This post is presented by East Coast Chiropractic

Being a mom is exhausting. A crappy nights sleep is often the norm. A day with high energy is like a lunar eclipse. And if you’re anything like most mamas, your head and body ache a lot.  

Wouldn’t it just be so awesome to have energy again? To have rest. To feel empowered and motivated. To feel strong. And to really HEAL.  

Your core and your breathing are more important and valuable to your healing than you may have ever known, especially postpartum.  

I’m truly excited to share this information with you in hopes that it will start or augment the healing process for you.  

Let’s dive in! 

Why should you care about your core? 

Your core allows you to safely prop up that baby on the side of your hip. Your core allows you to wear a carrier on the front or back without your body falling apart. Your core allows you to pick your kids up off the floor. Your core allows you to lug around a car seat and swing it into the backseat to click it in. Your core allows you to start running again safely. Your core protects your lower back and pelvis after they’ve gone through a 9-10 month marathon (maybe multiple times!). Your core is your foundation.  

What is your core? 

Your core is made up of your abdominal muscles, spinal muscles, pelvic floor and diaphragm (breathing muscle). Here’s a great picture to illustrate.   

Hopefully you can see from this picture and the above description that healing it and making sure its healthy and strong involves a lot more than just doing “ab workouts”. More on this below.  

Why should you care about breathing? 

Normal breathing makes sure you’re getting enough oxygen to all the vital tissues in your body. Normal breathing helps you relax the tense muscles in your neck and chest that can sometimes make it feel like its hard to breathe. Normal breathing helps calm your mind, your nervous system, and your body.  

There are two things I’m excited to offer you. 1 – a stop doing list and a start doing list. 2 – a special workshop to actually help you follow through on the start doing list.  

Stop Doing List: 

1. “Sucking in” – (aka Abdominal Hollowing) You may have read about this online when exploring post partum core programs. The problem is, hollowing is not an efficient way to engage the core. It partially activates certain layers of abdominal muscles while leaving other layers uninvolved. This leads to an unbalanced core which puts the spine at risk. Hollowing exercises also leave out the diaphragm (the belly breath muscle) which is so important to engage.
2. Chest breathing. When stress is high, and the core and nervous system is imbalanced people often resort to this dysfunctional type of breathing. This shallow breathing pattern shortchanges you of much needed oxygen and can give you that shortness of breath feeling as well as a feeling of anxiousness. Learning to breathe properly also contributes to normal core and spine health.
3. Crunches (and other flexion dominant “ab” exercises like V-ups, bicycles, situps).  I wrote about this before in an article called “The Downsides of Situps” but basically – these types of movements are generally not the best way to heal and build up your core. They can actually be doing more damage then good AND unfortunately exercise practices have not caught up to the research when it comes to core strength and stability. Here is a link if you want to dive deeper.

Start Doing List:

1. Learn how to breathe properly. No joke, this is super hard. When I am in the Movement Room at the office helping someone do their Corrective Exercises I ask them “Are you breathing?” 9 times out of 10 the person is holding their breath OR if they are breathing its usually shallow chest breathing rather than the deep belly breaths that we want. Deep belly breaths that fill your entire abdomen 360 degrees around allow your abdominal wall and pelvic floor to be fully activated and create something called Intra-abdominal Pressure (IAP). This is a fancy way of saying you are creating protective stability around your spine and keeping your pelvic floor strong. This can help prevent injury from the repetitive strains of lugging around infants and children, and play a role in having your pelvic floor do its job at holding in pee and preventing organ prolapse. Yay!
2. Move like a baby. Isn’t it incredible to watch a baby learn to move?  They start off floppy and in the fetal position and slowly learn how to hold up their head, use their core and spine to roll over, sit up, crawl and walk. Their brains and bodies are becoming more connected and the result is movement!

Good news: You once did all those amazing things and your brain and body was programmed for amazing movement and core health!  

Bad news: I say this with all due respect, but most likely you have lost it. For some this was a long time ago, and for others it may be more recent after bringing kiddos into the world.  

More good news: You can re-learn and heal again 🙂  

The best way we know how to help you with this is through something called Functional Progressions. Think of Functional Progressions as a really strategic and safe way of healing your core and breathing to give you the best possible foundation for all other movement in your life. Car seat in both arms? No problem.  

Unfortunately, this process isn’t something you can just watch a video of and practice a few times. Having someone to observe you, cue you, and coach you is so important to ensuring success. We definitely don’t want to create any new problems or reinforce a bad habit because something got lost in translation over video. Safety first!   

So this is where I can invite you to our Movement Workshop next month!  Join me in the Movement Room at ECC for “Reclaim Your Core.”

It’s taking place on Saturday, August 10th at 9 am and I’d love to see you there. Check out the Facebook Event page HERE for more details and to reserve a spot (space is limited!).

If you prefer to meet one-on-one please send me an email at

drmarie@eastcoastchiropractic.ca to discuss options!  

Have an awesome week,

 

 

 

---

I’m Dr. Marie and I love helping moms and moms-to-be who think differently. My passion for chiropractic, exercise, food, and motherhood are what drive me to wake up everyday, to live life to the fullest, and to help others do the same. I grew up in suburban Toronto but always envisioned ending up somewhere quite different. My visions of the perfect place to live became a reality here in Fredericton. Before moving here I did my undergraduate degree at Western University in London, Ontario and then earned by Doctor of Chiropractic degree in Toronto. While studying for my dream job I also found my dream husband. Along with our newest addition Eloise, and 3 year old Zoey, we help families reach more of their health potential.

I’m Dr. Graham and I love being a dad. My daughters Zoey and Eloise are my inspiration to be as healthy as I can be and to help as many families as I can do the same. I grew up in Fredericton, did my undergraduate education at UNB and then moved to Toronto to complete my 4-year Doctorate in Chiropractic at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. It was there that I met my wife Marie. I managed to convince Marie to move back east with me to start our practice and our family. We opened East Coast Chiropractic with a big vision and have been helping lots of families live happier, healthier lives ever since.

Like us on Facebook if you want to join our community of health conscious families. 

East Coast Chiropractic |530 Brookside Drive, Unit E, Fredericton, NB| 506.454.2004

 

You might also like…