Heal Your Core Postpartum

Do you experience mid line abdominal pain, low or mid back pain, bulging belly or pelvic floor dysfunction? Unfortunately, these are all to common struggles for moms, knowing how to heal your core postpartum addresses all this and more. I believe that women raising young kids are the most undeserved group in our society. When you do reach out or go looking for help for problems that have come up since having a baby there is little out there to find. The common response from Doctors is ‘it should just get better with time’ or ‘this is just how your body is now’. Now add to this one of the biggest hurdles in motherhood today, mental and physical exhaustion. It’s obvious how many can be left feeling little hope or never have the time or knowledge of how to get help.  The truth of the matter is you CAN do something about the pain, weakness and other changes that have affected your body since having a baby. And the good news is no one is going to know about what you need more than you.

Core weakness or dysfunction is at the root of these issues. If you understand your core and remember how to use it the way the body designed it to be used, a lot of pain, fatigue and pelvic floor issues can be addressed and restored. This is why learning how to heal your core postpartum is so important.

Know Your Core

So what is the core really? And why is it so important to heal our core postpartum? Our core is the powerhouse of our bodies made up of walls, i.e. our spine, abdominal muscles and linea alba, a floor, i.e. our pelvic bowl, and a ceiling i.e. our diaphragm. Working together these muscles give our body all the strength and stability it needs for every movement or activity we do, prevents injury from compensation throughout the body, and supports our organs throughout our lives. Remember being able to visualize these muscles and know what they do is going to be helpful as you’re learning how to properly engage and move more functionally, allowing you to alleviate pain and prevent future injury.

We all know knowledge is power AND knowledge we can feel is a super power. One way to FEEL the core is through mindful breathing. Take this moment right now to connect to your breath. You may find it helpful to gently place your hands on your ribcage or belly to feel movement as you breathe in and out. Feel the respiratory diaphragm descend as you inhale, notice how your abdominal muscles also respond by expanding outward and hug back inward with the exhale. Do you feel movement in your spine when you breathe? Can you feel movement in the pelvic bowl? Sometimes slowing down can be the hardest part but the silver lining is that you can notice your breath as a way to reconnect to your core at any point throughout the day. While you are sitting at a stop light, while waiting in line at the grocery store- your breath is always there.

I invite you to continue this practice of feeling your body breathe and make note of any shifts you may feel in your nervous system.

To learn more in depth on your breathing and on how to heal you core postpartum click here to purchase The Unstoppable Mom Ebook!