35. Empowering Postpartum Pilates Practice, with Antony Lo

Renowned Physiotherapist Antony Lo Joins Us On This Episode Of Pilates Elephants To Dive Into Postpartum Pilates And How He Helps Movement Professionals Understand The Research And Practical Principles Of Working With Postpartum Women So They Can Confidently Support Their Clients. We Zoom In On The Importance Of Mindset And How We Can Give Students The Information That They Need, And Empower Them To Make Decisions For Themselves. Our Discussion Also Covers Antony’s Experience With Diastasis Rectus, His Philosophy On Pushing Exercise Boundaries And Keeping Clients Safe. 

• Antony’s interest in postpartum Pilates and how he helps fitness professionals to safely support clients
• The biggest myths and misconceptions that people commonly sort of hold onto in the area of postpartum Pilates exercise
• Why you should be a knowledgeable exercise consultant rather than an all-knowing guru
• How to guide students to self-efficacy and the ability to decide what goes on in their life
• Why we shouldn’t disempower postpartum clients and instead teach them to find their boundaries

Antony Lo joins us on the podcast to share how he helps health and fitness professionals to understand the evidence and principles to move forward with confidence in supporting their students. He explains why his philosophy is trying to break down the hierarchy that assumes that a movement professional has all the answers, and concentrates more on giving people the information that they need and empowering them to make decisions for themselves around postpartum Pilates.  

Goal-Based Motivation

We dive into why goal-based motivation helps people to move forward and why it can take a mindset shift for Pilates instructors to let go of their anxiety around treating postpartum women. When you start to see women as strong, resilient, and capable instead of weak and fragile then it’s simple to understand why a diastasis recti doesn’t spell the end of exercising. Empowering women to move at their own pace and to listen to their bodies helps you support their postpartum Pilates journey confidently.

Experience before knowledge is one of Antony’s mantras and his teaching focuses on trying to give people an experience before we start dropping knowledge on them. We zoom in on confirmation bias and how preloading students with research can color the interaction as they unconsciously tell what you want to hear rather than their true experience. After all, as a Pilates teacher, we should be a trusted consultant. Not a guru, but a guide.

• Read Raph's book: Strengthen the Person, Not Just the Body Part here
• Women with diastasis recti do not have more back pain, pelvic girdle pain or pelvic floor issues than women without diastisis recti here and the evidence is weak here
• Regular abdominal strengthening including crunches, is at least as effective as special core stability exercises for women with diastasis recti