3 Pilates Exercises For A Smooth-Sailing Pregnancy

Pilates is an amazing exercise type during pregnancy. Regularly practising pilates help expectant mother in staying healthy and strong, assisting them in staying tuned with the changes in their body, enhances body posture and lowers pregnancy-associated aches and discomforting pains.

During pregnancy strengthening the abdominals like the rectus and especially the internal oblique and transverses abdominus muscles with safe Pilates exercises aids women in preparing for child birth as all these muscles particularly the transverses abdominus dons a significant role of assisting in the push or forced expiration process essential during delivery.

The toning of these muscles could be done in varied positions, though expectant mothers are mostly at ease when they are in the seated and quadruped (on their fours) pose particularly when the gestation period is progressing.

Due to the increasing weakening of the abdominal muscles during the course of pregnancy, expectant mothers find it quite a challenge to even do mild supine abdominal exercises like knee folding, heel sliding, pelvic tilting and head lifting – all of which are deemed suitable for pregnant women.

Below explained are three of the fundamental core exercises which ideally must be part of all expectant moms daily exercise routine:

• Contracting Transversus in the Sitting or Quadruped Pose

  This form of exercise helps to stabilize the spinal and pelvic area and help to maintain a toned abdomen when pregnant that is vital subsequent to pregnancy. The contraction of the transversus is easy to do when pregnant women are sitting or in the quadruped (on their fours) pose vs. when they lie down – this is an ideal pose to start training.

  • Seated Transversus Exercises
    Beginning with sitting down so that there is centring of the weight of the body over the pelvic area and there should be alignment of the shoulders over the pelvic area. Now, practising to pull the navel or the umbilicus towards the spine while not letting shearing forwards of the rib cage.

     

    • Half-a-minute Breath Holding
      Starting with belly breathing and expanding the body, followed by exhaling and moving the navel towards the spine. Holding it for half a minute’s time or till the count of thirty and concluding it with abdominal breathing.
    • Contraction of the Transverse
      Similar pose as explained before. Inhalation and expansion of the body, after which exhaling toward the spine, holding for a second and then doing it again for fifty to hundred times.

• Quadruped position

  This pose is helpful due to the fact that it removes the load off the pelvic floor muscles and aids in enhancing circulation to the perianal area. One could begin with all fours touching the ground in a manner that the hands are lining up with the shoulders and the knees are lining up with the hip joint; maintaining the spine is a neutral stance. In case the wrist area is posing a difficulty, the hand could be used on the ground. Allowing sagging of the tummy towards the ground with no variation in the spinal position, then pulling the navel towards the spine keeping a neutral spine and doing this for fifty to hundred times.

• Contracting the Supine Transversus Muscles

  This is quite a hard pose to do that engages the transversus because of the lowered static position sense. One has to lie down flat on the ground, knees bending with feet placed on the ground hip wide spaced out. One could start with belly breathing, followed by exhaling the belly towards the spine with no posterior pelvic tilting to be done. This form of exercise could be carried out by making use of the half-a-minute holding, transversus contraction or employing the tummy stabilizing methods like knee folds that assist in stabilization of the torso.

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