baby out!

So if you have any pregnant friends or know people who have recently had babies, Pilates is definitely something to recommend to them, and something I can help them with.

See you soon, Priya.