Pilates and Pregnancy – Week 27: Tailoring Pilates to the Pregnant Client

Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog. This week the baby is around 2.5 pounds and 16 inches long! He’s about the length of a head of cauliflower. It’s my last official week in the second trimester and so I’m trying to soak up as much movement and energy as I can!

Carey and I worked mostly on the Cadillac this week. She has been great about trying new pregnancy exercises with me. Generally these are versions of our classical Pilates work with a twist that focuses on something my body needs – like hip opening or side bending. We started our session with roll down on the Cadillac, except we used a heavy spring and I rolled back onto a half barrel. These small changes had three big benefits. First, the heavy springs made it easier to roll back up so that I wasn’t straining across my abdomen. Second, the heavy spring made it harder to keep my shoulders connected, which is an area that I constantly work on improving. Third, when I rolled back over the half barrel I got to do a small extension that felt great across my belly and back.

Next, we used the small half barrel to prop my head and shoulders up a few inches while doing our leg springs series. This small change made it more work for me to keep my hips connected to the mat, but also was more comfortable than lying flat on my back.

We also did a classical Pilates exercise called Spread Eagle. This exercise is traditionally done on the Tower or Cadillac, where you stand with your legs wide, feet turned out against the vertical poles. You hold on to the poles and start by hanging your body back away from the poles. Then, you do three deep squats with your knees out wide, which is great for most people, but especially pregnant women whose hips are tight! After your squats, you roll your body up into an extension while hanging away from the poles. The exercise combines two elements that most pregnant women could benefit from – hip opening and rounding/extension of the spine.

Finally, we ended with a Psoas stretch on the foam roller. In the picture, you can see that you start with your hips propped up on the roller with one leg extended toward the ceiling. Slowly – and that’s the key here – you reach that leg long toward the mat. It should feel like a stretch across the front of your hip, especially as that leg lowers closer to the mat. We repeated this 5 or 6 times before switching and doing the other leg as well.

See you next week for the start of the third trimester!

-Cassie