Pregnancy: Back-body expansion practice to minimize Diastasis Recti

It may seem like the only thing to do to minimize diastasis (separation of the rectus abdominal muscles) is to strengthen your deep core.

But actually, there's another part of the equation that you don't want to overlook. Think about your body as a front half and a back half. As your baby (and belly) grows, you may start to feel an uncomfortable amount stretching of the abdominal muscles. That's the front half.

But what happens to the back half? Typically, it gets tighter, the muscles shorten and you feel less mobile and flexible.

And guess what? When your front body is expanding, but your back body is locking down, the result is MORE pressure on the midline, which increases diastasis.

The fix for this front body expansion and back body tightening is to restore balance to the core by increasing the flexibility and length in your back body.

And we've put together a 13-minute practice to show you the moves that will help you with this!

Ideally, once you are in the second and third trimesters, you will want to do this practice once or twice a week. During both of these stages, your baby grows consistently and your body changes consistently, so staying regular with a practice that keeps your back half flexible and strong will help you feel amazing.

You can actually feel comfortable at every stage of pregnancy if you incorporate this practice into your weekly rotation of exercises.

Ready to practice along with Nicole? Grab your mat and a couple of blocks, and let us know in the comments if you could feel your back body opening up.

Resources & Links

Looking for support to stay active during your pregnancy or start your postpartum recovery? Here are some options to get you started on a great path forward:

1) Take the Pelvic Floor & Core Strength Quiz. After taking the quiz, you'll get a score and based on your results, guidance on what steps to take to move you forward in your recovery.

2) Check out our podcast listening guides: Download the Pregnancy Listening Guide or Postpartum Listening Guide.

3) If you're pregnant, want to be way more active than you have been, AND want connection with other mothers, but don't know where to start…join the Expecting to Flourish™ Membership - a mom-driven and expert-guided virtual space empowering moms with a new approach to prenatal fitness and birth prep that actually prepares you for the physical and emotional hurdles of motherhood.

If you’re postpartum and ready to get moving, need to heal your body but you don’t know where to start…join us for Postpartum Repair & Restore LIVE, a science-backed and fun-stacked, Diastasis and Pelvic Floor Strength program. Start healing your diastasis and eliminating leaking in 8 weeks or less with our guidance.

4) Do you prefer working one-on-one, or have a high risk pregnancy, a severe diastasis or leaking that won’t quit? You might be a candidate to work with us privately. To find out, take this quick self assessment! If you qualify, you'll be invited to schedule a complementary Postpartum Strategy Session with us where we'll take a good look at what's not working in your repair process, and come up with a great plan just for you.