Did you know that your mind gets accustomed to having a nice big baby bump during pregnancy? So when the baby is out you actually have to teach your mind and body how to rethink. After your precious baby has been delivered it's time to go back to a flat stomach instead of a belly pointing away from your body. Does it sound strange or even a bit ridiculous? Well, believe me, it's not. Just finding and activating the abdominals is such a hard work after 40 weeks of pregnancy, so teaching your mind how to do that without thinking about it, without "forcing" the movement of activating and pulling your belly in, instead of just releasing it, is nothing that just happens, at least not for most women.
Just think about how you do when you wear a tight top for example. Many of us have some stubborn belly fat even when we are toned, which makes us a bit uncomfortable when we wear something that reveals our fat reserve. So what do we do when we wear that top we love so much and think we look so good in? We pull the belly in! Only, we have done it so much during our lives that we don't even think about it anymore. The movement of pulling our belly in, is almost instinctive. This might seem like a bad thing, but it isn't! Pulling your belly in is helpful to get a nice strong posture which will also strengthen your core and back, so important these days when we spend so much time sitting down and hunching over our smartphones or computers. But when we get pregnant we eventually, as our bellies grow, do the opposite, we release our bellies, getting prouder and more relaxed in our new shapes as pregnant women. And this is something that your mind will get used to. That is why we have to teach our mind to go back to our previous non-pregnant state where we pull our bellies in instead of releasing them.
If you want to learn more about finding and reactivating your postpartum abdominals in order to recover your flat and strong stomach, get my Post-Pregnancy Belly Guide. It works for new and "old" moms and no equipment is needed!
Your body and mind are accustomed to the belly pointing away from the body and need to be "reset" once the baby is out.
//Nicole Hellgren
