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A Healthier Pregnancy
Exercise Trends That Make a Difference
By Teri Brown
Bryan says that because body awareness is a big part of Pilates practice, continuing your workouts after pregnancy helps you regain "control" after labor and delivery. "Stretching exercises and gentle strengthening moves can be performed immediately after delivery," says Bryan. "I have provided a short routine of very basic movements and isometric exercises that a woman can do even following a C-section on my Pilates After Pregnancy video. Abdominal and core strength need to be addressed following delivery, and postural issues abound with the lifting, carrying and nursing of babies."
Although Bryan says Pilates is a perfect workout for women, she cautions that you should always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program or continuing with a program while pregnant.
"Yoga is the practice of integrating body, mind and spirit," says Narkus. "Pregnancy and labor are physically challenging, to say the least. Because our bodies are so responsive during pregnancy, this is the perfect time to really practice at the level that feels right without pushing beyond our edge."
Narkus says labor and mothering require women to find their voices and follow their intuition, just as the practice of yoga encouages. "It's no longer about letting others tell us what to do," says Narkus. "It becomes about gathering our own intelligent empowering energy and letting that lead us to make choices and decisions that are right for ourselves and our babies. We could all just go to the gym if we wanted to get physically stronger for pregnancy and labor. The practice of yoga takes us above and beyond our muscles and into the heart of what it means to birth and raise our precious little ones."
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