Diastasis Recti: The Whole-Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation

Postpartum mom here, looking to remedy the mild diastasis and core weakness I have after multiple pregnancies (including one with multiples!). I found this book to be an outstanding resource in the area of body alignment and posture. Katy Bowman very clearly defines what healthy body alignment is and how body alignment either heals or exacerbates a diastasis recti (DR). I came away from the book with ready-to-implement ideas for bettering my posture as I sit, stand, and move through daily life as a busy parent and felt encouraged to move more and move more mindfully.Why only 4 stars? Well, I will admit that one thing I was looking for (and am still looking for) is a simple 5-20 minute daily core workout with DR-friendly exercises. There are whole chapters full of exercises in this book, but most are aimed at stretching and restoring mind-body connections to each of the muscles that link up with your core. Only a couple target the core specifically. Yes, Katy's overarching point is that DR is a whole-body problem that requires a whole-body solution. But at the end of the day, many of her readers, like myself, may want more specific core strengthening exercises that meet her criteria of working multiple muscle groups through a range of motion. I am aligning my body more effectively now, but...my core is still weak!Another pro/con of this book (and it is both a pro and a con) is that tailoring her recommended exercises to your situation is up to you. There are several chapters of exercises, which makes it both a versatile, adaptable sourcebook and a bit of work for the reader. It's up to you to try the exercises, see which are most applicable to your body and situation, and create your own plan to do them regularly (I'm guessing that not many of us have the time to do every one every day!). This is NOT a "read the chapter with the core workout and just do that" kind of book.In the end, though, her holistic view of DR is right on target--resolving it is not a matter of "fixing" one thing, but of addressing multiple factors (posture, diet, lifestyle, etc.). This book supplies that vision and a solid plan for addressing some of those areas. You may find as I did that it does not solve every problem or provide every resource you need to improve your DR, but it gets you started and heading in the right direction.

3 years after my second kid was born, despite return to my morning yoga / strength / walking routine, I had still had a pretty wide Diastasis Recti. (Important to note: this book talks about and helps solve this issue even if it had nothing to do with pregnancy! Guys can have Diastasis Recti too!) I found one of those “28 day” online excercise routines and did it (it was tedious), with some improvement. But at the end of it, I still had some separation and worse, I didn’t know what those exercises did for me and whether I ought to be modifying any of the rest of my standard morning stretches to avoid aggravating it. The internet had a lot of generic advice (“no twists! No planks!”) but not a lot of rationale or specifics.Enter Katy Bowman’s Diastasis Recti book. It explained why and how the separation was formed and maintained, and gave me the information I needed to (most importantly) change my posture in my daily life so that I wasn’t constantly straining and weakening the linea alba (the part that stretches to allow the separation), and also to help me understand how to modify my morning exercises to strengthen and loosen the rest of my abdominal / waist / shoulder / hip muscles instead of stressing out the linea alba.A month later, my Diastasis Recti is compeletely gone, and I feel empowered to keep it that way. Thanks, Katy!

My wife bought this book after the birth of our 2nd daughter. She already has the book Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief and loves it, it helped heal her plantar fasciitis, so when she was told she had a massive diastasis, she got this book. She started slow and spent a few months on the first level, then went on to the second when she felt ready. Her diastasis recti improved just from the level one stretches, and will hopefully continue to heal as she does the level two and then three exercises. Katy Bowman is a genius and really knows the body well.

My doctors had no clue and were telling me to do all of the wrong exercises, which only makes DR worse! Katy's exercises are great and the info is useful so you don't make your DR worse as you go through your every day life. Katy also has a website/blog where, for a small fee, you can watch videos of her doing the exercises - totally worth it! - and a podcast where you can also get more info, and some videos on YouTube. But the book is the foundation, the explanation, and has a summary with everything in one place. This info is necessary for managing DR, but for some reason is very very hard to come by from doctors, personal trainers, physical therapists, and gym programs!

Two babies. Three operations. One car accident. All too much for an ageing body. This author's ideas really work. I just followed the simple program exercises in the book. They are simple but tiring. After a month my body is really changing into a shape that I have always wanted. Very impressed. Well worth the price and effort.

My coach advocates Katy Bowman’s research in body movement. In the last year I have worked with this coach I initially supplemented my instruction with Katy’s website where she generously provides a lot of free information. I wanted to dig deeper though and found this book contains the detail I wanted. The book has helpful illustrations of the wrong/right way to hold a position. I appreciate how she explains the science behind why certain movements are helpful and what to avoid. Does a thorough job referencing her own research so the reader can source other materials if desired. Importantly, this is movement based so it to be incorporated naturally into every day living.

Wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I don't have DR but I do have a core (ha, ha!) & it's never been so strong. This is THE book for core strenghtening, hands down. Would love to see all PTs, sports trainers, etc. on board with the biomechanical model.

I learned absolutely nothing from this book, youtube was much better and it's free, I have since done courses and now specialise in post-natal recovery, if you are looking for actual help send me a message

Exactly what I was looking for. If you wanna know exactly what is going on in your body, if you have been diagnosed with diastasis recti, this is the book for you. Everything you need to know is all in here!

Good book easy to read and help the whole body.

Recommended but not easy to follow from a book.

Clear and concise information on all you need to know about DR and its resolution.

Have'nt read it all yet but, so far so good it kinda makes sense

Easy to read and full of fantastic information and insight. Made a complicated issue seem more simple. Thanks!

One of the best books I have ever read!

I simple yet effective book. Good for the lay person as well as the professional body worker.

interesting read

wonderful approach! And not only for Diastasis Recti! Very easy to read, very easy to follow! Katy Bowman : you rock!!

Nothing amazingly new but some good exercises

nice book

Usual brilliance from Katy

Love the wise, helpful tone of the author! Great book.