Dianne explores the simple concept of "Letting Go a Little", after practicing this in small moments of awareness of how much tension her body was holding at times. It was surprising how many times the simple act of "Letting Go a Little" of some muscle tension, revealed holding patterns, that she was not previously aware of. While mindful that sometimes we need to move to upregulate or to release tension more dynamically, this simple episode reveals one practice that can be use and explored easily. This relaxation is the third in our Letting Go A Little Series, with Dianne. To explore more about HeartMath® and the benefits available from HRV training in real time, use the link https://www.heartmath.com/thepregnancycentre  to find out more and receive a 10% discount of the Inner Balance TM Coherence Plus Sensor applied at the checkout. For more information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au  

  Our bodies have a typical response to stress, and physically tension can build up or sometimes held in response to stressors and daily life. Using the principles from Mitchells Physiological Relaxation, this sequence moves through the body, to allow you to "Let Go A Little More". This can be useful either during pregnancy or postnatally - when you have a little longer.  This relaxation is the second in our Letting Go A Little Series, with Dianne. For more information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au      

Teaching physiological relaxation is something I have been doing for years, often in pregnancy, as a preparing for labour tool. Postnatally, this is also useful, to let go of some of the layers of tension that daily can build up. This short relaxation is the first in our Letting Go A Little Series, with Dianne. For more information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au

Dr Alessandra Demarte, principal chiropractor at Heart & Soul Chiropractic in Mandurah, talks with Dianne about pregnancy and postnatal chiropractic care.   Dr Alla has a special interest and training in pregnancy and paediatrics, and explains how chiropractic care can support women throughout pregnancy as their body changes, with gentle techniques that are modified for each trimester.   Gentle chiropractic adjustments can help to keep the spine and pelvic moving well, reduce stress on ligaments, and support the nervous system. Dr Alla explains about the nervous system, how nerve pathways influence the uterus and cervix during labour, and how working on the spine and pelvic balance may assist with birth preparation.   Postnatally, as mums return to fitness, Dr Alla recommends getting support for any pelvic joint pain, or upper back tension, and rebuilding deep core and pelvic stability steadily.   For further information on the podcasts mentioned in our conversation: Podcast 61 - Pregnancy abdominal bracing Podcast 59 - How is your pelvis levelling?      To find out more about Heart & Soul Chiropractic or to contact Dr Alessandra Demarte,  visit the website at www.heartandsoulchiropracticmandurah.com.au Or follow on Instagram @heartandsoulchiromandurah and Facebook - Heart & Soul Chiropractic Mandurah     For more information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au  

Carrie Hall, PT, joins the podcast again to talk about her fascination with the feet. She talks about some of the changes to the foot that can occur during and after pregnancy, which for some women can include going up a shoe size. The foot can become longer and the arches can also change. Carrie discusses optimal foot function and how the combination of passive and dynamic mechanisms, including the 4 layers of muscles, allow for the appropriate amount of acceleration and deceleration with walking, activity and exercise. Carrie talks us through some practical exercises for focusing on the intrinsic muscles of the feet and outlines a number of further resources for diving further into the mechanisms of the feet.   The extra resources mentioned by Carrie in the podcast: Gait Happens  Peter Attia and Courtney Conley # 296. Foot health: preventing and treating common injuries, enhancing strength and mobility, picking footwear, and more. Sustainable Living with Galahad Clark / Feel Better, Live More Podcast The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function Running Shoes Information and Resources from the AAPSM Kinetic revolution - What is the windlass mechanism of the foot?     You can connect with Carrie Hall via Linked In For further information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au  

Kara Allen, founder of The Fitness Nest in Mandurah, Western Australia, is a mum of 2 boys and a personal trainer who specialises in Pregnancy and Postpartum exercise. Her goal is to help take the confusion and fear out of exercising during pregnancy and postpartum. Kara shares parts of her own journey, when she was pregnant with her first baby and found the information she was given about pregnancy and exercise confusing and conflicting. She has since done extensive training in this area, and has a range of services from one on one to group programs, to cater for the needs of the pregnant and postnatal mums that she sees in person. She talks about the different seasons in this journey, and how, because sometimes getting out of the house with a new baby is not easy, her app aims to meet the needs of mums where they are at, providing a range of programs and information so that they can enjoy the benefits of exercise.  Kara's app also includes workshops for both pregnant and postnatal mums called "What I wish I knew" to provide more clarity and information on pregnancy and postnatal fitness options.  For more information visit Kara's website at: www.thefitnessnest.com.au

  With over 20 years as a global midwife Philippa Cox shares her insights on "Letting it Go" and some of the ways she helps pregnant women to do this, to prepare for labour and motherhood. Philippa shares practical ways to work on this during your day, beginning with developing even a 5 minute habit in your commitment to continue with ways that work for you. There are many layers to letting go, as you prepare for labour, birth and motherhood, some physical, some emotional. Philippa (Pippa) explores some of these, such as breathing out what is not serving us. Philippa is the author of a new book called Birth Without Borders, and also has a free Ebook and Journal which is available for download on her website www.philippacoxpregnancycoach.com The Philippa Squared podcast is available on Spotify and via her website link.  For more information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au

In this podcast we revisit talking about Breathing as a Desert Island Exercise with Carrie Hall, previously a guest in episodes 48 and 50. Carrie highlights the benefits of breathing as an exercise on multiple areas of the body, and runs through some practical ways to firstly become aware of your own breathing pattern, which she gives individual cues to with her clients.  She talks through one way to focus on developing your breathing awareness, including the movement of your ribcage, your breathing diaphragm and your pelvic diaphragm (pelvic floor). You can listen to the first of the previous episodes of the podcast Here.  About Carrie: Carrie Hall, PT, MHS has been a physical therapist for over 40 years, graduating from St. Louis University in Missouri in 1983. Over the 4 decades as a PT, she has worn the hats of practitioner, educator, author, business owner, and advocate; and has served in numerous state and national leadership roles. Her clinical practice expertise lies in the diagnosis and treatment of movement impairment with a focus on movement pattern recognition of the shoulder, spine, hip, knee, ankle, and foot regions as taught by Shirley Sahrmann, PT, PhD, FAPTA and the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis, where she went to graduate school.  She also incorporates pain science, manual therapy, motor control training, strength and aerobic fitness prescription, and the role of PT in promoting healthspan over lifespan.  Carrie founded her practice, Movement Systems Physical Therapy in 1995 and sold it in 2021. In her "retirement" Carrie formed a new company, "SISU Physical Therapy and Mentoring Services" so she could continue a small clinical practice, teaching, and small business owner mentoring. She is a fierce advocate of the profession and spends much of her time in leadership and advocacy roles, currently running for Secretary of APTA Private Practice.  You can connect with Carrie via Linked In The link to her article, My Desert Island Exercise by Carrie is available to read on Linked In. For further information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au  

This is an introduction to what is called Pregnancy Abdominal Bracing, with a short story about how one pregnant mum had less round ligament pain when walking once she learned how to do this exercise. One of the purposes of learning pregnancy abdominal bracing is to support the weight of the uterus as your baby or babies grow during your pregnancy. Specific focus is placed on the lower parts of your abdominal muscle wall, and this can be done while you are breathing normally.  It should never feel uncomfortable, strained, cause any pain or any feeling of it being "off" to you. For more information read and follow the steps in the booklet by the Continence Foundation of Australia, which we assisted in developing, called Pelvic floor health for expectant and new mums. Read pages 11 to 13 for the steps. This booklet is available as a pdf download from The Continence Foundation of Australia website. Pelvic Floor Health for Expectant and New Mums | Continence Foundation of Australia Visit www.continence.org.au/resource/pelvic-floor-health-expectant-and-new-mums If you are a fitness professional, and want to know more about teaching your clients Pregnancy Abdominal Bracing there is a course called Antenatal Core Training where this is one of the main focus points.  It is available from Fitpro in the UK. For more information visit www.thepregnancycentre.com.au  

Studies have shown that not all women will do their pelvic floor exercises effectively, and in fact, sometimes the muscles have been shown to be going down, instead of up, for some women. As you can't see your pelvic floor muscles, it can be hard to tell, so when it is possible, seeking further advice from a pelvic health physiotherapist, especially if you are unsure, can help you to clarify how well you are using your muscles.  In this solo podcast, Dianne outlines some basics that you can use as a starting point to connect to your pelvic floor awareness.  While there are many other elements around pelvic floor muscle training and fitness that can be explored and need to be considered, in this podcast you can connect to some awareness aspects as you tune into your pelvic floor in the ways suggested. For more information visit: The Pelvic Floor First website at www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au The Pregnancy Centre at www.thepregnancycentre.com.au