Moving Again After Baby: When Your Body Feels Like a Stranger

Let’s be honest, getting back to movement after childbirth is not all magical, glowy Instagram reels and bouncing back in cute leggings. For me? It was messy, emotional, and downright confusing. I’d spent years moving my body, teaching it, pushing it, loving it. Then suddenly, post-birth, even standing up without wincing felt like a small mountain climb.

I thought I’d just know how to come back. I thought my muscles would remember, and my motivation would kick in. But the truth? My body felt like it belonged to someone else. My lower body, especially, just felt... alien. Like I had to reintroduce myself to it: “Hi Lucy, I’m the person who used to do lunges and walk up stairs without wobbly knees. Remember me?”.

And then let’s talk about self-consciousness… That was the killer. I wasn’t just physically tired, I was mentally stuck. I knew how to move, it’s my blooming jon, but my brain just couldn’t get me off the start line. I’d look at my new body and feel disconnected from it. I was angry at it, this body had just done something incredible, but I didn’t quite know how to be in it anymore.

I’d love to tell you I found a magical solution. That I got a burst of inspiration and it was all uphill from there. But nope. What I found was something more real: tiny, gritty wins. Lifting my baby without holding my breath. Going for a walk without feeling like I’d run a marathon. Doing one squat. Then two. Then five. Progress, in its rawest form.

One of the most powerful things I’ve done? Reframing my mindset. I stopped chasing the old version of me and started cheering for this new one. Because this version of me grew this amazing human who I absolutely adore. This version of me moved through pain, doubt, and a massive identity shift.

“I now wear my scar as a badge of honour, my first scar to protect and save my bubba cub”.

So if you're reading this and you’re in that place, where your body feels like a stranger and movement feels miles away, know that you’re not alone. You’re not failing. You’re just finding your new rhythm. It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be yours.

✨ Ready to take that first gentle step back to you?
Come try my free mini workout, designed especially for postnatal mums who want to reconnect with their bodies and feel just a little more like themselves again. It’s short, safe, and you can do it in your PJs (promise).

And if you love it?
Come join the Pilates Mum Hub—a supportive space for real mums, real bodies, and real movement that meets you exactly where you are.

👉 Click here to access your free mini workout & join the hub

You don’t have to do this alone—and you’re stronger than you think. ❤️

Lucy 🙂