Postpartum Recovery: Starting Right After Birth
Recovery begins the moment your baby is born. While rest is an essential part of healing, it’s equally important to gently reintroduce movement as your body is ready. Safe, intentional movement supports your recovery, helps your body heal, and lays the foundation for returning to everyday activities and exercise.
This section is designed to guide you through simple, gentle techniques that you can begin as early as your hospital stay, as long as your healthcare provider has cleared you for light movement and your recovery is progressing normally.
These exercises and breathing techniques can help:
Restore healthy breathing patterns
Improve circulation
Reduce stiffness after delivery
Support your core and pelvic floor connection
Encourage healthy posture
Promote overall recovery and body awareness
Remember, recovery isn’t about rushing back into exercise—it’s about giving your body the support it needs to heal well. Small, consistent movements can make a meaningful difference in how you feel during the first weeks after childbirth and help you build a strong foundation for the next stage of your recovery.
This gentle mobility routine can usually be started soon after giving birth, as long as your healthcare provider has cleared you for light movement. It’s designed for the earliest stage of postpartum recovery and helps your body gradually wake up, restore joint mobility, and ease back into everyday movement.
Pregnancy, childbirth, and caring for a newborn place a lot of stress on your body. Long hours spent feeding your baby, lack of sleep, and reduced activity can leave your joints feeling stiff and your muscles tight. Just a few minutes of gentle movement can improve circulation, reduce stiffness, increase joint mobility, and help your body feel more comfortable throughout the day.
This routine is simple, easy to follow, and requires no equipment. I recommend completing it with me once or twice to learn the movements and proper technique. After that, you can perform it on your own after every time you wake up—first thing in the morning, after a nap with your baby, or anytime your body feels stiff. Spending just a few minutes moving each day can make a noticeable difference in how you feel during your recovery.
Important: Only perform these exercises if you’re feeling well and your healthcare provider has approved light activity. Every movement should feel gentle, comfortable, and pain-free. If you experience increased pain, dizziness, heavy bleeding, or any unusual symptoms, stop the routine and contact your healthcare provider.
Daily Joint Mobility Routine After Childbirth
Once you learn the technique lying down, the next step is applying it to your everyday life. As a new mom, most of your day is spent upright—feeding your baby, holding your baby, walking around the house, or going for walks.
In this practice, you’ll learn how to perform rib-closing breathing while sitting or standing. You can even do it while holding your baby because it doesn’t require extra equipment or a separate workout session.
Through proper breathing, we help restore rib positioning, reconnect with the deep abdominal muscles, and improve the coordination between the diaphragm and pelvic floor.
The goal is not to force your body or create maximum tension. The goal is to rebuild awareness, control, and a healthy connection with the muscles that changed during pregnancy.
Practice this technique throughout your day—while sitting during feeds, holding your baby, or whenever you have a few quiet moments.
Rib Closing Breathing Technique Standing or Sitting After Birth
Walking is one of the first forms of movement most moms return to after childbirth. That’s why it can become a powerful opportunity for recovery.
In this practice, we combine three important elements: proper breathing, restoring rib position, and gently reconnecting your pelvic floor with your movement.
With each step, you’ll practice creating better coordination between your diaphragm, deep core muscles, and pelvic floor. This helps rebuild stability, improve posture, and help your body feel stronger and more supported.
You don’t need to stop what you’re doing to practice this technique. You can use it during stroller walks, while walking around your home, or anytime you’re moving throughout the day.
Remember, postpartum recovery takes time. During the first weeks, it’s very common to feel disconnected from your pelvic floor muscles. The most important thing is to consistently give your body the right signals through breathing and gentle movement.
Rib Closing Breathing Technique While Walking After Birth
After giving birth, many women think that the pelvic floor will “heal on its own” and that training should only begin months later. But the first weeks after delivery are actually an important time to gently reconnect with your body.
Right after birth, it’s completely normal if you can barely feel your pelvic floor muscles. The tissues have gone through a lot of stress, sensation may be reduced, and your body needs time to recover.
But that doesn’t mean you should completely ignore this area. From the very first days postpartum (if your birth was uncomplicated and your healthcare provider has not given you other recommendations), you can begin gentle work: learning to reconnect with these muscles, practicing proper breathing, relaxing, and gradually activating your pelvic floor.
At this stage, it’s not about intense squeezing or trying to contract as hard as possible. The goal is to rebuild the connection between your brain and your muscles, support circulation, and slowly restore control over your body.
Remember: postpartum recovery is not a race. Small, consistent steps help your body safely return to movement and strength 🤍
During pregnancy, your rib cage naturally changes position as your body adapts to carrying your baby. Your breathing pattern changes, your core muscles work differently, and your ribs may stay more open after delivery. Postpartum recovery is about gradually restoring proper connection between your diaphragm, core, and pelvic floor.
This breathing technique is performed lying down and is perfect for the first weeks after childbirth. You don’t need to set aside extra time for it—you can practice while lying on your side during breastfeeding or while resting.
Just a few minutes can help restore the connection between your breathing, diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and pelvic floor. I recommend practicing this technique 3–5 times per day in short sessions. Consistency is much more important than the length of each session.
The goal is not simply to take deep breaths, but to learn how to use your breath to gently bring your ribs back into a more optimal position and reconnect with your deep core muscles.
Keep in mind that during the first weeks after birth, many women don’t feel their pelvic floor muscles very well—and that’s completely normal. Pregnancy and childbirth can reduce the connection with these muscles, which is why we gradually rebuild that awareness through breathing and gentle movement....
Rib Closing Breathing Technique Lying Down After Birth