Supporting regression with acupressure - exercises & experiences

With birth, pregnancy doesn't just end and the "old" normal returns. Rather, a physical journey begins: Regression. It is independent of whether the child saw the light of day in a spontaneous birth or as an abdominal birth, because it is about restoring the body after pregnancy. 

• Regression - why you should take your time with exercises
• My postpartum recovery exercises
• Keep neck pain at bay
• Relaxed forearms
• Hand stretching & strengthening to support head
• Shoulder pleasure
• Pelvic floor strengthening on the mat
• Breastfeeding & Acupressure - Experience from our Community

Our body does the lion's share of the regression all by itself without our intervention. Afterpains contract the uterus again - an organ that shrinks from many times its size back to its original state in a matter of days to weeks. Hormones ensure that we can breastfeed our child (if we choose to do so) and endure waking up at night to care for the little being. An insane physical feat for which, above all, rest is needed. 

In this article I will tell you about my personal experience with exercises that supported my body during the phase of postpartum. I prepared my body for the new challenge of holding a steadily heavier child with the help of these exercises week after week. In this article, I also let a ShaktiMat user speak with her experiences, who found the acupressure mat helpful during breastfeeding.

The exercises I present in this article are compatible with most babies. I realize that there are babies that are hard to put down. In that case, do what's good for you in this short time and don't let articles like this make you feel guilty. Regression can be made up if there is no other way!

Regression - why you should take your time with exercises

As mentioned above, the body does most of the regression completely on its own and especially in the first period after birth. The best support here is rest and physical protection. Taking care of the baby should be the only - but not the sole - task of the woman in childbirth. The famous village that it takes in the vernacular to raise a child is first and foremost important to protect the mother role. "Sleep when the baby sleeps" seems kind of snarky to naive in a time when the nuclear family living in one household has become very small. But in the postpartum period, that's exactly what's really important. And if somehow possible, the mother should receive and accept all the support that is offered. This is a better basis for good regression than any exercise in the world can be.

Of course, you can also do regular exercises during the postpartum period if you feel like it. This is best done in consultation with the midwife - but you should not force yourself to do it and take it easy - you decide for yourself what is good for your body. 

For all the exercises shown I used the ShaktiMat Orange.

My postpartum recovery exercises

In addition to exercises specifically suited to my body and condition, which my midwife showed me and which I already performed in bed from the moment of birth, after the postpartum period I mainly resorted to 3 pillars for my regression:

• gentle Pilates for the fourth trimester with pelvic floor exercises specially designed for postpartum 
• Yoga for regression, as found a lot on YouTube (I've always made sure it's explicitly labeled as safe for residual rectus distasis*). 
• and my ShaktiMat and the ShaktiCushion

I have always found the mat and the neck pillow to be helpful additions and have seen one strength clearly above all: Actively feeling my physical sensations. After birth, you have so much intense physical contact with the child that it can actually be somewhat difficult to feel into your own body in peace. I have found the mat to be helpful in this regard because the sensation triggered by the tips can be clearly felt immediately and without waiting. All without having to go far away from your baby - or in some cases - even standing up! 

Keep neck pain at bay

The biggest physical challenge for me during the postpartum period was recurring severe neck pain. Breastfeeding, carrying and holding a rapidly growing little human being is an unfamiliar strain on the body that should not be underestimated. Much interaction with the baby happens in uncomfortable or muscularly very strenuous positions for a long time, sometimes hours. It is not uncommon to completely ignore the strain during the actual activity (e.g. carrying a tired baby) - here, too, maternal hormones (and those of partners, by the way) help. But the rude awakening often comes in the truest sense of the word, and that was the case for me quite often.

I have been able to control this pain since I regularly move the back of my head and neck slowly back and forth on the Shakti Pillow. I often stay in one position when I feel that there is a particularly nasty tension. It combines well with a sleeping baby, because you can stay close together.

If you don't have a neck pillow (here the ShaktiPillow Orange), you can simply roll up the ShaktiMat.

Relaxed forearms

If you have a baby who gains weight strongly and quickly, who likes to be carried and who prefers to be held in your arms when breastfeeding, then it is quite possible that your own muscles cannot keep up - for me, this was definitely the case in the forearm. 

Sharp pains in the elbow joint and a swelling of the forearm, which is also called a mummy arm (similar to a tennis arm), gave me a pained face not only once. With ice baths using the Wim Hof method for the joint and regular stretching, I got the problem under control. Since then, I have been using the ShaktiMat to keep the blood circulation up to support my muscles, which are challenged and growing every day, so that it never gets that bad again.

Tip pressure too much? Just put a burp cloth from the baby under your arm, you usually have them handy anyway. ;)

Hand stretching & strengthening to support head

In the beginning, babies cannot yet hold their own head and bring little body tension of their own. For this reason, especially when feeding with breast or bottle, you spend a lot of time with a tense, bent hand and the associated fingers, on which a lot of pressure rests - often many hours a day. 

To counteract this, daily stretches of the fingers have worked well for me. I found them most effective on a hard surface and on the wall, as shown in the pictures. But in case of doubt, it also works on your own thigh, bed or sofa.

If the hand is already very tense, the stretch can be quite oniony at the beginning, so start slowly and with little pressure.

Shoulder pleasure

Now let's move on to my favorite exercise. Not because it's so much fun, but because for me personally the effect is immediate and so beneficial that I feel a bit as if someone had taken me firmly in their arms and straightened me up for once. 

Place the neck pillow against the wall so that you can lean against it with the full width of your shoulder muscles on one side. Now lift the arm on this side as shown in the second picture below and stretch the shoulder by pulling the whole arm (not just the hand) back towards the wall. This increases the pressure on the ShaktiCushion and the tips stimulate the blood flow to the tense shoulder muscles properly. If you ask me: heavenly!

For this exercise, I actually found the neck pillow more practical to place than a rolled up mat, as it can stick to wallpaper. So it's best to put a cloth between the wall and the mat if you don't have a neck pillow.

I really enjoyed this exercise every time and really felt the effect immediately.

Pelvic floor strengthening on the mat

Pregnancy puts a lot of stress on the pelvic floor, and it also has to endure a lot after birth. For example, the bladder in the still expanded abdominal cavity often fills much more than was possible before the birth and exerts additional pressure. Also the (necessary & important!) carrying of the child puts additional strain on the still strained pelvic floor. Here it helps, in consultation with the midwife, to start working in good time and to continue doing the exercises in the long term. 

I sit with my back buttocks on the Shaktimat and first rock back and forth a bit as well as back and forth to slightly mobilize my rump in this seated position and stimulate circulation. I then take a few deep breaths and sit quietly on the mat while performing the pelvic floor exercise "picking blueberries":

I imagine that a blueberry lies directly at the exit of my vagina. I mentally lift this up with my muscles and tense the muscles as if I wanted to transport it further up inside me. Afterwards I imagine that I put the blueberry down again and move my muscles accordingly. The more often you practice, the better the pelvic floor muscles become to control. You do the exercise about five to twenty times.

A tip for those affected: There are also specialized physiotherapists for the pelvic floor. If you are still struggling with incontinence and/or pain after the postpartum period, it is worth seeking help here, which often gynecologists cannot provide in this form.

It is not necessary that you try to sit up straight during the exercise, the pelvic floor muscles work like this too!

Breastfeeding & Acupressure - Experience from our Community

Less stress - more milk flow, I have also made this experience. During my breastfeeding period I was confronted with stress and already the milk-giving reflex was on strike. There was enough milk. Only it didn't come out and that ended in a painful milk congestion. Yogurt compresses and later a breast pump helped me to get back on my feet - but the idea of using the ShaktiMat really didn't occur to me between the fever and the pain. I think it would have been helpful. But I can't report anything I haven't tried myself - and that's why I'm letting Anne from the ShaktiCommunity have her say here:

Can you briefly tell us about your breastfeeding story and reveal how you came to ShaktiMat?

Anne: The social media made me aware of the ShaktiMat at that time. So many positive reviews, there must be something to it, I thought to myself and wanted the ShaktiMat for Christmas. I am a handball player and love to go jogging, currently I am taking a break of course. Before I got pregnant, I used the mat to come down and relax in the evening after training sessions. My head was still wide awake from the workout and the ShaktiMat helped me to switch off and fall asleep faster. I've been using the mat for almost two years now (I didn't use it in the third trimester of pregnancy) and I just keep noticing how good this time out does me. 

"For me, using the ShaktiMat feels like a short vacation."

- Anne

What I've noticed now during postpartum use is that as soon as I lie on the ShaktiMat for a few minutes, I clearly notice my milk-giving reflex. Often, so much milk runs out of my breast that it ends up on the mat. For me, this is proof that something is happening. I was totally surprised when I noticed this for the first time.

Support your neck nice and comfortably when lying on the mat - it should be fun and not uncomfortable, this is the best way to relax and get the milk flowing well.

How has the ShaktiMat helped you with breastfeeding?

When you're a first-time mom, you hardly take any time for yourself. Of course, you only have eyes for your little new life. After a few weeks, I simply realized that I also had to take care of myself. If mom is not well, then nothing will happen. Then, after a long break, I used the mat again and I'm convinced that this time out in the evening helps me recharge my batteries. Stress always has a negative effect on milk production, I'm sure many moms notice that in the first few weeks. I also had a few teething problems with breastfeeding - you have to get used to it first. In this respect I would like to say that the ShaktiMat is an indirect helper. According to the motto *mama good, everything good*.

Oh so big? I too have taken my time for regression, so of course my baby was no longer as small as a newborn when these photos were taken for this article! 

We wish you a wonderful further journey with your body.

Your Anni & your Shakti Mat Team 

If you would like to share your thoughts on acupressure and acupressure mat for backbirth and give tips or ask questions to others who have given birth, feel free to leave us a comment or visit us on Facebook.

Sources:

• German Association for Physiotherapy ZVK e.V.: Therapist list pelvic floor
• Spotify, midwife salon, breastfeeding start: How to start your breastfeeding period successfully
• Spotify, midwife salon, postpartum: what you really need
• The Belle Method: The Bump Method, 4th Trimester Program