Pilates Through Pregnancy by Tracey Mallett

Most people think of Pilates as a new form of exercise because of the recent surge of popularity in the fitness and healthcare industry. In reality, it's been around for the past 80 years, invented by Joseph Pilates.

Pilates was a sickly child with asthma. To help fight his illness and build his strength, he experimented with various mind-body disciplines and later became an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast and boxer. While in internment during WWI in England, he taught fellow interns his concepts and exercises that he developed over 20 years of self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen and ancient Greek and Roman physical regimens. During this time, Pilates began devising the system of original floor exercises known today as "Pilates mat work.”

Within a few years, he became a nurse to the many internees under care with wartime disease and physical injury. Here, he began devising exercise apparatus to rehabilitate the patients by taking springs from the beds and rigging them to create spring resistance and "movement" for the bedridden. This "system" formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning used today.

In many ways, Pilates equipment today is not much different than it was back then. The use of spring tension, straps and supports for back, neck and shoulders are the same uses of the equipment today. The nature of the equipment is to both challenge and support the body as it learns to move more efficiently.

The benefits of Pilates' method of movement therapy exercises for women thru pregnancy and post-partum is mostly misunderstood.

Simply put, Pilates is a safe and effective approach to exercise for pregnant women to assist with breathing, body alignment and to recover body shape and tone after birth.

Pilates focuses on breathing, which primarily helps activate the transversus abdominus. The transversus abdominus is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and is responsible for supporting the lumbar spine and pelvic area at a time when ligaments are lax due to the natural hormone relaxin, excreted by the body while pregnant and nursing.

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