MoveCoLab Tuesday Tip TAKEOVER by Maria Volpe
Pregnancy does not mean having to give up your daily exercise routine. In fact, modified mat work is a great way for expecting mothers to strengthen their pelvic floor, increase shoulder stability, maintain correct posture and improve balance all the way through the second trimester.
Lets start with finding shoulder stability:
- Scapular Protraction/Retraction
- Begin with shoulders stacked over the wrists and hips over the knees
- Maintain a long spine by sending energy out the top of the head and reaching long through the tail
- On inhale, sink the rib cage towards floor as the shoulder blades try to touch
- On exhale, float the rib cage back up to create space between the shoulder blades, imagine you are drawing the baby towards your spine gently
- Quadruped with Arm Reaching out
- Once you’ve found the scapula flat on the back maintain this position
- On inhale, lift the right arm to shoulder height
- On exhale, return the arm back down
- Switch to the left
Scapular Retraction
Scapular Protraction
Quadruped with Arm Reaching Out
