RECLAIMING STRENGTH
BY DR. KELLY
The Abs After babies Emerge Stronger core program is based on 5 phases. We start with strengthening the inner most core in Phase 1 and then build on that strong foundation through out each phase. Everyone will move through the Phases at their own pace depending on how fast their body responds to the corrective exercises. Do not be in a rush to move to the next phase. Be patient.
Before beginning the program, take before pictures (front view and side view) and measurements (diastasis recti size and waist measurement) and record them. I know before pictures can be tough to do. I went through this exact same thing with my before pictures. I couldn’t even look at the pictures. But now that I have a transformation story, I am so glad that I had my before pictures so I could see how far I have come.
Workouts
DIASTASIS RECTI
HEALED YOUR DR
THE CORE
BODY ALIGNMENT
ANATOMY
HOW TO CHECK FOR DIASTASIS RECTI
Diastasis Recti is a separation greater that 2 cm (roughly 2 fingers width) of the left an right rectus
Step 1
Lie on your back and bend your knees.
Above belly button: 3 finger separation
At belly button: 2 finger separation
Below belly button: 1 finger separation.
Step 2
Place the finger tips of one hand at your belly button parallel to your waist line ( The same direction that a belt a belt would go around your waist). Place the other hand behind your head. Gentle press your fingertips into your relaxed abdomen.
Step 3
Engage
Step 4
Measure the separation in these 3 areas: at your belly button, then above and below it. How many fingers can you fit between the 2 sides of the separated muscle? The measurement may be different
Step 5
A measurement of 2 finger widths or more indicates that you do have abdominal separation. Next, check the condition of the line alba by seeing how far your fingers will sink into your abdomen in the separation. When you have a normal linea alba you will feel as though your fingers bounce off the connective tissue. When the line alba is stretched you will be able to sink your fingers deep into the abdomen. Just note if you were able to sink your fingers deep into your abdomen.
Diastasis Recti
A weak core can be caused by either a weak TA and core muscles, or abdominal separation known as diastasis recti due to pregnancy, trauma, or weight gain
What is diastasis recti (DR)?
Do you feel like you just can not get your stomach flat or that you still look pregnant even though you had your baby months or even years ago? Do you see a ridge form on the midline of your abs during certain movements? Do you feel like your stomach frequently looks distended especially at the end of the day? You could have diastasis recti.
Diastasis Recti is a separation greater
Above is an illustration that shows a normal anatomy with no DR, then DR during pregnancy, then DR after pregnancy. Some women will have a larger separation around the belly button, or the lower abs, or upper abs. I will talk more on this later.
Can you heal DR? The majority of women can heal their abdominal separation when they are educated in their approach and/or they utilize a women’s physical therapist or a core rehabilitation program. I have personal heard from experts in the field of DR tell countless stories of women with very large separations (8 finger separations) who have healed their separations with corrective exercises alone. I healed my 3 finger separation with the exact methods in this ebook and did not see a PT. However, I am not a physical therapist. If you have a larger separation (greater than 3-4 fingers width) or the methods in this book do not help you heal your DR, I highly recommend that you see a women’s health PT who specializes in DR.
There will be a small percentage of women who do require corrective surgery to repair their DR but in my experience that will be rare. If you have a hernia, you still may need to get that repaired. Do not feel bad if your separation requires surgery to repair. Sometimes that is truly the best way to go. If you don’t fix your DR, by either surgery or corrective exercises, you could face other issues such as lower back pain, and digestive issues. If you do need surgery, please do the exercises in this book to restrengthen your core prior to surgery. It will make your healing time go so much more smoothly.
Reclaiming Strength Workouts
Phase 1
Re-connect
Phase 2
Re-build
Phase 3
Strengthening
Phase 4
Developing
Phase 5
Sculpting
LET’S GET STARTED!
The Abs After babies Emerge Stronger core program is based on 5 phases. We start with strengthening the inner most core in Phase 1 and then build on that strong foundation through out each phase. Everyone will move through the Phases at their own pace depending on how fast their body responds to the corrective exercises. Do not be in a rush to move to the next phase. Be patient.
Before beginning the program, take before pictures (front view and side view) and measurements (diastasis recti size and waist measurement) and record them. I know before pictures can be tough to do. I went through this exact same thing with my before pictures. I couldn’t even look at the pictures. But now that I have a transformation story, I am so glad that I had my before pictures so I could see how far I have come.
Exercise recommendations for new moms
If you recently had a baby (either by vaginal delivery or c-section) you can
Phase 1 Re-connect ( Weeks 1-2)
Reclaiming Strength Program
Here you are!!! You are now ready to start your journey towards a strong core. I am excited for you!!
Our main goal during these next two weeks is to reconnect you with your Transverse Abdominis. We will be focusing on strengthening the TA first as it is the foundation to a strong core and flat stomach and the key to healing Diastasis recti.
As you read in other sections, when our TA is weak our other muscles will compensate and the TA is never given a chance to even try to work or get stronger. Because of that I have a request that might be hard for some of you. What I ask is that for the first 2 weeks of this program, you do only these exercises and low impact cardio. That means no high impact cardio, running, cross fit, other ab programs, or weightlifting. The reason being that we are on a mission these first two weeks to isolate, reconnect with, and strengthen your TA. By only focusing on the below exercises for 2 short weeks, you will allow your TA to fully activate and return to function.
Now if you do not want to stop your other exercises, I actually totally understand. But I highly suggest that you do just for these next 2 weeks. The pay off will be huge!
Week one: TA holds with back support
On your first week of the program you will perform TA holds 10 times a day. I want you to start with holding these for a count of 5 and then build up to holding for longer periods of time. The quality of the hold is more important than the length of the hold so do not be in a race to hold these for 100 counts. A TA hold that is only done for a 5 count but is done with perfect form is way more effective than a TA hold that is done with bad form for A 30 COUNT.
Week two and beyond: TA hold without back support
Once you feel stronger at doing the TA holds with back support, I want you to move on to doing them without back support. If you are not strong enough to do it with out back support that is totally okay! It will come in time. Remember this is not a race to get to the next exercise. Building a correct foundation is more important than rushing through this program.
| WEEK 1-Daily Exercises |
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| Low-impact cardio: 3-6 times a week for 30 minutes. |
At a minimum, I recommend that you do low impact cardio 3 times a week for 30 minutes. If you are a seasoned exerciser who worked out through out your pregnancy, you will usually be able to do 30 minutes 6 days a week. Remember this is low impact cardio such as walking, elliptical, swimming, etc. I prefer if you wait to do high impact cardio until after you have completed all 5 phases of this program. Walking is a wonderful way to strengthen you core and pelvic girdle when done with proper alignment. If you are new to exercising you may want to start out doing 15 minutes 3 times a week, every other day, and build up to doing 30 minutes 6 days a week as you go along.
During this first week, I want you to really become body aware and notice what you are doing during your daily activities that is either helping or hindering the healing and strengthening of your core.
| WEEK 2-Daily Exercises |
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| 5. Wear splint except for during your core exercises. |
| Low impact cardio: 3-6 times a week for 30 minutes. |
At the end of two weeks, retake your measurements.
If you feel like you are now able to affectively isolate and activate your TA, you are now ready to move on to phase 2 of the program.
Phase 2 Re-build
Reclaiming Strength Program
In Phase 2, we will build on the strong foundation that you developed in Phase 1. You can now begin to incorporate weight lifting and any exercises (except traditional core work, the exercises I recommend that you avoid, and high impact cardio) you were doing prior to Phase 1, back into your routine. Be mindful of properly engaging your core
If you have been wearing a splint consistently throughout the first two weeks of this program, now is the time to evaluate if you should wear it longer. When you can effectively brace through everyday movements you can move away from wearing a splint. If you notice that you still struggle with properly engaging your core during these movements you can continue to wear the splint during phase 2. Please do not wear it when you are doing the corrective core exercises. This will allow you to fully and completely activate your core without the aid of the brace which will lead to faster healing.
Everyone will stay in Phase 2 for two weeks but some of you will need to stay in phase 2 for longer. If you have a very weak and unstable core OR a 3 finger or more diastasis, you will stay in this phase until you become stronger or your gap has closed and your linea alba starts to firm up.
Do these exercises DAILY:
TA holds without back support 3 times daily. Work towards a goal of holding for a count of 100.
TA squeeze 2 times daily. Hold for a count of 5
Cardio: Each week
~Perform two HIIT workouts. You can choose from the HIIT workout section or you can also do a HIIT workout while walking or on the elliptical, bike, stair stepper, or treadmill. Because our goal is low impact cardio during this program, you can get a higher intensity/better fat burning workout by using cardio equipment listed above. However, not all of you will have a gym membership and that is okay. Aim for 20 seconds of
~Perform two 20-30 minute sessions of steady state cardio such as walking/elliptical/swimming
| Workout #1: ( Do this workout on Monday, Wednesday, Friday or 3 days a week) |
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| Belly Lacing: Lay on your side. Stack your knees and put a slight bend in your knees. Imagine that you have a zipper that starts at your pubic bone and goes up to your ribs. Take a breath in and expand your belly out. As you exhale, |
| Alternating Toe taps |
| Hunting dog: Start by getting on all fours with your spine neutral and your shoulder blades down and back. Breath in and as you exhale, pull your abs in toward your spine without tucking your pelvis under. |
| Workout #2 ( Do this workout on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or 3 days a week) |
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| Rib Closure: This exercise will help flatten the tummy and narrow the waist. Lay on your back with your knees bent and arms at your side. Keeping your arms shoulder width apart, lift both arms to a high diagonal up and back behind your head. Keep your shoulder blades back and down. Perform a core breath, and on the exhale engage your core towards your spine activating your TA. Pull your ribs down and back towards your spine while your abs are engaged. Breath normally and hold for a count of 2 then return your hands to your side and repeat the series 5 times. |
| Wall Pushup: Place your hands against a wall a little wider than |
HIIT Cardio
Our goal for cardio during this program is to have the highest amount of fat burn while doing low impact cardio. HIIT or
If you have access to cardio
| Go! GO! |
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Squat with Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Speed skaters 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Alternating reverse lunge 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Air squats (quickly) 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Tricep dips on chair 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Walking lunges 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Plie squats 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times | ||
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Side shuffle 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
| The Burner Low impact HIIT workout |
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Sumo squat with punches 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
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Low punch shuffle across then high punch 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
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Static Lunge and punch 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Switch legs for each 20 second round Repeat 4 times |
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Crab Walk 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
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March in place high knees 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
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Side shuffle 20 seconds Rest10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
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Bulgarian split squats 20 secs rest 10 seconds |
Repeat 4 times |
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Lunge pulse 20 seconds Rest 10 seconds |
Alternate legs for each 20 seconds Repeat 4 times |
Phase 3 Strengthening
Reclaiming Strength Program
In phase 3, we will continue to build upon the foundation we have established. Everyone will stay in Phase 3 for 2 solid weeks before moving on to Phase 4. If you have a diastasis of 2 fingers or greater with a soft linea alba, and/or pelvic floor weakness, stay in Phase 3 until that improves before moving on.
Do these exercises
TA holds without back support 3 times daily. Work towards a goal of holding for a count of 100.
Cardio:
Each week
~Perform two HIIT workouts. You can
~Perform two 20-30 minute sessions of steady state cardio such as walking/elliptical/swimming
| Workout #1: Do this workout Monday, Wednesday, Friday OR 3 days per week |
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| Alternating lunge: Step forward with the right leg and bend the left knee. Switch legs for each lounge. Perform 20 alternating lunges (10 each side) |
| Mummy walks with |
| Workout #2: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, or 3 days per week. |
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| Elevators: This exercise will strengthen the TA and the pelvic floor. Set with back support on a firm chair. Using the core breathing technique, inhale and expand the belly out. On the exhale, engage our core towards your spine. Next, imagine that your pelvic floor is an elevator. The starting position is on the first floor and the ending position is on floor 5 at the belly button. Contract your pelvic floor up and in bringing the elevator from the first floor to the second, |
| Sumo squat with |
| Superman: Lay on your stomach and your forearms. Keep your abs pulled in towards your spine. Extend your arms out in front of you and slightly lift your chest off the floor as you also lift your feet off the floor. Hold for a count 3. Repeat 10 times. |
Phase 4 Developing
Reclaiming Strength Program
Prior to moving on to Phase 4, you should feel as though your linea alba has firmed substantially from where you started. I am so proud of you for all your hard work and diligence! Everyone will stay in phase 4 for at least 2 weeks before moving on to Phase 5.
Do these exercises everyday of the week/7 days a week:
TA holds without back support 3 times daily. Work towards a goal of holding for a count of 100.
TA squeeze without back support 2 times daily. Hold for a count of 5 repeat 10 times.
Cardio: Each week
~Perform FOUR 16 – 20 minute HIIT workouts per week. You can choose from the HIIT workout section or you can also do a HIIT workout while walking or on the elliptical, bike, stair stepper, or treadmill. Aim for 20 seconds of all out effort followed by a 10 second rest. Repeat that for 16-20 minutes.
Like I mentioned in previous chapters, the goal is to make this low impact cardio. You will be able to get a higher fat burn, if you can utilize cardio equipment for your HIIT workouts. But if you can’t don’t worry! You can still have a significant fat burn with the included HIIT workouts. Just be sure to go hard during the 20 seconds.
| Workout #1: Do this workout Monday, Wednesday, Friday OR 3 days per week |
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Scissors:
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| Workout #2: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, or 3 days per week. |
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Leg circles: Lay on your back and bend both knees to a 90 degree angle. Perform a core breath and on the exhale engage your core towards your spine while obtaining a hollow pelvic tilt position. Straighten both legs straight up.
Do the same with the left leg and repeat 8 times. |
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Hunting dog: Start by getting on all fours with your spine neutral and your shoulder blades down and back. Breath in and as you exhale, pull your abs in toward your spine without tucking your pelvis under. Next slide one leg back and up as you lift the opposite arm . Hold for a count of 5 and then bring your arm and leg back to the starting position. Repeat 5 times on each side |
Phase 5 Sculpting
Reclaiming Strength Program
You have made it to the final phase of the program! Congratulations! In this phase we will continue to sculpt our abs and work on our core stability. We will add in side planks that will help prepare you for slowly adding regular planks back into your workouts. Be mindful to only incorporate regular planks, if you are able to actively engage your core during the entire movement. If you cannot do that yet, stay in phase 5 for longer before adding regular planks back in.
Do these exercises everyday of the week/7 days a week:
TA holds without back support 3 times daily. Work towards a goal of holding for a count of 100.
TA squeeze without back support 2 times daily. Hold for a count of 5
Cardio: Each week
~Perform FOUR 16 – 20 minute HIIT workouts per week. You can choose from the HIIT workout section or you can also do a HIIT workout while walking or on the elliptical, bike, stair stepper, or treadmill. Aim for 20 seconds of all out effort followed by a
Like I mentioned in previous chapters, the goal is to make this low impact cardio. You will be able to get a higher fat burn, if you can utilize cardio equipment for your HIIT workouts. But if you can’t don’t worry! You can still have a significant fat burn with the included HIIT workouts. Just be sure to go hard during the 20 seconds.
| Phase 5 Week 1 Workout: Do these exercises, for the first week of phase 5 , three times a week |
| Inclined plane: Sit down on the floor with your legs stretched to in front of you. Place your palms on the ground behind you. Using core breathing, on the exhale engage your abs toward you spine as you push up into an inclined plane position. Keep your neck relaxed. Hold for a count of 5 then rest. Repeat 5 times. |
| Side bridge holds: Sit on your side with your knees bent and your feet stretched behind you. Using core breathing, on the exhale engage your core as you lift your hip off the ground resting on your elbow. Keep your hips stacked directly over each other. Hold for a count of 5 then relax. Repeat 8 times. Then switch side and repeat 8 times on that side. |
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Side bridge with arm pass through: Position into a side bridge . Keep your core engaged. Lift your top arm up above your side. On the exhale, tightly engage your core as you reach your arm between your side and the floor. Repeat 8 times each side. |
| Full reverse crunches: Lay on your back and bring your legs to a |
| Leg circles |
If you feel like you have mastered the workouts from week 1 of Phase 5 then you can move on to week 2. If you feel like you are still a little weak doing the week 1 exercises, stay in week 1 for another week before moving on to week 2.
| Phase 5 Week #2 workout |
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| Side plank with crunch: Go up into a full side plank. Keep your abs engaged the entire time. Put your top arm behind your head and lift and bend the top leg. Bring them together in a side crunch motion. Keep your hips stacked and your neck relaxed. Repeat 5 times each side. |
Back to Begining of workouts
DIASTASIS RECTI
How often should you check for healing?
During this program I only want you to check to see how your DR is healing every two weeks. Constantly poking or prodding the separation may hinder your healing.
Exercises to use caution with Diastasis Recti:
Avoiding movements that cause intra-abdominal pressure is very important when you have DR. Anything that causes your stomach to bulge and put pressure on the connective tissue should be avoided as much as possible. In later chapters, I will cover this extensively.
Ok, so now you know that you have DR. Let me tell you what exercises can exacerbate DR and should be used with caution until your DR is healed.
- Sit-ups
- Traditional crunches
- Oblique crunches
- Double leg lifts
- Yoga poses such as cow pose, up-dog pose, back bends, triangle pose.
- Upper body twisting exercises such as wood chops, or Triangle yoga pose.
- Exercises that have you lie backward over an exercise ball.
- Pilates exercises that require head to be lifted off the floor or that use a head float position.
- Lifting or carrying very heavy objects.
- Intense coughing without abdominal support.
- Any exercise or movement that causes the abdominal wall to bulge.
- Getting out of bed improperly (see chapter for more details)
Don’t worry! Once you are able to heal your DR, you will be able to add many of these movements back into your daily routine.
How to know if you have healed your DR?
The time it takes to heal DR, is different for everyone but it does take time. Be patient with your body as you continue through the healing process. You can start to see improvements in two weeks with even bigger results by 6 weeks when you are consistent with this program. But it can take many months to a year to see big improvements. I know that I continue to see improvements in my ab muscles, posture, and athleticim and I have been on this journey for two years. Do not give up hope! The information in this book works and it will help you.
There are two things that we look at when we re-assess diastasis recti after/during this program.
- Do we see a decrease in the finger measurement between the right and left side of the rectus abdominis?
- Has the line alba or the connective tissue that connects the abdominal muscles shortened and thickened again? This is tested by seeing how far your fingers sink into the abdomen.
When you have reduced your separation to 1 finger or less you have achieved a normal separation. Congratulations! You have worked very hard to get to this point. But I want to point out that studies have shown that you don’t need to completely close your separation to have it be considered healed. If the linea alba, or connective tissue, has also shortened and thickened then you may have what is considered a functioning diastasis. If you have adequately strengthened your TA, your diastasis has closed significantly, and your connective tissue has shortened and thickened, you may have also reached your goal. Be proud!
If you have healed your DR, you may now be wondering if or when you can add in the exercises that where on the list of do not do with DR. My advice is to slowly incorporate some of these exercises and gradually increase their frequency. Monitor your separation to make sure that you do not open your separation back up again. If you do, just go back to the basics and stop doing the ab exercises that caused the separation to re-occur.
I am not a huge fan of sit-ups and traditional crunches. I personally do not do any of those exercises. I have learned through my study for this book that these exercises can put a tremendous amount of pressure on your pelvic muscles and your abdominal wall increasing the risk for DR. However, some people may be able to tolerate re-introducing them but I don’t recommend it.
Understanding The Core
Why can’t you get your belly flat?
A belly pouch can be caused by diastasis recti (abdominal separation), stretched inner core muscles and connective tissue, weakened inner core muscles, abdominal or visceral fat, and bloating.
What happens during pregnancy and why is it hard to get your abs back?
It is estimated that over 80% of postpartum women will experience diastasis recti, where the connective tissue or line alba between the right and left sides of the abdominal muscles weakens and causes a separation of the muscle running down the center of the abdomen. This condition can cause a woman to look pregnant months and years after having her baby.
During pregnancy, as your fetus grows, it puts pressure on the abdominal muscles and the connective tissues between those muscles, causing them to get stretched and separate. We also have extra hormones that circulate during pregnancy and the postpartum period that increase the stretching and flexibility of our muscles and connective tissue. Therefore, post pregnancy our muscles and connective tissue tend to have extra slack in them. Our pelvic floor muscles are also stretched during pregnancy, and labor/delivery. To make matters worse, many of us went into our pregnancy already having a weak inner core.
Physical trauma, bad posture, poor body mechanics, sitting for long periods of time, and pregnancy, all contribute to a weakened inner core (specifically the transverse abdominis). A weak core can cause a belly pouch, diastasis recti, lower back pain, and digestive issues.
Our goal now is to restore our abs by taking out that extra slack after being stretched. We do this through utilizing correct isometric exercises found in this program, time and consistency. I have got your back and I am ready to help you get to where you want to be. Let’s do this!
Core anatomy
Why can’t you get your belly flat?
Our abdominal muscles are composed of three layers: the rectus abdominis, the obliques (internal and external), and the transverse abdominis ( I will call this the TA).
RECTUS ABDOMINIS:
The outer most layer is the rectus abdominis and is made up of a right and left side that is joined in the middle by the line alba (connective tissue). This muscle is what gives the abs a wash board or six pack appearance.
The rectus abdomens has 3 functions: 1. Support and protect your organs. 2. Stabilizes your back and help keep you upright. 3. Helps you bend forward by shortening the muscle.
Most traditional abdominal work focuses on the rectus abdominis. When the connective tissue, the line alba, is weakened between the right and left sides, it can result in hyper mobility of the spine resulting in spine issues, disc damage, or nerve damage.
TRANSVERSE ABDOMINIS (TA):
The transverse abdominis is the inner most abdominal muscle. It originates on your back by connecting to the vertebrae of your spine and comes around both sides to the front attaching to your lower 6 ribs, pelvis, pubic bone, the rectus abdomens and the line alba in the center of the abdominals.
The TA acts as your natural corset and functions to flatten your stomach, hold your organs in place, and helps you to stand up straight. This is the golden muscle for flat abs and healing diastasis recti. When this muscle functions properly, all the other abdominal muscles work correctly. We will be focusing on strengthening the TA extensively in this program.
The TA can be stretched by pregnancy, gaining weight, or trauma. When this happens it is more like a deflated ballon and is no longer strong enough to pull in your organs and the other 2 layers of the abdominal muscles (Obliques and rectus abdomens) do not function correctly either. A strong TA is an important foundation for a strong properly functioning core.
To make matters worse most traditional fitness programs focus on the rectus abdominis or obliques. Then add on sitting for long periods of time and poor posture on the daily and you have a recipe for a very weak TA.
Don’t despair!! This program will teach you how to restore your transverse to it’s glorious self.
The Fundamentals of Strengthening Your Core.
There are things that you are doing in your daily activities that may be sabotaging your efforts to strengthen your inner core (to get that flat stomach) and heal your DR. It is important that you have a really good understanding of how your body works and what activities are contributing to your DR or weakened core so that you can reclaim your core strength. Let’s talk about some basics.
Proper Body Alignment
Our daily posture plays a huge roll in the strength of our core. When we stand in a collapsed position, slouch during nursing, our crunch forward while holding a child on our hip, we are not putting our body and muscles in proper alignment which means we are not activating our TA and it will get weaker. This can lead to other muscles in your body compensating for the weakness leading to symptoms of pain such as back pain, sciatica, pelvic floor problems, and intestinal problems, to name a few.
Bad posture can lead to an increase of intra abdominal pressure which will continue to stretch and weaken the linea alba that connects the abdominal muscles in the center of the abdomen. I really want you to understand that correct posture is so important to your healing. Even if you eat right, do the corrective exercises, and splint, bad posture can undo all of that. I know this to be true from personal experience.
Keys to Proper Body Alignment
Ear-Shoulder-Hip-Heel Alignment
If you were to draw an imaginary line from your ear to your shoulder to your hip and then your heel when standing , they should stack right over each other creating a perfectly straight line.
You want to stand with your feet hip width apart and put your weight in your heels first, then stack your hips over your heels. Bring your ribcage down and back so it stacks over your hips, pelvis/spine neutral, relax you shoulders back and down. Finally, bring your head up and back so that your ears line up with your shoulders.
What is a neutral pelvis? If you draw an imaginary line between your two hip bones and your pubic bone it will form a triangle. Let’s call this your bikini triangle. You want the line between your hip bones to stack right over the pubic bone to obtain a neutral pelvis. This will allow for a neutral spine.
How to check for proper alignment? Place a sticky dot on your hip bone and one just over your heel. Use a full length mirror and then use a stick or broom to line up the two dots.
When your hip is forward or ahead of your heel, you will tend to tuck you butt. We DON’T want this. Our goal is a neutral pelvis even when we walk. Forward head posture and rounded shoulders will also cause an increase in abdominal pressure. Instead of pulling your shoulders back, think of positioning them back and down while lengthening your neck and keeping your ribs from flaring out. Also, beware that when you wear heels, you throw off this important alignment. Wear flat shoes as much as possible during your healing phase.
Be mindful of proper alignment when you move throughout your day. This will take you some time to correct this so be patient! I am still working on this!