Part 2: What about me time – Once your Baby is born?
Part 2 - Focus on legs, pelvic floor and their connection
Veronica Greene founded Little Greene Yoga® and offers a Certified Teacher Training packages for Children Yoga (3-8yrs & 8-12yrs), Teen - Mind & Body and Postnatal Yoga.
Congratulations! Your baby has been born!
To recap from part 1 – Now your baby is here you are keen to get your body back. On examination, in front of the mirror, you don’t recognise what you see and we’re not talking extra baby weight which will go over time!
Due to the extra weight and hormonal changes, your pelvis is in a permanent forward tilt with your belly protruding towards the ground and your buttocks sticking out behind!
This is due to the exaggerated, lordotic curve of your lower back created by the weight of your growing baby. Over the past nine months your stomach muscles became overstretched, your lower back muscles shortened as did the hip flexor group. You are still waddling when you walk as your hip muscles have now assumed main responsibility for walking instead of your buttocks (gluts). If these muscles groups are not rebalanced your unrecognisable posture will lead to backache, pinched nerves and your pelvic floor will be difficult to re-strengthen due to pelvic misalignment.
Your body constantly and cleverly tries to realign in a bid to keep your head looking straight ahead! This equates to your upper back and neck muscles working overtime to maintain this ‘eyes level’ position causing upper back strain, rounding shoulders, neck pain, jaw pain and headaches.
Part 1 focused on the chest, back and abdominals, while part 2 focuses on legs, pelvic floor and their connection.
Both programs are individual plans so you don’t need a copy of the last edition to benefit.
So, taking a closer look at your pelvis and legs - your pelvis is tilted forward, your toes and knees will most likely be turned out to compensate. This equates to dropped, inner arches in your feet, shortened inner thighs and gluteal muscles which have opted out and atrophied over time.
On first inspection your pelvis in its overly tilted position does not lead to a strong pelvic floor. The pelvic diaphragm needs to work in an upward direction to support the internal organs - if it’s not structurally aligned then this will be hard to achieve!
In yoga we start with the feet – lifting one diaphragm will have a similar effect on the others. From the ground up the first diaphragm is the inner arch of the foot and the second being the pelvic floor. If we strengthen the foot arch then we also strengthen the pelvic floor, however this will have less effect if we don’t realign the tilted pelvis at the same time.
The following routine will strengthen the inner legs and abs, lift the inner arches, lengthen the lower back and re-engage gluts and pelvic floor without doing any Kegel exercises!
NOTE: The connection of foot and pelvic floor is recognised in mainstream medicine. Urinary issues are often treated using electrical impulses to stimulate the nerves of the inner ankle/foot, which lead to the pelvic floor. The Transcutaneous Posterior Tibial Nerve stimulation is such a treatment where the nerve is stimulated using a TENS machine.
All postures can be completed separately or as a full routine.
Breathe steadily in all postures hold for 30-60s unless otherwise stated.
Place a chair against a wall
Constructive Rest Position
It’s always good to start in this position as gravity will help realign the pelvis.
(opens chest, releases neck muscles and pelvis while lengthening back muscles) This is the go to pose if shoulders or lower back are aching or there’s no time for anything else!
Lie on back with lower legs resting on chair
Knees directly above hips, hip distance apart with 90 degree angle at back of knees (if chair too low then put cushion under legs)
Toes point up to ceiling
Stay for 5-10 mins working on abdominal breathing
(breathe in, let the tummy lift up , breathe out let the tummy drop down)
Half Uttansana
(opens chest, lengthens lower back, stretches back of thighs and calves, strengthens abs & arches)
Place hands on the chair back
Walk feet back until body is parallel to floor and ankles are under hips
Feet and knees point forward
Wrists firm while moving shoulders away from ears
Gently draw tummy up towards spine, ensure you’re not dipping into lower back
Lift your toes up activating the arches of your feet. You should feel your knee caps lift up.
hold for 60s or longer if comfortable
Head Down Dog
(opens chest, lengthens lower back, stretches back of thighs and calves, strengths abs, releases tension in upper back and shoulders)
Place hands on the chair seat with hands turned out 45 degrees
Walk feet back until body adopts the triangular shape of head down dog
Lift heels, bend knees deeply letting abdomen rest on thighs (this brings the thoracic spine towards your chest opening the chest and activating the upper back)
Without moving upper body, slowly straighten legs without pushing your knees back
Take heels towards floor without bring heels towards each other. (If heels don’t touch floor – put a raise under them to get more connection throughout the whole body)
hold for 60s or longer if comfortable
Parvottanasana
(opens chest, lengthens lower back, strengthens abs, stretches back of thighs,calves and inner thigh, lifts arch of feet )
Stand in front of chair with hips facing chair back
Step right foot forward until toes are just under the seat of the chair. Right foot pointing forward.
Step left foot back, about 1 metre, with left foot pointing out at a 45 degree angle
Bend your knees, place hands on hips and rotate pelvis until it’s parallel to the chair back
Slowly straighten legs keeping pelvis parallel to chair back
Bend from the top of your leg until your body is parallel to the floor
Place hands, turned out at 45 degree angle, on chair seat
Push into heel of hands, connecting to shoulders, move shoulders away from ears while stretching chest forward.
Lift toes of your right foot
hold for 60s or longer if comfortable (repeat other side)
Guarudasana (Eagle Pose)
(strengthens ankles, works inner thigh, lifts pelvic floor, builds strength round hips)
First on chair
Sit on the edge of the chair, feet together, knees over middle of feet
Cross the right leg over the left, high up on the thigh (you can lift right buttock bone off chair to get leg over but then place it firmly back on chair)
Lift front hips and feel the lengthening action in the lower back
Without moving left foot tuck right foot behind left calf, otherwise let it hang down
Squeeze thighs together with knees pressing forward
(repeat other leg)
Then standing with hands on hips, balance element working ankles and feet much stronger!
Stand with feet together
Bend your knees, keeping your buttock bones pointing down and front hip bones lifted
Keeping left leg exactly as it is, lift the right leg and cross it high on the left thigh, as above with chair.
Squeeze thighs together, buttocks point down and front hips lifted (as above)
knees moving forward
(repeat other leg)
Glut Switch On (strengthens gluts, activate abs while lengthening lower back and front of thighs)
Sit on edge of the chair
With your hands on the side of the chair, lower your bottom towards the floor until the bottom edge of your shoulder blades are in line with the chair seat
Let upper back and head rest on chair seat, hands holding chair back
Lift bottom until it’s in-line with back
walk feet forward until ankles are under knees, feet and knees point forward
keeping bottom up, lift right heel, slowly for 3 counts then lower for 3 counts, repeat left heel.
Alternate each heel and repeat 10 times both sides without letting bottom drop towards the floor.
Finish with Constructive Rest Position