post natal pilates | Pilates with Priya

Beyond Your Bump: Postnatal Pilates DVD

10 May, 2014 Priya Tew

Having a new born baby is hard work. Amongst the nappy changes, feeds, lack of sleep and recovering from the birth itself, there can be little time to think about exercise! The demands of pregnancy and then the energies of labour put a great stress on your body and it needs time to recover and heal. So you may not feel like rushing straight back into exercise and that is understandable. However your body also needs the strength to carry, feed and lift without causing aches, pains and issues later down the line.

Pilates is the perfect compromise with this. It is exercise that can be started soon after birth but won’t feel too strenuous. Being able to do just 10 minutes a day will make such a difference to your body. Getting to a class can be stressful with a baby. Help is at hand. We run postnatal classes with a creche provided. Or our “Beyond Your Bump” DVD means you get the experience and benefit of a postnatal class devised by a Pilates specialist, ready to do in your home around your baby.

This is an hour long DVD in several sections that will:

Strengthen your abdominals.
Targets your bum, legs and tum.
Help with any pelvis pain.
Work your pelvic floor in a functional manner.
Correct upper body posture.

ESSENTIAL FOR ALL NEW MUMS.

My little ones have always loved sitting in a bouncy chair watching me do exercise – why not see if yours does too!

Why is Pilates so essential for new mums?

9 May, 2014 Priya Tew

Pilates is still quite a new form of exercise in the UK. It was developed by Joseph Pilates, a German-born gymnast, circus-performer and boxer during the 1920’s. He named his method “Contrology” and it was designed to rehabilitate soldiers during the war. Later, it became popular amongst ballet dancers, then went mainstream, where now it’s suitable for just about everyone and is used by many atheletes as well as the general public.

Pilates is all about your “core” muscles, but what is that? The “core” is made up of several muscles which wrap around your spine – a bit like a cylinder. These are muscles at the front of your body (transverses abdominus/hip flexors), side (obliques), back (multifidis), top (diaphragm) and base (pelvic floor).

To find your core muscles, you just need to tighten/pull/draw your abdominal muscles in slightly. Start by breathing into your belly first, then as you breath out, draw your tummy muscles in towards your spine and keeping that light tension switched on. These muscles are slow to contract and slow to fatigue, so it means you should be able to hold your tummy muscles inwards with a low level of contraction, for a minute or two, then move an arm or a leg, or the spine, to create an unstable environment and therefore provide a challenge for the muscles.

Postnatal Posture — Pilates helps correct postnatal postural issues and targets the correct muscles.

Pilates is particularly beneficial for postnatal women (trust me I have had 2 babies and used Pilates to help me), because it targets the very muscles which get weakened by pregnancy itself eg the pelvic floor and core. It also helps you breathe better, puts your body in an optimal postural position and relieves tension in your neck, shoulders, hips and lower back from constant lifting, carrying, feeding and changing your baby. Without it you are likely to end up with all kind of aches and pains. Think about those lower back aches, those niggles in your hips, that shoulder and neck tension – Pilates can help with all of that and help relax you too. Win Win.

Giving Birth for the Second Time.

26 September, 2013 Priya Tew

Judah Elisha Tew was born on Thursday 12th September at 11.46am, 7lb 1oz.

This was my second labour which did make it easier in terms of I knew a little more about what to expect and had the knowledge that I’d done it all before so could do it again. However it was not easy. Anyone who gives birth to a baby is amazing in my opinion.

I’m very fortunate in that I seem to have happy, healthy pregnancies. I worked all the way through both pregnancies, this time I was still teaching Pilates and seeing dietetic clients, in fact I had run a clinic Thursday afternoon and chatted to a journalist about an article that evening and then my waters broke!

My waters broke just before midnight and trickled throughout labour. Having had a 23 hour labour with my first baby I had a snack, a quiet whoop of excitement and then went back to bed to rest. A quick nudge to the hubby to let him know and he rolled over back to sleep 😉 At 3 am I decided to alert the birthing centre, they wanted me to go in to check my waters had gone, however I knew they had and wasn’t prepared to wake a sleeping toddler and leave her with friends at this stage. So I waited until 6am by which time the contractions were building but manageable. Now getting a toddler up, explaining the situation and getting out of the house with contractions every 3 minutes was a bit of a challenge, but typically the car journey led to the contractions slowing. Very frustrating, but quite common.

At the birthing centre I was 3 cm dilated, so we got ready for action. By 8am I was in the birthing pool and things started to get hard. Although my active labour wasn’t long in the moment of it, it felt like a long time. Around 9cm dilation I started to panic and needed reassurance, at this stage the gas and air was given to me. Thank goodness. Even though it did make me feel slightly woozy and sick I needed it to take the edge of the contractions. Pushing didn’t take long at all and it is amazing how your body takes over, suddenly I was aware I had to push, looked down in the water and there was a head – very odd to see!

This labour I really found made me go deep into myself, I was talking myself through it, willing myself on and it showed me how determined I can be. Focusing on the contractions and moving around as much as I could really helped. In the last stages of labour and pushing my husband took over and he was the voice willing me on, talking me through it and telling me what was happening. I gave birth in a birthing centre where they let the woman take the lead, this was amazing as it was a very natural birth but I also needed to know what was going on and have a plan ahead of me. This is where my birthing partner (hubby) came in. He was my eyes and ears.

Top Tips:

1. Stay as active as you can in the early stages, I found circular hip movements helped me work through the contractions.

2. Stay calm and focus on getting through one contraction at a time.

3. Find something to distract yourself early on. I blogged an article and finished making some breakfast/breastfeeding bars.

4. Eat food that will sustain you. I’ve not wanted to eat once my contractions have started coming fast and strong, so eat early on. Pasta, an oat based cereal, rice dish, wholemeal toast with peanut butter or a tuna sandwich for example.

5. Keep drinking and have small snacks in case you fancy a bite. Cereal bars, bananas, sport drinks can all be useful.

6. Have a birthing plan but be prepared for it to change!

7. Discuss your ideas with your birthing partner. Think through things they may be able to do to help you. Gentle massage or running you a bath for pain relief for example.

8. When your waters break collect a sample, the midwife may want to check! So take a wet pad with you.

9. Focus on the final goal – your baby! Labour is hard work but it is only a small part of the adventure of mummyhood.

10. Try and get some skin to skin time and a breastfeed in as soon as possible after giving birth.

11. Practise breathing techniques before hand. Pilates has taught me these.

12. Antenatal exercise classes can really help you be in tip top condition for giving birth. Don’t forget my “From Bump to Birth DVD“.

I feel privileged and completely blessed to have had a water birth, in a calm amazing environment. The human body is an awesome piece of work and giving birth shows what you can do. However I’m not planning on doing it again anytime soon 😉

Why is Pilates so beneficial for new mums?

7 September, 2013 Priya Tew

Pilates is still quite a new form of exercise in the UK. Just to give you some background, Joseph Pilates, a German-born gymnast, circus-performer, boxer and anatomical-chart model, developed his training method during the 1920s, so it’s been around for quite a while. He named his method “Contrology”, initially to rehabilitate soldiers during the war. Later, it became popular in the ballet circuit, then went mainstream, where now it’s suitable for just about everyone.

You’ll hear Pilates Instructors mention your “core” muscles quite a lot during class. The “core” is made up of several muscles which wrap around your spine – a bit like a cylinder. There are muscles at the front of your body (transverses abdominus/hip flexors), side (obliques), back (multifidis), top (diaphragm) and base (pelvic floor).

To find your core muscles, you just need to tighten/pull/draw your abdominal muscles in slightly. Start by breathing into your belly first, then as you breath out, drawing your tummy muscles in towards your spine and keeping that light tension switched on. These muscles are slow to contract and slow to fatigue, so it means you should be able to hold your tummy muscles inwards with a low level of contraction, for a minute or two, then simply move an arm or a leg, or the spine, to create an unstable environment and therefore provide a challenge for the muscles. Pilates is quite simple in design.

Pilates is particularly beneficial for postnatal women, because, put simply, it targets the very muscles which get weakened by pregnancy itself eg the pelvic floor and core. It also helps you breathe better, puts your body in an optimal postural position and relieves tension in your neck, shoulders, hips and lower back from constant lifting, carrying, feeding and changing your baby.

Royal Bumps and normal bumps, tips on getting your body back post birth.

24 August, 2013 Priya Tew

So on Monday …… the newest addition to the Royal Family made an appearance. With Kate in labour there were people camping outside the hospital, live feeds recording the hospital and all sorts of chatter going on. Now I understand the excitement but thinking back to the birth of my first child, personally I was pleased to see they were given some privacy. The whole labour experience can be so challenging, unexpected and yet at the end there’s the amazement of meeting that gorgeous baby that you have been carrying around for 9 months. Those first few days are overwhelming, emotional, tiring and a big change to life.

The thing that I’ve found sad is the media chatter around Kate’s baby bump still being present a few days post-birth. Now in my mind that’s completely natural and normal. After 9 months of growing a baby your body is going to just spring back to it’s previous shape after a couple of days. It’s made me, as a pregnant lady and a antenatal Pilates instructor, think about the pressure on new mums. Yes, we wants new mums to look after their bodies, to eat healthily, to restart exercise when it’s safe to and to get that body confidence back…… but there can be far too much pressure. Having said that everyone’s bodies are different and if you have exercised through your pregnancy you are more likely to lose the weight quicker. Here I am 8 days post-baby number 1 back in my “comfy jeans” but certainly not back to my normal size and shape, who knows how I’ll be after baby number 2.

: Bump to Birth Pilates: 8 days post baby.

My advice:

It’s taken 9 months to grow a baby, it will take time for the baby weight to come off, be patient.
A few days after birth light exercise such as gentle walking and pelvic floor exercises should be safe.
Don’t engage in any high impact exercise until you have had your 6 week check from your GP and have built up to it. Jumping straight into high impact work can cause more damage than good. Strengthen your core and pelvic floor first.
Build your exercise back up slowly and steadily. Start with gentle walking, some light resistance work perhaps and think about a post natal Pilates class to strengthen your core and pelvic floor safely.
You may have diastasis recti (a gap in your tummy muscles) so certain abdominal exercises will not be suitable, post natal Pilates will help with this.
Try not to succomb to the cakes, biscuits and chocolates that are often around 😉 yes you need extra calories when breastfeeding but it’s better to get these from nutritious sources such as fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, lean protein, nuts and seeds. Keep the “treat foods” as treats.
Relaxin is a hormone that makes you more flexible and supple than usual, this hormone is still around post-birth so take care when stretching or in yoga moves.
If you are still bleeding post-birth be cautious not to overdo it, if the bleeding gets worse then rest.
Remember you have a new baby to look after and will be up in the night, so rest is also important.
Specialist post natal classes are fantastic – look for a cardio class such as a boot camp or aerobics class to complement a Pilates class. You can often take your baby to class with you.
Be active, take time for you and be kind to yourself!

Breastfeeding and Exercise

10 August, 2013 Priya TewLeave a Comment

I’m posting this after a couple of posts and questions on the topic… I myself remember being a bit worried about breastfeeding and exercise but my experience was that as long as I fed before and after exercise I had no problems (the hubby on the other hand sometimes had a fractious baby!). I’ve based some of this on my initial questions and those I’ve been asked.

Feed before exercise

I’d always suggest that you feed your baby before your exercise. If your breasts are full, chances are they will feel uncomfortable, and any amount of activity may stimulate milk flow, so it’s advisable to wear breast pads. If it’s a class like the ones I teach you can probably arrange to get there early and feed the baby before class. If not feed at home or even in the car! Remember you could also express if feeding is not an option.

Is a sports bra necessary?

Getting a properly fitted sports bra is essential if you’re embarking on any type of fitness class or activity to reduce the amount of “bounce” and provide adequate shock absorption to the breasts. Although wearing a nursing bra is very convenient for feeding before or after class it will not provide enough support. Consider wearing two bras, with a nursing bra on first, then a sports bra over the top. I know it sounds like a bit of a nuisance, but this “double-bra” effect will you with the support you need. I remember doing this and then whipping my top and sports bra off to feed in between classes on occasion – rather crazy but necessary 😉 I’m going to be looking out for a breastfeeding sports bra with baby 2 on the way, these are now more readily available thankfully.

Body positioning

I’m always quite aware of this in my post-natal classes. Lying directly on your front can feel uncomfortable when breastfeeding. For others, it feels fine. When performing any exercise in this position, if it feels uncomfy, either mention it to your instructor who should be able to offer you an alternative exercise or you could try placing a rolled up towel above and/or below your breasts to reduce the amount of discomfort/pressure. Personally I only put ladies on their tummies for a short period of time then we change position.

Range of movement

Again, for comfort, it’s advisable to keep the range of movement of some arm exercises smaller and controlled. Anything vigorous that involves you reaching your arms over your head repetitively will cause tenderness, so it’s important you keep the range of movement of your arms smaller. You know your body best, at the end of the day, so choose what feels comfortable for you.

Milk production

There is no significant research to suggest that moderate-intensity exercise inhibits milk production. Examples of moderate-intensity exercise include: weight training, low-impact aerobics, walking, swimming. A study by Carey & Quinn (2001) suggested that lactate levels of milk production changed only after a mother performed maximal intensity exercise, and this may affect baby’s acceptance of post-exercise breast milk. But, the authors agreed that it’s highly unlikely that a postnatal women would feel comfortable pushing themselves to this level, so its findings have been discounted. Moderate-intensity exercise however, with good hydration will not affect the quantity or the quality of breast milk. Note the key here is good hydration. A great tip is to have a glass of water every time you breastfeed.

I hope this helps, any questions let me know and I’d love to hear your feedback too.

How to get a six pack and recover from diastasis recti.

29 January, 2013 Priya Tew

Sit-ups, or any variation of this movement where you go into forward flexion eg when lying on your back, you bring your torso towards your knees to work the six pack muscle (called the Rectus Abdominus or RA), is considered a NO-NO for postnatal women, ladies post hysterectomy after some types of abdominal surgery, in those with abdominal doming or in diastasis recti (seperated tummy muscles). This isn’t limited to women, lifting heavy weights can cause it to happen in men too. Performing this exercise can cause more harm than good. So, if you’ve any of the above conditions and you’re doing sit ups, STOP them immediately.

How do you strengthen your abdominals? Pilates!!!

The first thing we need to do regarding this area is actually focus on strengthening your pelvic floor which is a bit like a sling of muscles supporting you from underneath, then locate the deep abdominal muscles which lie under your six-pack/R.A muscle. These deep muscles are known as the Transversus Abdominis (TA). If you work on strengthening the deepest muscles first, then focus on the next layer, then the next layer after that, then your abdominals will re-align to their original structure.

Sit-ups strengthen and work the R.A. During pregnancy with diastasis recti and after some surgeries, we know that this muscle has lengthened and separated. If you don’t have a solid foundation underneath this six-pack muscle before you work then sit-ups will actually make your separation worse, because you’re forcing the muscle to strengthen, when it’s still in a weakened, separated state. The amount of abdominal pressure placed on the six-pack muscle when performing a sit-up, forces it to separate further apart.

The best type of exercise to do for your abdominals, postnatally is Pilates-based. Pilates focuses on your pelvic floor and TA. As an instructor I’d focus on strengtheing your core first and then later on work on those sit ups to shorten the RA muscles.

So, I hear you ask: “Why do people do sit-ups?”. Well, in most cases, people do sit-ups in the hope that they will get themselves a toned, flat stomach and a noticeable six-pack. However I’d debate this, often sit-ups are not performed safely and unless you are super leaned with a strong core, they aren’t going to work.

So, to get a six-pack, there are three things you need to do: a) clean up your diet, b) make fat-burning exercise part of your routine (the best way to burn fat, is to build lean muscle eg weight/resistance training), and c) work your pelvic floor and TA by doing Pilates.

Pilates with Priya: Some photo of our classes in 2013

2013 A New Year and New Classes

16 November, 2014 Priya Tew

WOWSERS, I mean literally WOWSERS! We have been overwhelmed with the number of new Pilates enquiries, you lot are fitness crazy at present, it’s almost as if it’s the start of the New Year and there are some Resolutions being made…..oh hang on, that just may be it 😉

Before I get swept up in the excitement I wanted to say a HUGE THANKYOU to all of you who have been faithfully coming to classes over the past year. It’s been a real journey this year and we’ve just been riding the wave and seeing where it goes. It turns out that there is a lot of Pilates love around and as it is a complete pleasure running classes for such lovely people we are putting on new ones.

To start off 2013 we are running:

Sun 10-10.45am Beginners class (FULL for Jan)

Wed 5-6pm Beginners class at EXILE Gym, Shirley.

Thurs 7-7.45pm Beginners class (FULL for Jan)

Thurs 11.30-12.15 Post natal class for mums and babies

If there is enough interest we’d also love to put on :

Wed 9.45-10.15 Toddler Ballet

Please spread the word for us and we so appreciate your support!

Pilates with Priya: Post Natal Pilates Class

Abdominal Seperation can be Fixed!

4 November, 2012 Priya Tew

I love working with my post-natal mummies (and that’s not just because I sometimes get a baby to cuddle), one of the key things we focus on is strengthening the core post-birth.

As part of these classes I often perform “rec checks” on mummies to see how their tummy muscles are, that also means we get exciting moments when we realise Pilates has done it’s job and the muscles are back in line again – WHOOP WHOOP!

Here we are in action:

Here’s some more info on what I mean:

The six-pack muscle (Rectus Abdominis) runs from your breast bone to your pubic bone and is joined together with a strong fibrous sheath called the Linea Alba. In some pregnancies, the Linea Alba becomes a little darker in colour and is visible on your stomach. This is called Linea Negra which simply means “dark line”.

You may have heard people talk about your abdominal muscles “splitting”. Your muscles don’t “split”, because they’re already in a separated state, as they’re held together by the Linea Alba which I mentioned above. A split muscle is like a torn muscle, so if you’ve ever torn your hamstring, for example, you’ll know what this pain is like! What happens to the abdominal muscles during pregnancy, is completely painless, you aren’t aware of it, and I like to refer to it simply as abdominal “separation”.

The Rectus Abdominis stretches vertically (up and down your stomach) to accommodate baby bump at your front, and when it can’t stretch any further up and down, it then starts to separate horizontally (from left to right).

I guess it’s a little bit like the Linea Alba is heavy duty cling film stretching apart. The muscles don’t separate in every pregnancy. It depends on a number of factors. The separation can take place above the belly button, below the belly button, or both.

Doing Pilates-based exercise and lots of pelvic floor work during pregnancy and immediately after birth is the best thing you can do to help your muscles re-align.

Why not do 5 “draw up and hold” abdominal/pelvic floor exercises now? Breathe in, filling your belly with air to prepare. Breathe out, draw your tummy muscles in and draw your pelvic floor up slowly and keep holding on (like you’re stopping yourself going for a wee). Stay there and breathe in to hold. Then breathe out and slowly relax the pelvic floor/ab muscles. Repeat this again, throughout the day.

Tag: post natal pilates