Pilates is a safe and effective form of exercise for everyone. Literally, every body can benefit from Pilates. No matter what your age, stage of life, body type, injury, or condition you may have, Pilates can be used to help you achieve your goals, ease your pain, and keep your body healthy. This is even true for pregnant women, in fact Pilates can actually help women have an easier time during child birth. How’s that for incentive to exercise—EASIER CHILD BIRTH! Read on for a few reasons Pilates is amazing during pregnancy.
Pilates is SAFE: A well-educated Pilates instructor can help make sure you do not work until your flush, lie on your back, stay in one position too long, or do any of the other things that are not recommended for exercising during pregnancy. A prenatal certified Pilates instructor will help you feel good, stretch, and strengthen the correct muscles in a way that will keep you and baby safe and sound.
Pilates Provides Pelvic Floor Power: Your pelvic floor is very important for support and organ function,especially during pregnancy and labor. Pilates offers a very effective way to strengthen and stretch your pelvic floor so it performs properly. A strong and supple pelvic floor will not only help you support your growing baby and aid in bladder control, it will also help make labor a smoother process. Pelvic floor strength, as well as mobility (just as important), can be achieved through a prenatal Pilates workout.
Pilates Helps You Breathe Properly: Breathing is so, so important for the vitality of mamas and their growing babies. Pilates will help you focus on proper breathing techniques, potentially increasing diaphragm strength, increasing lung capacity, and aiding in more effective breathing. Plus, focusing on your breathing now will help you utilize breath better during labor. Get this: better breathing can even help make more room for your baby so you’re more comfortable!
Pilates builds the PROPER Core Strength: You may not want to hear this but, doing crunches to strength your superficial abs (the six pack muscles) can actually make labor and recovery MORE difficult for you. The good news? Strengthening your deep core muscles can actually help support your baby and make your labor easier. Pilates can help you strengthen those deep core muscles, and a prenatal specific workout will avoid overworking your more superficial abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis. This core strength will also help you walk, stand, and move better during pregnancy and help ward off back pain and other aches.
Pilates Can Make You Feel GOOD: Pregnancy is a beautiful miracle, but sometimes it makes you feel like crap, yea? Doing exercise regularly will help you build confidence and just feel good about yourself. Plus the core strength, breathing, and stretching that Pilates focuses on help to alleviate aches and pains, improve posture, and…well…make you feel better!
Note: Hayley Sunshine of Buffalo In-Home Pilates is a prenatal certified instructor. Contact hayley@betterbodybuffalo.com to set up a free prenatal Pilates consultation.