for Pre and Postpartum Mothers
Whether for postpartum injuries, incontinence, or self care, I offer a wealth of experience and variety of services to help you keep up with your busy, active family.
YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCING
• incontinence
• prolapse
• DRA (Diastasis Recti Abdominus)
• pelvic floor dysfunction
• poor breathing quality
• poor posture
• inefficient movement patterns
• lack of energy and confidence
My Approach
Is gentle, subtle and focused on healing and strengthening from the inside out. I combine my experience as a Nurse, a Pre and postpartum fitness specialist, a Hypopressives® instructor, and an ABM Neuromovement® practitioner to provide you with a holistic approach to healing through movement. Each mother I meet has an entirely different story therefore each client has an entirely different program designed for them. Below are the services I offer specifically for mothers. Feel free to contact me for advice or for a complimentary phone chat to discuss YOU.
HYPOPRESSIVES
Hypopressives® is a breathing and posture technique designed to prevent and treat pelvic floor disorders such as prolapses and incontinence. The technique was born in Europe in the 80’s by Dr. Marcel Caufriez and is now spreading rapidly across Canada and the USA. The focus is to improve core health but the approach is unique in that a complete reorganization of postural and breathing habits must occur to be able to execute the hypopressive apnea.
Core health is being redefined from strong abs to a more holistic inclusion of the respiratory structures and descending all the way to the pelvis and pelvic floor. Hypopressives can be learnt during pregnancy, or immediately postpartum. They are also very beneficial to males and other women who are looking to improve breathing capacity, athletic performance and pelvic floor function. Clients can visit me in my Fernwood studio, online via Zoom or in the comfort of their homes (+travel fee). Clients are required to commit to one consult and then 8 sessions weekly (or more frequently) and baby can be present if desired. At the end of this series clients will have a home program that they will continue on their own, they will also be able to join small group classes when offered.
Visit the Canadian Physiotherapy Associations website for more detailed information about Hypopressives.
KINESIOLOGY
Postpartum Kinesiology is ideal for preventative and therapeutic pelvic floor health. Whether you just had a baby, are pregnant or are even just considering having a baby, making sure your body is healthy and prepared will build your confidence. Individually crafted sessions will help to strengthen and coordinate muscles specific to birth and beyond. By listening carefully to your needs, performing a thorough health assessment and creating an individualized program, I can help you recover from or prepare for birth.
My goal is to empower each woman by building their self awareness and their educational resources to feel confident in being able to recognize loads and intensities they can handle and gently increasing demands to exceed current limitations. The standard 6 week medical clearance postpartum can be confusing and misleading causing injury and strain. I strive to meet women where they are individually and help them to restore function from there. Clients can visit me in my Fernwood studio, online via Zoom or in the comfort of their homes (+travel fee). Clients are required to commit to one consult and then 8 sessions weekly (or more frequently) and baby can be present if desired. At the end of this series clients will have a home program that they will continue on their own, they will also be able to join small group classes when offered.
ABM NEUROMOVEMENT® FOR MOTHERS
The Anat Baniel Method of Neuromovement® is ideal for pre and postpartum mothers to enhance self awareness and change movement habits. During pregnancy there are a lot of changes, both physically and emotionally. Some of these shifts are to accommodate a growing baby, breasts and extremity swelling. A lot of the aches and pains that arise are due to the unprepared response to these shifts. Postpartum there are even more changes, growing breasts, shrinking bellies, and continued hormonal shifts.
On top of that layer a new load of repetitive chores that pose to challenge an already disorganized system. In these sessions I will guide a you to explore your body as it is now. To safely and gently feel movements with your new and evolving relationship to gravity. I strive to help you to build confidence in recognizing minute discomforts before they multiply by teaching a repertoire of movements to help you shift out of pain or discomfort. These lessons are done on a table, fully clothed and ideally without baby present. You can visit me in my Fernwood studio or in the comfort of your homes (+travel fee). You are required to commit to a series of 6-8 sessions. For more information on the Anat Baniel Method® of Neuromovement® read here.
If you’ve had a baby you need to work with Michelle! I am not a coordinated person…but Michelle was so supportive and patient. She had no problem finding new ways to coach me on proper posture and movement. Michelle really knows her stuff and she is so much fun to work with. I can’t wait to work with her again!
I am pregnant with my second child due in a few months. Due to my acute back pain I was afraid to move, which made me tense and my pain even worse, I even had to call in sick to work. After just one ABM lesson, I was able to move more freely again and return to work. It was like my brain had to be reminded how it felt to move my body without pain in order to heal, and be pain free.
I have had the pleasure of working with Michelle in my pursuit to better health after the birth of my second child. I initially became connected with her as a way to kick start my fitness goals after the birth of my second child. She introduced me to the world of hypopressives followed by her work as an ABM practitioner which I found to be quite miraculous. Michelle is easy going, friendly and is always committed to supporting and assisting her clients to a higher level of wellbeing. Michelle is inspiring to me in the way that she is always searching for other ways to help people when the traditional methods fall short. If you get a chance to work with her, you won’t look back. I highly recommend her group ABM classes.
Michelle has the perfect combination of training, knowledge and personal experience to be able to understand, explain and help get you (and your body) back on the path to where you want to be! I love that she has a “why” behind everything and her methods are focused, consistent, determined and practical.
She is very dedicated to helping you get better and expanding her knowledge in order to better help postpartum women get active in a safe a healthy way! Thank you so much!