I’ve been through seasons where the thought of movement felt too overwhelming and a little scary. Whether it be from having a baby, chronic illness or other reasons we might find ourselves in seasons as women when our bodies may feel foreign to us. Add a baby (and maybe toddlers) to look after 24/7, sleepless nights, energy depletion, birth injuries plus the mental load of motherhood and sometimes trying to even think about the type of movement you feel like doing can seem like A LOT let alone actually doing it – can you relate?
The thing is, so much can go into whether we choose to move our bodies or not. Things like:
If we believe we’re worth making time for or not.
If we feel comfortable in the clothes we have to workout in.
If the options for movement at places outside the home help us feel empowered and confident (in ourselves and the professionals).
If we’re unsure of how the logistics of movement with kids near us will work.
If we don’t know how we want to move, how we like to move and how our bodies actually are physically (especially after giving birth, surgery etc)
If we can't imagine adding anything more to our days or our mental load.
If it doesn't feel accessible due to time or financial resources.
If we don't enjoy the uncomfortable feelings exercise can make us feel sometimes.
All of these things are enough to put exercise into the too hard basket. Right?! It might feel easier to put it off until some other time.
I totally get it, so here are some strategies to help ditch the overwhelm when it comes to exercise…
Start small & book it in Pop your movement sessions into your calendar each week. Keep the plan as simple as you need – start with one thing per week, which may be a 10 minute walk.
Make it as accessible as possible. It's really helpful to make whatever exercise you do as accessible as possible, especially in the beginning. Whether it is time, money, energy, support - consider how you can work around the barriers that come up with the least amout of resistance. This will help you start and stick to your movement goal.
Outsource the mental load. If you don’t want to think about WHAT to do, join a class, hire a PT or use online workout videos. That way you can show up & do what the trainer has organised (outsourcing for the win!) Ensure you let trainers know if you have any injuries or if you have any birth considerations at the start of the class.
Include the kids (or don’t), they’ll be fine. The kids will get used to you taking some time for yourself and moving your body. Encourage them to join in with you, it’s a really great way to do something active together. If they’re not keen make a plate of snacks, pop on the tv (cosmic kids yoga) or music and go for it. There may lots be of starting and stopping but remember to take a breath, it’s ok to have interruptions and get back into it when you can. The aim here is not a perfect session, it’s to move.
Find clothes you feel good in If your clothes feeling uncomfortable is stopping you from moving and you have the ability – gift yourself some new workout gear that feels good (forget about the number on the back.) Remember also, you don’t need fancy clothes to move. Pyjamas in your lounge room are good to! (side note: Our clothes are meant to fit us, we don't need to change ourselves in order to fit the clothes.)
Empower yourself with information & support If you’re not sure where to start and the information you have seems patchy or confusing this is a great go-to guide. The first thing to do though, is to book in with a women's health physio (here is a list of local pelvic health physios.) They will be able help you understand where your body is at after the birth of your baby and support you with the best way to move forward with your exercise. Your body LOVES to move so this is a really empowering way for you to know how you can start moving confidently.
Be compassionate towards yourself, this is not about perfection. Getting back into exercise may take a little trial and error and it’s okay to change the plan if it’s not working. Aim to move because of the benefits it gives you and take the pressure off it being a perfect session. If you allow yourself to reframe how you view exercise, you may find it’s no longer something that feels like an extra mental load but a tiny bit of time that gives you more than you ever realised.
I believe that exercise and movement are an amazing way to reconnect with ourselves, to remind us how strong and resilient we are and to support the physical, mental and emotional parts of ourselves that really matter especially on our journey through Motherhood. Let this be your non overwhelming invitation to start something today.
You got this Mama x
P.s If you're ready to find your Mama Movement community, check out this page. I’m here to help Mama’s get back into movement so they can feel confident, connected and strong in a safe and effective way.
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