Upper body strength is often overlooked–especially for women and it seems to drop off  our radar entirely during pregnancy as we begin to think more about core, pelvic floor and lower body strength. The thing is, upper body strength is vital to maintaining alignment, overall strength and stability as well as to prepare for the work of delivery and postpartum care! You see, once baby arrives, you will be carrying the most adorable weight you can imagine!  Instead of being …
Squats: Prenatal & Postpartum Strength Training
Squat, Squat, Squat! If you work with me there are a few guarantees and squatting is one of them; so letâs get started! Â Squats are one of my absolute favorite exercises to strengthen the lower body, the pelvic floor and the core. Â You might be surprised to hear that the core is trained as well, but core stability and strength are essential to performing a proper squat. When you utilize your diaphragmatic exhale breath this effectively aids in accessing your …
Mother’s Day Thoughts
In Between An indigo veil of early morning luminescence swaddles us in quiet I watch your tiny fingers contentedly paint the air and stroke my chest Our hands meet and move in unison and suddenly, vividly…I see you so many years from this moment Your rosebud mouth tugs playfully while your legs splay and kick With the promise of sleep lapping at your heels, you roll and sit and smile I breathe in the milky warmth of your yawns, of …
Postpartum Guided Meditation
Every mom I know needs at least five minutes of quiet time and usually quite a bit more than that! I stumbled upon a beautiful guided relaxation originally meant for children by Mellisa Dormoy. Melissa is the founder of ShambalaKids and is on a mission to teach self esteem, stress management and goal attainment to children everywhere. Inspired by her work and this meditation, I adapted the original version for my postpartum clients. In fact, we dedicate the final minutes …
Cardio During Pregnancy
And, Whatâs the âRightâ Amount of Exercise During Pregnancy Exercise during pregnancy should leave you feeling energized and never exhausted; the goal is for you to feel better than before you started. This means listening to the feedback from your body throughout your workout and adjusting appropriately to work with the body you have each day. Your body is constantly evolving throughout pregnancy, so tuning in daily is vital to avoid injury and overexertion. This can be a real mental …
Safe Core Exercise in Pregnancy
This can be so confusing! Â Sit-ups? Â Crunches? Â Leg-lifts? Planks? Â If you are pregnant, hopefully you are no longer performing traditional abdominal exercises such as crunches or sit-ups. Â If you have been, that’s okay…but this might be a great time to transition to more beneficial, safer core exercises. Â I will explain more about why and how to do so safely in this article. Traditional abdominal exercises such as sit-ups (as well as others), activate the rectus abdominis, the top layer of …
Postpartum Exercise Guidelines: Return to Sport Safely
Exercise postpartum can be just as confusing as during pregnancy and maybe even a bit more overwhelming since you are now juggling motherhood and caring for your little one–whether it’s your first or your fifth! I remember being so anxious to move my non-pregnant body, but also being completely exhausted, overwhelmed and struggling to recover from a very physical birth experience. Â I headed out the door for my first jog at 5-6 weeks postpartum and felt as though my pelvis …
Safely Strengthen the Core and the Mind Simultaneously: Active Diaphragmatic Breathing
Strengthen the Core and the Mind Simultaneously?  Seems to good to be true, doesnât it?!  However, Iâve got just the way to strengthen both at the very same time and it all comes back to your breath! Diaphragmatic breathing helps to keep you calm in mind, helps to reduce that âfight or flightâ response that happens when you have feelings of anxiety or stress.  Itâs that sensation that takes over your body, your mind, sends butterflies twirling in your stomach and chills …
How Can Exercise Help to Shift the Mummy Tummy–Part III
Today, in the final part of this three part series, Iâm going to discuss exercise, and in particular, the right exercise new moms need to be doing to help to shift their âmummy tummy.â If you do no exercise at all and consume a poor diet, then your âmummy tummyâ is pretty much there to stay.  Harsh words I know, but itâs quite true.  As I mentioned in Part II of this series, diet and exercise work in tandem and as …
Prenatal Exercise Guidelines: My Top Three Tips!
Exercise during pregnancy. Â By now, most of us know that we should be doing it, but how? Â What’s safe? What’s most beneficial and where can you go for reliable advice and instruction? If you know me, then you know that I am a firm believer in individualizing your exercise program during pregnancy and postpartum both. Â In fact, I require a one-on-one with each and every client prior to booking into group training sessions for this very reason. You have a …