Ayurvedic Approach to Postpartum
Going into this postpartum period I actually prepared myself. After Jalen 7 years ago I thought I would just have a few weeks off from work so could get a ton of admin work done while I rested. I was naive and needless to say suffered from a bit of postpartum depression and anxiety.
So this time around I wanted things to be different. One thing that I believe helped was I didn’t have pitocin in a large amount to induce labor. Another is I planned and knew better than to think I would get anything done nor should I need to.
Even with all my planning things of course never go quite as planned. My postpartum doula was a bust, I didn’t plan on me and my hubby getting covoid 3 days after onyx was born, I also didn’t plan on our 7 year old throwing up the first night we all were home.
With all that going on I decided a good 2 week social media break would be great. It was. That helped me really relax and do nothing but rest those initial 2 weeks.
A few other things I did that were invaluable was yoni steams and sitz baths daily. I ate soups and grounding foods, and stayed in bed those first 2 weeks. That really helped me get a good baseline on my healing.
After those first four weeks I added in pelvic floor pt and at 5 weeks postpartum started my return to exercise program from mamastefit.
How I'm preparing for Postpartum
Read my blog post I wrote about the practices I planned to do postpartum above.
Postpartum Tips
- A good pelvic floor physical therapist should be standard care in the US and unfortunately isn’t. I have many local (Minneapolis/St. Paul) PTs if anyone wants a few recommendations here are a few locals I trust.
Awake Pelvic Floor PT- Practice located in Woodbury, MN
Moms in Motion PT- Does at home visits
Sarah Knight- who does in-home visits in west metro and has a studio in Hopkins, MN
- Having specialized in pre/postpartum fitness for 16 years the industry has come along ways. Unfortunately not all trainers are well versed in postpartum. They should have a plan for you to safely return to workouts. There are also great programs online that can work for more experienced exercisers. I personally have loved how my pelvic floor PT watches the exercises I’m doing to affirm proper form. It’s always great to have a second set of 👀 on you to make sure your form is solid as often you feel a bit off those first few months.
- Don’t feel guilty about watching tv. You will spend many hours sitting on the couch resting, feeding your kiddo and just relaxing. Not every minute has to be productive take some time to relax without guilt. Plus your brain still feels a bit mushy and it’s nice to just zone out and half pay attention to a show.
I love a good mystery but one that’s not to scary so Monk is what I connected to this time. With my first it was Diagnosis Murder 🤷🏼♀️ those old school Murder mysteries pull me in 😂
❓What tv show(s) did you binge postpartum?
Medical Issues
Along with all of those things my oldest boy needed his tonsils and adenoids out at 6 weeks postpartum. Onyx had a tongue and lip tie that needed to be taken care of. We went to occupational therapy and craniosacral sessions to help him relax his muscles and regulate his nervous system. Then at 8 weeks postpartum we all got nasty colds which was probably the worst for little Onyx. Plus I was solo parenting on most weekends as my husband is coaching basketball through July with an elite team that travels out of state as well as local tournaments.
Needless to say I’ve skimmed down my own work schedule as we don’t do daycare. So I’m currently going about 50% capacity until the fall. So I won’t be burnt out come September.
I also find the postpartum time period has me reflecting on what I want to keep doing in my life and business and this time I feel called to do more in person classes, events. I’m going to be teaching yoga at two locations in the Twin Cities, I’m presenting at the River Valley Yoga Festival in Stillwater in September, and will start hosting new moon circles again this month.
I’ve also found returning to in-person yoga classes have been life giving to me. That has been a space I’m enjoying being in again. I also will be going to craniosacral sessions myself to help heal even more postpartum. That’s where I’m at currently at 10 weeks postpartum now. I also will continue to take my time easing back into things as the year goes on.
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