Jackie had a 3-finger diastasis she couldn’t close after giving birth to three children, and she was interested in joining Yoga For Mom’s With New Babies.
On the day of our consultation, Jackie found out she was pregnant with baby #4. Because of her pregnancy, I couldn’t promise to close her diastasis.
That’s because diastasis is supposed to happen during pregnancy! It’s your body’s way of making room for the baby.
While I couldn’t promise to eradicate her diastasis, here is what I could promise:
I could offer suggestions to improve breathing patterns that might be contributing to the abdominal separation
I could take a close look at the way her abdominals engage during movement, and see if she needed different strategies
I could teach her how to notice her pelvic floor, and see if there were any patterns in her pelvic floor we could improve
We could improve the strength of her abdominal muscles and glutes, so her body could reconnect to those muscles quickly after birth, and heal any diastasis postpartum, faster
Jackie worked with me live, online throughout her entire pregnancy. Quickly, I noticed:
She had a tendency to balloon her breath down into her belly, without moving her ribs. That can create too much pressure on the abdominal wall, contributing to or worsening an existing diastasis
She had a tendency to bear down during movements that were challenging or new. Bearing down can also contribute to or worsen diastasis
Her abdominal muscles and glutes were weak
Her shoulders were tight
Here’s what we did:
I taught her to breathe into her ribs, and found the cues that helped her create a 360 degree breathing pattern
I taught her movements to open her upper back, chest and shoulders, which helped her breath move into her ribs
We worked on coordinating her breath and movements with the natural movement of her pelvic floor, which included actively lifting it in challenging movements, like coming up from the bottom of a squat
We strengthened her glutes and abdominal muscles- Glute Bridges, squats, Bird-Dogs and Side Planks were all really challenging for her, but enormously helpful
Jackie and I met for the first time since the birth of her baby girl this week. The first thing we did was check her diastasis, and I am thrilled to share:
Her diastasis is smaller than it was at the beginning of her pregnancy. It’s only 2-fingers wide, and it isn’t as deep as it used to be. I knew she was doing great work on her mat - but I NEVER expected that to happen!
If you have a diastasis that hasn’t healed after doing all the “right” exercises you found on Instagram or with the prerecorded class you found on YouTube, it’s not your fault. There isn’t a one-size fits all approach to Diastasis. The best results will come from working with a teacher directly.
Yoga For Moms with New Babies is now open for registration! I’ll help you heal your diastasis, like Jackie. Or help you reduce your leaking, like Halley. Or help you decrease your SI Joint pain, like Carli. And if you don’t have any of these issues - it’s an amazing opportunity to connect with other moms and your yoga mat.
Click here to sign up. There are only 2 spots left in the Saturday series, and 5 spots left in the Thursday series
-Mary
