Benefits of Mommy with Baby Pilates Classes

Recently, I began teaching a new class I call Mommy with Baby Pilates.  Not only is this class so much fun to teach, but I see so many benefits to the new moms AND the babies.

As a new mom myself, I know there are a number of factors holding us back from fitting exercise into our lives post-partum.  These are real and legitimate issues- not laziness or lack of desire.  Most new moms I know would love an opportunity to get out of the house and take some time for themselves. Some roadblocks to exercise for new moms are:

-guilt for leaving the baby while mom goes to exercise
-who to leave the baby with, often times a paid babysitter while mom exercises feels like a luxury that cannot be afforded
-a fussy baby, or a baby who becomes sick and mom can't leave
-being completely exhausted from the effort it takes to raise a baby, if mom has any time to herself it seems as though resting or chores that need to be done take top priority.
-low back and neck pain from carrying the baby everywhere can prevent new moms from exercising because they don't want to hurt themselves more
-working moms already feel the guilt of leaving the baby all day, and find it hard to justify leaving for a longer period of time to fit exercise into their day
-more than one little kid in the house can make exercising nearly impossible!

Benefits to Moms
My class, Mommy with Baby Pilates, offers a fantastic solution to moms facing any of these dilemmas.  In this class, moms do pilates while their babies play or sit next to them on the floor.  There are other styles of teaching where the baby is included in each exercise.  From my own experience as a mom and a pilates instructor, that method doesn't usually work well for mom or baby.  Changing positions and the uncertainty of what's going on can make for a fussy baby.  Trying to maneuver a baby AND exercise at the same time does little to improve mom's core or the proper form necessary to benefit from pilates. 

Therefore, the majority of exercises done in my class are sans baby.  Of course, moms stop working out whenever necessary to take care of a fussy baby, which is completely fine.  No one gets annoyed when a baby starts to cry- we've all been there!  Its a very supportive and welcoming environment!

The class itself is 45 minutes, and there are reasons for this.  The extra 15 minutes in the hour are great for settling into the classroom, and for packing up, changing the baby, nursing, etc before we all leave.  45 minutes is a good length of time to exercise, and just the right amount of time a baby can tolerate being in the class!

Of course, there are some exercises that we do include the baby in, because we all do want interactions with them and they want to feel included and want to do what mom does.  The best exercises to include the babies are squats and lunges- standing up and holding the baby or putting the baby in a carrier.  Great core work, upper back, and arms.  Not only that, but great practice for how to move around the house while carrying a baby- the squats and lunges keep the torso upright and the legs to the work to lower and lift moms body up and down.  Practice movement like this- instead of bending down to pick things/baby up from the floor- to save yourself lower back strain.

Benefits to Baby

One thing that has surprised me most about teaching this class, is the benefits to the babies.  Socializing a baby can be a challenge, especially during the winter in upstate NY.  All of the babies in class watch each other, or if they're old enough, play together. 

The greatest benefit to baby is seeing mom exercise, take care of herself, and take time for herself.  The moms in my class are setting such a valuable and amazing example to their little ones by doing this. 

One reason why most babies in class are so quiet, attentive, and not fussy is because they are seeing something totally new to their eyes- people on mats, moving around!  A teacher talking and walking around the room, with music playing.  These new sights are stimulating to babies, and apparently quite entertaining!

In my next blog post, I will give a rundown of some of the exercises we're doing in the class.  We're not following the exact order of pilates matwork exercises.  Many are skipped, with other exercises inserted in their place.  There are good reasons for this, so stay tuned!