Pregnancy can be a roller coaster. The first and second trimesters aren’t so bad once you get over the nausea. The feelings in your body are typically met with curiosity and excitement. Normal exercise routines might gradually become more difficult and for some, immediately difficult! By the third trimester you’re seemingly a totally different human. Your weight shifts and hangs into your lower back and quads. Pelvic floor and hip discomfort prevent you from sleeping or standing for too long. Your ribcage feels cramped and stiff. The baby occupies a lot of space! You feel heavy, sluggish and tired. Even climbing a flight of stairs feels like a cardiovascular workout.
Enter Gyrotonic exercise, or “Gyro.” At all stages of pregnancy, (yes, even to the very day of giving birth) Gyrotonic classes provide support to a woman’s pregnant body. The movement is based on spinal motions in all directions; flexion, extension, lateral flexion and most delicious of all, rotation. Kept at a moderate and safe level, the spinal motions help to decompress the facet joints of the spine and to articulate the ribs. This is a lovely and rare quality in an exercise system because you continually move through positions in a flowing manner, creating an undulation of the spine that feels amazing. The design of the cable system on the Gyrotonic Pulley Tower enables your limbs to suspend in the air and move more freely in their joints. It feels similar to moving in water, which is so great during pregnancy. Gyrotonic exercise is rhythmic, circular and involves breath work that can help you in delivery. Having worked with over a dozen pregnant women (as well as my own pregnancies) I can honestly say, you can enjoy exercise again!
The good news doesn’t stop there. Gyrotonic training is excellent for putting your body back together after pregnancy and delivery. Post partum ailments are just as real as prenatal ones but have a whole new flavor. Your neck, shoulders and back are sore from holding, nursing and caring for your sweet baby. Your pelvic floor and abdominals are a total void. Your whole world narrows in on this tiny being and attention to yourself can go by the wayside. Giving yourself an hour or two per week to expand your body physically and clear your mind is TRULY amazing. The “narrowing” concept in Gyrotonic classes helps reconnect you to your intrinsic muscles, which is a very important step in rebuilding your strength. Harnessing a strong core will empower you as a woman and as a mother, not to mention the bonus of alleviating back pain!
In a nutshell, I couldn’t recommend a better movement system for prenatal and postpartum care than the Gyrotonic Expansion System. Find a Gyrotonic studio near you now!