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Showing posts with the label stretching

Deep core activation while recovering from a cesarean birth

Yes! It is true! We welcomed our sweet baby girl to the world earlier this month and have been in awe of her ever since. I will post about our birth experience and more about her very soon.  In the meantime, I have been asked multiple times in the past few weeks about my transverse abdominis (TVA) or deep core activation techqniques; how I used these techniques throughout my pregnancy and how I am re-introducing them to my daily routine as my body heals from our cesarean birth. To begin, I did not know about these techniques when I was pregnant with Brooke, our oldest daughter, who was born in April 2014. I had a great recovery after her delivery (also cesarean), as I was cleared to begin upper body exercise with slow integration of lower body exercise at 4 weeks postpartum and cleared to begin core work and running at 6 weeks postpartum. I felt great! That being said, my core already feels so much stronger than it did at 2 weeks postpartum with Brooke. I already feel like mysel...

My Favourite Stretches

Somedays all you need is a good stretch.  The occasional morning, I will wake-up and my body is begging me to forget about the workout I had planned. It is asking me to please grab my mat, the foam roller, play some calming tunes, and enjoy deepening into each stretch. If our family's schedule allows, these weeks, I also try to squeeze in a yoga class, because if my body is asking for that down time, I can guarantee my mind is also needing it.  Full Body Stretch spend approximately 30 seconds in each stretch (up to 60 seconds if needed) Downward Dog Start in downward facing dog with hips high. Press through your hands to push your heels closer to the floor. Lift one heel and then the other to "walk your dog". Continue this for 15 seconds and then hold in downward dog for 15 seconds.  Kneeling Lunge | right Kick your right foot high and bring it forward to land beside your right hand (in between your hands). Drop your left knee and lower through your hips until a...