ASK: What does it mean for my body to be in alignment before, during and after pregnancy?

Dr. McKnight, a chiropractor and mompreneur, discusses the importance of proper alignment before, during, and after pregnancy including how important it is for the proper function of all of your body systems.

Dr. Vernette McKnight, DC

[TRANSCRIPT OF ANSWER]

Imortance of Proper Alignment

“So the reason why it’s so important for your body to be in alignment (during) pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-pregnancy is because when you are born, the way that your body is set up, you have natural curves in your spine and your extremities, your arms and your legs, have purpose. The reason why it is important to make sure that you are always in proper alignment, or at least aware of being intentional about being in proper alignment, is because that’s where our dysfunction comes from.”

The Body Becomes Dysfunctional

“And if our muscles are not firing or acting in the correct order or performing in the correct order, that’s when we’re at a higher risk of injury and a higher risk of conditions that really are preventable. We were talking about your neck being in alignment with your shoulders pressed back away from your center line. Your belly button drawn up. You’re sitting up nice and tall, making sure that you’re not sitting in your back. You are lifting up. You’re growing tall and then even your stance.”

Motherhood Challenges the Body

“Sometimes moms are ready. They sit in their hips, have babies on their hips that creates that misalignment, right? So you’re dominating on one side versus the other side. Even when you are breastfeeding, you’ve got this internal rotation and you are bonding with baby, which is great, but you are not reconnecting those misalignments and you are putting pressure on your spine. We’re putting pressure on our nervous system, on our vascular system. And even in a comprehensive approach, there are other organs that are not functioning as properly as they should be.”

“All of that comes into the conversation about the importance of proper alignment. And when we’re not (in proper alignment), we again are at a high risk of dysfunction, injuries, and then even conditions that are really preventable. So that’s one of the reasons that it is super important to be in proper alignment.”

How to Achieve Proper Alignment

“What that looks like is if you’re looking at yourself in the mirror, you want to grow tall in your neck. So not doing this headache extension, which I see a lot of my clients do, but lengthening your neck. Pretend like you have a string that is pulling up at the top of your head and then pressing your shoulders down, away from your ears. That way you are elongating your neck, right? So with my female clients, I tell them particularly, you have a diamond necklace on and they perk right on that.”

“And so as you travel down, make sure that your spine is nice and long (and) your belly button is drawn in. That helps to engage those internal abdominal muscles, which will be a little compromised during the baby process. But if we’re staying in proper alignment like we’re talking about, then you don’t lose that integrity as much. When you’re standing, making sure that your pelvis is slightly tucked under or tilted under. That way you don’t have that anterior tilt and you don’t have that excessive lordosis. Then make sure your hips are in line with your knees and your feet are aligned with your knees as well. And that is the best way to stay in proper balance.”