By: Gina Conley, Owner, Head Coach, and Birth Doula of MamasteFit
In an instant—everything changed.
Maybe it was more than an instant, but motherhood was life-changing. I could never be prepared for what I felt when I became pregnant, as I navigated my pregnancy, and when I became a mother.
I had no idea what to do during my pregnancy other than what Dr. Google recommended in the various mom forums. What exercises were safe? What exercises would even help me? What did I even need help with during pregnancy? I still wanted to have a challenging workout that was safe for pregnancy, but also still let me feel like myself as slowly began to lose who I was in my transition away from my career to motherhood. I certainly didn’t have many pregnant friends to consult with to figure out what was normal and their experiences during pregnancy & birth.
What even happens during labor? Do we run out the door like in the movies? (*P.S. Nope)
We eventually hired a doula to navigate our birth for us, since we felt overly confused. That helped, but then there was the postpartum. It was so lonely the first few months after my daughter was born. I had left my career in the Army, traveled to a new duty station with my husband, and spent my early postpartum days trying to understand this new identity I had as a mother.
Our tiny coach
The postpartum journey welcomed it’s own challenges that differed from my previous life. I was sleep deprived, my husband returned to work during the first week back at home from the hospital, and I felt alone.
Then, I had to figure out how to move with this new body. I was an athlete before, but I can barely walk now without feeling awkward and odd.
How can I navigate returning to fitness in this new postpartum body in a way that supports me as a mother? That supports my daughter as she learns how to be in this world?
I began to read, research, study. I pursued a second bachelors degree in exercise science, worked towards various prenatal and postpartum fitness certifications, and tried to understand what it was that I was missing in my pregnancy and postpartum experiences.
Our little buddies working right along side us
And then, one day it just came to me. MamasteFit.
A community of women, in their motherhood journeys, that supported one another’s growth into motherhood with their children right next to them. A prenatal and postpartum fitness studio that offered full spectrum motherhood support—pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum—in a way that allowed women to truly be mothers.
It was important from day 1 that our kids be allowed to be a part of this process of growth; that they were not e burden or needed to be hidden from site while we worked out. It was important that the programs reflected the demands of motherhood, and helping women navigate each phase of motherhood with specificity and science.
I designed our programs to be support the mother in a science based approach. All my programs continually develop and are refined as I learn more, and my clients discover new needs.
We developed our prenatal program to strengthen the support of the pelvis and balance the hip musculature, all while preparing for birth with strength and conditioning training.
We designed our postpartum programs to have recovery in mind, with an intentional return to fitness so that you can pick up your kid, not with pain, but with strength. Relearn functional movement patterns in your new postpartum body with your baby right there next to you.
We created a C-section specific recovery program to help our C-section mamas heal and reconnect with their bodies in the unique way that they need after a major abdominal surgery. A surgery that typically does NOT receive any sort of physical therapy.
We then focused on labor support, by introducing birth doula services and childbirth education classes. Our support focuses on an anatomical and physiological approach to birth, and we help our clients move with purpose throughout their labor in a way that supports their intuitive birthing process.
Hanging with our mom squad and all our kids.
MamasteFit came to be, because I felt lost and confused in the early months of my postpartum. I needed a community to be a part of that truly supported who I was as a mother, and welcomed my daughter as a major part of my daily life.
It is beautiful, being a mother, my daughter amazes me every single day. And I truly love being with her at the gym all day. I hope you’ll join us there too.