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Body positivity postpartum and your pregnancy journey

It’s no surprise that there are millions of us ladies who feel the strain when it comes to our post baby bods thanks to the unrealistic turnaround times of celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski.  There really are an extremely limited number of females who can have that iron board belly after just a couple of weeks! Yes, Emily looked like this 11 days after birth.

It can make a new mum feel pretty rubbish about themselves, and anxious even after 6-months post-partum. It’s standard, and common knowledge that magazines never reveal the extent of the photoshopping to the picture or the real hard behind-the-scenes work that every mum goes through.  In fact, it’s taken some whistleblowers on Instagram and the rare celebrity to highlight the before and after snaps of photoshopping.

First of all, unrealistic beauty standards are what’s making you feel bad. Thanks to social media, magazines and reality TV, it’s all we ever see. Hello Khloe Kardashian Instagram scandal!

Everyone’s genes are different, and every single mum goes into a pregnancy not having any idea how we’ll come out looking and feeling at the end of it, even after your 4th child!

Secondly, are we supposed to slim down as fast as we possibly can by whatever means, c-sections or not, breastfeeding or not, sleep or not, healthy or not? 

Have realistic expectations for yourself. Do you really expect everything to fall back in place exactly as it was before you underwent one of the most profound, life-changing experiences in the world? What we all should aspire to is just your body being as healthy as possible during its journey. You should not be ashamed of your body no matter its size or shape.

Finally, health and fitness is a journey, and helping your body recuperate from pregnancy involves many factors from exercise and diet to mindset—this is a great time to be a little easier on yourself as your path and progress might not be as same as what you expect. 

And, for all the ladies just beginning to think about starting a family, now’s the time to build the right foundation and strength profile you’ll need to bring this baby into the world, and yourself through it healthily. Begin by building strength where you will need it most in your core and pelvic floor muscles. If you’re healthy and fit going into pregnancy and maintain it throughout, getting your post baby body back will be a lot easier. 

Your body is unique and requires an approach that’s tailored to you. Our pre and postnatal classes will get you started on the right path, and then help you bounce back naturally. Our holistic approach to health and fitness will help you love the journey and admire your strong and very powerful body even more. There’s a community of like-minded mums all looking to make new friends and journey together through this amazing experience. Join a group class and love every minute of connecting with yourself, your baby and other mamas.

Pregnant or planning on having a child? Regular exercise will improve your chances of getting pregnant and help your body prepare for the changes pregnancy will bring. Improved posture supports better breastfeeding and will wipe out those back/neck/shoulder aches that can make nursing so uncomfortable.  Exercise also alleviates some of the worst parts of pregnancy like backaches, constipation, bloating and swelling. It also boosts your mood and helps you to sleep better.

Postpartum mamas? Regularly working out will help you carry, lift and keep up with your kiddos as they grow. It can also help strengthen your pelvic floor to get you back into tip top shape and stop those annoying accidents—the kind no one likes to talk about—from happening while working out, sneezing, coughing and worse laughing. Nothing should stand in the way of a new mum and a good laugh.  So long past kids you can’t even remember? Even if you had kids long ago, you’re only as old as your spine. The more flexible you are, the better your overall health will be. Your back will thank you later when you give it the attention it deserves now! Want to prevent embarrassing accidents? Regularly exercise strengthens the pelvic floor. Incontinence doesn’t have to be a normal part of ageing, and you can’t let a weak pelvic floor stop you from working a dance floor or