You’ve been looking forward to this moment. The baby is finally down for a nap, and you decide it’s time—you lace up your running shoes, eager to reclaim a piece of yourself pre-baby. The rhythm of the pavement, the rush of endorphins—it's a pull that's hard to resist. But just a few strides in, something feels off. A dull ache in your low back or hip, or dampness in your leggings (that definitely isn’t sweat). You chalk it up to “postpartum life” and keep pushing, hoping it will sort itself out.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. As a yoga teacher specializing in postpartum recovery, I see this scenario play out time and time again. Returning to running feels exciting at first but often leads to frustration—and symptoms like low back pain, leaking, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, hip pain, Piriformis syndrome or IT band syndrome.
Running isn’t as simple as lacing up your sneakers and putting one foot in front of the other. It’s a complex symphony of movements—pelvic floor mobility, single-leg strength, hip stability, core engagement, thoracic mobility, and postural awareness—all working together seamlessly. Or at least, that’s how it should work, but postpartum, they often don’t.
That doesn’t mean running is bad for you, and you’ll never be able to hit the trails or register for a half marathon ever again. 👉🏼 You can get back into running safely, and I am going to tell you exactly how to do it.
Restore Pelvic Floor Mobility
When you run, your pelvic floor has to lift (contract) and lengthen (relax) many, many times in quick succession. Running also increases pressure on your pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor is designed to help your body manage pressure and transmit forces- but it can be a problem postpartum. Why?
During pregnancy, your growing uterus and organs shift upward, limiting your ability to take deep breaths and preventing your pelvic floor from fully lengthening and contracting. This, combined with increased pressure on the pelvic floor, often leaves it less mobile postpartum. Mobile muscles are happy muscles!
Unfortunately, your pelvic floor rarely goes back to normal spontaneously postpartum. It’s something you have to work on. If you jump into running without working on pelvic floor mobility and coordination first, it can translate to leaking, pelvic heaviness/pressure or hip pain when you run.
How do you restore pelvic floor mobility?
First, work on restoring 360 breathing. Your pelvic floor works with your diaphragm, so working on good breathing patterns will in turn, help your pelvic floor. The good news? You can work on this right away- you don’t need to wait to work on this postpartum. Click here for my favorite way to improve 360 degree breathing.
You should also work on pelvic floor coordination. Work on relaxing your pelvic floor with your inhale, and contracting your pelvic floor muscles with an active exhale- in other words, when you are doing something hard. You DON’T and SHOULDN’T actively lift your pelvic floor with a normal exhale.
A great way to work on this is pelvic tilts- inhale, tip your pelvis forward and exhale, curl your tailbone in. You can do the same in Cat/Cow- inhale for Cow, exhale for Cat. Exhale on the hardest part of a movement, like standing up from a squat, or lifting your hips in a Bridge. Make sure to intentionally let your pelvic floor go after intentionally engaging it. Walking is also great for restoring pelvic floor mobility, and you can start walking just one or two weeks after delivery.
Learn How to Stack Your Spine
Ideally when you run, your ribs should be stacked over your pelvis and your head should be stacked over your ribs, and you maintain this stacking as you lean forward over your toes. Why?
This position reduces stress on your feet, ankles and knees by allowing good motion of your hips, and engaging your abdominal wall. In addition, it allows you to breathe with the most efficiency when you run.
Pregnancy often leads to postural changes, like anterior or posterior pelvic tilts, rib flares, or rounded shoulders and upper backs, which can persist postpartum and affect your running mechanics.

Running with a posterior pelvic tilt, anterior pelvic tilt, collapsed upper back or rib flare puts your abdominal muscles in a disadvantageous position to work, and places more stress on your joints, like your ankles, knees and hips.
If you want to return to running safely after pregnancy, add neutral spine exercises into your training program. In other words, work on stacking- ribs over your pelvis, head over your ribs. Glute bridges, toe taps, Dead Bug progressions, Bird Dogs, 90/90 lunges, and standing hip marches are all great ways to work on stacking. Bonus- if you’re stacked, you’ll be getting some great work in your abdominal muscles during these exercises.
One of the best ways to test your abdominal muscles to see if they are ready to handle the demands of running is to hold a plank for one full minute- with a stacked spine, and no symptoms (no leaking, pelvic pressure, pain, or doming/coning along your midline).
Learn to Rotate
We just talked about how pregnancy pushes a lot of stuff up into your diaphragm, which causes your rib cage to widen, and your breathing patterns to become shallow. Not only that, but all that stuff pressing up against your ribs can create stiffness in your upper body.
A stiff upper body isn’t ideal when you run. Rotating your ribs from side to side as you run helps engage your obliques (two of your abdominal muscles) as well as evenly distribute the muscular effort throughout your body. Your body has to rotate when you run so you can transition your weight from one foot to the other. If your upper body is stiff, something will overcompensate to get that rotation- it could be your hips, your knees, or your ankles.
Some of my favorite exercises for improving rotation postpartum are:
The Final Step: Work On Single Leg Strength and Stability
Running, at its simplest, is a series of single-leg hops. Hopping on two feet is much easier than one, for most folks. Don’t believe me? Stand up and give it a try.
For single leg strength, you need strong glutes, calves, and feet. You also need postural awareness.
Before you jump into single-leg strengthening exercises after birth, start with bilateral strengthening for your glutes, calves and feet. Think Glute Bridges, two-footed squats, unweighted Deadlifts and calf raises. Work on maintaining a stacked spine.
As you get strong in bilateral exercises, you can progress to single leg strengthening exercise, like a 1-Leg Bridge, 1-Leg Mountain Pose, Warrior III, single leg squats, single leg deadlifts, and single leg calf raises. To test your readiness for running, aim for 15–30 single-leg squats or calf raises while maintaining good form: stacked spine, steady hips and knees, toes are relaxed and spread, and arches lifted.
PS:
I know it’s tempting to lace up and hit the pavement 4–6 weeks postpartum, but the truth is, most bodies aren’t ready for the demands of running that soon. Don’t rush it. Running is complex—it’s a powerful, high-impact movement that deserves preparation and respect.
Building a strong foundation is everything. My Yoga for Moms with New Babies program is designed to help you reconnect with your body, restore pelvic floor mobility, and regain the confidence to take on challenges like running—without pain or setbacks. Click here to sign up.
This isn’t about limitations. It’s about setting yourself up for a stronger, more resilient return to the activities you love. You’ll get there. And when you do, you’ll feel unstoppable.
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