Pussy Yoga & Sensuous Dance WORKOUT after childbirth: Postpartum Fitness and pelvic floor exercises
Author: Wiebke Würdig is and expert in prenatal and post-partum fitness and a certified Essence of Bellydance teacher.
Pussy Yoga and Sensuous Dance Workout are great tools to get fit after birthing. I am an advocate for taking it slow and recovering well after giving birth before you start any kind of physical exercise. But there are many other voices who advise easy entry exercises. In my opinion the pelvic floor should first be spared, and the weekly flow should have dried up first, so do not start before 4-6 weeks after birth. From the 7th week on I recommend a rebuilding-program and pelvic floor training. We western women are generally not careful enough after giving birth. Practitioners of TCM and Ayurveda therapists agree with me. It won’t hurt you to take it slow, and it is never too late to train your pelvic floor.
What I love about Pussy Yoga is its focus on body awareness and feeling. That’s exactly what we need after birth. Pussy Yoga is a loving way to regenerate and to reconnect to the pelvic floor. Take it slow and follow Coco's instructions exactly, only move to the next point of the exercise when you are ready. You probably already know that you shouldn't do crunches (or other abdominal exercises) after giving birth, but those are also not recommended by Coco. I would recommend Pussy Yoga almost without restriction. Just make sure you don't overwhelm yourself, try to rather enjoy Pussy Yoga and use it as your precious time-out for yourself.
Restrictions
Exercise 30: pelvic floor in the plié and exercise 51: deep squad: I would leave them out at the beginning. Women often feel very "open" in their pelvis after the birth, everything is overstretched, so it can be very uncomfortable to go into these opening exercises. Better wait a little. After a few months, those exercises will be very valuable.
Exercise 54: hip flexor stretch: if you are breastfeeding, your ligaments are still loosened, this exercise may feel uncomfortable for you (e.g. in the pubic symphysis). I would be careful here. That's why I don't work with lapses in my courses.
Sex after Birth
Since there is also a chapter on Sensuality and Sex in the book, I would like to emphasize that you should only have sex with a partner after the end of the weekly flow, then wound healing is complete. Otherwise, you are in danger of getting an infection.
All the best and best for you and your baby!
If you have recently given birth, 1) congratulations, and 2) now is a great time to start a gentle practice of pelvic floor exercises if you haven’t already. My signature Sensuous Dance Program is fully self-paced, and you can make it as intense or as easy as you need it to be by making minor modifications and doing what feels right for your body.
About the Author
Wiebke Würdig is a dance teacher with a focus on prenatal and post-partum fitness. She has been a certified Essence of Bellydance teacher since 2018 and is based in Munich, Germany.
You find Wiebke at wiebke-tanzt.de
How did you, as a young woman who had never been pregnant, start thinking about your pelvic floor?