#23: No time to exercise? No worries, there is a solution.
While I’m writing this post, Ukraine is fighting for their independence and freedom.
It is surreal that more and more people, including kids, are losing their lives each day. That mothers spend their nights in the underground, in garages and basements to keep their families safe. That babies that are born there now, experience anxiety from the first minute of being alive. I am so sorry you have to live in times like this. Mothers all over the world support you.
Our thoughts, hearts and prayers are with you.
I love the human body.
Playing on the floor in “sphinx” like position is a great way to keep your back healthy and happy. This position is very comfortable and feels good especially if you still nurse. it is an easy way to stat restructuring old postural imbalances.
Our body is amazing.
It is intelligent and resilient.
When we tap into its potential we can be healthy and pain free without much effort. The truth is that we make simple things extremely complex. We try to hack our body’s internal intelligence which in turns makes us less fit and less happy.
It was easy to do more of the things “health experts” advise when I didn’t have a baby.
It was easier to go to the gym, to sleep in late on Saturday morning (to catch up with some sleep after the week of hard work) or to just have a nice relaxing bath with a glass of red after a hard day. But since we have Freya, all those simple things have become a huge challenge.
As a fitness trainer my job is to do fitness classes. Right now I teach about 4 moderate and high intensity workouts a week. Unfortunately, as Freya still doesn’t sleep through the night I struggle to recover. If I want to be able to work, I have to drop the intensity of my workout.
Why am I saying this?
Because I want you to know that exercising is hard for every new mum who doesn’t sleep at night and who has no family or friends around to help with a little one.
The truth is that you shouldn’t do high intensity workouts if you don’t sleep at night.
There is a better solution. If you focus on the daily movements, you already do, if you do them mindfully and better, you will be healthier and fitter then if you were going to the gym 3-4 times a week.
Yes, that is correct!
If you move mindfully throughout the day, you will get better results than if you worked out.
hat is also true for your postnatal belly rehab.
Squat, squat, squat… no pint to count reps… We do it all the time! Just pull the belly in, press your feet to the floor and smile! Your whole body works here. So much fun!
It was demonstrated in the study done by Ellen Langer, Harvard psychologist. The study involved 84 hotel maids. 44 of them were told about various health benefits of their movement while cleaning the rooms. Those maids were able to lower their blood pressure, lose weight, and improve body fat and waist-to-hip ratios.
This study shows that movement awareness is the key for a busy and tired mum. It helps the body recover and rebuild after giving birth as well as stay fit, healthy and full of energy even if you don’t have time to exercise. The more movement you can add to your day the faster you will get the results you are looking for.
Let’s be honest, taking care of the little one requires a lot of movement.
All we need to do is to be more mindful about how we move.
Everything counts: getting up and down on the floor, kneeling, squatting, lunging, walking and running around, doing washing and cleaning, cooking, dancing, lifting the baby up and down, “deadlifting” to blow a raspberry on their belly, changing the nappy, carrying baby on the back and walking on all 4s around the house (Freya loves that), swinging the baby between your legs and up in the air (like a kettle bell swing – maybe they got this exercise after watching mums playing with their kids?), reading and playing on the floor (sphinx position is perfect for that), playing in the sandpit, even breastfeeding. You will become stronger, fitter and more flexible without much extra effort. There is one more huge benefit.
I know a few women who don’t have enough flexibility to get down into a deep squat. Playing on the floor with kids is a great way to improve the overall mobility, including being able to get that low.
This in return will make you fitter and help you move better than ever before.
It may not be easy at first but as you do it consistently (no motivation needed, the little one will make you do all that without much convincing) you will see quick improvements.
This position will help you mobilise your knees joint and its surrounding tissues, open your feet and stack the spine.
This regular movement distributed throughout the day is more effective than a large dose of exercise followed by a sedentary workday.
Do your daily moves mindfully and you may start thinking like people raised in the Blue Zones (locations with high percentage of centenarians) that exercise is an abstract waste of energy. Having fun is what life is all about.
To use these moves as a postnatal belly rehab, keep on pulling your belly button to your spine and squeezing your deep abdominal muscles while you move. This way you will protect your spine even better while you’re moving.
I have been doing it for a while now, before I even found out about the study above. I used mindful movement to strengthen my feet (I have flat feet), improve my posture and rebuild my belly strengths after having a baby. I focus on my posture when I cook as well as when I play with Freya. While we play I am even more mindful to avoid any pains, aches or injuries. I exercise as well and since I have been more mindful while being playful and doing house works, I am also more mindful while exercising and teaching classes. I am a better trainer, just because I know how different we feel and how different results we get when we exercise mindfully and mindlessly.
Give it a go and let me know if this is what you needed to get stronger and recover after having a bay.
With love,
Karo