I Have Shoulder Pain — Is It My Rotator Cuff?
Just about every 40+ athlete I know (and a whole lot of sedentary folks, too) has had shoulder pain at some point. Some are able to eliminate it through non-surgical means, but a surprising number decide to simply live with it, or jump straight to the surgical route. While I’m not opposed to surgery, it’s […]
Kegel Exercises for a Weak Pelvic Floor
Weak, loose, “totally asleep…or maybe dead.” These are all things I’ve heard women call their pelvic floor. The good news is, kegel-style exercises can help! (I know, who even know that there was more than one kind of kegel exercise anyway? Hint: Anyone who’s been to pelvic floor PT, for sure!) Yes, most of us […]
Is Your Pelvic Floor Too Lose or Too Tight?
Check it out: This is the little-known portion of the Goldilocks story where Goldilocks and the Three Bears learn about kegels pelvic health! Most women I work with assume that they should constantly be strengthening their pelvic floor by kegeling all. the. time. In fact, like any muscle in your body, you don’t want your […]
“Kegeling” vs Kegel 2.0: What’s the Difference?
For most women, if you’ve been told anything about the health of your pelvic floor, you’ve probably been told to kegel, or “squeeze like you’re stopping the flow of urine.” How to Do a Kegel 2.0 This universal prescription of kegeling is problematic for a couple reasons, which is exactly why I teach what I […]
Is Hot Yoga Safe During Pregnancy?
A quick Pubmed (the online database of published research articles) search for the term “hot yoga, pregnancy” yields exactly two results. For perspective, almost everything I’ve ever searched yields dozens if not hundreds of hits. So, while there’s lots of research on prenatal yoga, its safety, and benefits, there isn’t a lot of evidence on […]
Props for Prenatal Yoga
The strictest yogis are staunchly anti-prop — that’s how it would have been done in ancient India, they say. I, on the other hand, am firmly pro-prop even for a general yoga class. And in my opinion, props are absolutely vital for prenatal yoga. I’m assuming you already have a yoga mat, but here’s what […]
Kegel Alternatives for a Tight Pelvic Floor
Just like any muscle in your body, your pelvic floor can be too loose OR too tight. While many women worry about being too lose (hypotonic) and kegel like crazy, as much as 40% of postpartum women are actually too tight (hypertonic). These pelvic floor stretches are great for when you are hypertonic and need […]
Is Prenatal Yoga Better Than Regular Yoga for Pregnant Women?
You want the quick version of this blog post? Yes. Phew! Now that’s all set, we can go back to what we were doing and I can save myself a few hundred words. Have a nice day, and book prenatal yoga right here. Oh, you wanted to know “why?” Oh, sure I can tell you […]
Postpartum Workouts: Can You Start Before 6 Weeks?
Traditionally in the United States, women have been cleared for exercise at their 6-week postpartum visit with the doctor. In fact, there is no particular reason why 6 weeks is the benchmark, and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) actually recommends postpartum workouts as soon as a few days after giving birth for […]
How to Lose Baby Weight
There is a lot of cultural pressure to get back to your “pre-baby body” 3 seconds after blissfully pushing out a baby in a candlelit water birth. Let me be clear: I am not here to further that pressure. However, a few months after having a kid, you might start feeling like, “I thought this […]