Hiya Barrebabes!
Your friendly pregnant barre teacher here with a few words about Pilates & barre and pregnancy, and some music for your ears.
a barre, a ball, and a bump
For obvious reasons, I've had baby bumps on the brain recently, so while I realize many of you aren't anywhere in the life vicinity of having a baby, I offer the following thoughts for the back of your mind, your future self, or your sister/cousin/daughter/best girl bud.
Exercise, providing there aren't any overriding complications, is great for pregnant people and helps with myriad aspects of the process of growing a baby, including the recovery afterward. I have seen this in nearly all of my dance teachers over the years and in my fellow dancers and fitness instructors, so to me it is pretty much second nature to keep up my training and modify appropriately. If you're already working out - awesome - keep it up! If not, remember that the movement practice you build today will serve you when you most need it tomorrow.
Of course I, a movement teacher, would be an advocate for exercise during pregnancy (duh) but I am also trained in pre- & post-natal fitness through the American Council on Exercise, and they wholeheartedly agree with me. However, they wisely stipulate that pregnancy is not really the time to START a new exercise program if you don't already have one, which in Annie speak means that it is a good idea to cultivate your body awareness and get to know your capabilities BEFORE the drastic changes pregnancy brings. It's imperative to listen to your body always, but especially during these magical 9 months and afterwards. It's the time to maintain, to invigorate, to strengthen and balance, but also to ease up when you need to (and occasionally even skip a workout for the sake of a nap.)
For the reasons above and approximately a million more, barre training is FANTASTIC for pregnancy. I've seen it in my own beautiful barrebabes making babies and am now feeling it myself. There's the mind/body awareness that we practice in barre class; the balanced approach to strength and flexibility, grace and balance and overall toning; the small, specific movements within a safe range of motion that makes strong, balanced mama bodies; the overall well-being that comes from a rad workout, and all the squats, pliés and abs even help with birth and recovery. Moreover, it's pretty easy to modify barre moves as necessary for expecting mamas, and it is easy to self-regulate in class, meaning that when it feels intense, we can simply back off a little. It's also effective enough to "work" even if we need to take breaks to rest or chill for a sec and drink water. Class has been so helpful for me to feel good in my body, and while I can't prevent all the "symptoms" of pregnancy, barre has helped me to maintain a good deal of energy throughout the past 20 weeks and stay out of pain for the most part (so far). All of that said...
Even the fittest barremama will likely reach a point in her pregnancy where a typical barre class just doesn't make sense to do. I wouldn't necessarily recommend jumping into my barre class to a brand-new mama just getting back to her workouts after her birth recovery, either. For this, Pilates is the key (as it is to so many wonderful mysteries) Pilates is a new mom's go-to exercise format for good reason. Private sessions are uniquely tailored to her body and are designed to incorporate a little strength, a little stretch, breathing, and a whole lot of deep connections in each exercise, performed safely and specifically under the watchful eye of her instructor. Plus, it targets certain crucial muscle groups for mamas, like those of the pelvis, not only to increase their strength and tone but to integrate them the rest of the body so everything begins to work more smoothly, in concert together. Also, you know the pregnant chicks who are so fit-looking you can't tell they're pregnant from the back? Yeah, they do Pilates.
music
Here's two recent playlists for your workouts, dance parties, or simple curiosity and listening pleasure :) I'm annieforeal on Spotify, so come check out my random-yet-rad collections ;)
Barre
BodyRhythm
That's it for this week, loves. See you at the studio!
Be well,
Annie
