Let’s see if you have rib flare Why does rib flare happen? Do you need to fix rib flare? How do you fix rib flare? Did you know that it’s common and expected for your rib cage to get wider during pregnancy and sometimes doesn’t return to its original size naturally? Here’s how you can tell if this happened to you: Maybe your bra is fitting tighter. Maybe you see your bottom ribs sticking out. Or maybe the protrusion worsens when you lift your arms over your head. More specifically, if you have rib flare, your infrasternal angle (ISA) is wider than 90 degrees. While it may s ..read more

I remember my first postpartum checkup. I felt so rushed, but I was “all cleared”. I didn’t ask any questions because I didn’t know there were questions to be asked… 15 minutes in and out. I was “all good”, they said, but I didn’t feel that good! Our modern society often assumes that this 6-week postpartum checkup marks a turn in a Mom’s recovery. After all, aren’t most women “cleared” for returning to sex and exercise? So everything should be back to normal, right?! Except that’s it’s not! Hormonal changes, physical healing, sleep deprivation, adjusting to life with a new baby, returning to w ..read more

Are you thinking of getting a binder, corset, girdle, or belly wrap after baby? Or maybe you’ve heard that it could heal your diastasis recti? If you are on social media, you have likely come across ads saying that this new corset or belly band will close your abdominal gap, flatten your tummy, and make magic happen! The abdominal wall has been stretched out through pregnancy, so if it brings the abs closer together, it must be healing it, right? Unfortunately, the healing process is not that straight forward.  Let’s take a closer look and start with what could make postpartum binding a ..read more

Most women can heal their Diastasis Recti naturally through a whole-body and multi-factorial approach that includes nutrition. Diastasis Recti is the result of excessive intra-abdominal pressure and often develops during pregnancy. This pressure rise causes the ab midline (connective tissue – made of collagen fibers) to become stretched and thinner as it works to accommodate the growing baby, and it sometimes doesn’t return to its original state after baby arrives. 7 Nutrition Tips for Diastasis Recti Healing Nutrition should be incorporated as part of a comprehensive diastasis rect ..read more

Looking for more tips on how to improve your pelvic health in addition to pelvic floor exercises? This article is for you. It can be challenging and take some time to correct compensations and break harmful patterns that have developed over the years, but you can do it! Keep working toward positive changes and learn to become more aware of the signs your body sends you along the way. It will let you know if you’re doing the right things or not. 12 Simple & Practical Tips to Protect your Pelvic Floor + 1. Drink plenty of water to keep everything running smoothly Spending time in ..read more

Who knew motherhood could have such an effect on our bottoms?! “Mom butt” is slang for a post-baby booty… a little saggier and a little flatter than what it used to be… This phenomenon results from muscular imbalances, and it’s not just an aesthetic issue! The glutes work hand-in-hand with the pelvic floor and core muscles.  If you have a dramatic arch in your lower back (excessive anterior pelvic tilt), or if you tuck your tailbone and constantly clench your butt (excessive posterior pelvic tilt), then your glutes can’t fire properly, and your pelvic floor is likely not operating optima ..read more

Peeing while sneezing, laughing, or coughing is called stress incontinence. This is NOT something you have to live with, regardless of weather you’ve had children or not. Leaking occurs when there is increased pressure in the abdomen and pelvic region, causing increased pressure on your bladder that resulting in urine leakage. Think about the last time you sneezed, coughed or “belly laughed”. Do you remember feeling some pressure in your stomach? If you leaked, your pelvic floor muscles were unable to overcome the pressure in yo ..read more

Tight high-waisted leggings and jeans seem to be all the rage nowadays! If you are a big fan of them, you may want to make a few adjustments, especially if you are concerned about the health of your core and pelvic floor. the effects of tight high-waisted pants on your pelvic floor muscles Having a tight waistband sends a message to your brain, telling your core muscles to “do something”. Your core can respond to this external pressure and compression in one of two ways: 1. Sucking in The pressure on your tummy can make you subconsciously contract your stomach or “suck in”. When we ho ..read more

Have you ever looked in the mirror and told yourself, “Argh… I need to get back to doing my crunches!”   Unfortunately, the vast majority of moms turn to the wrong exercises to improve their core strength and the way their belly looks.    In this article: We’ll see why I don’t recommend crunches as postpartum exercises. Then we’ll talk about crunches after you’ve rehabbed your core. And finally we’ll see how to modify crunches I’ll lay out everything you need to know so you can make the best decision for yourself. Like many of my students, true core stren ..read more

After giving birth, most women want to know “when” they can return to exercise. But very few actually know “how” to do that and jump straight back into their favorite activities. After all, they’ve been cleared to resume exercising, right! So why not just pick up where they left off? A lack of strategy and guidance can often lead new moms to unknowingly do much more harm than good in the first few months after giving birth. Diastasis Recti, pelvic floor dysfunction, back pain, pelvic pain are so common after giving birth that there’s a good chance that you have experienced one of these issues ..read more