Diastasis Recti

After more than four years I can finally do a crunch and not feel a huge gap between my abs.

Let me tell you what doesn't work to correct abdominal separation (in my experience):

• doing nothing
• doing ab exercises
• not doing ab exercises
• T-Tapp (it is a good workout, but didn't fix the problem)
• body brushing (feels good, though)
• binding (basically, wearing a corset)
• sucking your belly in whenever possible
• pulling your belly in for 100 reps several times a day

Let me also acknowledge that some of these things might have helped, but just not been enough for full healing. And some of these things might work if performed better or more frequently than I did them. But you need a solution that is right for you, right?

Abdominal separation has plagued me since I first discovered it's existence after Virginia's birth. Why have I been surprisingly silent on it, given the fact that I am open to discussing much more embarrassing things on the blog? 

I considered it the worst thing about my postpartum body. I was depressed about my inability to fix it. I knew that I was doing a bunch of ridiculous things to try and repair my belly. I didn't want to write about my high hopes over and over again, just to have to later admit that I had, again, failed to make an improvement. 

Let me try to explain why this has been so frustrating. I am in the best shape of my life. I was recently declared "disgustingly healthy" by a nurse. I run. I do yoga. My diet has been hugely improved by my realization that healthy, for me, means eating foods that make me feel my best - and making the necessary changes.

I have not made these improvements with the intention of losing weight or inches. It was just to be healthy, to feel energetic. But, I do now wear the smallest size I've ever worn in my adult life. My weight is in the same range that it always tends towards. So, I have successfully gained muscle and lost fat. 

But in spite of all of those things my stomach has still been soft, round...loose. 

And although I ignored the advice at times, I couldn't really do much to strengthen my abdominal muscles, because it is supposed to make the muscle separation worse. This ended up not being a huge problem because I just couldn't do my pilates DVD anyway. Couldn't even modify the moves to make them easier. If you can't sit up, you can't sit up. 

As much as I really do try to love my body as it is, this one thing did bother me. 

And it is not just a cosmetic issue. It is a health problem, if a minor one. Abdominal separation affects posture and can put strain on back muscles. 

I was kind of over the exercises. I felt like I had tried quite a few already and they hadn't worked. But somehow I found the hope to order another DVD. BeFit-Mom won me over by being so authoritative not on general fitness, but on postpartum fitness, specifically, and on the issue of muscle separation. (This is not a paid endorsement, by the way. Just found something that works for me and thought I'd share.) 

I have only done the workout for diastasis recti so far, and not nearly as often recommended (end of school schedule is making it hard). I had zero expectations of seeing any kind of improvement after only a few weeks. The thing is, I think my muscle separation wasn't even that bad. It is just so hard to exercise the muscles that need strengthening to pull the abs back together. 

I'll keep doing this workout a while longer before moving on to the more general ab work. I don't want to push it. It is just nice to finally see one of my wild attempts at healing myself pay off. 

The best thing about this video is that, even though the workout works months or even years post-pregnancy, it is mostly aimed at women a few months postpartum. I get to laugh at the advice at the end of the workout about exercising when baby is asleep. Most likely Virginia is on the mat next to me attempting to do the exercises, too, and Horatio is dive-bombing me from across the room making sure I really do have my stomach muscles tight. 

I knew I would be left with some scars from pregnancy and parenthood. I don't try to get rid of the stretch marks or dye the gray hairs that are popping up with new and frightening frequency. But this thing, I can put it back the way it is supposed to be. So I'm going to.