Moms Recover, Get Strong & Increase Energy with Pre & Post-Natal Pilates

Moms Recover, Get Strong & Increase Energy: Pre & Post-Natal Pilates

“You cannot drink from an empty cup.” This bit of wisdom is ancient and ubiquitous, and we all know the modern-day analogy of putting the oxygen mask on our own face, first, so we’re able to assist others. Still, we are imperfect beings and perhaps no group of people practice this principle less perfectly than new mothers.The Pilates Project is working to help mothers change that.“The body changes that allow you to grow and birth that baby are miraculous and necessary…until you actually give birth. Post-birth, you need your pre-pregnancy fitness and strength back to be the healthiest, happiest mom you can be…and you and your baby deserve that.”

Annie Caruso, Red Bank, NJ.Annie Caruso danced ballet for twenty years. She, like her 11-month old son, is an active person who loves to move, “I was always very physical. Besides ballet, when I lived in Brooklyn I attended a studio where I did a high intensity, interval training boot camp five times a week.” The new mother laughs. “Back then, I always had 6-pack abs.”After a slight pause, she continues, “When I got pregnant, I assumed I would continue my physical activity with an appropriate pre-natal exercise routine— it was a no brainer with my background of dance and working out. But that’s not what happened. I had horrible morning sickness and lethargy that constantly interrupted any regular exercise routine. All my plans for a ‘fit pregnancy’ went to hell.”We all know a woman’s body changes during pregnancy — the most obvious evidence being the celebrated ‘baby bump’. Once hidden beneath billowy drapes of soft fabric, this obvious sign of motherhood is now commonly accentuated and even nakedly revealed in pregnancy fashion.However, once the little miracle moves from residence in utero to taking up space in our arms, the same changes that enable a woman to grow and carry another human for (typically) 36 weeks become a physical liability for new mothers. More than just a mother’s physical appearance can remain changed, post-pregnancy.Pregnancy hormones signal muscles and ligaments to stretch more than 50% their normal length. The physical stress of carrying a growing child for 36-40 weeks literally separates abdominal muscles beyond their ability to simply ‘bounce back’ post delivery. During pregnancy, the ribcage flares to accommodate the new life growing and competing with mom’s organs for room, and posture is most certainly altered as spinal alignment re-calibrates, compensating for the change in the center of gravity.A woman’s overall physical wellness and stamina are dependent on her core strength, strength that is challenged as a result of pregnancy. The very same strength, flexibility and resiliency that are at the heart of Pilates is an essential requisite to a person’s ability to be physical with a sense of comfort and ease. Compromised core strength almost always results in a state of managing chronic soreness, pain and tension.

New Mom. New Body. New Normal? No Way.And we know that new mothers are almost always demanding more from their bodies. In addition to all the ordinary physical stresses of managing a household and other activities that were important before baby, add to that all the repetitive, exhausting bending, reaching and lifting necessary to care for an infant.The Pilates Project recognizes these particular challenges and has added special classes for mothers that incorporate modified Pilates exercises that support a new mother’s full recovery from pregnancy and childbirth. Caruso, who first started her Pilates practice as a way to recover from dance injury while in high school, says she renewed her practice with The Pilates Project to regain her physical and mental resilience and connectedness — key components in any successful Pilates practice: “I was used to having a certain level of strength before I got pregnant. For me, choosing to restart my Pilates practice wasn’t about losing the baby weight. It was about getting back my pre-baby energy level, losing the aches and pains that developed during pregnancy, re-asserting my best posture and reminding my body of its best form and functioning.”It was also her choice to resume her practice with a studio that is grounded in what Caruso terms a ‘pure practice’: “I see value in different styles of Pilates practice, but I’m a bit of a purist at heart,” she confesses. “I like Sandi Vilacoba (owner and founder of The Pilates Project) so much as a teacher because she teaches Pilates in its purest form. She’s always instructing you, never simply demanding that you bang out as many reps as you can until you’re fatigued. Her focus is on alignment and technique and as a professional athlete for many years, I value how she honors the process of building towards your strength, not simply muscling your way through.”Her son is nearly a year old, and Caruso still combines private instruction with group sessions in her weekly Pilates practice. “I started out again with one private session once a week and, over time, worked up to where I am now. I highly recommend taking an introductory session whether you are a new mom or not. It gives you a chance to really focus on your particular, personal goals and to set you own pace. The focus on our unique, individual aspects is, I think, the key to a successful, rewarding practice.”Sandi Vilacoba is proud that her studio is able to respond to the needs of pregnant women and new mothers in a practice that offers all the benefits of classic Pilates training in the supportive, encouraging environment women deserve, “Both before and after their babies are born, mothers have special exercise needs and deserve options that respect and answer those needs.

”Classes Are Open. Register Now.The Pilates Project is pleased to introduce two, new classes designed especially for mothers. Pre & Postnatal Thursdays offer Mommies to Be 11:30 a.m. and Mommy and Me 12:30 p.m. weekly classes in their Fair Haven studio. Instructor, Alissa, leads each class in the classical Pilates method with pre/postnatal modifications to aid in healing and strengthening the body during pregnancy and after delivery.Register online, here: http://bit.ly/1AhTh4d.