Those special moments when you hold your baby in your arms for the first time, those sleepless nights and ambiguous feeding sessions, those tender feelings and apprehensions whenever your little one wails – all are precious, precious enough to lock them forever in the eye of your memory. Every new mom goes through innumerable experiences, good and bad. She does a commendable job even when the challenges seem insurmountable. Her life gets packed to the gills all of a sudden, and she has her stress hormones shot through the roof. She literally shrugs off aspects like self-care, personal postpartum fitness and mental health, owing to which a new mother becomes vulnerable to irreparably massive effects.
Why Should You Consider Postpartum Fitness?
Bearing life in your body for nine months involves your mind, muscles and minutes. Every inch of your skin gets religiously involved to nurture the young life that’s sprouting inside you. Right from the inception to seeing your baby in their eye, your body undergoes innumerable changes. Imagine a rubber band being stretched beyond its elasticity!! It cannot regain its strength once it loses its elasticity. Miraculously, a human body can, but with sheer dedication and will. Giving birth is equal to taking a birth, yet again. A new mother should start all over again, right from building her muscle strength and bone power to fixing her reproductive organs. Being fit is vastly important for a new mother because she should cater both to herself as well as to the needs of the newborn.
Repeated breastfeeding sessions are unimaginably tiresome. Every drop of milk that a baby drinks feels as if a unit of the mother’s flesh is churned. Only superior-quality nutrition can help a mother regain her energy. A new mother needs to focus on regaining her physical strength and flexibility once she feels that her body recovered from the wounds of delivery. Improved physical strength and fitness are essential for a strong mind, too. As new mothers are vulnerable to oscillations in their moods, the right self-care practices and fitness choices help in their speedy recovery.
Postpartum Fitness – How to Refill Your Wine Glass?
A new mother dives into an ocean of unsolicited advice. A host of judgements hit her when all that she requires is love, a bit of pampering and hugs. Unfortunately, to the family members, the baby becomes the nucleus of the house, and the mother is given a back seat. The physically feeble mother, who’s already going through the after-effects of delivery, is clouded by a host of negative emotions. This eventually leads to a stage clinically named Postpartum Depression. The only pills that keep a new mother physically and mentally rejuvenated are fitness and self-care.
Is There an Ideal Time to Start?
The road to postpartum fitness is not a place to reach, it’s a journey and is unique to each woman. It’s essential to be gentle with yourself and listen to your body’s cues. Your body will tell you when it is ready. Listen to it. If it is a normal delivery, light physical activities like gentle walks and stretches can be started soon after childbirth. This offers a gentle nudge towards renewing movement and aids in mental well-being. If it’s a cesarean delivery, it is recommended to wait until you completely heal, typically up to 12 weeks, before resuming gentle movements. It is very important to note that your body has been through a tremendous journey, and postpartum fitness is marked not just by the strength gained but also by the love and care you bestow upon yourself.
Patience is the key that eventually leads to nurturing your spirit alongside cherishing your moments with your tiny sunshine. Most importantly, speak to your healthcare professional and take their clearance before embarking on intense training.
How to Rebuild the Temple?
After your body tells you that it is ready to embark on the restoration journey, get clearance from your healthcare practitioners about the same. Once you get the green flags, begin your fitness routine in a gentle fashion. Yoga can be your great companion on this odyssey. A combination of gentle asanas and stretches pamper your mind, body and soul, setting an equilibrium with breath. Eventually, shift your focus towards achieving core strength that includes strength of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. Gently make a transition towards addressing Diastasis Recti, a condition in which abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy and thus require specific exercises for restoration. Also, it’s important to ensure the ability of the heart to effectively pump oxygen and blood to the muscles, including cardiovascular training, starting from low intensity.
You can include activities like walking and swimming. Another vital aspect of postpartum fitness is to ensure and restore posture. Grab some of the best posture alignment exercise videos from YouTube that help correct the body posture to maintain balance and reduce strain on muscles and joints. Kegel exercises are a must to help improve the strength and control of pelvic floor muscles. Contracting and relaxing the muscles strengthens the pelvic floor region, avoiding conditions like urine incontinence. Include activities that contribute to increased body flexibility. Exercising consistently without giving up helps in the release of Endorphins, the natural chemicals in the body that promote feelings of well-being. Make foods that are nutrient-dense and low in calories a part of your diet to promote recovery. Increasing the intensity of exercises should be gradual and must happen over a period of time.
No Time for a Fitness Routine? Here’s How You Can Achieve Postpartum Fitness.
Postpartum Fitness is a journey that brings out a new, stronger self from challenging circumstances. The transformation and the strength gained through the postpartum fitness journey is no less than rising from the ashes. However, with domestic work and a baby to care for, new moms often don’t find 30 minutes for themselves in a day. It’s easy to say that they are making excuses, but who doesn’t want to get back to how they were before pregnancy?
When there’s no support and time, be wise. Make sure you are drinking a good amount of water. Sit in Malasana and do activities like brushing your teeth and taking a bath. It helps open up your hip muscles and comes with a host of other benefits. Embrace Vajrasana for a few minutes after every meal, or sit in Vajrasana while you play with your baby. Use a bucket and mug while bathing, and bend in squats every time you have to take water from the bucket. Not just this; every time you have to bend to pick up something, just squat. Do a malasana walk while sweeping the house.
If you are working on a laptop, place your laptop on a short table or platform, sit in Malasana or a butterfly pose and work on the laptop instead of sitting on a chair. Take stairs wherever possible. While lying on a bed or couch, lie down with your legs in a butterfly pose. Swing your legs in a butterfly to open up and strengthen your pelvic area. Do a bridge pose and legs to the wall pose while you lie down and scroll your Instagram feed. Do calf stretches, mountain poses, or Tadasana, bhujangasana, arm raises, etc, during your playtime with your baby. They enjoy watching the way your arms and legs are dancing. Use one pound dumbbells or a water bottle to tone your arms while you cook or talk over the phone.
Seek the help of your partner, if possible and grab a me-time for at least 20 minutes a day to do some meditation or sip coffee with closed eyes. Enjoy nature or listen to good music. Brush your hair, take a hot water bath, pamper your feet and apply body lotion. Get a hair massage or a skin rejuvenating facial done in a parlour. Love yourself, your skin and your body. Say positive affirmations every day to keep yourself uplifted. Remember, no one takes care of you. You have to do it for yourself. Only if you take care of yourself can you care for your baby.
Again, the most important aspect of postpartum fitness is to listen to your body. The main goal is not to get back to shape quickly but to achieve overall well-being – physically, mentally and emotionally.
Happy motherhood!!
