The word alignment means making specific postural changes to improve the function of your body as a whole. It can be useful to think about alignment in terms of your car’s wheel alignment. When all the wheels are equally aligned the tires wear evenly in time as you drive your car. However, when even one tire is off just a bit some tires wear more than others. While our bodies are more complex and self-healing than cars, our bones, joints and connective tissues function best when we move with more balanced alignment. Consequently, when our alignment is less balanced, some body parts experience a lot more wear and tear, while other parts simultaneously lack the movement input they need to be strong and supple.

Optimal alignment ensures that the loads and forces placed on our body contributes to long term health instead of physical damage.

Changing your body alignment isn’t about forcing your body into a specific shape. It’s more about observing how you hold your body throughout the day. Then gently inviting it to change and adapt to new and more sustainable shapes over time. The key to getting your body to adapt to a new shape is making small changes that can be maintained consistently throughout the day and gradually layer on more changes when your body and mind are ready, rather than making drastic changes all at once. If you find your body being very far away from an alignment point, just make a small shift toward that alignment point.

The position of the pelvis effects the position of the uterus and your baby grows inside your uterus. Uterine ligaments attach around the body. If excess tension exists in any of these ligaments the space for baby may be limited and thus baby may find a less than ideal position within your uterus. Body habits like tucking your tailbone while sitting, favoring crossed legs in one direction, or standing with one hip jutting out to the side, to name a few, are going to impact the whole uterus. So, one ligament may become over stretched and another may have excess tension. One change you can make is to become aware of these asymmetrical habits and do them less and less over time. The other is to adjust your body alignment with the tips provided here. Something to keep in mind is that if you’ve spent your whole lift having such habits, making changes to your alignment while you are pregnant sometimes isn’t enough to make the changes you need to create the space needed to assist baby’s position. This is where bodywork can be a great addition to practicing the alignment tips suggested here.

In addition, movement is a necessity for all bodies to maintain optimal health and thus when you are pregnant within a more dynamic lifestyle, you can stay fit and optimize your pregnancy, birth and postpartum. So, while the alignment tips are valuable for your pregnant body, they are also equally as valuable for all stages of life and thus the habits you are creating at this moment can help keep you moving well for the rest of your life!

You've got this!

Dr. Melissa