This read is for anyone who might one day have, or just recently had a C-section. This is also for coaches who’ve felt unsure how to navigate recovery, or how to guide a student safely back into movement after C-section. Please share it with anyone who could benefit from this.

Trigger warning: The first part of this blog includes a portion of my birth story. If that feels like too much, feel free to skip ahead to the second section: Recovery.

My C-Section Story

Birth not going to plan is common.

One morning, at 34 weeks, I had an unsettled feeling and the baby had not had her normal morning flurry of movement. I drank caffeinated coffee, ate chocolate and fruit. All things that would have got her doing cartwheels inside, but instead she lay quiet. Feeling nervous, I went into the local maternity unit to make sure everything was ok with her. I was in a room divided by curtains with other preggos getting checked. The CCG showed that she was in fact in distress. A nurse promptly took me upstairs to a private room to do “further monitoring”. But as soon as I sat down, in rushed four doctors, my birth team, who announced that the baby would need to be born within the hour if we wanted to ensure that she survived.

Good bye water birth in my living room with my trapeze hanging over the birth pool.

My partner arrived quickly and in hand he had my birth plan . .. the “back up plan “, the one I made and thought/hoped I wouldn’t need. And he said, it’s ok. You planned for this too. It was what I needed to sign the papers for the anesthesiologists to administer the epidural and begin the whirlwind that followed. But my back up birth plan did not include the possibilities that the baby would be in distress, which meant . .

No soft lighting

No intimate setting

No delayed cord clamping

No skin to skin

No first nursing

I sort of got my playlist, played from my partner’s phone next to my ear.

But what still hurts is that I did not get to hold my daughter when she was born.

I didn’t even get to see her face. She was wearing a breathing mask, held in front of me for a few seconds before being whisked away to the NICU and there I lay empty and open to a room of strangers.

And here is where the new part of the journey began. Pulling myself back together again both emotionally and physically. I am grateful that I was able to build a team to help mend me; this included a birth trauma therapist, and a pilates instructor who specializes in postpartum care.

For me, with patience and awareness, I am 95 % back to pre-pregnancy strength, but I have far surpassed my pre-pregnancy body with new found micro awareness and control of my core. I believe that in a few more months I might be stronger than I have ever been.

I wanted to share a bit about my story, and to share some practical things which I found useful in my own recovery journey. I am not an expert in the field of postpartum recovery and the information I am presenting is not medical advice. What’s shared here is meant to encourage and give some practical information. Everyone’s recovery will be unique to them, and based on their body, health and specifics to their own birth, I also encourage you to find your own team of specialists to help in your own healing process.

Recovery

The First 6 Weeks: Rest & Don’t Panic

I know, I know—after already taking a hit on training time, the last thing you want to hear is that you need to rest even MORE. But trust me on this one: rushing your recovery can make things worse.

Your body has been through major surgery. All medical guidance out there suggests a full six weeks of rest. A previous version of me would have done some sneaky conditioning to expedite me getting back in the air. But the hard knocks of my own full fertility journey taught me to have a little more patience, and also to heed the advice of my medical team. So I abided by this guideline and I’m happy I did.

You might feel wobbly, weak, tired—like your body isn’t your own. I promise, this won’t last forever. Think of yourself like a donut: there’s a hole in the middle, nothing holding you together. It will take time to rebuild that strength.

BUT if you must do something, here are 2 safe things to focus on:

1. Posture Awareness

Has pregnancy shifted your posture?—hello, anterior pelvic tilt! The weight of your belly and breasts pulled you forward, and now your ligaments (thanks, relaxin) are stretched out like old rubber bands. Plus, the sensation of your incision might make you want to hunch forward in a subconscious attempt to protect it.

Add in all the time spent nursing or feeding while slumped over, and… yeah. Your posture probably needs some love.Working on your posture will help with your body awareness and begin to rebuild your strength in a safe way. At random points in my day, while standing, sitting or even walking I would bring my mind to my posture.

Try these:

Mirror love
Check yourself in the mirror (with love!). You probably think you’re standing up straight—but are you?
Make sure your head isn’t jutting forward.
Exhale, pull your ribs in and down.
Engage your pelvic floor (like you’re stopping a pee).
Lengthen your lower back by dropping your tailbone and drawing your belly toward your spine.

The Circle Image

Imagine a circle of energy that pulls your alignment back together.

The front of the circle pulls your pubic bone up and sends the energy up

The top of the circle settles your shoulders down

The back of the circles slides your shoulder blades down

The bottom of the circle drops your tail . . and you are back to the front

The Zipper

While standing imagine a zipper that starts right at your crotch and zips up to your head. Zip is slowly from bottom to top thinking of the two sides of your body sealing together.

You can just do these whenever you think of it. Begin to bring awareness back into your body.

2. Lateral Breathing

During pregnancy, you likely developed some funky breathing patterns—maybe chest breathing because, well, there was no room for your lungs to expand! Now’s the time to reset that which will help ease your nervous system and rebuild strength

Lateral breathing helps re-engage your abs, strengthens your core, and brings more air into your system.

Try this:
Inhale and imagine your ribs expanding outward (like you’re filling up your back with air).
Keep your belly button pulled toward your spine as you exhale and feel your ribs squeeze back in.

Why is this important?
Helps reawaken your core.
Reduces stress and calms your nervous system.
Supports pelvic floor health

This phase is all about patience, awareness, and setting the foundation for a strong return. Your aerial practice will still be there when you’re ready—take care of yourself now so you can come back even stronger!

___________________________________________________________________

From 6 Weeks On—Start SLOWLY!

The day I hit my six-week mark, I laced up my running sneakers and went for an aggressive walk. Not running (that’s not allowed yet), but I was determined to get moving. I walked for hours each day.

By day three? Excruciating back pain.

Why? I forgot step one: Posture.

I thought I was good—ready to go, strong, clear. But with my baby strapped to my front, my core wasn’t ready to support me. My ribs were flaring forward a lot, and I didn’t even realize it. Once I slowed my pace, and worked on my posture awareness while lateral breathing, the pain was gone within a few days.

Lesson learned: If something hurts, don’t push through it. Your body is talking to you—listen.

Scar Massage

Sounds nice, right? A little oil, some gentle rubbing? Nope. Scar massage is NOT glamorous—it can be intense physically and also emotionally if you have trauma around your c-section experience.

But it can be such a helpful part of the recovery process. Here’s why: You’re an aerialist. You’ve most likely spent time rolling around on a physio ball or peanut at some point. And you may have felt that burning, tearing feeling in a particularly tight area. This is the feeling of the fascia peeling away from the muscle where it had previously been sticky. Fascia needs to move freely and glide over our muscles.

The Anatomy of a C-Section

You didn’t just get one incision—you got seven.

1. The first three are horizontal (through skin, fat, and fascia).
   
2. The next four are vertical (through abdominal muscles, peritoneum, uterus, and amniotic sac).
   

Once healed (around six weeks), it is deemed safe to start scar massage to prevent adhesions.

Think about it: Your fascia has basically been sewn to the skin and muscle. And you need to break this up again. If it doesn’t move freely, it’ll limit your range of motion and make skills like waist wraps and front balances excruciating.

How to Do It:
No oil (yet). You want dry hands so you can actually pull on the skin. Save the oils for afterward as a little reward.

There are great YouTube tutorials out there, but here are a few techniques I personally used (and sometimes still do!):

• Circles: Use two fingers to draw firm circles (as deep as you can handle) along the scar. Go over and under the full length of it.
  
• Diagonal Pulls: One hand pulls up and to the right, the other down and to the left. Switch directions.
  

At first, you might have numb spots or areas that zing when you touch them. That’s normal—your nerves are still rebuilding. With time, this will ease up.

Exercises to Ease Back In

Wall Sit

• Stand with your back against a wall.
  
• Step your feet forward slightly.
  
• Bend your knees and press your entire back against the wall.
  
• Drop your tailbone, pull belly button to spine and flatten your ribs – Take some lateral breaths!
  

All Fours Hold

At first, being on hands and knees can feel as hard as a full plank. I remember my arms trembling, feeling so weak, just trying to keep my back flat.

If this feels difficult—that’s okay. You are a donut. You won’t be one forever.

Bent Arm Hang

• A great way to rebuild arm strength before jumping back into inversions.
  
• Tip: Don’t rush inversions! Rebuild your core and bent-arm strength first. The full invert will come later.
  

Here’s to Your C-Section Recovery!

This process is a marathon, not a sprint—but you will get there. Be patient, be kind to yourself, and trust that your strength will return.

The post So You Had a C-Section… Now What? appeared first on Paper Doll Militia.

for the pandemic

I’ve been a freelancer, self-employed artist and small business owner for my entire adult life. In honor of Independence Day (here in the United States), I want to share how my experience as a freelancer has led me down a path of freedom, chaos, and resilience.

From an early age, I’ve always been someone who carves their own path. Whether it was expressing myself through colorful, quirky clothing in high school, or creating a self-designed major in college and then embarking on a journey of forming a performance company in my early 20’s.

Choosing a freelancer lifestyle comes with some undeniable perks…. the freedom to create your own schedule and pursue your dreams and passions. But anyone who has tried it knows, there’s a lot of challenges that come with those freedoms. It requires a ton of self-motivation. It can also be extremely difficult to create boundaries and create a healthy work/life balance.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is the unpredictability and instability that comes with this lifestyle; including financial insecurity, which is why so many of us artists constantly find ourselves in survival mode.

Spinning plates is perhaps the most accurate metaphor I’ve heard for being a freelancer. (and appropriately circus themed) It can feel like all the different projects I have carefully balanced could come tumbling down at any given moment. 

I’ve had periods where my schedule is volatile and unpredictable. One minute I’m feeling the lack of job opportunities and then the next minute I have TOO many options, most of which conflict with one another. One client needs a commitment from me, while the other needs me to have a flexible schedule.

The very nature of being an artist demands us to continually dive into the deep unknown with no reassurance that anything fruitful or productive will come from our efforts. It requires embracing the vulnerability of the creative process so that we can make our art. Sometimes, I’ve dived in head first, sometimes I’ve tiptoed in, dragging my heels and protesting “but what if this fails?” Just the same, there’s no way through but forward and every artist knows this firsthand.

So how has this experience of running my own show prepared me for the pandemic (if you read the title, you might be asking)? When the covid19 pandemic hit, after we all realized this situation would be sticking around longer than just a couple weeks (remember that?), it really started to sink in. I have no control over anything, and the future is anyone’s guess. Making plans was futile, because we were all on the edge of our seats waiting for some clarity, or guidance, or ANYthing to help us make sense of what to do next.

And when I was in the thick of it, grasping for answers, I remembered….. I already know how to navigate the chaos of uncertainty, I’ve been practicing my entire life. I’ve proven to myself time and time again that I can meet unexpected curveballs with resourcefulness and grit. These are the skills you are forced to build when you carve your own way. Didn’t get that residency? OK, I’ll figure out a way to create my own DIY residency. Bank account running low? Better create a new workshop offering, promote it, and reach out to all my contacts.

I’ve learned to trust in my own resilience. Because that’s what you have to do when you’re your own boss. There’s no one “above” to turn to for the answers. Of course, I have been extremely lucky to have Sarah along for the ride right next to me. A business partner and collaborator, so we can do our girl-bossing together.

For many of us control-freaks (self-proclaimed) the Pandemic was an exercise in forced surrender. No matter how much I wanted to plan, and come up with solutions, it was clear that the entire world could turn on a dime. And do you know what, I’m really grateful for that. I think it woke me up just a little bit. Helped me to not take everything for granted. Because the truth is, after 20 years as a freelancer and/or small business owner my life has gotten more stable and even more predictable.  That is, until March of 2020. So I guess I should thank covid19 for reminding me of my own resilience and the impermanence of everything. 

Written by Rain Anya – Co-artistic Director | Paper Doll Militia

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The post The Art of Adaptability appeared first on Paper Doll Militia.