Ep 128: Finding Movement in Pregnancy

We’ve talked a lot about how movement and exercise are important during pregnancy.  It helps with sleep, digestion, cramping, bloating, energy levels, back pain, and lots more.  But if fitness hasn’t been a part of your life before pregnancy, it can be daunting to figure out what to do.  And sometimes the hard part also is figuring out how to fit it in.  In this episode we chat about:

• Focusing on your mindset with exercise
• Scheduling time to find movement
• Types of exercise/movement/activities to do
• A sample routine of how to fit movement in 

Resources mentioned:
Episode 96 - prenatal yoga
Episode 70 - tips for movement during pregnancy
Episode 22 - prenatal fitness (running)
Fit4Mom
Birth Fit

1. Practice 4-7-8 breathing 
2. Standing PSOAS 
3. Calf Stretch - 5 deep breaths on each side (if you can do 4 inhale, 7 hold, 8 exhale, that would be optimal or adjust to what feels good to you aiming for a longer exhale than inhale).
4. Kneeling PSOAS release 
5. Dim the lights and then do the hip opener (laying down option if you can...otherwise do the seated one) 
6. Lastly, lay flat on your back (so long as you are comfortable - it is safe for brief moments of time) - stretch your arms above your head, pinch your shoulder blades together and flare your ribs - think of something that brings you lots of joy and take 5 long inhales and exhales.

Transcript

Dr. Shannon (00:02.004)
Hello, hello, this is the Aligned Birth podcast where Dula Rachel and I talk about all things prenatal health and wellness, postpartum health and wellness, motherhood transition and all good things. So again, you have Dula Rachel here today and I'm Dr. Shannon, prenatal chiropractor and we are the hosts of the show. We're so happy you have tuned in today. Today's topic is exercise and movement.

during pregnancy. We've had a couple of episodes about this before. We're going to link it in the show notes as well, too. But today, we really wanted to highlight the aspect of, okay, maybe you understand that movement is important during pregnancy and you know movement is medicine. I love saying those type of things, but how can you fit it in? Maybe it's your first pregnancy. Maybe you're working full-time outside of the house. Maybe you have two, three other kids running around. Like how can you fit this movement in?

and how can you frame the mindset about movement? I think that's a big part of it too, instead of being overwhelmed of like, oh, I have to move, like, okay, you get to do this and how can we fit this in our day? So that is our birthday topic for the day. Welcome to the show, Rachel. It's so good to see you.

Rachael Hutchins (01:19.854)
Hi Shannon, so good to see you. As always, I love our time together and looking forward to this conversation. Definitely want to follow up to what you said, like the importance of movement and activity during pregnancy. I think it's like, I believe it is very, very important. Many people might hear it from their provider, their doctor, their midwife, their friends, their family.

Dr. Shannon (01:20.096)
I'm going to go to bed.

Rachael Hutchins (01:44.774)
social media, you know, that you need to be moving, you need to be exercising, you need to be doing all these things. And that might feel overwhelming, might feel like how do I get started? How do I find time to do all these things that I'm supposed to do? And so we really want to, this episode is focused on giving you the like tangible ways that you can add movement and activity and exercise into your day so that it's attainable.

doable and then you can build on it from there because there are so many benefits to doing this because I think if you're anything like me if there's too many things to do sometimes I do nothing or I like

Dr. Shannon (02:26.036)
I just talked about this yesterday in the office. I was like, when I get overwhelmed and there's too many things to do, I shut down and I don't do anything. And I said, maybe I need to talk about that in therapy. Ha ha ha.

Rachael Hutchins (02:32.934)
Right, right. Yeah, so there you go. Like that is so real. And especially in pregnancy, there are so many things quote unquote to do, whether you're, you know, purchasing items for your pregnancy or baby, or you know, doing the nursery, or all your, you know, visits with your care provider, or you know, all the classes you feel like you need to take, or, oh, yes, yeah.

Dr. Shannon (02:38.524)
Yes.

Dr. Shannon (02:54.72)
there's so many extra things that you're already doing, right? Because in addition to your normal activities. So we are very aware of that. That's why we want to give you...

Rachael Hutchins (03:04.19)
Yeah, and then people are like, do this for healthy baby and healthy mom. And you're like, I'm doing everything I can with what I've got. I just want to say like, I get it. Like, and that's why I think this, this episode came to be is because it's like, I feel like if we're just telling up people, you got to exercise an X number of minutes a day and you got to do this and you got to do that, then it just might stop them from doing anything. So what we did here was sort of create a, an example of a day and where you can weave some things into what you're already doing.

Dr. Shannon (03:09.976)
Exactly. Yep.

Dr. Shannon (03:23.124)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (03:33.224)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (03:33.73)
to help promote physical, mental, emotional wellness.

Dr. Shannon (03:39.064)
Exactly. So we, and like I said, other episodes that we've had, there's benefits to movement during pregnancy. I'm going to highlight just a few of those and these are well documented. These are well known. I mean, it can definitely help with sleep. All of these things that movement can help with also helps outside of pregnancy. So that's a fun nugget as well too. But this applies across the board. Exactly. But it can help with sleep. It can help with digestion, cramps, bloating, swelling, backaches.

Rachael Hutchins (03:58.726)
Right? This could apply universally.

Dr. Shannon (04:08.544)
Some of those normal things that happen in pregnancy can help improve mood and contrary to what you might think, but it can help increase energy. I know it's like you get to the point where you're so exhausted and you don't feel like you can do movement, but it really, it really does help. I always think of like Legally Blonde, when she talks about, you know, like it releases endorphins and happy people don't kill people like whatever she says. But it really is like it releases those endorphins.

Rachael Hutchins (04:17.495)
I know.

Rachael Hutchins (04:33.877)
Yeah.

Dr. Shannon (04:37.88)
And it gives you like an energy boost that can last for quite a bit of time as well too. Exactly. And a little bit as well like that first trimester sometimes you might be feeling nausea. You might have some of that those prenatal issues. I know I found that exercise actually helped.

Rachael Hutchins (04:43.834)
can can- so can counteract fatigue, exhaustion, and stress. Yeah. For sure.

Dr. Shannon (05:05.748)
with that, with me. And it didn't have to be intense. But so even, you know, even that aspect of digestion as well too, or just those nauseous feelings can improve posture, muscle tone, and then it can benefit too as you go and as we approach labor and birth, giving you that extra strength that you've been working on. And it can definitely play a role in that. So we know the benefits of movement. It can help.

Rachael Hutchins (05:34.142)
Yeah, no, definitely, definitely. And it doesn't have to be intense. We're not talking like you have to go do, you know, really long runs or hit workouts or an hour and a half yoga class or insert really strenuous to you. Or really daunting to you exercise, right? It really is. And that's like, so it can be like, I use, I like to interchange the word movement activity exercise. Like.

Dr. Shannon (05:36.085)
Hehehehe

Dr. Shannon (05:54.944)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (06:03.145)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (06:04.414)
moving your body in a way that feels good to you and promotes maybe a little slightly increased heart rate or increases building muscle tone, increases flexibility, like movement like that. And so really tuning into what feels good to me, what activity do I enjoy doing and lean into that versus feeling like you should do pilates or you should run or you should you know. So don't

Dr. Shannon (06:27.4)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (06:34.64)
Yeah, don't shit on yourself. That's the story of my life. Yes, yes.

Rachael Hutchins (06:36.587)
Right? Favorite saying, one of my favorite sayings. But trying some different things out, and really leaning into embracing that movement's gonna feel different during pregnancy, but that it's so vital that you don't wanna shy away from it, so maybe you're not able to do what you did before, or maybe you weren't working out before, so you need to start working out, and you're nervous, because you're pregnant, and you really don't wanna cause any harm, or stress, or anything like that. Please know it's perfectly safe, it's highly recommended to.

Dr. Shannon (06:50.473)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (07:03.826)
work out in pregnancy and if you weren't working out before start with slow you know easy movements here and there and build from there and if you were working out before you can maintain that same regimen as long as it feels good to you and not causing any sort of increased pain that doesn't feel normal.

Dr. Shannon (07:23.96)
Exactly. And I usually will tell moms like if you have been moving before, I want you to keep moving. Yes, there might be some modifications that we need to make and especially as we go, as you grow in pregnancy as well too, because there's going to be changes in your body, your respiratory rate, your ability to get your heart rate up, your ability to breathe, but it's also that level of fitness that you had before. This is why I think it's so important preconceptively too to

Rachael Hutchins (07:37.523)
Yeah. Oh yeah.

Dr. Shannon (07:53.288)
have movement and exercise routine. So we are at a good starting point in pregnancy because then you can maintain it. I did have a mom in the other day and we've got some really bad pubic symphysis pain. And so there's some exercises that we can do. And I'm like, I really want you to have some movement. And, but I didn't want her to just start lifting weights. Like, you know, we're halfway through the pregnancy. I'm like, let's.

Rachael Hutchins (07:53.335)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (07:57.63)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (08:16.142)
Thanks for watching.

Dr. Shannon (08:19.836)
I wouldn't recommend that either for people if you have not already been doing those exercises. So it's great to start a new routine, but just know where you're starting at and start with something more gentle. I mean, prenatal yoga, we have a whole episode on that with Julie Hawkins. It's episode 96.

Rachael Hutchins (08:25.378)
Right.

Dr. Shannon (08:38.408)
and we'll link it in the show notes. And she goes through a whole thing of, and she even experienced yoga as a yoga instructor. She experienced two different types of yoga that she ended up doing with her pregnancies. One was a little bit more spicy, one was a little bit more relaxed. Like it was, it's interesting to know, to know and experience that. So it's not necessarily the time to start new intense exercise programs, but it is recommended now to keep moving.

Rachael Hutchins (09:02.174)
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, move, move. And you know, that's many benefits from like, you already listed all the benefits, so I won't go back into that. But yeah, I think knowing that most of the, most activities or exercises can be modified or done in a different way. So if you're feeling like, we've had some clients who were, you know, really intense athletes and they were nervous about being pregnant and continuing that. And so,

please know that is considered, like it's considered safe to continue what you were doing before at that same level. So long, again, so long as you're not having a pain that you feel like is not normal or talking with, you know, the people who are specialized like physical therapists or pelvic floor therapists or people who can like kind of help you carry a routine that

meet your needs where you're at so that you feel safe and confident doing it. But just know that most activities can be modified and adjusted to meet the pregnant growing body and that there's nothing wrong with you if you were, you know, not working out before and you're trying to start something new and there's nothing wrong if you were an intense training and now it feels like that's not accessible. So there's a season for everything. We're here to just encourage exploring where you're at.

thinking about like what works for you, think about your, um, your day to day. Are you, do you work at home? Do you work out of the home? Do you have other children? Is this your first? Like what other things, and that is usually what can lead to maybe doing nothing. Cause it feels like, well, I work all day. I don't have time to work out or I have other children. I don't have time to work out. And so that's why we kind of want to take the time for workout. Like that it has to be this like hour and a half block of your day. Take that out. If that's stopping you.

Dr. Shannon (10:41.289)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (10:52.93)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (10:54.078)
If you're doing it already, great, right? If you're having a hard time finding where to fit in movement and how that can serve you, this is where you wanna get your notebook out and we're gonna kinda like walk you through some ways to weave it into your day.

Dr. Shannon (11:10.68)
I so for most of my pay, okay, for all my patients, I want them to move. Um, obviously there's chronic pain set, but I'm talking about like pregnant, not pregnant. Um, I think the biggest issue that I find is, um, okay, two things, a little bit of mindset as in I like to flip it in. I don't have to work out. I get to work out.

I get to do this. And maybe you too, you can even think of like, I get to now move my body as I'm growing this baby and move with my body as it grows. This is so freaking cool. Like it's so cool to see how it changes. Your gait changes when you run. If you do run, it's just such a neat and cool experience. So if you can flip that mindset of like, I have to do this. I have to find an hour. I have to do that. No, no, no. You get to do this. Where can we fit it in? You get to move your body. You have that ability.

Rachael Hutchins (11:57.446)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (12:02.316)
And that's one thing I try to work with people on is that mindset. The other one is, and I always say this, and I say this because I need to remind myself of it all the time when I'm like, why have I not gotten anything done on this thing that I was supposed to do? Well, what gets scheduled gets done. And you can be very particular in that it gets written in your calendar, online, digital, whatever.

It gets written in there as far as like, this is non-negotiable. This is what I get to do. This is who I am. And this is the program that I'm going to do. And if you schedule it and write it down, you have a higher chance of completing it. And again, too, it doesn't have to be, it could just be writing down, okay, I'm gonna do this for 10 minutes. I go to the bus stop in the morning, I have a little bit of time in between two bus stops. And I'm like, okay, I have 15 minutes. I'm gonna fit something in for 15 minutes here. You know, I get to do this, I get to move my body.

But I would highly recommend that aspect of looking at scheduling it. Where can you fit it in? Now, we're going to go through with our little outline here that we have talked about. It's really cool because we'll go through of ways that you can fit it in that into things that you're already doing. So maybe it doesn't have to be such a big time chunk of what you're scheduling or maybe you realize

You know what, I do just have a little bit of time in between activities, maybe I can move my body. So there's two different ways to kind of look at it there. But I do like to remind folks that you are important, you are worth it, and this movement can really, really help. We went through all of those benefits there at the beginning. So, well, I know, maybe you wanna jot some notes down with when we go into this next segment of like, okay, how can I fit this in and how can I schedule it?

Rachael Hutchins (13:55.414)
Yes, and I want to add too for scheduling it. I am also a big fan of Post-It notes. So like in your, because the things we're talking about today are really around your home, things you can do. So like in your bathroom, in your kitchen, by your back door, wherever you can like stick a little reminder of some of these things that we're talking about here, it might promote actually doing them.

My sticky note reminders really, really helped me a lot to get the things done that I need to do for myself or my family. So just wanted to add that idea as well.

Dr. Shannon (14:32.644)
The other day I took a picture because I really do love lists and then I like to cross things off lists. Oh gosh, I hear my dog in the background. But I like lists. I like to cross things off my list. But the other day I was going through it and I have a stack of Post-It notes of things from the office and I was just like crumpling them when I was done. And I was like, this is finished. And so, I don't know, have little note reminders, but then be like, I have done this. I crossed off my list.

Rachael Hutchins (14:51.394)
Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (15:00.014)
Yeah, it is so satisfying. Um, but yeah, so we're going to kind of walk through, uh, an example structure for a day from morning till evening. Um, of some opportunities where you can do some beneficial movements for. That support a healthy pregnancy and birth and postpartum. Um, so, oh, the other thing I did want to add to that actually

Dr. Shannon (15:01.936)
It's very satisfying.

Rachael Hutchins (15:29.302)
just recently heard at a spinning babies conference. The instructor said that, pain and pregnancy is highly dismissed. And so I was like, oh, that's a quote unquote normal pregnancy symptom. And knowing that movement and like chiropractic care, massage therapy like can help reduce that overall pain significantly and that it shouldn't be

Dr. Shannon (15:47.493)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (15:59.53)
like dismissed as normal, right? Your body's telling you something. And yes, is there discomfort in pregnancy? Are there changes? Yes, but having chronic pain that is like, yeah, that's disrupting your day to day, even if it's not fully stopping you, if it's like constant or it is preventing you from doing some things or it's preventing you from exercising or moving in the way you want, like please pay attention.

Dr. Shannon (16:06.369)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (16:13.484)
debilitating pain. Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (16:27.886)
to the pain you're feeling in pregnancy, please listen to your body and seek appropriate care that can help you feel your best. Cause I don't think, I think there is this, I just said, I don't think, and then I said, I think. Words, come together please for me.

Dr. Shannon (16:44.992)
Yeah, words have been tough. That's fine. Let's have a light.

Rachael Hutchins (16:49.758)
I believe that our society perpetuates a perception of pregnancy as a miserable event, for the most part. And I do not believe that it has to be. Now, are there things you face that create experiences that are not what you want, not optimal, not optimal and really hard? Yes. But does it have to be a torturous event? No.

Dr. Shannon (16:59.202)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (17:15.618)
But it does take support. It does take learning new things. It does take trying new things. It does take some commitment, support, you know, time. It does take some things in order to optimize. Like increase your, give you the best chance possible at feeling your best for the majority of your pregnancy. Like that's what I want for all birthing people. And I want people to believe that they can feel good and that if they don't, that they don't have to suffer.

Dr. Shannon (17:16.004)
Mm-mm.

Dr. Shannon (17:37.643)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (17:43.324)
They don't have to suffer. Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because I like how in my notes on this, I didn't even mention prenatal chiropractic care. Oh, we didn't even mention like pelvic floor. Hello. So yes, with you kind of piggybacking on that, there's people out there that can help you. There's people out there if you do experience those aches and pains. I think it'd be great to make sure that your pelvis and sacrum are lined up, that the nerve supply to the uterus, pelvis, sacrum.

is optimal and that can facilitate the normal neuro biomechanical movement of the pelvis and the sacrum. So I think chiropractic care is great for that to help maintain that. I think pelvic floor physical therapy is amazing for that too, to maintain that muscular structure, to maintain that are we engaging the muscles appropriately? That's a big part. And that's what I hear a lot of patients come in who have been to the PT.

pelvic floor and they're like, I didn't even realize that I was not engaging my abs. I wasn't engaging that lower pelvic floor with breathing. So all of that to say those little things there, just a little bit of work can make a big difference in your movement. So don't let the pain that you feel that yes, I think is perpetuated in society, it's seen as like a handicap, you know. I remember getting weird looks in the gym all the time when I would be lifting weights. Granted, this is like 13, 14 years ago. And I'm like, I am not handicapped.

Rachael Hutchins (19:08.919)
Right.

Dr. Shannon (19:09.272)
I'm moving things a little bit differently now, but I'm not handicapped because I'm pregnant. So I think again to a little bit of that mind shift. So I'm glad you mentioned that. That's a lot.

Rachael Hutchins (19:15.379)
No, no.

Rachael Hutchins (19:22.986)
Well, and think about what the body is going through, like all the changes that you're going through physically and emotionally, so to imagine doing that without some kind of additional support feels hard, honestly. And in our society where we are more sedentary, we are working at desk, we are not moving as much overall, where that's why we have to intentionally add it back in because it's just not as much part of our day to day where

Dr. Shannon (19:38.364)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (19:46.088)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (19:51.798)
Back in the day, people were cleaning their houses more regularly or working outside in the yard or in the garden, or, you know, really doing things to stay active and moving and upright. And that that's not, there's no right or wrong. It's just recognizing that we're not moving as much as we could be to facilitate, you know, optimal health during pregnancy, um, and that there are things, you know, here we go, we're going to talk about that you can do. Um,

Dr. Shannon (19:57.792)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (20:16.233)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (20:21.085)
Yes.

Rachael Hutchins (20:22.186)
But yeah, I learned in pelvic floor with my pelvic floor therapist who she's amazing. Shout out Dr. Lauren Barbell, pelvic health. She's like changed my life because she said she's like, you are an onion with like all these layers of like years of dysfunction with how I was like not coordinating.

Dr. Shannon (20:31.425)
Mm-hmm. I got mamas that love her. Yeah, she's amazing.

Rachael Hutchins (20:49.626)
certain muscles are compensating for weaker muscles and not knowing it. So I'm like functioning but I have like kind of chronic subdued pain, do you know what I'm saying? And some dysfunction. Anyways, like peeling back the layers so that we can get figure out like what muscles we need to engage so that I don't have so that I can build strength where I need to have strength to support my body and my frame and all my muscles and all my ligaments and then going forward with building strength again and so like

Dr. Shannon (20:50.445)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (20:57.826)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (21:06.217)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (21:17.672)
Mm-hmm. Gotta go back to the basics. Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (21:18.646)
If you want that type of like assessment and then like a plan of like growing and strength and doing it pain free, I can't speak about that enough, but I know that's not accessible for everyone. So I won't. That's maybe a conversation for another day as far as like how amazing pelvic floor therapy is. But I digress. OK, one of the first things one of the first things we were going to talk about is mourning. So I just.

Dr. Shannon (21:30.058)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (21:36.624)
Mm-hmm. Yes, but our schedule.

Rachael Hutchins (21:46.002)
learned about this sequence of breath work and this combination of stretches at the spinning babies workshop that I went to recently.

Dr. Shannon (21:53.664)
Hmm, which I wanted to go to that. It was in, right? And I think I had it listed and I saw it in the Atlanta Birth Professionals Facebook group, right? Someone had mentioned it. I can't remember who it was. Was it Alicia Colon? I can't remember. Oh, Snowson. Yes.

Rachael Hutchins (21:59.167)
Yeah, it was the

Rachael Hutchins (22:06.07)
It was so good. Yeah, it was, I don't know, Jill, there was a Jill Nelson who's a local midwife who was like the host. And then Ray Williams was the spinning babies expert who was not from here, but she was brought in by Jill. Yeah, it was great. Yeah, it was the middle of October, I think, in Atlanta. I can feel you went on all the things, but if it comes back, it's worth it. I think you would really appreciate it. But they, she shared, and again,

Dr. Shannon (22:18.141)
I missed it. That's amazing. Yes. Ah, yes. Okay. I'm so excited. I know.

Rachael Hutchins (22:35.006)
you do the same. I talk about breath work and stretching a lot. This is like a specific sequence of breaths and a specific sequence of stretches that if you can start it. I put it here in the morning because I think it's a great way to start your day. It resets the parasympathetic nervous system so that we can be as calm and present as possible going into our day. You can also add this in wherever in your day you need. Maybe it's better at night. Maybe you do both, but

Dr. Shannon (22:43.068)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (22:49.957)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (23:00.699)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (23:03.318)
I just put it in here as a way to start your day. And I'm going to, I have videos on some of these for like how to do them. I'm not gonna try to describe it with my voice because that could just get confusing and long. I'm gonna say what they are and then in the notes, I'll link videos that are helpful for doing them. But the breath, so start with three breaths and you're gonna do four inhale, seven hold.

Dr. Shannon (23:21.374)
Okay.

Rachael Hutchins (23:33.194)
and eight exhale. So it's a four, seven, eight breath. Yeah. I've done like square breathing, like four, and four, or like,

Dr. Shannon (23:36.891)
Hmm... Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (23:41.036)
Ah, I've talked about that because that stresses me out. I don't like it. Mm-hmm. I don't. But that's why, that's why I'm like, you've got to try different things. Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (23:45.932)
Everyone has different responses to the different types of breaths.

You got to try. And I've liked the, I've also really liked the inhale for four, exhale for six or inhale for five, exhale for seven. Like just really aiming. That's honestly a goal aimed for a longer exhale than inhale. That's always like kind of a good baseline. And this breath work takes some practice. Like the first time I did it, it was very uncomfortable. So I encourage like practicing and knowing that it won't immediately feel good because that seven second hold is very uncomfortable. It's long.

Dr. Shannon (23:55.516)
Yes, that's what I usually do.

Dr. Shannon (24:03.548)
Yes, that activates parasympathetic nervous system.

Dr. Shannon (24:13.582)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (24:17.932)
is long. Uh-huh. That's the uncomfortable part. Okay.

Rachael Hutchins (24:20.238)
So you're doing, yep, so three breaths, inhaling for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight. And then that's kind of how you're starting. And you're going to do that breath throughout these exercises to the best that you can. And so the first one is the standing so as release with a side stretch incorporated in, and then going into a calf stretch.

Dr. Shannon (24:34.801)
Okay.

Dr. Shannon (24:40.284)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (24:48.36)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (24:50.21)
hold a lot of tension for the whole body. So does the psoas. The psoas is like the emotion of the body and the trauma of the body.

Dr. Shannon (24:54.038)
Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. And I mean, it's a specific muscle that we work on in Webster Technique. So, um with prenatal care because it holds so much tension. Mm-hmm

Rachael Hutchins (25:02.718)
Yeah. The, the so as is because we're going to return to the so as here. So you do the standing so as released with side stretch, go into the calf stretch, then kneeling so as stretch. And you're holding each of these for, if you can do three to five of the four, seven, eight breaths, and then going to lie down on a yoga mat or something soft. And yes, for the duration of this, it is okay to lie on your back. So long as you feel comfortable. Um, it is safe.

If you're feeling like it's not comfortable for you, you could put a little wedge under one side, but go and lie down and do the hip opener, like the figure four hip opener, laying back. So you're laying back on your back and then you put one, like an ankle over one knee and then you kind of open up your hip and then you pull your other hamstring through. But again, I'll send a video or I'll link a video so you can watch it. And this, the hips, we're going to help open up those hips and release all the tension there.

Dr. Shannon (25:43.104)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (26:00.362)
And then you're going to move into lying chest opener. So you're going to lay on the floor and reach your hands up over your head and pinch your shoulder blades together. So you're opening up your chest and kind of flaring your ribs. And at this point in the routine, you're going to think of something that brings you a tremendous amount of joy, and you're going to lock your mind on that and then finish with your breath sequence. Um, and then kind of rest there for a few moments. Um,

I've started doing this since I learned it here and there, and I think it's really awesome. She shared it as something that you can do going in if you're going in for a BERT, like going into the hospital. It's a good parasympathetic nervous system reset, going in for an induction. Anytime there's like a disruption in your labor and the like stress has increased and we're kind of getting towards fight or flight, then you can do this sequence.

Dr. Shannon (26:30.289)
Mmm, I like it.

Dr. Shannon (26:39.273)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (26:47.173)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (26:50.612)
Return to this and the key would be if you've practiced this throughout pregnancy when you do get to labor and birth and Sometimes sympathetic starts fine, you know triggered This if you've been practicing it can really return you to parasympathetic mode a lot quicker You know, it's you will it's more beneficial. Mm-hmm And it's like that a little bit of that muscle memory your body's like I remember this and then you've remembered that joy

Rachael Hutchins (26:56.546)
Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (27:09.238)
Yes, it's accessible. Yeah, it's like, it, mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (27:17.992)
when you're doing that chest opener, like, yeah, that all makes sense.

Rachael Hutchins (27:21.898)
Yeah, so I think that is a really beautiful way to start your day. It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to do the whole thing. That's doing three breaths. So if you went to five, it would obviously be longer. So you can make it, you can make it shorter if you need to, but the longer you can do it, I think the more effective it is.

Dr. Shannon (27:37.081)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (27:41.784)
Mm-hmm. I like it. I can even see, we'll get to nighttime in a minute though, but I can even see that being beneficial to activate parasympathetic because you're not getting heart rate up too high, but to help activate parasympathetic before sleep as well too and to promote restful sleep. So I guess when I'm recommending a lot of things to moms, I tend to lean towards the nighttime routine, which is tough. I know and I guess we'll get there because we're still at the morning, but

Rachael Hutchins (27:48.2)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (27:55.69)
Yes. Yep.

Rachael Hutchins (28:08.587)
Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Shannon (28:09.06)
I was jotting down notes while we were talking. And I was like, night time. Ha ha ha.

Rachael Hutchins (28:13.254)
Yes, and know that I do think it can be beneficial at any time really. The other thing to do in the morning is while you're brushing your teeth. I believe most people probably brush their teeth a couple times a day, two to three times a day right? So this is something you're already doing. So during that time do a deep labor squat. So that's like where your knees are out, your heels are down, and your butt is down.

Dr. Shannon (28:16.812)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (28:27.304)
I hope so.

Dr. Shannon (28:31.476)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (28:40.19)
and you're in a deep labor squat. This, if you haven't been practicing this, it might take a minute to get there. You can hang on to the counter for support so you don't feel like you're gonna fall back. So safety, be safe. But you really want your heels, like hip width or wider apart, toes pointing out, heels down, knees out, and try to get your butt like all the way down. This helps build strength and flexibility in your legs, which are great for birth. And again, two minutes, brush your teeth, boom, done.

Dr. Shannon (29:10.42)
Mm-hmm easy way to add it in easy way because you're already doing something

Rachael Hutchins (29:12.798)
Yeah and then after yeah and then after you brush your teeth maybe you take a shower So whether you take a shower in the morning or in the evening You know most people shower Pretty regularly so you can incorporate this, you know, however often you shower for my kids It's only a few times a week for me. I try to get it in every day but um So when you're in the shower

Dr. Shannon (29:28.585)
Mm-hmm.

I know. I got a teenager he needs to shower every day. It's coming.

Rachael Hutchins (29:40.65)
I know I told my boys that I said, because they're like, they don't feel like they need to shower. I'm like, there will come a time where you will need to shower every day. So we're just starting to form those habits now. Okay. And they're like, what do you mean? And I'm like, conversation for another day. Okay. So this is sort of addressing a sort of mental overall, mental emotional wellness by helping release tension in your body. Yeah. So while you're in the shower.

Dr. Shannon (29:47.948)
Yeah. Yeah, it's coming. Yeah, it's coming.

Dr. Shannon (30:05.956)
Yeah, like check in with your body. Mm-hmm. That's a beautiful time to check in.

Rachael Hutchins (30:10.614)
doing a body scan and I like the shower because A, you're already doing it and B, there's the visual of the water like hitting your head running over your body and washing down the drain. So there's that visual for that tension washing away. So again, for

Dr. Shannon (30:26.341)
And guess what? You can use that during labor as well too because I have so many moms that wanted to do the Birth in the tub or something, but maybe they're at a hospital They can't do it or maybe they've transferred or it's just not accessible and they're kind of sad But then they say well I got in the shower and I just had the water on my back I'm like, that's a beautiful thing. So here you could have been practicing it and then you can wash away all of the pain

Rachael Hutchins (30:48.982)
Yes, you can access it during labor because you need to be able to release tension. We need to be able to release, identify and release tension in our bodies every day. And then if you've been practicing it, it's more accessible during labor and, and labor, there's lots of tension that builds up from the contraction. So if you're not intentionally trying to release it, then it can make the pain feel more painful. And who wants that? Um, so a body scan is going from head to toe.

Dr. Shannon (30:59.046)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (31:12.518)
Mm-hmm. Mm-mm.

Rachael Hutchins (31:18.434)
and you can make it what you want, but I like to start with like furrowing your brow, like squinch it up and then relax it. Tighten your jaw and then let it hang loose. And you're incorporating like a gentle inhale and exhale with this, right? Like raise your shoulders up, squinch your shoulder blades up towards your ears and then let them go, right? Furl or um clench your fists and then unfurl your hands and then maybe tighten up your bottom or pelvic floor or your abs and just like tighten that whole area.

Dr. Shannon (31:25.213)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (31:31.816)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (31:41.619)
Uh-huh.

Rachael Hutchins (31:47.382)
and then let it go. And then maybe curl your toes and then let them go. And so in that process, you may not realize you're holding tension until we do that, like we tighten it up and then we let it go. Yeah. And you can, you know, make it what you want. You can do a recorded audio walking you through it that you play while you're in the shower or do it yourself. And it really is a great way to just let all that tension go. It might take a minute. I mean,

Dr. Shannon (31:56.816)
until you squeeze and you're like, wait a minute. Oh yeah. It's very insightful.

Rachael Hutchins (32:16.97)
you could make it last as long as you want, but it doesn't, it's not like this long lengthy thing, but you're like, okay, get in the shower, I'm gonna practice this. And then again, you can leave it in your day wherever. I think this is another great evening time thing as well. Or just trying to give examples of where you can use it during the day and how it's effective, and then how it can also help you in labor.

Dr. Shannon (32:19.644)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (32:27.756)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Dr. Shannon (32:37.192)
Mm-hmm. I like to do I have taught the kids like body scans before bed if they have issues going to sleep and that we Do the whole thing and I walk them through it or whatnot, you know, so

Rachael Hutchins (32:42.577)
Yes.

Were there any areas that you bring attention to that I didn't mention?

Dr. Shannon (32:50.82)
Um, I tend to go, um, I'll just try to hit more of the body parts. So like, you know, um, I'll do like quads, try to do calves, try to do toes, like, you know, like those little, but I mean, we do the same kind of scan go all the way down the arms. Mm hmm. So yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (33:03.639)
Mm-hmm.

Mm hmm. Yeah. If you could just like flex a muscle and then let it go.

Dr. Shannon (33:12.252)
Mm-hmm, and that's what I tell them. I just like bring tightness there and then let it go. So but so it's good for everybody Mm-hmm Breathing through it exactly. So yeah again doesn't have to be in the morning But I like the shower aspect with it though because I'm just kind of wash everything away. I like that mental work um In I have quite a few moms who Have a lot of people that work at desk jobs

Rachael Hutchins (33:16.338)
Mm-hmm, and then you're kind of focusing on your breath. Yeah, yeah, I think that's a really helpful thing to do.

Rachael Hutchins (33:28.05)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (33:41.875)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (33:42.undefined)
of a lot of people. So even this is going, what, um, some things that you can do in the middle of the day or what, what I like to say for my desk workers or kind of like mid day stuff is I want them to try to set a timer because it's easy to get in the zone with what you're doing and not realize that you've been sitting for so long or that your posture has been bad for so long or something like that to set timers for an hour, hour and a half to make sure you get up, to make sure you move.

And what I like to tell people is you can change up how you're sitting. Maybe you were sitting in a chair, maybe you can sit on the yoga ball for a minute and do figure eights with your hips. I really like shoulder rolls a lot with that. And I really like, you know, so bringing them all the way back, bringing them all the way forward and then kind of resting with bringing the shoulders up, back and down.

So then it's just kind of, it leaves you in that resting spot of a good posture. I like all the neck ranges of motion. So tucking the chin, looking up, bringing both ear to each shoulder and then looking over each shoulder. And then I like cat cow hands and knees. I like hands and knees as much as possible for.

my prenatal folks who are working at a desk because I really try to combat anything where we're sitting and leaning back for too long and propping our feet up because that does not help with optimal fetal positioning. So again, these aren't necessarily like, you're not bringing a lot of like cardio aspects to this, but this is movement. This is making sure that things aren't stuck. And if you can do, that doesn't take very long to do any of those little movements. So those, that's kind of like the...

Rachael Hutchins (35:01.548)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (35:21.undefined)
what I try to recommend. And I kind of recommend that for even my desk workers that aren't pregnant. Like this is good for, that's good for everybody and setting that timer a little bit. I don't know if you want to add anything to your, to the midday.

Rachael Hutchins (35:36.286)
love the timer idea. I'm moving one of our things down real quick.

Dr. Shannon (35:41.166)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (35:45.418)
I think setting a timer is brilliant because we all have good intentions, but that timer is that accountability. Yeah, so that takes effort on the front end, but then you get that reminder and this is all doable at your desk. And I think even if you're not at your desk, but you're at home more during the day or wherever in your day, you can add these types of movements. It's going to encourage optimal fetal position and spending some time on your yoga ball and really doing big hip circles, figure eights.

Dr. Shannon (35:49.348)
Mm-hmm. See you schedule it you're scheduling it what gets scheduled gets done. Mm-hmm

Dr. Shannon (35:58.536)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (36:05.021)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (36:12.985)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (36:16.735)
Especially if you're at a desk, this is going to really serve you.

Dr. Shannon (36:19.684)
Mm-hmm. And I don't want you sitting on your yoga ball all day Because that even for desk workers that aren't pregnant That's that can be exhausting because when you're sitting on that like I mean you do have to engage When you're on the yoga ball, so I like to break it up though So if you've been sitting in a chair and then maybe you can stand for enough a little bit and then maybe you go to The yoga ball for a minute. So like also changing those positions can be beneficial

Rachael Hutchins (36:24.774)
No.

Rachael Hutchins (36:46.73)
Yep. And, um, sitting at a chair, like to change it up. If you've been on the ball for a while, taking a chair and turning it around backwards and straddling it and leaning slightly forward while you're working is also a great way to change up your position. If you have to be at a desk, or even if you're like at a table eating for a long time, turn that chair around and face backwards again, movement.

Dr. Shannon (36:55.977)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (37:06.676)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (37:10.338)
changing positions, think about being more forward leaning and upright posture throughout the day is gonna encourage optimal fetal position. So again, these are exercises that aren't, like you said, cardiovascular, but they're still promoting overall health and good things for the baby.

Dr. Shannon (37:17.009)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (37:23.942)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (37:26.546)
Um, so at lunch, so kind of getting to midday, um, I think one of the best things you can do is after you eat a meal, if it's available to you, go outside and get a 10 or 15 minute walk in nature, fresh air, the sun, even in the winter, um, if you can do this, if it's available to you, if not, you live in a small space, you live in a city, it's snowing outside. I don't know. It's raining, you know, can you.

kind of do some laps around your house. Just like move your body, especially after you just ate, it's gonna help with digestion.

Dr. Shannon (38:01.304)
It helps with digestion. Moving after eating is like literally one of my favorite things. It's one of my favorite things. Yeah. Maybe because sometimes I eat too much. But yes, yes. The other night for dinner we did that. I was like, oh, we need to go for a walk. I ate too much. But the food was good. However, made a huge difference. Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (38:06.654)
Yes, me too. Yep. And I have... That's how I tend to help myself feel better after I've eaten too much is I go on a walk, but it makes a big difference.

Rachael Hutchins (38:24.202)
Or if you're going, if you're again, you're working and you're going out to lunch or you're going out to dinner. If there's a place to like walk around in a town afterwards, that's one of my favorite things to do is after we eat a big meal out as a family, we go find somewhere to go walk straight from the restaurant. Just walk around 10 or 15 minutes. Everyone usually feels a little bit better, less lethargic, especially if you have to go back to work. Um, that can be really helpful if you work from home that helps.

Dr. Shannon (38:39.334)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (38:44.448)
Mm-hmm. Well, exactly. Um, you can, so, this reminds me of, my husband and I have very different walking paces. So, um, I am definitely, I am definitely more of, I'm just like my mom in that, like it's like, this is go, like we're moving the arms, like it is brisk, like you can get the heart rate up with walking. I...

Rachael Hutchins (38:59.051)
Yeah

Dr. Shannon (39:14.464)
I call my husband's walk, his name's Brendan, I call it the Brendan shuffle. Like he, you know, we walk very differently when we go to the bus stop together. He's always by me. He's just got this like, he's just got this lower shuffle, you know. You got a slower pace. So one thing you could look at with the walk is could you put a little bit of intensity with it too, you know, kind of gauge how you're feeling. But

Rachael Hutchins (39:36.322)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (39:39.188)
that briskness to it, you know? Yeah, yeah. My husband, yeah, he strolls everywhere. I'm like, this is our chance to like get it in.

Rachael Hutchins (39:41.058)
brisk walk yes not a stroll a brisk walk shannon you and my husband need to go on a walk together he's always i'm like and i'm not a slow walker but i'm not a slow walker i'm not but like he walks so fast like he is on a mission to get somewhere and i'm like

Dr. Shannon (40:04.101)
He's on a mission, yes!

Rachael Hutchins (40:09.662)
And then he'll stop and look back and he's like, I'm sorry. And then he walks faster and I'm like, can we get on the same page?

Dr. Shannon (40:09.913)
It's... yeah.

I try to slow down and I'm like, this is awkward. I'm like, what? I can't do this. It's a running joke at the bus stop though, because...

Rachael Hutchins (40:21.742)
That's funny.

Do your kids keep up? Are they back with, where are they walking in this? Cause my kids are always behind me.

Dr. Shannon (40:28.389)
I

Dylan will keep up with me in the morning. Ethan does his own thing now because he's middle school. So he's I would say he's more of a stroller with my husband. But they have to usually when they get off the bus, they have to go to the bathroom. So they're like walking really fast home after school. So they've got a little bit of pep in their step. But yeah, Dylan will keep up.

Rachael Hutchins (40:57.214)
Yeah, like you said, like finding where if it's a walk to the bus stop or to get the mail or, um, you know, after dinner, wherever you, again, weaving it in, where can I go walk for 10 or 15 minutes? Where is it around this town after we just ate lunch or is it walking to or from your office or taking the stairs? Where can you add in some bristness where you're already walking or saying, okay, after lunch, this is my like 10 minutes. It's not like a 30 minute or an hour walk. 10 minutes.

Dr. Shannon (41:01.763)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (41:15.744)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (41:22.557)
Yeah, no, no.

Rachael Hutchins (41:24.042)
And I know longer is great and there are many benefits to that as well, but this is like, we're just trying to sort of fitting it in.

Dr. Shannon (41:29.14)
We're fitting it in and you get to, maybe you get to do this right after eating. Yeah, definitely.

Rachael Hutchins (41:33.99)
Yeah. Um, the other thing I had after lunch and then I realized it wasn't necessarily a perfect fit for lunch and then I moved it and now I'm just going to go ahead and share it, but getting inverted. So like it's called the forward leaning inversion by spinning babies, adding that somewhere in your day. I was thinking like midday would be good, but anytime, um, is really good. And we're going to share a link for how to do that. But spinning babies is this great resource where it's all about like

Dr. Shannon (41:47.592)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (42:03.746)
balancing the body and using gravity and movement to help with fetal positioning as well as to help with overall like physical wellness like with how you your comfort during pregnancy. And getting inverted can really help. So it's a supported like your knees are like on a couch and then you're you kind of safely walk your hands down to the floor on a pillow and you kind of do this like modified headstand. But you're not in a headstand.

Dr. Shannon (42:31.036)
Mm-hmm, and it's not the same as downward dog in yoga because the big difference is with that You are still engaged in that lower pelvic area when you're in downward dog. This allows for You to completely relax that lower pelvic floor the round ligaments And that's why it's so helpful as well too because it's very hard I mean, this is almost the only way that you can you physically you personally can relax that lower part

Rachael Hutchins (42:33.61)
Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (42:37.356)
No.

Rachael Hutchins (42:42.776)
Right.

Dr. Shannon (42:59.952)
you know, minus rebozo, sometimes that can help kind of the sifting of the belly. But I send, I have an email that I usually send to my moms and it's prenatal movement resources. I just copy and paste because the same ones I send. When I have got breech moms, I send a little bit different, a little bit more intensity to the inversions, but I send the spinning babies. She's got also like 13 daily exercises. I send that to them and then I send mild circuit as well. So we can even chat about that. But

Rachael Hutchins (43:11.064)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (43:23.253)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (43:27.336)
the inversion really allows for that relaxation of the lower pelvic floor.

Rachael Hutchins (43:33.942)
which can help baby settle in, it can provide more balance and room and space in the body for the baby to settle into that optimal kind of left occiput anterior, if we're speaking baby positioning terms. And some people are scared of doing the inversion because they think it's gonna turn their baby, if they have a head down baby, that it's gonna turn them breech. But doing just the forward leaning inversion like once a day doesn't do it. There's a different protocol for breech.

Dr. Shannon (43:37.033)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (43:49.6)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (44:01.364)
Mm-mm. Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (44:03.814)
But there are some counter indications, the word if I can find it. But it's like there are a few and it's listed on this link that we will share. So if that applies to you, then obviously be safe out there.

Dr. Shannon (44:08.357)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (44:18.456)
Yeah, you know, some like blood pressure things. And sometimes my mom's with really intense reflux. It's really, you gotta time it. And it's, you know, so, but mild circuit has something where if my moms do have reflux or any sort of chondriacication, mild circuit is like three different movements. You hold them for a little bit longer or you do them for a little bit longer. And the first one is more of like,

Rachael Hutchins (44:23.926)
Reflex, that's what it was.

Dr. Shannon (44:46.54)
you're almost like a puppy pose in yoga. So it's like you're kind of on elbows and your rear is up in the air and then someone can come take a blanket and kind of sift the belly. So it's one way that you're not completely inverted but it does help promote relaxation of like the lower pelvic area as well too. So.

Rachael Hutchins (45:04.522)
Yeah, yep, that's awesome. And then the next thing that we added in is if it's available to you, if your day allows doing a 30, like 30 minutes of an activity of choice, like a dedicated activity. Oh, and I did want to say this at the beginning, so I'll say it now. This is not to say you need to do all of these things.

Dr. Shannon (45:31.868)
Oh, yeah. Don't stress you out.

Rachael Hutchins (45:37.054)
This is like an idea of where you can weave it in. So pick some of these things. Choose your own adventure. Did your boys read those books?

Dr. Shannon (45:40.52)
Choose your own adventure. Pick one. Yes. Well, no, I did. I don't know. I don't know that they've read any ones. They were my favorite though, but that's kind of what this is. Like, what are we going to do today? Oh, I love it. I want the old ones. He got them. I might do that this Christmas. Yeah, those were so good.

Rachael Hutchins (45:48.959)
Oh my-

Rachael Hutchins (45:52.366)
I know they were Jay's favorite and he bought we bought them for the boys like the old their old school choose your own adventure books They devoured them obsessed Everett, especially my 10 year old Yeah, we've just bought them off amazon, but they're like from Way back our time the 1900 shannon

Dr. Shannon (46:08.737)
Our time.

Rachael Hutchins (46:15.278)
They're from the 1900s.

Dr. Shannon (46:16.137)
Ah, before the internet. Oh God. Yes.

Rachael Hutchins (46:21.05)
So this is a choose your own adventure. Yes, you do not need to do all of these things Start with a few that resonate that sound good to you that are attainable and then Build from there and if you can add more in as you as your pregnancy goes along then please do This is not to say you have to do all these things because the next thing I was going to add is a 30-minute activity Of choice something that you really enjoy. Maybe it's Zumba. Maybe it's yoga. Maybe it's a run or a hike or swimming

Dr. Shannon (46:25.993)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (46:45.017)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (46:51.05)
cycling, whatever, weightlifting, what's your 30 minute, a dedicated, like that, there's still room for that, right? And there's still benefit for doing all these other things to still have this like dedicated, cause I mean, I guess that's the quote unquote, like the recommendation is to have like 30 minutes of workout a day, but you know, if you're doing all these other things, is that necessary? Maybe not, but this is like adding that in could also be a bonus.

Dr. Shannon (47:09.161)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (47:16.676)
Mm-hmm definitely and you can I mean a lot of people have smartwatches now and stuff like that, but Depending upon your level of fitness and exercise you can kind of track that heart rate to make sure it doesn't get

too crazy, but then you can also track it by like your breathing and are you able to talk and those type of things too. So I did just want to mention a little bit of that of, I mean, most people do have smartwatches and stuff and I love to track those type of things to see because then you'll notice the ebbs and flows of, as you grow in pregnancy, it doesn't take much to get the heart rate up higher. It doesn't take much for you to be out of breath. So this will also ebb and flow as pregnancy grows.

Rachael Hutchins (47:44.033)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (48:01.944)
Yes.

and being out of breath is not necessarily an indication of your physical fitness. It could be, but it's most likely that your either your lungs have less room, you have higher blood volume, and then you got hormones acting on everything in your body and all of that can make you feel short of breath when you're not usually short of breath. And that there's nothing necessarily wrong. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be moving your body. Um, just knowing what's normal there is.

Dr. Shannon (48:09.938)
Exactly.

Dr. Shannon (48:16.954)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (48:22.373)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (48:34.59)
important. So moving in here to wrap this up is our nighttime routine or some things you can do in the evening again for that mental and physical wellness. One of my favorite things is a warm Epsom salt bath. Epsom salt helps it's magnesium helps soothe achy muscles helps with cramping helps relax you.

Dr. Shannon (48:35.421)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (48:59.292)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (48:59.69)
and just that warm water. And then again, having kind of a routine in the evening that you can kind of like really latch onto that feels good, helps you prepare for bed so that you can have as good of a night as possible, which I know is sometimes difficult in pregnancy. Adding back in that labor squat while you're brushing your teeth. Doing a body scan, which we mentioned earlier, this is a great time to do the body scan, and doing five to 10 of those four, seven, eight breaths, like as you're lying in bed.

Dr. Shannon (49:07.88)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (49:27.882)
preparing to sleep that's going to help you relax. Something else to add in the evening is another spinning babies technique which big shout out spinning babies. We're obviously a fan. We're linking all of this in our show notes and if you have signed up for our newsletter you're getting it in your inbox which makes it super convenient just a reminder. But the jiggle is something that I think is also wonderful. It's a spinning babies technique and it is communicating to the fascia, right? Which is the

Dr. Shannon (49:48.124)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (49:54.632)
Mm-hmm. It's what connects all of your muscles together in your body, the fascial system. Everything is connected. Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (49:55.416)
It's like between your muscles and your bones. It's like...

Yeah, it's like your skin and then there's fascia and then there's muscle and then there's bone. And the fascia can hold a lot of trauma, a lot of emotion, a lot of tension. And so it takes some gentle jiggling to communicate to the fascia. And the Spending Babies has a great resource on it and kind of walks you through how to do it. There's lots of different ways you can access the jiggle. And again, practicing it now during pregnancy can benefit you because you...

Dr. Shannon (50:08.904)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael Hutchins (50:28.098)
having it doing it during labor can also help facilitate a smoother more efficient labor. So check it out.

Dr. Shannon (50:36.836)
Exactly. I know we've got lots of resources that we're going to put in the show notes because we have We had an episode on tips for movement during pregnancy as well, too Which might be a little bit like this, but maybe not. I don't remember those episode 70 and We're well, we're well past that now And then I did a little two-part series. The first one was about prenatal fitness So I ran during or through both of my Pregnancies, I loved it. And so I shared

Rachael Hutchins (50:53.174)
Well past that.

Dr. Shannon (51:06.916)
some things in there about what I did and I talked about postpartum running in the following episode as well too. So there's lots of good lots of good info that we have that will be in the show notes.

Rachael Hutchins (51:18.366)
And I will also mention two other great resources. Locally, and I think they're national, but I know of some great local groups, but if you are wanting some motivation, some accountability, some community, there are prenatal fitness groups and organizations. So Fit for Mom is one of them. They have local groups. And then there is BirthFit, who has groups.

Dr. Shannon (51:45.648)
Mm hmm. Oh, yeah. We've interviewed. Yeah.

Rachael Hutchins (51:48.67)
Ashley Harper, and then one of my clients was the owner of the Alfreda Roswell Fit for Mom group and she's like, they are like booming and active and doing all kinds of fun things for pregnancy and postpartum wellness and fitness and community. So good ideas for motivation or things to incorporate or check out and we can link those to.

Dr. Shannon (51:58.766)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Shannon (52:12.192)
Exactly. All right, friends, thank you for tuning in today and we'll see you next week.