Often pregnancy back pain, hip pain, and nerve-y pain that goes down your leg – often lasting or even starting after giving birth – is caused by Pelvic Instability.
So what causes Pelvic Instability?
Pregnancy, for one. The hormones progesterone and relaxin cause the bones of the pelvis to come apart – often in asymmetrical ways.
Giving birth, for another, for obvious reasons.
In yoga, we hug our inner thighs and our outer hips toward the center to create a stabilizing, inward direction of our muscles.
We stabilize even while we stretch our hips on the floor. We pull in even while we stand in a wide stance and bend our knee.
Next time you’re doing a standing pose, put your hand on your inner thigh and make sure it’s fired up (adductor).
Then put your hand on the side of your butt cheek and make sure it’s fired up (gluteus medius).
If so, you are on the right track for creating pelvic stability, and keeping your pain away.
Here are 3 ways to start getting your muscles to stabilize your pelvis at home:
1.) Stand with feet apart, bend your knees, and come down halfway to squat, like you’re sitting in a chair. Stand and repeat, 10-20 times (please don’t do this if it hurts! It should feel good.) Stretch your arms to the sky for more strengthening action.
2.) Put a big water bottle between your thighs while you drive and hug it.
3.) Walk up a big hill for 30 minutes.
When our pelvis is stable, the rest of our body can move with ease, and we feel free.
And of course, come to yoga this week Mama – just get there and we’ll do the rest!
