{"id":2662,"date":"2016-02-27T12:05:31","date_gmt":"2016-02-27T12:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/movementformodernlife.com\/blog\/?p=2662"},"modified":"2017-09-08T13:13:58","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T13:13:58","slug":"starting-back-to-yoga-after-birth-by-mollie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movementformodernlife.com\/blog\/starting-back-to-yoga-after-birth-by-mollie\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting Back To Yoga After Birth"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is true in pregnancy, and is very true after birth: Every woman, every pregnancy, every birth is different. So the first thing to remember is that your journey is your own, and your progress need not be measured in regards to anyone else.<\/h3>\n

\"webtile3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Mollie McClelland Morris<\/span><\/h5>\n

I gave birth to my daughter in March 2015. At this writing, she is 11 months old. Her birth was challenging, as all births are. I am proud and very grateful that my baby was born at home, without the use of pain relief, other than a birth pool, breathing techniques and my own mantras and visualisations from my birth preparation practice.<\/p>\n

That said, the experience gave me the conviction that whatever a mother and her birth team need to do to birth the baby is fine. You don\u2019t win any prizes for anything in birth and there is really no need to suffer unnecessarily.<\/p>\n

After birth, the body is a cocktail of hormones, endorphins, fluids, emotions, cuts, scrapes, bruises, stitches in unique combinations. I was very active and feeling pretty ok in the days after birth, and still I was shocked by the difficulty of simple things \u2013 reaching a glass from the cupboard, going to the toilet. My pelvis felt wobbly in a way I have never experienced before.<\/p>\n

The first practice for me after birth was to breathe and experience my own body<\/h5>\n

My first \u2018practice\u2019 was in a bath with healing herbs, soaking, breathing, and feeling.\u00a0 It is an amazing transition to go from being 2 to being 1 again. So it was simply to acknowledge that (and feel all the emotions that come with it!)<\/p>\n

The next practice after birth was long deep breathing<\/h5>\n

We do not think of breathing as exercise. In fact conscious breathing is one of the best \u201cexercises\u201d for the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor. Good posture is essential for these benefits. A seated breathing practice might be the best exercise for coordinating the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. You could also do a breathing practice lying down, with the soles of the feet on the floor. (But don\u2019t sleep!)<\/p>\n

My next practices were to bring movement and awareness to the pelvic floor<\/h5>\n

Because the pelvis is loose from hormones, and blasted open from birth, it is best to do this without straining or weight bearing at first. \u00a0If you have had pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy, it can take time for the hormones to go back to normal. If you breastfeed, it may take longer.<\/p>\n

Lying on the back and doing leg circles, happy baby pose, scissors movements, can all be helpful.<\/p>\n

>>Click here to discover these\u00a0poses\u00a0on my YOGA FOR NEW MOTHERS\u00a0videos>><\/span><\/a><\/h4>\n
Slowly, slowly, I started to reintroduce \u201cpostures\u201d from my former yoga practice<\/h5>\n