Motherhood - Prepping through Pilates
Discover how Activation Pilates client Yilin, combined postpartum recovery and long-term health goals with Pilates, building everyday strength for motherhood and beyond.
For Yilin, Pilates began as a way to prepare her body for one of life’s biggest transitions — motherhood.
“I started doing Pilates with Angie [Activation Pilates] pre-partum to try to whip my body in shape to prepare for delivery and post-partum baby care,” she recalls. Much like many working professionals in Singapore, long hours on the job had also taken its toll on her physically. “One of my concerns was my posture — I tend to bend my neck, shoulders, and back a lot due to the nature of my work.”
Alongside these concerns, pilates also addressed another important priority for Yilin: managing her rheumatoid arthritis. While under control with medication, she was determined to maintain good musculoskeletal health with the future in mind. Pilates became a path to longevity, and not just short-term fitness.
Yilin found pilates to be useful in preparing her for the strains of post-partum baby care.
A First Encounter with Pilates
Before first giving it a try with Activation Pilates, Yilin had never attempted Pilates or yoga. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she admits. “I didn’t realise there were so many muscles that I had to ‘wake up’ or that I had been so dependent on certain muscles to do tasks.”
With instructor Angie watching over her, Yilin discovered the new world of Pilates equipment. The reformer and chair became her early favourites, and post-partum she has grown to love the cadillac for its versatility. And as her sessions progressed, she gradually found new ways to activate and balance her body and muscles.
Reformer exercises with Yilin.
Finding Balance Post-Partum
Like many new mothers, Yilin dealt with the physical strains of “mummy posture” brought about from hours of feeding, carrying, and caring for her new born baby. “Post-partum, there was quite a bit of stiffness in my neck and shoulder muscles,” she says. “The sessions made me more aware of my posture, and Angie also helped to release tension in certain muscles, which provided a lot of relief.”
Beyond relief from the strains she started to feel, Pilates also became a tool for rebuilding strength in the right areas of her body. “She [Angie] prescribed exercises to help tone up the needed muscles for infant care,” Yilin shares. This functional “everyday strength” translated directly into her daily life as a mother and continues to improve.
As her adorable toddler continues to grow, Yilin doesn’t take the results of her training for granted. “Carrying an 18kg child is no feat,” she laughs, “and the sessions have continued to help train my core muscles and keep me balanced in strength on both sides of my body.”
Functional Strength for Life’s Moments
For Yilin, Pilates started to become more than just a weekly workout, it’s also an investment in her wellbeing, now and for the future. “I wanted to maintain good musculoskeletal health to bring me into my golden years,” she explains. Regular sessions of Pilates give her the strength and energy to thrive in all aspects of life, alongside the medication that manages her rheumatoid arthritis.
Yilin, baby and her instructor Angie
Her experience sits close to the hearts of the instructors at Activation Pilates, and represents what motivates them to continue working with Activation’s clients: building everyday strength for the moments that matter — whether that’s lifting a child, sitting tall at work, or moving with confidence into later stages of life.
A Message to Others
“I definitely recommend Pilates to all!” she says. “The great thing about Pilates is that it can be tailored to individual needs. The exercises can be customised to different difficulty levels, so no matter weak or strong, young or old, it can be done by all.”
Yilin on the Cadillac
