Cartwheels, Handstands, and Teaser during pregnancy!!

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Cassie & Carey

Cassie & Carey

I was super excited when Cassie sent me a note to tell me she had scheduled a session with me in a few weeks.  Cassie has been a student of mine for 6 plus years, including going through the fully comprehensive Pilates instructor training program with me and taking lessons with me throughout her entire first pregnancy.  Needless to say I feel pretty comfortable teaching Cassie.  Even though she’s moved across the state and I don’t teach her as often as I used to, I usually have no problem helping her fine tune her awesome Pilates practice.  As her instructor for so long I feel like I “know” her body pretty well and that always helps me.

This upcoming session is no different EXCEPT for the fact she will be 25 weeks pregnant and I’ve only taught her once pretty early on in her pregnancy.  The process of pregnancy is so amazing and so complex that it really challenges me as an instructor even when I’m seeing someone on a regular basis.  So I know that this week’s upcoming session will challenge me as an instructor to create a safe, appropriate workout for Cassie and maybe give her some ideas of things she can continue to “play” with from a movement perspective throughout her pregnancy.

Even though I haven’t been working with Cassie on a regular basis through her pregnancy I have been keeping up with her Pilates pregnancy journey on her weekly blog and it’s given me some ideas for our session.

“Sometimes I dream of doing handstands, cartwheels, and teasers. Never mind that I’ve never done a cartwheel in my life; I find myself daydreaming about them. It’s as if my body craves movement. “

IMG_7681As soon as I read the words above in Cassie’s blog I knew what our focus would be!  NOT handstands, cartwheels or teasers of course (that would be sooo unsafe!!)   Our focus will be finding safe movement that allows Cassie to feel movement throughout her body!  I remember that feeling. It’s the feeling of just wanting to move like you used to be able to move and not necessarily knowing how to do it in your changing body.  Luckily the Pilates method is the perfect tool for finding that safe, amazing, feel good movement in your body.

Be sure to check in next week to Cassie’s blog to find out a little more about what we did and how it felt!!

Cassie’s Current Pregnancy Blogs:

Cassie’s first pregnancy blogs (these are in reverse chronological order):

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Pilates and Pregnancy: Be Patient, Celebrate, and Move Forward

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Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! This is going to be my last installment for this pregnancy. It’s been so much fun sharing my journey from 13 weeks pregnant to 7 weeks postpartum with you. I hope that this blog has been helpful and motivational whether you are currently pregnant, planning on becoming pregnant, or just interested in health and movement during pregnancy. Pilates helped me so much both mentally and physically during my pregnancy and in these first weeks of recovery. I cannot wait to continue using Pilates to rebuild my strength and maintain my mental health.

For our last session, Carey taught me on the Reformer. Reformer is probably my favorite piece of equipment. I love that there is a classical sequence of exercisesCassie and Finn that become more challenging the longer you practice. At seven weeks postpartum, we started with Footwork and fine-tuning my form. Carey had me come up into an upper ab curl for my Hundreds, which was a good challenge. When we did Short Spine (where your legs come up over your head) I loved feeling the stretch through my back. I wasn’t able to do Short Spine during the latter months of my pregnancy because my belly was in the way.

When it was time for Teaser, Carey had me lie the long way on the long box with my legs at table top. Traditionally, you would hold onto the handles as you curled up into your Teaser, but Carey let me try it without the handles to start. I took a deep inhale and then tried to curl into my Teaser but couldn’t do it! Don’t get me wrong, Teaser is a challenging exercise, but I was able to do it well pre-pregnancy and in my mind’s eye I could see myself performing the movement with grace and ease. After taking a moment to chastise myself mentally, Carey helped me refocus. I had carried a baby for 39 weeks, my muscles had stretched to accommodate him, I delivered him via C-Section, and was only 7 weeks postpartum. More importantly, I would be able to rebuild the strength but it would take patience and respect for where my body is at currently. Carey modified the exercise my allowing me to hold on to the back of my legs and rock up into Teaser. At the top of Teaser, she had me let go of my legs and reach my arms away as I curled back down.

The Teaser mishap taught me a valuable lesson – whether you are rebuilding muscle after a pregnancy or coming back to Pilates after some time away, be patient with your body, celebrate your body’s ability to move as it can today, and challenge yourself as you move forward.

If you live in the North Liberty/Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor, be sure to visit Rivercity Pilates and start challenging yourself today.

Thanks again for sharing this journey with me and Finnegan,

Love,

Cassie

 

Pilates and Pregnancy: No More Mr. Nice Carey

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Hello and welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog. At six weeks postpartum I had another private lesson with Carey. I had been cleared by my doctor for exercise and Carey knew it! I titled this blog “No More Mr. Nice Carey” because all of the breaks and modifications she made for me while I was pregnant were gone! Instead, Carey fine-tuned my movements and gave me a real workout.

We started on the Cadillac. I noticed right away with exercises like roll down that I still had a long way to go in building back the abdominal strength I had lost.Cassie and Finn Rather than a slow, smooth, and controlled rolling back motion with my abs engaged, there was a point in rolling back where I couldn’t maintain the engagement and slid back quickly. We moved to Hundreds and Carey had me hold my legs at table top with my head down on the mat. Without realizing it, my knees drifted apart. When I was pregnant, it was impossible to hug my legs all the way together and so Carey let me keep them slightly apart. Not anymore! She cued me to hug my legs together and man could I feel it by the end of my Hundreds!

We used the push-through bar for Teaser and Shoulder Bridge next. On both exercises I noticed how different the moves felt from being pregnant but also from before pregnancy. One of the greatest benefits of Pilates is increased body awareness. I was aware of how my body changed during pregnancy but it’s even more clear now because I can compare my pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum bodies. Each version brought its own challenges and rewards. I am excited to use Pilates to achieve a strong and healthy postpartum body.

We ended our session with Monkey. Monkey is a traditional Cadillac exercise using the spring from below and a safety chain from above. You have to curl yourself into a tiny little ball and bring your feet and hands next to one another on the push-through bar. Traditionally, you would then push the bar up with your feet bringing your body into a “U” shape with your feet and hands at the tops of the “U”. Monkey can be challenging for a number of reasons. For me, it was especially challenging six weeks postpartum because I still had quite a bit of baby weight and wasn’t able to reach the bar with both hands. Instead of traditional Monkey, we did one-legged Monkey, which enabled me to hold the bar with both hands and one foot while the other leg stretched out toward the mat.

The stretches felt great and I was sore for a few days afterward. I can’t wait to see what Carey has in store for me next!

-Cassie

Pilates and Pregnancy: 5 Weeks After Baby and Ready to Work Out

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Cassie and FinnHello and welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog. I am five weeks postpartum and feeling ready for some movement! At my doctor’s appointment next week my physician will hopefully clear me for all forms of exercise. For now, Carey prepared a safe session to ease me back into Pilates.

We started with a few Pilates fundamentals: arm circles, knee folds, and knee sways. Then Carey had me do Hundreds. I hadn’t done Hundreds since some time during the second trimester! To start with, I held my legs at table top (which was a lot of work) and pumped my arms with my head down instead of in an upper ab curl. The upper ab curl is great, but I need to work on tightening my abdominal muscles safely. To do that, Carey had me focus on three things: wrapping my abdominal muscles up and in, engaging my pelvic floor muscles, and mentally picturing my stomach muscles reconnecting.

Next, we used the Tower to do Chest Expansion. Chest Expansion is one of my favorite exercises, but I didn’t realize how much it works your abs! Carey had to remind me that I wasn’t competing with my pre-pregnancy self, but instead was trying to regain that strength in as safe and healthy a way as possible. We continued our ab work with single leg and double leg stretches with my head down. Not only was it challenging to engage my abdominal muscles, but my legs felt weak too. Still, it felt good to move.

At the end of our session, Carey gave me homework. Each day, I am to lie on my foam roller and breathe, do arm circles, and knee folds. I have done the homework for a few days now and it’s amazing how difficult it is to find five minutes to myself with a newborn (that aren’t used for brushing my teeth or performing other tasks that require two hands!). I have always been a good student, however, and so I do my best to find the time. The arm circles help to stretch the front of my chest, which gets tight from breastfeeding and holding Finn. The knee folds work my abdominal muscles. The breathing is the best part: for a minute I just lay on the roller and take deep breaths, letting the rest of the day go as my body relaxes around the roller.

Now it’s your turn. Try the homework for yourself. It takes less than 5 minutes and I bet you’ll be feeling better for taking the time to breathe and move.

See you next week,

Cassie

Pilates and Pregnancy: The First Month After Baby

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Hello and welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! I am happy to announce that I gave birth to a healthy baby boy on April 20, 2014. This post will chronicle his birth and my first month as a new mom, including adjusting to my new body, enduring the baby blues, and attempting to exercise!

Finn’s birth story

My water broke around 5 a.m. on Sunday, April 20th. We were admitted to the hospital by 6:45 a.m. and Finnegan James was delivered via C-Section at 9:08 Finn at birtha.m.

Toward the end of the pregnancy, my doctor and I discussed the probability of delivery via C-Section because Finn was measuring large (nearly 11 pounds). The C-Section was surreal and a little frightening. My husband and I had taken a class on Caesareans and I had also done some Pilates continuing education on recovery post-Caesarean, but nothing really prepares you for the cold sterility of the operating room. A kind nurse held my hands during the epidural. I was amazed at how quickly the epidural took effect. Within moments, several hands were guiding me to lie down on the table and securing my arms in place out at my sides. I remember being very cold and scared. My husband came into the room just before the procedure began.

I didn’t expect to feel anything, but did feel pressure when the doctor opened the incision to pull Finn out. Only a few minutes passed from the time my husband entered the room until I heard him say, “I can see his head,” and like that – Finn was born. He weighed 10 lbs. 5 oz, and was 21 ¾ inches long!

We spent three days in the hospital because of the C-Section. Our nurse the first night was amazed at how easily I was able to get out of bed and how eager I was to walk around. I walked slowly at first, but it felt good to get up and move. My family and another nurse commented the next day on how well I seemed to be doing. In particular my sister, who had a C-Section just over a year ago, noticed that I was up and moving around much sooner than she had been and attributed the difference to my Pilates practice.

Week 2

Walking with Finn

The second week was rough emotionally. I had read about the baby blues, but couldn’t believe that I could hold my perfect baby boy and be sad. My husband and family were all very supportive. Two of the big things that helped were going on walks and getting outside of the house.

Physically my body was still recovering. My incision was uncomfortable and I was only getting two or three hour stretches of sleep at night. On a happy note, by the end of the second week I had lost two-thirds of the pregnancy weight.

Weeks 3-4

The next two weeks were much better. Finn started sleeping for four hour stretches. I was getting out for walks and feeling good. I even tried some Pilates.

Pilates has always been my happy place and so I was curious about how much I’d be able to do. I started really slowly, lying on the floor for some arm circles and knee folds. I was amazed at how difficult knee folds were (where you keep your knees bent and lift one knee up over your hip and then slowly lower it back down). Between the stretching of my muscles during pregnancy and then physically cutting through some of them for the C-Section, I have a lot of ground to recover!Finn1month

I tried a few other exercises on my own. Shoulder Bridge and Spine Stretch felt great. Upper Ab Curl and Swan didn’t feel awesome and so I decided to skip them until I was officially cleared to exercise and could get back into the studio with Carey.

Finn is now one month old and I am ready to start Pilates in ernest! Look for future blogs coming soon as Carey and I work together to help me safely tone and strengthen my body post-baby.

See you next week,

Cassie

Pilates and Pregnancy – Week 38: The Home Stretch

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Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! We are 38 weeks along and baby is still about the length of a watermelon – 18 to 22 inches. I had a doctor’s appointment this week and my physician said that baby’s head has dropped even further and boy can I tell! Not only does my belly feel lower, but it almost feels like I pulled a muscle at the lowest part of my baby bump. My guess is that those muscles have been stretched so far that any additional pressure from baby just tugs at them.

Other than feeling large and the occasional low back pain and foot/ankle/calf swelling, I really do feel quite well. Strangers at the grocery store smile at me and ask when I’m due. There’s something about a visibly pregnant woman that just makes people happy.

This week Carey and I focused again on stretching and gentle movements. We started seated on the big Pilates ball and did some side bending and small hip movements – side to side, tucking and extending, and circles each direction. We then moved to the mat and used the half barrel to prop me up into a semi-seated position. Carey placed a small ball under my head to support my head and neck. She then handed me a two-pound weight for each hand. We did arm circles in each direction and a straight arm open and close where my hands started above my chest and then opened out to the side and back. These arm movements really helped to stretch across my chest and it felt good to move my shoulders.

We then used the Tower for two traditional and unmodified Pilates exercises: chest expansion and thigh stretch. I wasn’t able to stretch as far back in thigh stretch as I could before becoming pregnant, but the stretch still felt great across my thighs and lower abdomen.

Week38

We finished with a standing shoulder stretch using the foam roller (see photo to the right). Generally we teach this stretch with the client lying on the mat with the foam roller under her shoulder blades. She then presses her feet into the mat to lift her hips and rolls front to back across her upper back and shoulder blades.

I can still lie flat on my back, but it’s considerably more work to lift my hips and move my body front to back than it was a few months ago. As a modification, Carey had me place the foam roller against the wall, and then get the stretch by straightening and bending my legs. This version felt great and is a gentle way to sneak in a few extra squats!

Thanks for sharing this experience with me! I’ll be back next week (unless baby comes first).

-Cassie