{"id":801,"date":"2012-11-04T13:15:44","date_gmt":"2012-11-04T13:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=801"},"modified":"2012-11-04T13:15:44","modified_gmt":"2012-11-04T13:15:44","slug":"abdominal-seperation-can-be-fixed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=801","title":{"rendered":"Abdominal Seperation can be Fixed!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>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!<\/p>\n

Here we are in action:<\/p>\n

\"Pilates<\/a>
Pilates with Priya: Post Natal Pilates Class<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here’s some more info on what I mean:<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 In some pregnancies, the Linea Alba becomes a little darker in colour and is visible on your stomach.\u00a0 This is called Linea Negra which simply means \u201cdark line\u201d.<\/p>\n

You may have heard people talk about your abdominal muscles \u201csplitting\u201d.\u00a0 Your muscles don\u2019t \u201csplit\u201d, because they\u2019re already in a separated state, as they\u2019re held together by the Linea Alba which I mentioned above.\u00a0 A split muscle is like a torn muscle, so if you\u2019ve ever torn your hamstring, for example, you\u2019ll know what this pain is like!\u00a0 What happens to the abdominal muscles during pregnancy, is completely painless, you aren\u2019t aware of it, and I like to refer to it simply as abdominal \u201cseparation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Rectus Abdominis stretches vertically (up and down your stomach) to accommodate baby bump at your front, and when it can\u2019t stretch any further up and down, it then starts to separate horizontally (from left to right).<\/p>\n

I guess it\u2019s a little bit like the Linea Alba is heavy duty cling film stretching apart.\u00a0 The muscles don\u2019t separate in every pregnancy.\u00a0 It depends on a number of factors.\u00a0 The separation can take place above the belly button, below the belly button, or both.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Why not do 5 \u201cdraw up and hold\u201d abdominal\/pelvic floor exercises now?\u00a0 Breathe in, filling your belly with air to prepare. \u00a0Breathe out, draw your tummy muscles in and draw your pelvic floor up slowly and keep holding on (like you\u2019re stopping yourself going for a wee).\u00a0 Stay there and breathe in to hold.\u00a0 Then breathe out and slowly relax the pelvic floor\/ab muscles.\u00a0 Repeat this again, throughout the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love working with my post-natal mummies (and that’s not just because I sometimes get a baby to cuddle), one …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[155,18,37,158,160,153,154,81,156,159,157,161],"class_list":["post-801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classes","category-postnatal","tag-after-birth","tag-baby","tag-core-strength","tag-diastasis-recti","tag-how-to-tone-tummy-after-baby","tag-pilates-southampton","tag-post-birth","tag-post-natal-pilates","tag-rec-check","tag-seperation","tag-tummy-muscles","tag-tummy-toning"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Image-11.jpg?fit=1600%2C1066&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3FIsx-cV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1220,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1220","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":0},"title":"Top 3 complications Post-Birth.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"1 April, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Being pregnant, giving birth and then looking after a baby - it's all particularly hard work on the body and comes at a time when you are more focused on the baby and less focused on you. 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A sit up or any variation of this movement where you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bump to Birth"","block_context":{"text":"Bump to Birth","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=259"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pilates with Priya: Why not to Curl up after having baby","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/IMG_1681-300x203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1091,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1091","url_meta":{"origin":801,"position":2},"title":"Losing the Baby Weight Week 4.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"21 October, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The past 4 weeks has on the one hand flown past and on the other hand it feels like its been forever that this little boy has been around. 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