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Writer's pictureDr. Kimberley Wilson

4 Exercises For Postpartum Recovery

Updated: May 3, 2023

Today I want to talk about postpartum. First of all, if you have reached the postpartum stage - congratulations! Let’s take a moment to appreciate everything you have been through, everything your body has gone through while growing a little human being. Today we are going to talk about four simple home exercises to help you on your journey of postpartum recovery.


A lot takes place during those nine months as the baby is growing. Your organs get all squished, your diaphragm gets pushed up to make room for the baby, your ribs start to spread out, your abdominal muscles get stretched out, and other muscles tighten down to try to support all the changes happening.


One of the big changes we see during pregnancy has to do with your posture. With where the baby grows throughout those nine months, everything is thrown forward changing your center of gravity. A lot of times, it’s not just that our belly is more forward, but our head is more forward, your shoulders, etc.


This shift in posture can create imbalances in your body, which may lead to discomfort or even pain in areas like your lower back, hips, and neck. Many new moms experience tension and tightness in these areas after giving birth, which is why restoring your alignment and regaining strength in your core and pelvic floor are so important. By focusing on gentle, targeted exercises, you can gradually help your body return to a more balanced posture, ease discomfort, and start feeling more like yourself again.



Get moving in the right direction

Once you have your little one, things don’t automatically go back to the way that they were. It took nine months for those changes to occur, it’s not something that is going to just go away overnight. All that said, there are some good things you can do to help support the recovery of these changes. Today I wanted to give you four quick exercises to get your body moving in the right direction for postpartum recovery.


First, I want to give you some words of encouragement - it takes time to get back to where we want to be and it happens differently for everyone. These four exercises I am going to show you are not necessarily prescription exercises for you specifically, so if you are having issues that are not resolving, please get in to see an in-person therapist - specifically a pelvic health therapist. But in general, these exercises would be good for just about anybody in the postpartum period.

Give yourself some grace

During that one-month to three-month window of postpartum, your body is still doing a lot of healing. You as a new mama, have a lot on your plate. Most likely you are the primary caretaker of your newborn, you might be nursing so you're getting up a lot in the nighttime for feelings. With all of these responsibilities, self-care is just not at the top of the priority list.


I want to make sure you give yourself a really nice graceful window of time to return to activity. These four movements will help to restore the parts of your body that aren’t moving and we want to make sure that we bring everything back on board like it’s supposed to be.


Pictured below are examples of the four exercises we are going to go through today. Think two sets of ten reps, three sets of ten reps, or two sets of fifteen reps when doing this postpartum workout. But, really, the idea is just to start to build those connections again between the diaphragm, core, and pelvic floor.


Sidelying Rib Breathing (both sides)

A woman doing sidelying rib breathing

To set up for this breathing exercise, grab a couple of blankets or rolled towels. Place one under the largest part of your ribs and one under your head to ensure you're comfortable, as your body is still healing from having a baby. Once you're settled, the goal is to restore proper breathing by getting your diaphragm and ribs moving again, since they often become restricted during pregnancy.


Focus on slow inhales and exhales, with about 70% of your breath expanding your ribs and 30% reaching your pelvic floor. On the inhale, let your ribs expand, especially focusing on your back, which tends to be tight in postpartum moms.


As you exhale, think about gently engaging your abs and letting the air leave your body from the pelvic floor upward. Ensure that you breathe deeply into both sides of your ribs by switching from one side to the other. This will help rebuild the connection between your diaphragm, core, and pelvic floor.


Angel Wings (both sides)

A woman doing angel wing breathing

The second exercise, often called angel wings or snow angels, focuses on breathing while restoring core stability and rib movement, which is key to healing diastasis recti.


To begin, find a comfortable position with a towel roll under your head. Start by extending one arm out at shoulder level while placing the opposite hand on your rib to monitor its position. As you exhale, raise your arm as far as you can without letting your rib lift or arching your back. The goal is to keep your ribs down and core engaged, ensuring proper alignment.


This movement mimics everyday actions like reaching and twisting, so it's important to restore this pattern while maintaining rib stability. Once you've completed one side, repeat on the other.


A progression of this exercise involves moving both arms simultaneously while keeping the ribs down. Over time, as you regain strength and mobility, you'll notice improved range of motion without compromising core alignment. Snow angels are a safe and effective way to rebuild the connection between your core and pelvic floor.


Single Knee To Chest (each side)

A woman bringing one knee to chest

To work on the hips and release the tight psoas muscle, I like to start by straightening my right leg and bringing my left knee toward my chest. This stretches the right psoas, which can become tight from stabilizing during pregnancy.


To engage the psoas more, squeeze your glutes and focus on lengthening through your leg, as if driving your right heel toward the wall. This should create a nice stretch through the front of your hip. If you feel any pinching, lower your knee slightly, but if comfortable, bring it up as far as possible and hold the stretch for three to five breaths.


Switch sides by bringing your right knee up and stretching your left leg. This stretch helps restore mobility and coordination between muscles and systems that need to work together again after pregnancy. Finally, to transition into a quadruped position, roll to your side and push up with your hand.


Cat-cow

A woman demonstrating cow pose

A woman demonstrating cat pose

We'll begin on all fours, making sure to stack your shoulders above your wrists and your knees directly under your hips. This position sets you up for the cat-cow exercise, also called cat-camel, which is designed to restore spinal mobility.


Once you're aligned, start by lengthening your spine slightly, lifting your head, and taking a deep breath. As you exhale, let your tummy sink in to create spinal extension. Inhale again, then on the next exhale, move into spinal flexion, rounding your back.


Focus on moving your spine between your shoulders and hips, allowing your head to lift as far as it can during the extension phase, feeling the movement in your hips, back, and shoulders. Joints love to be loaded, so this should feel good as you move through the exercise. Continue inhaling and exhaling with each movement, engaging your core as you go and working on any tight areas, particularly in the lower spine.


Coordinating your breath and spinal column movements helps to get your core, pelvic floor, and diaphragm all working together in postpartum to help you heal appropriately. It’s this healing and waking things back up that is necessary to get back to doing higher-level activities.


I hope you found these simple exercises helpful, and again - give yourself some grace mama. You're doing great.


For other postpartum exercise tips check out my following blog posts:





If you’re interested in learning more about this topic or have questions, feel free to reach out to us at 502-939-8564 or request a consultation here. 

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