Diastasis Recti: Understanding Your Core, Pressure and the Journey Back to Feeling Strong in Your Body
A different way to think about your core…
If you’ve ever looked in the mirror after pregnancy and wondered why your tummy still feels soft, separated or somehow “not quite yours”, you’re certainly not alone.
Maybe you notice a little doming or coning through the middle of your abdomen when you sit up. Perhaps your tummy feels different when you cough, lift your baby, exercise or get up from the floor. You might feel weaker through your center, experience lower back discomfort, or simply have the sense that your body isn’t working together in the way it used to.
You may have heard the words diastasis recti, or abdominal separation.
And perhaps you’ve also been told to “just strengthen your core”.
But what if there is more to restoring your core than doing more abdominal exercises?
What if we started with breath, posture, pressure and connection, and learned to work with your body rather than constantly asking it to brace, grip and push?
This is where a more considered approach to movement can be so valuable.
At Beyond Movement’s Hypopressives Skool, the focus is on helping you reconnect with your body from the inside out. Hypopressives (Low Pressure Fitness) offer a movement system built around breathing, postural awareness, specific movement positions and managing pressure through the abdominal and pelvic regions.
Explore online Hypopressives + Low Pressure Fitness with Beyond Movement at Hypopressive Skool →
What is diastasis recti?
Diastasis recti is a separation or widening of the connective tissue between the two sides of the rectus abdominis — the muscles commonly known as the “six-pack” muscles.
It is particularly common during and after pregnancy because the growing uterus places increasing stretch and pressure through the abdominal wall. For many people, the abdominal wall gradually recovers after birth, while for others the separation, altered tension or associated symptoms can persist.
Diastasis recti isn't simply about how your tummy looks.
You may notice:
A visible bulge, doming or coning through the center of your abdomen
A feeling of weakness through your core
Difficulty managing certain movements or everyday tasks
Changes in your posture
Lower back discomfort
A feeling that your abdomen doesn't respond as it once did
Some people have a noticeable separation without significant symptoms. Others may experience changes in how their abdominal wall, breathing and pelvic floor work together.
And this is important:
Your body is not broken.
Pregnancy, birth and the years that follow can create enormous changes in the way you move, breathe and manage pressure. Your body has adapted to something extraordinary.
The aim isn't to fight your body.
It's to help it find connection and function again.
Diastasis recti isn't just about the gap
One of the easiest traps to fall into is becoming obsessed with the measurement of the gap.
How many fingers?
How many centimetres?
Has it closed?
Is it getting smaller?
These questions can be useful as part of an assessment, but the distance between the muscles isn't the whole story.
Your abdominal wall is living, moving tissue. It changes as you breathe, move, lift, cough, laugh, exercise and go about your day.
Your core isn't a single muscle.
It is a whole system involving the abdominal muscles, diaphragm, pelvic floor, back and other muscles and connective tissues that help you stabilize and move.
So rather than thinking:
“How do I close the gap?”
it can be much more useful to ask:
“How can I improve the way my whole body manages movement and pressure?”
This shift in perspective can be incredibly freeing.
Your core is a pressure system
Everyday life creates changes in pressure inside your body.
Think about:
Getting out of bed
Picking up your child
Carrying shopping
Laughing
Coughing
Sneezing
Going to the toilet
Running
Jumping
Bending
Lifting weights
Holding your breath
Even simply breathing
Your body is continually adapting to these changes.
Pregnancy and birth can alter this system considerably. So can menopause, changes in activity, injury, surgery and years of habitual movement.
At Beyond Movement, this idea of pressure management is central to the Hypopressives Skool approach. The practice combines breath, posture and movement positions to explore how you manage pressure through your abdomen and pelvic floor.
It isn't about holding your tummy in all day or about creating constant tension. And it certainly isn't about believing that a stronger body is simply a body that can brace harder.
Sometimes we need to learn how to let go before we can truly strengthen.
Why traditional “core work” isn't always the answer
For years, we have been told that the route to a stronger tummy is crunches, sit-ups and endless abdominal exercises.
But if you have diastasis recti, simply doing more traditional abdominal work may not be the most appropriate place to start.
Certain movements can cause the abdominal wall to bulge, cone or dome, particularly when the pressure demands of the exercise exceed your current ability to manage them.
This doesn't mean you can never do challenging exercise again.
Quite the opposite.
The goal is to gradually build capacity and understand your body in order to develop better coordination and to develop strength without unnecessary gripping. So that you can return to the activities you love with more confidence.
What are Hypopressives?
Hypopressives relates to reduced pressure.
The method at Hypopressives Skool is Low Pressure Fitness (LPF). This is a movement system combining breathing techniques with specific postural positions and controlled movement.
The practice explores the relationship between the breath, rib cage, diaphragm, abdominal wall, pelvic floor and posture and also incorporates elements such as myofascial release, neurodynamics and postural re-education.
There is no need to throw yourself into hundreds of crunches, no need to spend your life holding a plank.
No need to punish your body into submission.
Instead, the practice asks you to slow down enough to actually feel what is happening.
How are you breathing?
Where are you holding tension?
What happens to your ribs when you inhale?
What happens through your abdomen when you exhale?
Can you create length through your spine?
Can you move without gripping?
Can you become more aware of the relationship between your diaphragm, abdominal wall and pelvic floor?
These are fascinating questions, and they can completely change the way you experience your body.
Diastasis recti and breathing
Your diaphragm is your primary breathing muscle and sits at the top of your abdominal cavity.
Every breath creates movement and pressure changes through your trunk.
Your pelvic floor sits at the bottom of this system.
Your abdominal wall surrounds it.
Your spine and back muscles help complete the picture.
So breathing isn't something separate from your core.
Breathing is part of your core.
This is one reason breath-focused movement can be such an interesting addition to a program for someone exploring diastasis recti.
Instead of constantly telling yourself to “switch your abs on”, you begin to develop awareness of how your whole trunk responds to breath and movement.
At Beyond Movement, Hypopressives practice focuses on lateral rib-cage movement, posture and specific breathing patterns as part of a broader movement system.
The result can feel surprisingly different from a conventional workout.
Focused.
Steady.
Sometimes intense.
But calm.
Can Hypopressives help with diastasis recti?
Hypopressives are often used as part of approaches for core and pelvic floor concerns for women working with diastasis and postpartum recovery.
For some people, Hypopressives may be a useful part of that bigger picture, especially when combined with working with a pelvic health physiotherapist.
What does a Hypopressives class feel like?
If you're expecting a sweaty abdominal workout, you may be surprised.
A Hypopressives session can feel very different from traditional fitness.
At Beyond Movement Hypopressives Skool, sessions begin with a warm-up and work with releasing tension around the diaphragm before moving through a range of standing, kneeling, quadruped and lying positions. Props can be used to support movement and fascial release, with more dynamic positions introduced as you progress. Sessions finish with a relaxing cool down.
There is a strong emphasis on precision.
On awareness.
On the quality of the movement rather than simply doing more repetitions.
And there is something lovely about that.
You don't have to leave class feeling exhausted to know that you've done something worthwhile.
Sometimes the most powerful movement is the movement that allows you to come back into relationship with yourself.
Beyond the postpartum period
Diastasis recti is often discussed as a postpartum issue, but your relationship with your core doesn't stop being important once your baby becomes a toddler, or a teenager.
Your body continues to change.
Menopause brings another significant period of hormonal and physical change.
Your posture evolves.
Your activity levels change.
You may return to running, dancing, lifting weights or sport.
You may simply want to feel more comfortable carrying shopping, gardening, travelling or getting up and down from the floor.
Your core is involved in all of it.
This is why learning how to manage pressure and coordinate movement can be useful far beyond postpartum recovery.
It becomes body maintenance.
A practice you can return to.
A way of checking in with yourself.
A kinder approach to rebuilding your core
Perhaps the most important part of recovering from diastasis recti isn't another exercise.
Perhaps it's changing the conversation you have with your body.
Instead of:
“Why hasn't my tummy gone back?”
Try:
“What does my body need from me now?”
Instead of:
“How can I make my waist smaller?”
Try:
“How can I feel more connected and supported through my center?”
Instead of:
“I need to work harder.”
Try:
“Can I move with more awareness?”
Your body has carried you through pregnancy, birth, work, relationships, stress, sleep deprivation, changing hormones and everyday life.
It deserves a little kindness.
And kindness doesn't mean doing nothing.
It means choosing movement that supports you rather than constantly asking you to override yourself.
When should you seek professional advice?
If you think you have diastasis recti, particularly if you are experiencing pain, significant weakness, pelvic floor symptoms, a hernia, or difficulty with everyday movement, it's sensible to seek an assessment from your GP, pelvic health physiotherapist.
A healthcare professional can help determine what is happening and whether there are other issues that need attention.
The NHS notes that abdominal separation commonly improves during the early postpartum period, but recommends contacting your GP if the separation remains obvious after around eight weeks.
Exercise should also be appropriate for your stage of recovery.
At Beyond Movement, specific guidance is given around postpartum return to Hypopressives, pregnancy and contraindications. The vacuum manoeuvre, for example, is not suitable during pregnancy or for certain health conditions, including uncontrolled blood pressure and heart disease.
Ready to reconnect with your core?
If you'd like to learn more about the practice, discover how it works and find out whether it could be a useful part of your movement journey, visit Beyond Movement – Hypopressives + Low Pressure Fitness.
Come and practice with me
If you're ready to understand your body rather than simply work harder at it, I'd love you to join me.
Subscribe to the Hypopressives online practice community on Skool and give yourself a place to keep learning, moving and building a consistent practice.
You can practice from home, return to the movements regularly and develop your understanding over time.
Your body doesn't need to be fixed.
It needs to be listened to.
It needs movement that makes sense.
And sometimes, the way forward is not more force.
It's finding more connection.
Move well. Breathe well. Feel at home in your body.