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Becoming a mom comes with a sudden shift in every aspect of life. Your priorities shift, your body changes, romantic and personal relationships change, and you need to adapt your schedule to your new baby.
It’s very common (and normal) for new moms to report feeling disconnected from their bodies and not like themselves. This is to be expected since your body recently went through the trauma of childbirth and you’re adjusting to a rush of new hormones, along with the lack of sleep. On top of all that, you just don’t have the same amount of time or energy to dedicate to yourself.
So, how can you reconnect with your body given all the constraints of being a new mom? We’ve made a list of our top five ways to reconnect with your body postpartum. This list has been made with time and money constraints in mind - we are assuming that our readers don’t have childcare accessible, and that they are following a budget. We hope these options are accessible to most new mothers.
Please consult with your healthcare provider to determine if the following activities are safe for you postpartum.
Yoga is a great way to get some low impact physical activity in. Depending on the yoga practice you choose, you can get the benefits of both stretching and strengthening in one session. There are tons of free yoga classes available on YouTube at all lengths - whether you have 10 minutes or 60 minutes in your day, there’s something for you.
Search for keywords that might best suit your needs right now:
Our recommendation is Yoga With Kassandra. Kassandra used to dance with us in the past, and her free YouTube videos are absolutely incredible for all levels. Try out her 10 min Gentle Morning Yoga for Beginners.
Dance is a great physical activity that is also good for your brain. Bloom’s online dance school includes Sensuality Movement classes that are perfect for new moms. These longer, low impact classes focus on repetitive movement that allows you to enjoy your body in a sensual way. Expect lots of movement through your hips and torso, as well as encouragement from your teacher to touch your body as you dance and focus on how you feel.
This style of movement and class can really help women explore their sensuality from the safety of their own home. In addition to our Sensuality Movement classes, many of our beginner level heels classes are taught at a very slow pace that would be suitable for postpartum women.
Check out Bloom’s online heels dance school.
Sometimes the simplest movement is all you need to reconnect with your body. You don’t need to do a lot to reap the benefits!
If going on a relaxing walk in your neighborhood is accessible to you, try to prioritize doing that with your baby. We’d also recommend disconnecting on these walks - just listen to what is going on in the world around you and let your thoughts roam.
Start with something short and easy like five minutes around your block. Maybe with time you can increase the length of your walks to give your body the physical activity it craves.
We know that time is a luxury. If you have some time, use it to do something that relaxes your body like a bath, a face mask, moisturizing your body, etc. What did you enjoy doing pre-baby that would make you feel relaxed and fresh? Tapping back into these activities can help you reconnect with your body postpartum.
If you were a very active person before your baby, doing online workouts might be the best way to reconnect with your body now that you’re a mother. Once again, YouTube is a great place to find free workout videos at all lengths and for all levels!
Take some time to find videos that are suitable for your body right now. Here are some YouTube searches that we’d recommend:
There are so many styles of fitness classes out there too. We’d recommend finding videos you might like well before your first workout. The sheer amount of options available might be overwhelming if you only start looking right before your workout.
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We hope that one of these options work for you in your postpartum journey. If you’re a mom who benefitted from something not on this list, we’d love to hear from you!
For low impact dance workouts, check out our sensuality movement classes or our beginner heels classes on our online school - class lengths range from 15-45 minutes and they are available anytime.