Category: exercise

April 9, 2014

Fit Pregnancy Magazine, and upcoming Workshop starting in May!

JUST ANNOUNCED! Next Diastasis Rehab Lose Your Mummy Tummy® workshop!

3 SPOTS LEFT  2 SPOTS LEFT!  1 SPOT LEFT!

 ALL FULL!!  Look for next workshop in August!

Class 1: Saturday May 17 2014 (9:00am – 11:45 am)
Class 2: Saturday May 31 2014 (9:00am – 10:30 am)
Class 3: Saturday Jun 14 2014 (9:00am – 10:45am)

(This is considered the Chicago Location for the workshop).

We have people from all over attend these – my workshops get people from MO, MI, WI, IL and IN!

IMG_0911

I will take 10 people    2 MORE PEOPLE  this one.  First come, first serve.

This will be for you if you want to

  • Stop being asked if you look pregnant, even when its been weeks, months,years or decades since you have had a baby
  • Whittle down your waistline significantly
  • Reverse your hernia
  • Close your Diastasis Recti (Mummy Tummy)
  • Fix your belly button issues
  • Heal your connective tissue between your muscles
  • Learn how to keep splitting your recti at a minimum when pregnant
  • Improve your pelvic floor

Sign up is on the  right hand side of this site – via the paypal button or under “products” tab.

Can’t wait to see you there!!

ALSO….Look for me in the Summer Issue of FIT PREGNANCY MAGAZINE!!!!!!

 

December 1, 2011

Just when you think you have seen it all! A Miraculous 9 inches in 8 weeks – All from closing the diastasis recti through the Tupler Technique

Are you pregnant ?  When are you expecting?  These are all VERY ANNOYING questions that a women gets when she has a diastasis recti.  Can anything be more reprehensible or a bigger blow to one’s self esteem?  With that…

Client TM experienced those same questions just 8 weeks ago…

CLIENT TM





DIASTASIS

waist

upper

middle

lower

Week 1

33 1/2

3

4

4

Week 4

 1.75

2

1.25

Week 6

251/2

1.75

2.5

2.25

Weel 8

 24 1/2

.75

2

.25

This client BLEW ME AWAY with her results.All I can say is “WOW!”This client has 2 young kids and is in her early 30s.Her husband is a dentist who now tells his patients about me and the Tupler Technique.Client TM was of small build – about 5’2 and had a 33 ½ inch waist.She has not stuck with any other exercise program – this one would be a first for her.She had shoulder issues when she first began –holding SO much tension in the shoulders to compensate for her weak transverse muscle.She splinted ALL THE TIME (morning and night) and by the end had IMPECCABLE technique.EVERYONE NOTICED ! By the 6th week I noticed something dramatic – as we proceeded with the workout I commented, “You look SO SKINNY!”IT was such a huge change.And no wonder – by week 6 she had already lost EIGHT INCHES in her waist!AND SHE WASN’T DONE CLOSING HER Diastasis Recti!

By week 8, not only did she almost close her diastasis, SHE LOST NINE INCHES to be an itty bitty 24 ½ inch IDEAL SIZE waist !

June 16, 2011

What other exercises should I do? Planks? Push-ups? Pilates?

As asked by two different clients.  GREAT questions!   You don’t want to undo all the work you have done to bring your diastasis back together!

You SHOULD absolutely compliment the Tupler Technique with other exercises!! Anything aerobic is GREAT!  Walking, Running, etc.

Yoga is mostly fine – just watch how you get into and out of postures – no jacknifing and avoid the abs they do.

Pilates is full of quagmires for getting your diastasis back together – avoid it for several weeks until you know HOW to modify things that can backtrack you back to step 1, or make you worse, like Pilates 100, Corkscrew, Teaser, /Scissors, Saw and (of course) Jacknife. I will modify a few of these for my clients  – like Pilates 100, Scissors, and Teaser, and avoid doing the other ones ALTOGETHER!

The Eliptical is great, Treadmill is great…

Watch that you avoid any Crossover movements – like punching (with kick boxing), golf and tennis until your diastasis is all the way back together.  Avoid lifting weights until after you have strengthened at least 4 weeks so you don’t undo any of the work you are doing to heal your diastasis.

PLANKS – be CAREFUL, be CAREFUL, be CAREFUL!

  • Doing the side plank you will want to not put both feet all the way extended – bend one leg to support yourself with and extend your body and the leg on the top, keeping the transverse to the spine.
  • Doing the plank where your belly is parallel to the floor can be VERY hard on the transverse that it can’t engage very easily.  Avoid until after you have been through the 6 week program and/or have closed the diastasis, and even then have CAUTION because with the gravity factor can be hard, as well as the strength demanded by the transverse.  Even seasoned Tupler Techniquers beware of this one.  I would drop ONE knee and bend at the wrist rather than the elbow and get the same extension of the body.

PUSHUPS – two words:  GIRL PUSH UPS (you know, with your knees on the ground) or PUSH-UPS (while standing) against the wall.  The latter might not sound like anything to write home about, but do these slowly and methodically, bringing your body weight all the way against the wall with the transverse to the spine, and you will be feeling it my friend.  ABSOLUTELY Fantastic for all you preggos out there!!  Can’t say it enough!  But great for anyone as your transverse will not be compromised, but your arms will look GREAT after doing these!

Have any specific exercises you have questions about?  List them in the comments section and I will tackle them for you!!

March 20, 2011

Questions from moms IMMEDIATELY POSTPARTUM

So do you really have to wait 6 weeks to do ANY kind of exercise after having a baby (or 8 weeks for C section moms)?   Does every muscle HAVE to atrophy during this time period?  These are valid questions!  And since I am 2 weeks away from my due date – my posts certainly reflect that aspect of the Tupler Technique®
The answer is YES there is definitely something you can do immediately postpartum!!
WITHIN 24 HOURS:  After vaginal birth you can start doing Seated Tuplers within this time period (I even do it BEFORE 24 hours).  Why?  First of all they are great to get all the gunk in the pipeline out – very gently and instrinsicly.  It speeds up the cleansing process.  It also starts getting the abdominal area that has turned into a big ball of JELLY back to its mind-body connection it had pre-baby.  It speeds up the time it takes to get back into pre-pregnancy clothes and get back to how you were.  GRANTED – its not going to happen right away.  That first week or two (or more), you belly will still look like jelly.  But the sooner you start, the sooner your diastasis will close, the sooner your waistline will shrink, and the sooner your abs will lay flat.
WITHIN 24 HOURS:  You can start doing Kegels.  This will speed up the mind body connection that was shot during the vaginal birth process, and the pregnancy itself.  During pregnancy, you have all 30 lbs (more or less) on the pubbococcygeus muscle (the one that controls urine flow) ALONE.  That poor muscle has had so much stress upon it during this time!  So during pregnancy the muscle is weakened. During the actual birth, that muscle is FURTHER weakened.  And if you had an episotomy or tearing, that muscle is FURTHER weakened!  Its no WONDER many women suffer from leakage – incontinence, etc.  So the sooner you start Kegels the better!!
The best way to go?  WORK THE SLOW TWITCH AND THE FAST TWITCH MODE OF THE MUSCLE!!  Close the muscle that controls the urine flow as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine – hold for 10 seconds – then release slow and close back in slowly 10 times – end with the muscle closed.
 GRAVITY does affect this muscle – so don’t do this one standing – a squatting position is great, as it sitting with legs relaxed and slightly apart.
WITHIN 1 WEEK:  Those women that have had a C section  can start doing the Seated Tuplers within 1 week.  This will allow for a bit of time for healing, but will help promote BLOOD FLOW to the area.  This will help the mind-body connection to the muscle as well.  I can’t tell you how many women who lost feeling in the area they had a C section – some 20  years later who are still NUMB!  They were told not to do anything – even intrinsic – so blood flow was not brought to the area, mind-body connection was lost, and numbness ensued.  This is SO avoidable! 
So take heart ladies – you don’t have to let your body go dormant and passive – you can start to intrinsicly strengthen the abs and “kegel” muscles within 24 hours to 1 week depending on what kind of birth you have.  Its so nice that you can do SOMETHING – and it feels refreshing to the muscles to give them a task to do during this time!

February 5, 2011

New Round of Before and After Results for closing the Diastasis Recti!

So I hope you all are not getting tired of hearing some of the awesome results people are getting.  Everytime I see more exciting results, I just feel like I have to tell SOMEBODY!!   Its so exciting!  Of course, my husband hears all the awesome results because I will usually talk with him on my drive home (I know, driving and calling – but at least I don’t TEXT and DRIVE!) 

Anyway – this is kind of a middle of the route results, rather than a true “AFTER” – but the results were so great, I HAD TO POST!!

In a current 6 session class/workshop I am teaching now, here is what I have seen SO FAR:

CLIENT A.F.

This client came for week #2, #3, and #4 (a total of only TWO CALENDAR WEEKS).  I really could almost not believe what my measuring tape said.  This client is in her late 40s and is a smaller build – maybe 5’2 or 5’3.


Her diastasis measured:

  • 1 1/2 fingerwidth diastasis 3 inches above the belly button
  • 3 fingerwidth diastasis right AT the belly button
  • 3 fingerwidth diastasis 3 inches below the belly button.
  • WAIST SIZE: 33 INCH WAIST

So this client purchased a Diastasis Rehab® Splint (and of COURSE did her homework of 5 sets of 100 Seated Tuplers daily) on week #3.  I see her 1 week later on week #4 – she wondered if she was wearing it right, thought it was maybe too tight that she was putting it on at first, butit seemed to get better after a couple of days.  At the end of class she requested that I measure her waist because she felt it was smaller and that she had made progress.  I measured her and could NOT BELIEVE that she was measuring 27 7/8 INCH WAIST!!!!!!!!  OVER FIVE INCHES LOST IN HER WAISTLINE IN TWO CALENDAR WEEKS!!!!  FANTASTIC!!!

Client T.H. 

This client also came for only week #2 and week #3.  She is only 4 ’11, has had 2 kids, and because of her small torso thought she has something amiss with her midsection.  She felt like she couldn’t engage her abdominals anymore.  She had been a gymnast and her lack of ability to engage her abdominals PLUS the odd look and bulge of her midsection were very disconcerting to her.  She is a young mom- late 20s.


Her diastasis measured:

  • 2 fingerwidth gap 3 inches above the belly button
  • 4 fingerwidth gap right AT the belly button
  • 3 fingerwidth gap 3 inches below the belly button
  • Measured 29 1/2 inch waist

This client was so excited after 1 week because she felt that after she put on her  Diastasis Rehab® Splint – 3 days later (and of course doing her homework of 5 sets of 100 Seated Tuplers) she felt like her midsection was totally different.  She told me she tried to measure herself and she felt like things were closed, and her belly button looked totally different, and she was able to engage her abdominals like she hadn’t quite been able to do previously.  She wanted me to measure to make sure.  Now keep in mind this is only ONE CALENDAR WEEK LATER ONLY!!!  

ONE WEEK LATER 

  • CLOSED GAP (No diastasis) 3 inches above the belly button
  • 1 fingerwidth diastasis right AT the belly button
  • CLOSED GAP (NO diastasis) 3 inches below the belly button

So that diastasis is CLINICALLY CLOSED in just 1 week, which is totally amazing!  

Client M.C.

Well, what can live up to those examples?  This next client is a very thin slender mom in her late 20s or early 30s.  She just need that last missing link to the puzzle -her midsection that mysteriously wouldn’t go right after her 2 kids. 


Her moderate diastasis measured:

  • 2 fingerwidth gap 3 inches above the belly button
  • 3 1/2 fingerwidth gap right AT the belly button
  • 3 fingerwidth gap 3 inches below the belly button
  • WAIST SIZE: 31 INCHES

So After 3 calendar weeks, with wearing a splint and doing her homework of 5 sets of 100 Seated Tuplers daily, she asked to be measured (usually we measure 1st and last week only, unless I get requests) to see if her WAIST had gone down.  She HAD gone down to a 29 INCH WAIST in THREE CALENDAR WEEKS!!  Now that might not seem as “WOAH” as the 5 inch WONDER (above) in 2 weeks, but that is STILL GREAT – that is a full pant size, and that much less “smoothing out” you have to do in that area – not to mention, when you get into the 20s range for waistsize, each inch into the 20s seems a bit more stubborn, and should be celebrated.  And of course, there are still 2 more weeks to go!!

SO CONGRATS TO THE AWESOME RESULTS!  FROM “BEFORE” to “MID WAY THROUGH” – hopefully I will have more great things to share with the “AFTERS” in a couple of weeks!

January 6, 2011

I REVERSED My Hernia during pregnancy ?!?! A miraculous story..

This story is mine, actually.  I am the last person in the WORLD I ever thought would get a hernia during pregnancy.  I make sure my recti stay together as much as possible during pregnancy, if not completely together by doing seated tuplers and avoiding comprising movements.  The connective tissue, therefore, doesn’t have to stretch over the organs like SARAN WRAP, like it does when the diastasis is bigger, thereby increasing the likelihood of a tear or imperfection of the connective tissue (linea alba/linea negra).  When the organs poke through the imperfection or hole in the connective tissue, THAT is a hernia…..So what happened…..?
During this pregnancy I experience 2 severe Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) – one right on top of the other…I had to go in for special cultures, etc.  Well, this was during the time that I typically “pop out” with my pregnancy belly.  Sadly, the pain was too severe to do seated tuplers, which I believe would have prevented what then happened….
I could see when I was finally starting to heal from the UTI that my recti had split – and I had a diastasis.  Not a big one, – like a 2 ½ in the middle, and 1 shallow on the top and bottom.  I also noticed a painful area near my belly button, and a strange protrusion – a slightly bluish color.  I thought – OH NO!!!!!  HOW could this BE?!?!
I began researching, and of course consulting with Diastasis Rehab headquarters in New York.  Both avenues told me that I could make the hernia pop back in (as long as it was not an endangerment to my health-kind-of-hernia) only AFTER PREGNANCY, but DEFINITELY NOT DURING.
However, I am not one to let things lie.  I felt inclined to begin doing sets of seated tuplers WHILE MANUALLY holding in my hernia.  After doing several trial sets, I became in contact with  Julie Tupler about working with the hernia this way, which she thought sounded promising and monitoring the situation of doing sets this way. 
What you are about to read has never been done before, and is the first of its kind that I have ever found.  This could change the way hernias are dealt with during pregnancy:
Here is what happened:
Day one – very painful hernia – seemed like it was getting bigger – it was 2 fingerwidths tall and 1 fingerwidth wide.  Manually holding in the hernia at first seemed to take both of my hands to make sure I gingerly slid the hernia back into the tear of the connective tissue.  I found I had to angle my hernia TOWARDS the belly button, and then slightly back away to get the hernia to pop IN. When I could feel the surface pain was gone, and I could feel the absence of the protrustion, I knew the hernia was back “in.”  I then did “standing” seated tuplers while tucking my chin and bringing my head down (a “standing” head lift)  – so I could both bring the connective tissue back together AND shorten the recti. I also did the regular seated tuplers as well.
I splinted ALL DAY making sure to try and bring the hernia in as much as possible while splinting.
Day two – I woke up and did more seated tuplers STANDING while holding the hernia in manually.  It was smaller it seemed and the pain was HALVED!!  That seemed encouraging.  I did several more sets.  It was very helpful to me to see my exposed belly while doing these to make sure I pushed in the ENTIRE hernia while doing these.  I did about 3 to 4 sets of 100 this way, as well one of two sets of 100 seated tuplers (normal) in the car without holding in the hernia. 
I again splinted ALL DAY (AND NIGHT) making sure to bring the hernia in as much as possible.
I also because VERY cautious of my body mechanics – avoiding anything that would shoot the hernia back out and destroy my work – I kept my back flat while bending over, I didn’t pick of anything too heavy, and I kept my transverse in on the work part of everything I did.
Day three – I woke up and I didn’t “sense” my hernia.  I had to feel around to see if some of it was still there.  Finally I found a little sliver of a hernia by my navel.  It was now 1 fingerwidth long, and 1/3 of a fingerwidth wide.   This was VERY heartening.  I did more standing seated tuplers while tucking my chin and bringing my head down, keeping my pelvis tilted, and MANUALLY bringing in the hernia. It was small enough now that when I brought the hernia in, it felt like bubbles when it went through the tear – and only very slight pain.  I couldn’t even see the bulge anymore, and NO bluish color.
Day four – slight setback – I went to target and decided to get very organized.  I purchased 10 heavy bins that stack and put them in the car myself – they were too heavy for me to keep my transverse in all the way – the hernia came out a little bit – but didn’t regress all the way.  I KNEW I should have asked one of those cart boys for help!
Day five – I am of course STILL wearing the splint both night and day – making sure that I don’t feel the pull of the splint above of below the hernia area if it wanders – as this can cause pressure of the hernia area to pop out more – it must be DIRECTLY over the herniated area.  I did more sets of 100  – both standing seated tuplers and regular seated tuplers.  I feel like the standing ones give me slightly more leverage and view to get the hernia just right.
Day six – Still wearing the splint – I can’t really tell the hernia is there at all –both in sight and feel.  I do more regular seated tuplers know , as I can tell the hernia won’t go the other way, but will be more apt (even with the forward forcefull pressure of my growing uterus) to go back in where it should.

So that is that – against all knowledge and experience out there – I brought back in the hernia DURING PREGNANCY – at 28 weeks – with the baby slightly ahead of schedule.  This is HUGE!!  This is the first time this has been tried and it was SUCCESSFUL.  There is hope.  Now no surgery after birth for a stupid hernia – and in only a week.  I wouldn’t have believed it myself if it didn’t happen to me.  Just like the many in the medical world (many still don’t) believe that diastasis recti can be brought together without surgery, they’ll think the same thing about bringing a hernia in while PREGNANT (many hernias can be brought in AFTER pregnancy with seated tuplers).  But now the world can know it IS possible – and we are ahead of the curve!  

(DISCLAIMER:  don’t do without supervision of someone educated in this area).

October 18, 2010

The importance of VARIETY – food and exercise!

When I work with people for weight loss, one of the biggest things that seems to slow people down, even if they are eating “healthy things” is TOO MUCH REPETITION!!  They tend to eat the same things everyday for breakfast, or everyday for lunch, etc and their body goes into a SLUGGISH mode.  It needs more VARIETY!!

This is the same thing with workouts – your body cannot run as efficiently with the same foods, and it can’t get conditioned as well with the SAME workout!  You must rotate what you do so the body does not go into  a SLUGGISH mode with your progress. Workouts ALSO need VARIETY.  That is one reason the P90X is so sucessful (apart from the horrible abs that are shown in that workout.  skip that abs and your good!)

It has been said variety is the spice of life, and I SO agree.  Here is an article with a study that has shown JUST HOW IMPORTANT variety is to LONGEVITY, QUALTIY OF LIFE, and HEALTH.

In this article they REALLY concentrate on food needing variety.  Some things I have learned that I pass on to my clients are:

1) not having the SAME food for lunch and dinner, that you had the previous day for dinner.  Tempting on those tight-for-time days – but important.

2) Don’t have the SAME veggies and fruits everyday.  Each color of fruit and vegetable – classified in the American system as red, red/purple, yellow, orange, white/green, dark green, and green.  Each different color of vegetable gives off a specific antioxidant.  You need ALL SEVEN to really de-oxidize the aging process of your body. For instance, the antioxidant for the “red” category – tomatoes – is LYCOPENE, which we know is good for keeping the prostate heatlhy, AMONG OTHER THINGS!!  The main antioxidant in the red/purple category for things such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries is VERY GOOD FOR THE SKIN.  So if you have skin problems, load up on these.  Most importantly, give your body variety.

3)  DONT have the same proteins everyday.  One of my clients would eat ground beef for every meal, and it stalled ALL of her weight loss and fitness goals for weeks and weeks.  Your body needs fish, poultry, soy – OTHER THINGS!!  

4)  This one can seem like a beast at first – DONT have dessert everyday!!!  Sugar can really mess up your body if had too often  – it IS a WICKED WHITE, after all.  Rotate it just like anything else.  Or have frozen blueberries or fruit for dessert instead.

5)  Dont have SO MUCH WHEAT!!  The american diet is SO MUCH WHEAT – all the time!  It drives me nuts!  There are SOOOOO many other grains – quinoa (my personal fav), oats (get the steel-cut if  possible!), kamut, spelt (spelt bread is FANTASTIC!), millet (watch this one – high on the GI scale), barley, and others.  With too much wheat  – in everything from bread, to gravy, to soups, to salad dressings, its very easy to O.D. your body and cause it to go in a sluggish mode, especially for weight loss.  Your best bet is to look for a variety of options.  And when you DO have wheat, make sure the INGREDIENT list on the back says:  100% whole wheat. 
If the label says: unbleached flour, wheat flour, durum semolina flour, enriched flour, or anything like that – it TOTALLY refined WHITE flour (a  WICKED WHITE!!).  Know the marketing tricks to make it sound healthy and be SMARTER than the companies who make you THINK you are buying healthy.

Those are my tips for variety!  Let me know what YOURS ARE!!

August 30, 2010

Client with largest diastasis clinically closed in FIVE WEEKS!

So I see women with all sorts of sizes of diastasis.  All affect how the abdominal area looks.  Those with the larger diastasis see a much more pronounced “mommy tummy” look as the organs protrude against the skin and connective tissue, as there are NO MUSCLES to keep those organs in.  It looks strange often times, and unsightly.  In some women it looks “off” or “poochy.” 

I have measured thousands of women.  I did have one class that had several women whose recti were 8 fingerwidths wide of a gap between the recti.  I thought – “”wow we have our work cut out for us in this class!  I, of course, splinted them and taught them exercises, etc.  And they made great progress in the 7 weeks we had.  Those were the largest diastasis recti I have personally measured and worked with…until my last class.

I had quite a large class of 20 women and we only had a short abreviate session for the summer – it was a “6 week course” that spanned 5 weeks from beginning to end.  I had a thin tall girl in my class who was NINE FINGERWIDTHS WIDE of a gap between the recti.    She looked great EXCEPT for an the protrusion of the midsection – the LAST piece of the puzzle for SO  many women!
‘
She came up to me after class as  I fit her for a splint and asked, “Can’t I still do crunches and sit-ups?” She had asked in such a way that I could tell that my forbidding of crunches had really put her out with how she did her normal fitness routine.  I said firmly but nicely, “NO!!  That is why you measure a NINE!  NOOOO Crunches!”  “NEVER???”  She asked.  “NO!  Not unless you want to undo all the work you do in here with me.”  (Please click on side tab of crunches if you are new to this site and can’t imagine why I would be saying this 🙂 )

So this girl had EXCELLENT technique and came every week to the 6 classes.  And on week 6, just 5 calendar weeks later, she had brought her  NINE fingerwidth diastasis to a ONE!!!!!!  While I work with my clients to TOTALLY close everything, this was an amazing EIGHT FINGERWIDTHS CLOSED in 5 WEEKS!  That is by FAR the fastest I have ever had anyone progress.  And yes, she DID work for it, usually doing 7 sets of 100  seated tuplers per day (NOT as  crazy as it sounds – they are very intrinsic.  See article of Fit Pregnancy a couple posts below).

Well that kind of progress is not made without significant WAIST SHRINKAGE!!  She went from a 30 inch waist to a 27 inch waist in those FIVE WEEKS!! 

CONGRATS TO HER PROGRESS!!  I am partially telling this clients story not ONLY because of her amazing results, which are awesome, but also because SO many medical professionals believe surgery is the ONLY FIX for this condition!  That is dangerously misguided information in my opinion.  Why not save people from thousands of dollars, weeks and weeks of recovery time, permanent incision in their body, and a healthy (no pun intended) risk of infection following the surgery.  OUCH!  Any medical professionals that come across this, PLEASE realize that there are so many more avenues for the diastasis recti than surgery!

August 22, 2010

ARTICLE IN FIT PREGNANCY – Seated Tuplers, Diastasis, & How to get rid of mommy tummy – POSTPARTUM

Hi All – this is a very recent article in Fit pregnancy about SEATED TUPLERS – WITH PICS!!   To fully view – just click on the big pics and the full page will show. For those of you that have been wanted to see them, I hope that helps!  Visual is always good, especially if you cant do them with someone in person.  You can find the article here.  Let me know if you want me to make it bigger  – or if you have ANY QUESTIONS!!

July 29, 2010

ALL NEW BEFORE AND AFTER PICS & STORY – Diastasis Recti

I am a mid 30’s mother of an almost 2 and just turned 3 year old. Both kids were over 9 pounds, and I gained over 60 pounds, (depsite walking 5 miles a day) with each of them. I developed an umbilical hernia after child no. 1, but thought it was just a cosmetic consequence of pregnancy. My ob/gyn had ok’d me to do crunches during pregnancy no. 1 for as long as I could physically do them. Birth resulted in a c-section, and I lost all of the weight in the first 6 months post-birth and did many many crunches in this time period. I then became pregnant with child no. 2.
I changed ob/gyn for child no. 2 and asked about the diastasis recti at my first pregnancy appointment. She did not catch the hernia, but said that the diastatis recti could only be fixed with surgery. I inquired about stitching it during the second planned c-section, to which she informed me that I then could not hold my baby for several weeks while I healed. I opted against further pursuit of surgery and did not look into a fix until baby no. 2 was 18 months old. I acheived prepregnancy weight rather quickly with both children, but still looked 4-5 months pregnant.
I went to an osteopath who specializes in natural remedies, and he too confirmed that I could only repair my abdominals with surgery, with no mention of the hernia.

A family member of mine saw my belly button when my 2nd child was 18 months old and informed me that I had a hernia and should seek medical attention. I returned to my ob/gyn who confirmed the hernia and suggested I see a general surgeon.


At this point I found Bonnie and the Tupler technique and had already made the decision to try and close the diastasis without surgery. I saw a general surgeon only to confirm that the hernia was not dangerous and there was no immediate need for hernia surgery. The surgeon informed me that the diastasis was only 2 fingers wide, and I really did not even need the surgery. He was shocked that I even knew what a diastasis was. He also said that he could repair the diastatis as well, but that the recovery time would be long. He could repair the hernia, but that there was no immediate need for it as it was not particularly dangerous. I informed him that I was going to attempt to fix it with exercise, to which he responded he had never heard of such a thing. This particular surgeon is not a “cutter” and was supportive of my alternative choice. Further, he said he’d love to see the results, and to come back in six months.

I saw Bonnie just before memorial day, and took before pictures. The surgeon had measured me wrong and the diastasis was MUCH larger than the surgeon had measured.

(After two weeks of Tupler Technique with Bonnie’s instruction (and a bit of a tan):

I’m finding that my biggest problem now is how to get my skin to contract as quickly as my stomach has!

(MY NOTES:  This client was a 5 in the middle, 4 on the bottom, and 3 on the top.  She is now totally closed – in about 6 weeks!   You can see her support in her midsection is much firmer – as the muscles are now holding in the organs very nicely.  You will also notice a big change in the belly button area – its much  more inconspicuous and has gone flat.  From the side views especially, you notice a much more defined waistline, and you will also notice how her waist went in about 3 inches – possibly more since I didn’t measure her during the first session.  GREAT WORK!)