The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
Ep 134: Pelvic Health for Pregnancy & Beyond with Julie Wiebe
Description:
What is the recovery time after birth for prenatal yoga students? What are some things to consider in the recovery of postnatal students looking to get back to full strength and fitness? There are a lot of myths around pelvic and abdominal health during pregnancy and postpartum, which Julie Wiebe busts through on this episode.
Julie Wiebe is a Physical Therapist (PT) with over twenty years of clinical experience in both Sports Medicine and Women’s Health. She is also an educator and women’s health advocate working to create awareness of pregnancy recovery, postpartum and pelvic and abdominal health issues in fitness.
Pregnancy and birth is a period during which the body changes and adapts to accommodate the growing baby, and post-birth, there is a period of rehabilitation that is necessary for the body to return to its regular function. Julie shares some of the misconceptions around post-birth recovery, hyperlordosis, urinary incontinence, Kegels and much more. She also highlights some breath techniques and poses yoga teachers can use to help their students regulate intra-abdominal pressure, and the importance of teaching from a place of educated hope instead of educated fear.
This episode is meant for any yoga practitioner or teacher who has been pregnant, who plans to be pregnant, or who really wants to help the pregnant and postnatal yoga student - Julie’s insights on this topic are really eye-opening!
Key Takeaways:
[7:45] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Julie Wiebe.
[9:07] What does Julie do and who does she do it for?
[10:21] Why is there a rehabilitation period after pregnancy and giving birth?
[12:43] Julie recommends for people to come to her prenatally and postnatally.
[15:10] Julie shares some statistics around how paid maternity leave affects infant and parental health.
[19:16] What are some things that Julie would want prenatal yoga teachers and students to know about the changes in the body?
[21:59] How can we teach people to breathe optimally?
[27:01] What pose does Julie recommend to get into the closure of the rib cage?
[29:45] During pregnancy, there is a lot more weight on the front of the body. How does that affect alignment, and the lumbar curve? Julie busts some myths around anterior pelvic tilt in pregnancy.
[34:16] Where does Julie start to help people find alignment?
[37:24] What does it mean to strengthen the diaphragm?
[41:09] Julie and Shannon discuss the condition of incontinence, specifically leaking urine.
[45:20] Kegels is not always the answer! Julie addresses this myth that Kegels is always a good exercise after birth.
[48:45] What else can yoga teachers be doing to help their students in terms of movement, breath or information?
[53:28] Why is it important to be having conversations around pelvic health, pregnancy and postpartum rehabilitation and recovery?
[58:36] Get in touch with Julie and check out the wealth of resources, articles and videos she has available on her website.
[59:40] Shannon shares some of her key takeaways.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity and Mama Nurture
Quotes from this episode:
"There are changes that come because of the pregnancy...what my job is, is to help you rebalance those changes and get you back to function and fitness without any limitations."
"What would we see down the line with pelvic health knowing that women had an opportunity just to recover?"
"If I could do anything for anyone, if I could do one thing, it would be to optimize their breathing."
"Form or alignment, for me, has a lot to do with access to muscles."
"We need to start looking at individuals and understand their needs, and that's tricky."