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It’s time to honor mothers!

We have amazing giveaways all week long leading up to Mother’s Day with all sorts of mama and baby resources for you! Scroll all the way to the bottom to enter both of these amazing giveaways!

And we have a Zulily maternity store gift certificate worth $100 – partnered with an Ultimate Homemaker’s Resource Library of 97 books {exclusive}!

Package #1

We are very excited to bless an expectant mother with a $100 gift certificate to Zulily Maternity & 1 Ultimate Homemaker Ebook Bundle {which is no longer for sale}!

~The Zulily Gift certificate generously brought to you by the bloggers below.~

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Package #2

This giveaway package has it all! Something for any mom, whether this is your first baby or your tenth!

Lisa Jacobson of Club 31 Women donated her book How Did God Make Me?

Boys and girls love to know that they are special, and nothing instills a sense of uniqueness like the knowledge that they were known and loved before birth. Help your child develop feelings of understanding and closeness with the God who is intimately involved in our lives — even before we are born!

The Mission-Minded Child is a practical book to encourage Christian parents and teachers placed in the strategic position of impacting the next generation.

As a guide to world missions, The Mission-Minded Child is filled with facts, information, and tools for teaching. It focuses on the “why” of missions–including our Biblical basis, historical heritage, and the world’s need–and contains over 25 mini-missionary biographies, motivational mission stories, classic poems, hymns, and hundreds of easy-to-use ideas. The Mission-Minded Child will inspire teachers and parents to look for God’s potential in their child, “release” their little one to God for His purposes, and “raise” their child to fulfill God’s specific mission, whatever that might be. As a resource tool, this book will be referred to again and again.

Heidi St. John donated her eBook The Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Romance. Heidi blogs at The Busy Mom.

Homeschooling offers parents the best opportunity to shepherd their children both academically and spiritually. Yes. It’s worth it. But do you ever feel as if your life is “all homeschool—all the time?” Do you ever wonder where the girl your husband married went? This book is for every mom who has collapsed into bed at the end of the day, looked into the eyes of her husband and promised “tomorrow” she’d have time for him. Trouble is, tomorrow finds her more exhausted than the day before. If you have ever felt caught between the demands of homeschooling your children and meeting the needs of your husband, you’re not alone. Read and discover how even a busy homeschool mom can make time to nurture her marriage. It’s not as hard as you think—and more important than you may realize.

Shoshanna Easling, owner of Bulk Herb Store donated their Making Babies set that includes the book and 3 DVDs.

Making Babies is a fun, informational, artistic, and colorful pregnancy book. Follow Shoshanna through her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter as she stays healthy and builds a baby. The book covers information that is in the DVDs volumes 1, 2, and 3, includes many deliciously healthy recipes, wonderful gluten-free recipes, grandma’s remedies, herbal concoctions, and need-to-know facts, and is packed with research about fertility, conception, morning sickness, pregnancy, birth, nursing, postpartum issues, losing weight, and more!

Source: Laura Newman Photography

Blessings God’s Way donated A Celebration of Pregnancy DVD Combo {DVD + Guide}

This set enables you to feel confident and sure about hosting a Blessing God’s Way gathering in your community! This DVD is 30 minutes long . Watch this prior to hosting your own gathering or pass it on, along with the book,  to friends and family that you can share our message with. What a blessing to know there is a God-centered instructional DVD  and book for celebrating birth! May God be glorified!

    The Joyful Giraffe donated one large snack bag and one large sandwich bag.

These are two great reusable products that will save you money and are eco-friendly too!Both have a waterproof lining on the inside and a zipper closure, so whether it has grapes or a sandwich, all messes are contained! Bags are handmade by a work at home mom.

Angie Tolpin of Leaving a Legacy is donating a signed Redeeming Childbirth Package {Book & Growth & Study Guide}, $30 value. I love this book! Angie is a friend of mine, and she gave me a signed copy that I hauled around in my purse for a week, reading it hungrily! Then I passed it on to a dear friend planning her third pregnancy! There is an amazing note from her husband to new fathers about how to support their women. Love it!

“Childbirth is more than an event that makes a woman a mother. This journey was designed to be a spiritual milestone that draws every woman’s heart back to the only Deliverer.”

Bethany Learn of Fit to Be Us {that’s me!} is donating a 6 Month Membership to her online exercise site, a $50 value.

Juju Band is donating one Baby Belly Binder.

Baby belly binding has long been used in various forms by many different cultures. The ancient art of binding has been made easy and quite cute by the Juju Band. Its design is simple and made to accommodate even the busiest of parents! The Juju Band has been a family tradition for over 100 years. It is a tradition still used today in our family. We hope that you will join our family tradition and try the Juju Band on your newborns and infants. Juju Bands are used for 2 different purposes. First, it is used on the Newborn as a shield to protect from constant contact of diapers and clothing. This helps reduce the likelihood of irritation and infection. The Newborn Navel Protector also helps give your baby the perfect “innie” belly button. Second, the Infant Belly Binder helps relieve colic and soothe fussy babies. The snug fit calms and comforts even the most finicky infants.

Jennifer Lambert of Royal Little Lambs donates a Gentle Babies book and Gentle Baby essential oil.

Combining two decades of professional knowledge with tried-and-true techniques and first-hand testimonials, the author Debra Raybern has compiled this insightful and easy-to-follow guide benefitting both experienced and first-time mothers. In addition, Gentle Babies book contains an introduction to therapeutic-grade essential oils and applications and provides safety information and a section on discerning the quality of essential oils. Every family taking proactive steps to better health should have this resource in their home library. Gentle Baby™ essential oil is a soft, fragrant combination of essential oils designed specifically for mothers and babies. It helps calm emotions during pregnancy and is useful for quieting troubled little ones. It is also soothing to tender skin. Many of the essential oils in this blend are used in elite cosmetics to enhance a youthful appearance.

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Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

This site is a modest and family-friendly site that specializes in a little known issue called diastasis recti that can make the two sides of your abs feel as if they’re in separate zip codes. It’s an injury to the core that leads to other “hush-hush” issues that are often considered immodest to even mention. But, sweet ladies, it’s time to mention them… but I’m already blushing just with this little paragraph {because I know what’s coming} so I’ve asked Lara Catone, an expert in the area of intimacy and pelvic floor as they relate to diastasis to write this post for me. There are no pictures, no explicit language, just straightforward talk about the things no one wants to talk about. There is no judgement, just healing available if you need it. 

Lara writes… As a yoga teacher, doula and somatic sexologist I help women process their births and the subsequent changes in their bodies and relationships. I often say that I help women put their bodies back together after birth. My area of specialty and great passion is the core which includes the muscles of the abdominals, low back, pelvic floor and diaphragm. Most women come to me initially for weakness and the change of appearance in their abdominals due to diastasis recti. They want to lose their mummy tummy! In our first meeting it quickly unfolds that diastasis is affecting numerous areas of their lives including, and often especially, intimacy.

Diastasis recti is a common condition seen in postpartum women where connective
tissue in the abdominal muscles, the linea alba, thins and spreads out causing the
abdominal muscles to separate. This separation in the rectus abdominis can cause a
bulging tummy, umbilical hernia, back pain, postural problems and pelvic floor
weakness. Women who have diastasis recti describe an overall feeling of
disconnection from their center.

CHECK YOUR BELLY FOR A DIASTASIS BY CLICKING HERE!

Our core, is our very center–as the name implies–and when the core is out of alignment
or weak it can throw us off in a multitude of ways. As a yoga teacher and somatic
sexologist I look at the physical, emotional and energetic components that come into
play for women who have diastasis. Each of these different layers can interfere with
intimacy.

New parenthood in and of itself is an adjustment for couples. The lack of sleep, the
newness of the bond they find with their baby, the demands of taking care of that baby
24/7, financial stress and hormonal changes are all well known ingredients in
extinguishing the romantic fire for both men and women. Here, I would like to explore
specifically how diastasis might add strain to your love life through each layer; physical,
emotional and energetic.

Physical - Women who have diastasis are often in pain or discomfort. Their backs and
shoulders ache, they may have pelvic pain. There can be a feeling of discomfort in the
abdomen itself. It doesn’t matter how you slice it, pain is not sexy.

Women with diastasis also have a feeling that their bodies don’t work the same way and
that they don’t have the same amount of strength and feeling of togetherness, or full
body integrity that they were previously used to. Their bellies can be bulging and
bloated. A common phrase I hear is, “This doesn’t feel like my body.”

Lastly in the physical realm, diastasis can contribute to pelvic floor weakness which can
lead to incontinence and organ prolapse (when organs like the bladder or uterus fall out
of place and start to hang into the vagina).

Emotional - We know that negative body image is an issue that almost universally
impacts every American woman at some point in her life. The postpartum period is
certainly no different and can be a real challenge for women’s self esteem. In fact,
muscles carry, or hold, emotions and certain muscles are associated with specific

emotions. The emotion most connected with the rectus abdominis (the abdominal
muscles that separate with a diastasis) is self esteem.

Women feel so much pressure to obtain a certain, unobtainable body image that
pervades all areas of our culture where real pregnant and postpartum bodies are not
recognized. When women are feeling ashamed of their bodies because of how they
look or feel, they don’t want them to be seen and they often don’t feel like they deserve
to be loved, honored and cherished with their imperfections.

Energetic - Just like emotions, the body also has energetic qualities that have been
part of ancient eastern philosophy for centuries and are now being recognized by
modern science. In yogic philosophy the sexual center is in the core. The area below
the navel that holds our womb and organs of reproduction also holds the energy of
creativity, wealth, fertility, sensuality and sexuality.

When a woman is not feeling physically or emotionally connected to her core, she is
unplugged from her libido. She is missing out on the magic of her desire, passion and
sensuality.

The good news is that there are specific exercises to heal diastasis and there is also a
process of self acceptance and self love that can heal the emotional wounds. Through
reconnecting to the core physically, emotionally and energetically women can start to
feel full again and get their mojo back.

Read what Bethany wrote for Lara’s site! Click!

As a woman who has never given birth, I am humbled by the stories that so many
women have shared with me about their births and postpartum recovery experiences. I
feel blessed to hold space for the processing of these great rites of passage and to
support women on this journey. {I love how she’s so open about her own history}

Lara Catone is an emerging leader in the field of sexual wellness.  As a yoga teacher
and somatic sexologist with a specialty in women’s health, her mission is to empower
radiant health and pleasure.  In 2011 she began development of the Restore Your Core
program that includes nonsurgical approaches to diastasis recti (abdominal separation)
and pelvic pain and dysfunction.  Lara trains fitness, birth and medical professionals in
her progressive approach to core health.  She has a thriving private practice in Venice,
CA and teaches workshops and retreats worldwide.  If you need further insight and help with your own intimate issues, Lara recently expanded her global
community through the launch of an online studio with live webcam classes. 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. No moneys were exchanged for the writing of this post. It is in the interests of Fit2B Studio, LLC to provide thought provoking and authoritative articles regarding our fitness niche, but the opinions and beliefs stated in this article are those of the guest writer and may not reflect all the views and beliefs of the owners and founders of Fit2B Studio. Please direct any questions about this post to the author’s website. Thank you!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

Molly is drawn by a Fit2B Studio member in New York, Lynn Andrews, and this one is about our mama needing rest more than exercise. I might be the strangest fitness CEO in the world because I’m quick to encourage resting, but my clients need every bit they can get!

I sure love Lynn’s art! And I’ve so been in Molly’s shoes. Finally get some time to myself, sit down to take care of some “me” things, and fall dead asleep! Can I just say that if this happens to you a lot, it’s your sign – a sign that you’re exhausted and to rest when you can. We all need movement, but keep it gentle if you are already tired. A tough, strenuous “psyche yourself out” routine will just elevate your cortisol (stress hormone) more!

I’m not sure I’ve ever been a fan of “working out” every day of the week if you think of exercise as being 30 minutes of keeping your heart rate up… I mean, isn’t my heart rate as a mom always up and aren’t I always moving? Ha! Well, no… but even sitting and nursing for 11 hours a day (low average for newborn mothers) can be exhausting and use tons of energy. So I applaud my members who listen to their bodies and take a day or even a week off when needed. Hey, and if your house gets hit with the stomach flu, you might need two weeks. At least you know {thank to THIS ARTICLE right here} how to include your core in daily life, right?

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

I’ve been cleansing as part of my New Year’s resolution, and the biggest thing I’ve done so fa is a nutritional cleanse with Melinda of The Mommy 15. Today’s post is part of our March Nutritional series, and it’s written by Melinda herself, mom of 4 and encourager extraordinaire! She sent me a bucket-load of herbal products to try, and I was so impressed! Melinda writes…

When you think of cleansing, is this the image that comes to mind? LOL! I think that is the number one question I receive from people when they ask me about doing a cleanse: “Am I going to be, you know, on the toilet all day?”

The truth is, there are many different types of cleanses and ways to cleanse – some MAY leave you on the toilet all day, but that has not been my experience with my cleanses! I’m talking about Nutritional Cleansing – a cleanse that helps our bodies work better – nourishes our body’s natural cleansing systems, supports healthy tummies, healthy livers, healthy kidneys, healthy bodies. And all those things create happier mommies who – in the words of my clients who have cleansed with me – are more alert, less stressed, have clearer heads, and are better able to cope with life’s demands because they “just feel better, more grounded!”

When the body works well, we absorb nutrients, vitamins and minerals better. When these assimilate properly in our bodies, we feel and see the results! Some things you can do to help cleanse your body:

1) Eat/drink fresh lemons/lemon juice. Lemons balance your body’s pH, help improve digestion, prevent food from entering the blood stream, act as natural antiseptics to kill bacteria, and support the liver in removing harmful toxins.

2) Drink Apple Cider Vinegar. Apple Cider Vinegar also helps make your body less acidic/more alkaline, helps the liver get rid of unhealthy fat, boosts your immune system, and reduces inflammation.

3) Take Epsom Salt Baths. Here is a fun/cleansing detox bath recipe for you:

Detox Bath- (Bulk recipe)

2 C epsom salt

2 C sea salt

2 C aluminum free baking soda

5 TB ground ginger

1 C vinegar

Combine all dry ingredients, store in a closed container. During bath time, add 1 cup of dry ingredients mix and 1 cup vinegar to hot running water. Soak 20-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Benefits: Epsom Salt draws out toxins from your body while relieving aches and pains. Sea Salt soothes and heals blemishes and open wounds. Baking Soda balances and over acidic system, leaving you refreshed, energized while softening the skin. Ground Ginger increases circulations, aiding in the eliminations of toxins. Vinegar soothes and soften dry, itchy skin while balancing the bodies and neutralizing the bodies pH.

Wonder if cleansing is for real? Here is a link {Click!} to the results of a clinical study conducted on individuals that compared the Cleansing System that I use with a Heart-Healthy diet and discovered greater fat loss (particularly around the tummy and internal organs) and improved health with cleansing. The results were so impressive that TWO peer-reviewed Nutrition Journals have already published them! And here is a YouTube Video showing blood samples after completing one of our cleanses.

Have you ever done a cleanse? What recipes work for you? Let’s start a conversation and share ideas! Just “Leave a Reply” below!

Hello, Readers! Bethany here! I can vouch for how clear and “chiseled” I felt after doing a 7 day cleanse with Melinda! Plus, it involves green-tea infused dark chocolate! I could read everything in the labels and understand what I was putting in my body. When I ran into a couple snags, Melinda was quick to respond and suggest a different route. I’ve begun purchasing thees products for myself and my husband because I couldn’t get over how much energy the E+ drinks gave me during filming and how much they helped my man on one of his hardest work days of the year. I love their “Want more Greens” drink mixes… and, of course, the chocolates on cleanse days! Wow! It’s not a diet, and I’m going to keep doing a cleanse day once every couple of weeks. Love her stuff! If you want to peek at what they provide, click HERE! I get a small commission and use it to buy the stuff I need

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

This month, four guest bloggers (who are way better at nutrition than I am) will share their expertise on how to eat healthier and get RID of that post-baby line of fat in simple, no-nonsense NON-DIET ways! Our first guest is Kristen Glover who is mom to five kids, including twin boys, and wife to a military chaplain. She is a freelance blogger and writer, and you can find her at www.fiveintow.com. 

Pin Me so more moms can read these great tips!

Kristin writes… “Most of us want to cook more healthy foods for our family, but it’s hard to find the time. Life is busy, and it always will be. As a mother of five kids, I know what it’s like to struggle against the clock. But, I’ve come to realize that I can’t use that as an excuse not to eat healthy. Instead, I use it as a motivation to plan better and work smarter.

I have learned a few things over the course of the years including the following eight simple tips you can use to make healthy eating a reality in your home.

1) Toss the junk.

Being motivated to eat healthy must start with an understanding that anything loaded with preservatives and artificial ingredients is not food. If it is not food, you do not need to “use it up.” You will not waste it by throwing it away. Many people sabotage their healthy ambitions by clinging to a false sense of frugality. They keep the junk because they do not want to throw out perfectly good food. But just because you can eat it does not mean it is food. You made a mistake when you bought it. Don’t make a second mistake by eating it too.

Toss the junk while you still have the resolve to change your life. The longer it lingers in your home, the less likely you are to throw it out at all.

2) Avoid the pitfalls.

Once you’ve cleaned out the pantry, keep it clean. Stay away from the parts of the grocery store that sell un-food. If you can be strong in the grocery store, you’ve won half the battle. Splurge on healthy foods instead, like green grapes or some funky melon that the kids are going to love eating. Don’t buy anything that doesn’t make you feel proud of the way you feed yourself and your family. Instead, trade your money for the things that are going to have lasting impact like real, nutritious food.

3) Start with a plan.

I am not one of those women who loves to plan menus so I keep menu planning as simple as possible. I have a master list of the healthy meals my family loves. I rotate them every few weeks, scheduling the super easy meals on the nights when I know we’ll be rushing. On the weekends, I can be more creative, but when time is tight, this mom loves having a meal plan that keeps me on track.

4) Make it big.

It takes very little extra time to double a recipe. Get into the habit of doubling meals. Eat one and freeze the other! Not only will you slash prep and cleanup time, you’ll also build a stash of healthy meals in your freezer. Then, when you’re tempted to cruise through a drive thru, you’ll know you’ve got a better option at home.

5) Buddy up.

Like most things in life, changing your eating habits is easier if you do it with a friend. One of the best ways a friend can help is by building your repertoire of healthy food options. Plan a meal swap! Double a new recipe and trade the extra meal with your friend. It’s a great way to try out new recipes without having to make them all yourself. Plus, you’ll both get a night off from cooking! 

6) Stock the soup pot.

We eat soup at least once a week. It is frugal, and many traditional soups are nourishing and satisfying. Plus, having a big pot of soup in the fridge makes my life easier. It makes a great mid-week meal or a quick lunch. You can even save soup-worthy leftovers in a container in the freezer and throw it all together to warm little tummies when the weather turns chilly. I’m pretty sure that’s how the Italians invented minestrone, and the world has been grateful ever since.

7) Prep ahead.

I have found that I am much more likely to serve healthy veggies if I prep them ahead. I make enough salad to last a few days, keep the fridge stocked with carrot and celery sticks, and even wash fruit as soon as it comes home from the store so the kids can grab it and go. Do a few tummy pulses while you’re chopping and you’ll get a core workout in besides! {No, Bethany didn’t insert that part! But she heartily approves!}

8) Stock the car.

Most moms spend a lot of time on the road. Keep a stash of healthy snacks in the car at all times. Dried fruits, raw nuts, and bottles of water can keep you from spending money on fast food. Plus, you won’t have to mess with those ridiculous packets of ketchup.  {click HERE to read our article about fun, healthy roadtrips!}

There you have it! Eight simple ways you can begin to nourish your family and change the way you put food in your belly. Start fresh with great ingredients and real food and you will soon begin to build healthy, life-changing habits in your home.”

How about YOU? Comment below {leave a reply} and let us know what you do to get REAL food into your families hungry stomachs!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

We’d like to welcome Susanne Reinhold from Kangaroo Fitness who is a fitness instructor and personal trainer working with the pre/postnatal population. Susanne has a special interest in the abdominal muscles given that the belly is the number one concern for most new moms. Learning more about the core has taken on a new level of excitement for her since she started taking biomechanist Katy Bowman’s Whole Body Alignment course at the Restorative Exercise Institute. Fit2B follows Katy’s work closely, and Susanne is listed in our Diastasis Directory of Experts, so we are blessed to have Susanne write…

The exciting part about Whole Body Alignment is that during the  4+ hours of covering the core, I didn’t learn a bunch of abdominal exercises, but instead I began to understand the relationship between functioning or non-functioning abdominal muscles and the alignment of the bones to which the abdominal muscles attach to – the rib cage and the pelvis – and how therefore alignment work can rehab broken abdominals. So if your abdominal muscles are split in the middle (diastasis recti)or you’re *just* wider in the waist than in the hips, it’s worth having a look at how you carry your pelvis and rib cage through space .

Neutral Alignment of Pelvis
When sitting or standing the neutral position for the pelvis is when the ASIS is in a vertical line over the pubic bone. In the following photos, my belly is relaxed; I am not sucking it in, nor am I consciously contracting my TvA by pulling it towards the spine. What you see is how my abdominal muscles respond to a change in alignment! So try this… scroll down a bit…

What you see up there is my hyper kyphosis which is exposed now that I align my rib cage with my pelvis. You can’t see this but I could feel my abdominal muscles turn on immediately. While my personal hyper kyphosis is another issue altogether, that photo just shows you how much I need to round my upper back to get my ribs down.  How about you?

Diastasis recti and a bit of anatomy
All of the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and transversus abdominis) attach to the pelvis and rib cage. The deepest layer, the transversus abdominis, also attaches to the spine. They all ultimately attach to strings of connective tissue (linea alba and 2 linea semilunaris) in front of our abdomen. Katy Bowman refers to it as 3 abdominal raphe with raphe just meaning “seam.”
Now , if the muscles didn’t connect to this collagen-containing seam in front but to a nice long bone instead, we would all have toned abs but it would also make living our life and growing a new life much more complicated. 

So we were equipped with this raphe [seams] which, IF held in the right position and under the right amount of tension, can be as strong as bone and can thus be a solid attachement point for the abdominal muscles.

When there is a gap between the muscle (diastasis recti) it means that the raphe isn’t bone-like anymore because it has lost its shape and therefore its tensile strength.  It is no longer under the right amount of tension to offer the abdominal musces a solid attachment point from which to move and generate force.

The raphe [seams] attach to the sternum and the pelvis which is why the position of the rib cage and pelvis really matters when it comes to the tensile strength of this funky part of our body. When the attachment points of any muscle are in the right place, the muscle gets to be at its intended length and with regular use can develop its intended strength. Now, I’ll show you how I look when I lie on my back and how my abs respond to some alignment changes. Look at my pelvis in this following picture. The white dots show you where my ribs and ASIS and pubic bone are…

It’s easy to imagine that the 3 raphe that go from my sternum down to the pubic bone are far from taut and bone-like. You can also really see my ribs sticking out. My abdominal muscles cannot fire properly in this crappy alignment. You do not want to start doing leg slides or leg lifts in this alignment!

 In this next photo I’ve actually lifted my head and shoulders off the floor to lower my rib cage down so it can be in line with my neutral pelvis. My pubic bone and ASIS are also now in a horizontal line. This is a killer move not to be mistaken with a crunch. All my abdominal muscles are switched on.

My pelvis is neutral (even though my pubic bone white point looks a little higher in the photo – maybe not perfectly neutral after all but you get the idea). I’m ready to do some exercises now.

The best part – aligning my rib cage

Do you remember how my ribs were sticking out in the first picture of me on the floor? The ribs should be flush with the abdomen so that the lowest real rib is in line with the ASIS and pubic bone. When you do it at home, you can tell right away if your rib cage is too far forward by 

a) seeing your ribs sticking out,
b) being able to kind of slip your fingers under your ribs or
c) your bra line – or where your bra line would be – is not touching the floor.

If you are doing leg lifts or leg slides from here, bolster your head and shoulders so that your bra line is connected with the floor. Like me in the next photo.

 You defenitely don’t want to look like the following picture when you get ready to do abdominal exercises or when you are lying on the floor for other reasons. This is far far far away from a neutral pelvis. This is a tucked or posterially tilted pelvis.  You can see how my pubic bone white spot is higher than my ASIS.

Can you see the bulge or “bread loaf” rising out of my belly? My ribs are down but my pubic bone is no longer in line with the ASIS. My pelvis is not in its neutral alignment.

 But even when you are in neutral pelvis, you can get the bread-loaf bulge. So watch your body.  What you see  is the recti muscle taking over. If you have diastasis recti, your belly would kind of make a tent-shape appearance which you want to AVOID and do more of the basic TvA contraction exercises and stretches and releases before moving on to the more advanced stuff. Read this article to learn why sucking it in doesn’t help either.

Final note: Much much more important than doing a bunch of abdominal exercises every day, is to start noticing where you carry your rib cage and pelvis when you stand, sit and walk around and to correct it into neutral. And to do more standing and walking than sitting. And to learn the difference between sucking in vs. properly con your belly muscles.

More Recommended Links:
http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/rua-rib-thruster/
http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/neutral-pelvis/
http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/side-effects/

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

 Like many of us, Teresa is a mom whose goal is to keep her body strong and her abs flat the healthy, diastasis-aware way. However, not only is Teresa one of my founding members, but she also has such a unique and vibrant approach to her everyday fitness. Almost every day, she shares a picture on facebook of her daily lunch walk, and so I asked her to write about why she does it.

Taking pictures during her lunch time walks keeps Fit2B Mom Teresa motivated to stay in shape

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

This is a guest post written by Allison Morris, co-creator of an enlightening graphic that shows how children who exercise are smarter. Allison found this article on Fit2B Studio’s blog, and she wrote directly to me to see if I’d like to carry this educational piece on our site. Of course I said YES! Here’s the graphic, and you can see what she wrote about it below!

Attribution to OnlineCollegeCourses.com

Allison writes: With only 12% of students getting the recommended daily amount of exercise, it’s no wonder there’s a national push to keep our kids active. From early childhood through college, kids who exercise score better on intelligence tests, enjoy a higher quality of life, and are generally better students and happier young people. 

Video games, television, and computer time alike are doing our kids a disservice, as only one in four children gets at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. With the average elementary aged child watching 28 hours a week watching television, it’s obvious that sedentary activities are hurting our children. Half of all young people ages 12 to 21 don’t participate in any vigorous physical activity, and that takes a toll on both the body and the brain. 

40 minutes of daily exercise caused an average IQ increase of 3.8 points

Exercise stimulates brain cell growth, and the younger you start your child’s exercise routine, the better. In a study of elementary school children, 40 minutes of daily exercise caused an average IQ increase of 3.8 points, whereas their inactive counterparts enjoyed less IQ growth. And in a study of sixth graders, the students who were more fit scored 30% higher on tests, while less fit students scored 20% lower. Studies show similar correlations between school performance and fitness as students get older, as well. Staying fit is an important part of adult life, and children need to learn this as early as they can. 

An adult employee who exercises is 15% more efficient, which saves companies and workers both time and money. An average employee’s 50 hour week is the same as a fit employee’s 42.5 hour week, and — while this doesn’t affect children today, they will be the workers of tomorrow. Children must learn active habits to easily grow into active, happy adults. Limiting video games, television time, and computer hours, as well as family or group physical activity, is a great first step to a healthier, happier child. Children need to start out active, and stay that way. Your child’s brain is a part of her body, and it must develop along with other muscle groups and systems. 

When kids have an exercise routine from a young age, it makes it easier for them to continue this as young adults. And studies show that college students who work out before class improve their test scores an average of 17%. Encourage your child to exercise, for the sake of their brain and body, and check out this graphic provided by OnlineCollegeCourses.com to learn why a fitter body does in-fact lead to a fitter brain.

Bethany responds: Wow! Did you catch that fitter 18 year olds were more likely to go on to higher education? Did you see the pull-quote about higher IQ’s in more active kids? Due to working in corporate wellness, I’ve known this intuitively for a long time, but to see it visualized this way is so powerful! Please share on pinterest and facebook, and comment with your thoughts!

CLICK HERE to visit our special section of workouts just for Kids!

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I have revered and respected Julie as the founder of The Tupler Technique® ever since her program helped close the split in my abs that my surrounding fitness communities was ignoring and accepting as “normal.” When I wrote to Julie and asked for a guest post, I never dreamed she’d give me an open ticket. What did I want her to write about? Well, I wanted her to write directly to mommies about her heart for us, of course! Here is the letter and pictures she sent me…

Dear Moms,

“I know you are upset with the way your belly looks and feels. You know something just isn’t right.  I know you feel like screaming if just one more person asks you when you are due!  You may also have started having back problems, your posture is not so good and in general you just don’t feel good about yourself.  You may even be down to your pre-baby weight….but still have your “mummy tummy.”  If I could sit down over coffee with you, I would tell you three things. The real cause of your protruding belly, the effects on your body and how to get rid of it once and for all.

Julie works with a mama to find her core

“You have tried dieting and exercise but nothing seems to work. You may have gone to your doctor or midwife to find out what you can do.  The usual answer (I have heard from many moms) ranges from surgery to crunches! I am sure you have thought that surgery is just too drastic and not realistic with children. If you tried crunches or situps, I am sure you have discovered not only do they not help…they make your belly worse! I would like to support and encourage you in finding the solution. A solution that will change the way you move your body while participating in your life as a mom.

“So let me begin by telling you that you probably have a medical condition that is causing your protruding belly.  It is called a diastasis recti. The word diastasis means separation and recti is the name of the outermost abdominal muscles. So it is a separation of the two outermost muscles. These two muscles are joined by a piece of connective tissue.  In the middle of this connective tissue is your belly button. This is a weak spot in your connective tissue. Continuous force and pressure on this weak spot (ie growing uterus during pregnancy or doing lots of crunches) weakens the connective tissue and separates the muscles. These outermost muscles are your support system for both your back and organs. When the muscles separate it compromises the support system for your back and organs because now they are being supported by a weak piece of connective tissue instead of the muscles if they were together. This then is the cause of your back problems, poor posture, gastrointestinal problems, and your protruding belly (which is really your organs not being supported correctly).

Julie has a real heart for moms of multiples, because their diastasis is often bigger.

“Closing a diastasis is all about healing the connective tissue. So for six weeks you have to be  really kind to your connective tissue and let it heal as you focus on strengthening your inner most abdominal muscle called the transverse muscle. When people are talking about working the “core” they are talking about this muscle.  So while doing my program, I believe it is important not to do any other exercise program other than walking for the first six weeks of the program! In week six of the program, I teach you how to exercise using your strengthened transverse muscle. Healing connective tissue means no intra-abdominal force, pressure or stretching of the connective tissue.

Personal trainers and instructors need to remember that diastasis changes how we train someone.

“I have been treating this condition of diastasis recti  with moms during and after pregnancy for over 20 years.  This condition of diastasis recti is a common condition causing unpleasant side effects. For some reason it is just neglected by the medical community.  Thus why I am writing this blog to give moms an awareness that there IS a program they can do to treat this condition. When teaching pregnant women the Tupler Technique® to help them prepare for labor, I saw that as their bellies got bigger the diastasis was getting smaller.  A physical therapist working with me was astounded that this was happening and suggested that I get research. Columbia University Program in Physical Therapy did the research and supported the fact that the woman who had done the Tupler Technique® program during their pregnancy had a smaller diastasis then the control group of women who had not done the program.

Many Tupler Trained instructors are featured in our Diastasis Directory!

“The Tupler Technique ® is 4 steps and progresses over 18 weeks. It is not an overnight process or a quick fix to heal connective tissue. You must be committed to doing all 4 steps of the program.  However, within the first three weeks you will see the connective tissue starting to heal and lose inches without having lost any weight. You will then be encouraged to continue with the program. I recommend taking before photos from the front and the side.  That way you will see your improvement.   I’d like to end by telling all you moms that if you want to start smiling more……. it is time to change your belly.”

Julie Tupler, RN, Diastasis Rehab

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

Anne Marie Gurney is a a homeschooling mom friend of mine, and she’s running – and I do mean running – for the Oregon House of Representatives. When I asked if I could interview her for Fit2B Studio, she said yes! Here is her video, and our interview follows.

Bethany: How does fitness play a role in your personal life? What are your favorite physical activities?

Gurney: Fitness in my personal life has become very important to me over the last year as I have made the commitment to take care of my health. My favorite activity that I have purposely chosen to challenge myself with is running.

Bethany: How do you think that being physically fit make you more “fit to be” in office?

Gurney: I have found that I have incredible stamina now. When I take the 45-60 minutes three times a week to work out, I have the stamina that makes it so I can work hard in my office for 18 hours days. I sleep better and my body is fueled better. Being physically fit makes it so that I can take on hard days, and when I have my days off I can go hiking and running and have the stamina to enjoy those activities.

Bethany: You are running in the race to be an Oregon House Representative. What are you the most passionate about changing in Oregon?

Gurney: Changes I am passionate about for Oregon: a) Jobs. We have so many job creating opportunies as a state that red tape and bureacracy have stifled. b) Education. Oregon ranks 43rd among 50 states for academic outcomes. We have a 1/3 drop out rate and when our kids do graduate and go to college, 40% of them must take remedial courses while in college to get them to college level. Our children deserve better. 3) Budget. Oregon doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. Our budget has ballooned over the last decade yet we keep hearing about cuts. Just like our households in times of economic hardship, we live within our means, so must our government.

Bethany: Are there any parallels you can draw between the challenges of staying physically fit and running on pavement in comparison to what it takes to represent our state?

Gurney: Parallels. Yes, I see parallels. When I go running physically in my neighborhood, it hurts. It’s painful and uncomfortable. I wonder many times if I will make my goals. I go through the mind games of “If I stop, I fail and don’t meet my goal but it would feel good. I am not dying, I can keep going….” I think anyone who has been in public office has those wavering moments where their confidence is shaken or the desire to rethink the goal creeps in. I think keeping fit, staying on a course, letting past success boost current confidence – all of those things are tools and lessons we can learn from staying fit to help us in our daily lives.

Bethany: What do you think about the state of our country’s health as a whole?

Gurney: I am concerned about our country’s health. As I get older, and I start realizing the fitness choices I am making now will absolutely affect my golden years, it is sobering. Our biggest power in changing these trends is realizing our power as consumers. I think we are seeing this now. If we want more nutritious things on our shelves to purchase, we need to purchase those items. If we don’t want fast foods, don’t buy them. I think we have seen more health food stores, choices and products available to consumers.

Bethany: What is one piece of advice you’d like to give other moms about keeping their kids healthy?

Gurney: Keeping my kids healthy is difficult! Several things I do: The daily snacks and foods I keep on hand in the house are healthy ones, with a few treats. They participate in community sports. I also realize my huge influence as a parent by setting an example. When I stretch and run, my kids want to hop on their scooters and join me. When I schedule to do a 5K, they want to join me. They have complimented me on my successes over this last year, and I make a point to compliment them on their healthy choices. We have so much influence in our role as parents through simple means. Encouraging words to our kids is a big tip. Plus making sure we as moms are doing something for ourselves physically our kids can notice and follow our example has been a big discovery for me over this last year.

Thank you so much, Anne Marie, for participating in this interview. Your insights are helpful and valuable! For more info about Anne Marie Gurney for Oregon House of Representatives, visit her facebook page by clicking here!

For more info on our Tummy Safe™ workouts that are free of crunches and perfect for those healing from diastasis, click here!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!