How to Heal Your Diastasis Recti Without Saying "Diastasis Recti"
How FeldenkraisⓇ classes support your diastasis recti abdominis (DRA/DR) healing without saying “diastasis recti”:
I’ve just finished going through the DRA workshop with Katy Bowman (Nutritious Movement) and Jill Miller (Body by Breath) to gain a deeper understanding of how whole-body movement can address the abdominal separation that so many of us experience after pregnancy.
Just in case you didn’t know, DR is very common: 2 out of 3 mamas experience it after carrying 2 or more babies. Saying that, by 12 months postpartum, its incidence goes down to 1 mama out of 3. Apart from the visible or felt abs separation along the linea alba, the obvious things mamas are commonly told to watch are: a “mummy tummy” (I hate the term!), lower back pain and pelvic floor issues (correlated rather than causing each other!) In case you suspect you can have DR, I strongly suggest getting checked by a women’s health physio, whom I suggest you see anyway, postpartum or from time to time afterwards.
Some research says that there is no singular exercise or programme that is guaranteed to assist with closing the inter-rectus distance (IRD - the width of the linea alba between the connective tissue sheaths surrounding the paired rectus abdominis muscles). So, what do we do?
I’ve never believed in addressing any issue or tissue locally only, and I think it’s important to understand the more global factors. A local issue is nearly always a sign of a tissue not supported by the system of your whole “body”.
Here are my takeaways from the workshop with Katy and Jill, part by part, and here is how what we do in an Awareness Through MovementⓇ (Feldenkrais) class can be an answer to your DR issue without ever mentioning it:
“Stop your limbs from pulling on your core”
One of the main whole-body issues contributing to DR is when your arms and legs are too dependent on your “core” and pull on it with every movement you do. Don’t get it wrong: in every class, I will mention how the movement of your limbs can be initiated by your powerful centre. That’s one of the organising principles of an efficient movement. However, if your arms and legs are not giving enough of their contribution, relying exclusively on the centre - that’s where we start asking too much from the “core”.
In every FeldenkraisⓇ lesson, you learn different ways of moving towards the same goal, and pick the easiest one. The easiest way will usually include good coordination and proportional distribution of the muscular work.“Proprioception is tricky”
In order to understand how it all happens, you need to have reasonable proprioception: knowing where your body parts are in space and what the chain of movement events is happening while you perform a simple daily task. “Proprioception is tricky”, says Katy Bowman, and it’s true for most people - but not for FeldenkraisⓇ regulars.
In every FeldenkraisⓇ lesson, you spend time doing a scan of your contact with the floor, allowing yourself to “sink” to get more of the floor’s support. Which means reduced muscular effort, which means more capacity to discriminate sensations and know where you are and what you’re doing.
When you do a simple pelvic rock and track everything that happens up to your head, you warm up your proprioception by taking time to feel what happens. When you use inflatable balls to increase the sensory feedback, you improve your proprioception and capacity to reduce the effort even more. (I stole the idea from a Feldenkrais practitioner and trainer, Raz Ori, and I love using the inflatable balls in classes). By slowing down, paying attention to how movement feels and what’s involved, you create a better map of both where you are in space and what happens inside (interoception).“Meet in the Middle”
A small adjustment in your centre (getting your pelvis into a more “neutral” position) can create a huge difference in the way you are organised and your abdominal muscles have to work. Same for the ribs: their mobility and positioning define what you do with your centre.
Being a FeldenkraisⓇ practitioner, I don’t believe in a corrective approach to alignment: “Tell me where my pelvis and ribs need to be, and I’ll correct the angle”. Your nervous system lets you organise yourself in a certain way for a reason. Feeling of safety and habits are the strongest reasons I know. In order to get out of this cycle, we need to provide your nervous system with new, safe experiences - so it can take care of a more efficient organisation without the imposed control of your mind.
Twisting, softening the spine and ribs, side-bending, flexion and extension that can support figuring out the neutrality of the “middle” are parts of nearly every FeldenkraisⓇ lesson you’ll do.“Core Coordination”
As much as we need limbs to be coordinated with the “core”, but doing their part as well, we need our “core” to be able to initiate its own movement, with or without using the weight of the limbs.
Every rolling FeldenkraisⓇ lesson will help you to figure out this: how can I shift my weight from the centre in the easiest way possible? Many people are unable to roll their pelvis, and they would do lifting instead, fighting the gravity. Most often, one lesson, or even a few minutes, can be enough to figure this rolling movement out. I do it with pregnant mamas every time I teach Movement for Pregnancy and Labour. If they can learn to roll from the centre so quickly, you can do it, too.“Diaphragm Vacuum” and working with breath
The free and elastic movement of your diaphragm will improve your pelvic floor function, your lower back issues, and the availability of your abdominal muscles for action. By allowing an exhale while keeping your ribs wide open, you allow your diaphragm to “pull up” the abdominal content and “unload” your pelvic floor. You allow all the central fascias to move in a more responsive way.
I am a big advocate of entering into the pelvic floor (incontinence, prolapse) and diastasis recti work via the doors of breath. 3D breathing, rib “cage” mobility, and a gentle version of “vacuum” have been a part of my teaching since the early days. But if “doing breathing” equals “doing nothing” for you, and you feel better when you do “real exercises”, you can pay attention to breathing at the very end of your workout. However, playing with “breathing” is possible at a dinner party or during whatever else you are up to - it is so easy to make more bang for your buck once you have embraced the idea.
In every FeldenkraisⓇ class, you will be asked to observe your breathing and coordinate your movement with it, finding more efficient ways to use your diaphragm, intercostal muscles and abdominals, so it all comes together naturally. I love sneaking in pelvic floor engagement into every lesson I teach - but again, the subtle awareness of what happens comes from slowing down, paying attention, and exploring, rather than “exercising”.
So, here you have at least 5 ways of how a FeldenkraisⓇ class can support your DR healing without saying “DR”. I am sure I can find out more, but I would rather let you be curious, explore and tell me all about the ways you’ll find.
Keen to try out a class or work with me individually? Check out the Events page, or book your Initial Consultation here.
Move well, heal well xx