On This Mother’s Day, Let’s Do Pilates
Last month my husband and I sat on the beach on spring break vacation and turned to each other with the “we have finally arrived” look as the kids entertained each other on the beach and we lounged in the chairs, looking on. This spring break, I only had to carry a “normal” size beach bag to the beach that contained my book and some sunscreen (my younger kids carried their own bucket and shovel). After a decade and a half of having small children, we had finally made it to a place where we didn’t need to bring diapers and baby gear and strollers and bottles and carseats on vacation. And yes, we had arrived. And I was so good with this stage in my life … until I went to Mommy & Me Pilates at Pilates Collective to do some research for this Mother’s Day post.
I saw the moms lug carseats, bouncy chairs, play mats and huge diaper bags into Pilates Collective before class, and I secretly smiled to myself as I carried my small purse into the studio. But as soon as the babies were pulled out of their carseats and placed next to mom on the Reformers, the cuteness overwhelmed me. And for the first time in about 7 years (my youngest is 6), I wanted another one. Don’t worry- that ship has completely sailed for me and my husband but I caught some major baby fever in the Pilates studio that afternoon. I mean, you try watching the way those babies gazed up at their mamas during that 50 minute class…
Mommy & Me Pilates is one of the most thoughtful offerings I have come across in all of my fitness finding. I so wish I had something like this when I was having my babies. For Pilates Collective owner, Rachael Bridgens, whose children are similar ages of my younger ones, she wanted to create something for women that she too wished she had available to her when she was having babies. And Pilates is the most perfect way for pregnant and postpartum women to move.
The practice of Pilates inherently focuses on breath work, core strength. mobility and lengthening muscles. So after child birth, it makes sense that Pilates is the practice that can help women rebuild strength and work through a variety of physical aliments that are often not discussed or dismissed. But things are a-changing, even in the seven years since I had my last baby. And that is why I wanted to highlight all of the wonderful resources that Rachael is bringing moms-to-be and new moms through her two Pilates studios, Body Precision in Bryn Mawr and Pilates Collective in Audubon, which includes the cutest fitness class I’ve ever been to. But before we get to that adorable Mommy & Me class, let’s start with what Pilates Collective offers to the women who are in the process of doing the single most miraculous task— growing a human inside their bodies.
PRENATAL PILATES
Pilates Collective offers the pregnant woman both 1:1 private Pilates sessions and group prenatal classes on the Reformers. For the group class, any woman can attend at any stage in their pregnancy, but the class is targeted towards women in their second and third trimesters, when modifications become necessary for the growing belly and constantly changing body. And while pregnant women can always attend a regular Pilates class at Pilates Collective (because all the instructors are trained to know the modifications for pregnant women), the group prenatal class offers a community for the women who going through the same miraculous, but unfamiliar thing. In the prenatal Pilates classes, not only are the women exercising, they are conversing about the pain points in their pregnancies. They are sharing doula and pediatrician information. And they are making friends that might turn into future play dates when the babies arrive. Rachael’s goal with her prenatal and postpartum programming is to provide community during a vulnerable time that is exciting and joyful, but can also be lonely and scary.
The prenatal group class is offered at Pilates Collective every other week on Saturday mornings at 10:30 am. On the schedule, it’s called “Essential Prenatal” and is taught by Rachael or one of her other expert prenatal Pilates instructors. Class is 50 minutes. On the off weeks, the class at the same time slot is “Essential Stretch” which is equally beneficial for the pregnant clients.
For those that aren’t comfortable in a group setting or want special one on one attention, they can schedule a private 50-minute session with Rachael (although she isn’t taking new clients right now) or the other knowledgeable prenatal instructors at Pilates Collective. With the private session, the goals are the same but obviously there is more individualized attention. One of Rachael’s prenatal clients allowed me sit in on her session. Thank you, Erica.
Erica was about twenty one weeks pregnant with her second child when I observed her. Erica wanted to have a more comfortable pregnancy and a better recovery postpartum this time around, so she started training with Rachael every week just after her first trimester. Erica also meets with the pelvic floor physical therapist who works out of Rachael’s other Pilates studio, Body Precision. I will talk more about this very special practitioner, Stephanie Muntzer, shortly.
During Erica’s session, Rachael had her begin with some footwork to prevent swelling.
From there, they moved into basic release work, stretching on the Barrel, and mobility exercises on the Cadillac before getting on the Reformer.
The Barrel and Cadillac, other pieces of Pilates equipment, are only available to one on one clients. After this “warm up”, the rest of the exercises that Rachael gave Erica largely involved mobility work, with the addition of strength building and a side of stretching. Core strength and building abdominal strength in the deep transverse abdominal muscles, as well as gaining pelvic floor control are some of the big goals for these sessions.
The Pilates breath is always part of any Pilates practice. And breath work is especially important for pregnant women who use it to gain control of their pelvic floor and may even use this type of breathing during child birth. I have to say that Erica was an A+ student when it came breath work.
Rachael explained to me that the goal of training any pregnant person in Pilates is to help her. Help her to be comfortable during her pregnancy. Help her to strengthen her body in order to bring about an easier delivery. And ultimately, help her recover faster after the baby is born. Rachael is setting her pregnant clients up for success during and after their pregnancies. “We can’t control your birth outcome. There’s no way, right? But we can stack the cards in your favor and then also set you up for a faster postpartum recovery.”
I went through two and a half pregnancies before I knew what a pelvic floor was (I only learned about it when I started going to Pilates midway through my last pregnancy). But that doesn’t have to be the case for moms today with the help of people like Rachael and the amazing pelvic floor physical therapist, Stephanie Muntzer, who sees patients out of Rachael’s other Pilates studio, Body Precision.
Pelvic floor issues can run the gamut and don’t just come up for women who have babies. Men also have pelvic floor dysfunction. Steph (as her friends, family and patients call her) refers to the pelvic floor as the foundation of the house that is our body. So if there is damage to the pelvic floor, it’s effecting the entire structure. I wrote a pretty comprehensive article about pelvic floor PT a few years ago when I first learned of this kind of physical therapy. Steph is bridging the gap between healthcare and wellness by working directly with the Pilates instructors at Pilates Collective to help her patients.
Erica, the pregnant woman who so graciously let me sit in on her one on one Pilates session with Rachael, first told me about Steph and her role in preparing Erica for child birth. Steph works with pregnant women to give them to a good baseline for delivery. This involves learning how to relax and contract the pelvic muscles appropriately to deliver the baby. To do this, Steph will converse with Rachael about what Erica and Rachael should work on in the Pilates studio to accomplish the pelvic health goals that Steph wants to see before Erica delivers her baby. The mixing between pelvic floor PT patients and Pilates clients works seamlessly with Steph’s office being situated inside a Pilates studio.
Steph wants her patients to be active, but due to pelvic floor dysfunctions, they may be prohibited in their activities. This is where Steph works directly with Rachael and other Pilates instructors to troubleshoot in real time. “Let’s make your PT look like a Reformer exercise”.
For the postpartum woman, it’s about rebuilding the core and pelvic floor after child birth (and whatever events happened during it). Recovery at Body Precision and Pilates Collective involves both PT and Pilates together. Steph strongly believes that pelvic floor PT should be part of every woman’s postpartum care in order to prevent a lot of issues she sees in women down the line. And this means getting women in to see someone like Steph at around 6 weeks, after the postpartum checkup with the OBGYN.
The good news for all moms is that it’s never too late. Steph assures me that the mom who only learned of this kind of treatment years after delivering her last baby (me), can be helped by Steph’s care today. But the sooner Steph can see the postpartum woman out of her delivery situation, the more adaptable her body is going to be and obviously, the better it will be for her recovery… and quite frankly, her quality of life.
POSTPARTUM PILATES
When I had my first child at thirty, I was absolutely stunned by how difficult the recovery was— and I had a pretty normal pregnancy and delivery. I was prepared for the baby, with all the stuff, but no one had mentioned anything to me about how my body would be after the baby. And I didn’t even think to ask. I literally thought I would leave the hospital in my jeans, and I packed them in my hospital bag! Oh the naivety! Aside from the fact that you actually still have a belly after the baby is out, you’re bleeding and just about everything feels out of place in the exact area that I would have been zipping up into my jeans. I quickly learned how absolutely wrong I was. And I learned the hard way by going through it completely unprepared. But today, with places like Pilates Collective that provide a community that welcomes these sorts of discussions, Rachael and her team are preparing women for the aftermath of child birth. And postpartum Pilates can do just that.
Most doctors will clear a woman to return to exercise 6-8 weeks after having a baby. Only after a doctor provides clearance, can the woman attend a Pilates class at Pilates Collective. Rachael recommends starting with an “Essential” class, which is described as “slow, intentional full body flow that builds strength, stability and flexibility.”
Only the 1:1 Pilates clients may return sooner after a vaginal delivery. But don’t expect to jump right back into what you were doing before the baby. The first few weeks are focused on gentle mobility and pelvic floor work, especially if it’s before the doctor’s clearance. It’s also a great idea to start pelvic floor physical therapy before starting with Pilates.
MOMMY & ME PILATES
Which now brings me to that very special Mommy & Me class… Mommy & Me is just one format of postpartum Pilates offerings available to the new mom at Pilates Collective. While this class has a bunch of physical benefits for the postpartum mom, the ability to bring baby to an exercise class with other new moms and babies, and where a fussy baby, a diaper change or a feeding is par for the course, is the real reason Rachael brought this class to her new studio.
When I had my baby, I was eager to get back to exercising but the thought of leaving my precious baby at home with a sitter so I could go exercise was very overwhelming and even seemed indulgent. I’m telling you, the mom guilt starts right away. So a class like this— where baby is an integral part of the class; where one of the two instructors in the room is tasked solely with the responsibility of coddling the babies so mom can get her workout in (I know, I want this job too); and where women can go to feel human again by interacting with other adults — is exactly what the new mom wants and needs.
This class is so much more than an exercise class. It’s a supportive environment for new moms who are navigating a completely upturned world. During the Mommy & Me class that I observed, instructor Libby led the moms on the Reformers, while second instructor, Jenny Rose got to hold the babies. And I was completely captivated by Jenny Rose’s role during this class. The babies started off smiley and happy and actually most of them stayed that way throughout class, which was quite amazing. But the second a baby fussed, Jenny Rose was right there to sweep up baby (with mom’s permission, of course). In one instance, the moms turned their bodies on the Reformer so their backs were to the babies and this caused one of the little ones distress. Jenny Rose ran over, picked up that baby, held her facing out, and walked over to the other side of the Reformer so that the baby could see her mom’s face again. And this is just one example of the care and attention that I observed in that room, all so mom could get her workout in.
Mommy & Me is offered every Monday and Friday at 10:30 am. And this time was strategically picked because it’s between the two coveted morning naps of a newborn. This is what I was talking about when I said in the beginning of this post that Rachael created such a thoughtful program. There is even a changing table in the bathroom and the staff room is available to these clients to quietly and comfortably nurse baby. When new moms can attend this special class will be dependent on the baby’s age — most join when baby is eight weeks and can continue until baby is mobile.
I am thrilled for the women who get to take advantage of programs like the ones I shared in this blog post. And if you live in the Philadelphia area, you are truly blessed to have what Rachael created at Pilates Collective and Body Precision.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms to be, new moms and seasoned mamas who also feel like they too have arrived.