A GoulaFIT Success Story
Have you ever heard of or been diagnosed with Diastasis Recti? This separation of the abdominals from the central connective tissue is very common during pregnancy and can lead to some pretty serious muscular imbalances throughout the entire body. It is very common to have some degree of Diastasis following a pregnancy and often it resolves on it's own over the following 6-12 months. However, it can persist and sometimes is so severe that it requires medical attention. The bummer is that most practitioners never check for this or alert us of the possibility of its existence. As a result, many women (myself included) resume our normal routines only to suffer from symtoms like sciatica, low back or neck/shoulder pain.
We sometimes fall into the mindset of, "it must be part of being a mom." I know this happened to me. I just accepted the periodic episodes of pain that would knock me down for a day or two at a time. Then I learned how to muscularly stabilize my diastasis and boy did things begin to improve!!! I wish I had photos to tell my story. Unfortunately, I never took any because I had no idea the evolution my body would make.
Fortunately, a dear friend and client has allowed me to share her AMAZING progress. Meet Bea...this is a psuedo-name, btw, in order to keep things anonymous here. Check out the photo in the white top. This is when we met and she was 4 years post partum with her second child. What's more important than the way she looks is that she came to me because she wanted to run, but she couldn't. Know why? She had sciatica, medial knee pain and neck and shoulder pain that was keeping her from doing what she loves! Now check out the pictures we took today in the black top and you'll see the amazing progress SHE has made. The improvement in the way her body looks is completely secondary to the fact that she's training to run a half marathon and ran over 30 miles last week!!! Is it easy? NO! Is she always diligent about doing her work? Of course not, she's a busy mom! However, she has the tools she needs to integrate and activate her primary support structure...her muscles! When she's able to do this and maintain it, she feels great. The work never stops and she has a chiropractor and coach on her team as well but SHE's making it happen. She and I have been doing Foundation Training and GoulaFIT together for several years and she has been an integral part in helping me formulate exercise sequences to address some common breakdown's in a woman's body. Hat's off to Bea on this busy Friday! Have a great weekend everyone!!
