Contributor
Aviva Reinhart
Pre/Postnatal Pilates SpecialistAviva specializes in Pilates for pregnancy and postpartum recovery. She's worked with 800+ pre/postnatal clients and trains other instructors in the field.
📍 Portland, Oregon
Latest from Aviva
Pilates for Postpartum Urinary Incontinence: What Helps and What to Avoid
Pilates can genuinely help with postpartum bladder leaking, but breath and timing matter more than how hard you squeeze.
Nov 12, 2026
Varicose Veins in Pregnancy: What Pilates Can (and Can't) Do
Varicose veins are common in pregnancy and usually harmless. Here's what Pilates can do for circulation and comfort, and where…
Nov 4, 2026
Hip Pain During Pregnancy: What's Actually Causing It
Relaxin gets blamed for pregnancy hip pain, but the evidence doesn't back that up. Here's what actually helps, and what…
Nov 2, 2026
Lying on Your Back in Pregnancy: Why Pilates Classes Avoid It
Why Pilates classes have you roll onto your side mid-pregnancy, when it actually starts to matter, and what the vena…
Oct 30, 2026
Is There a Safe Heart Rate for Pilates in Pregnancy? An Honest Answer
There's no single heart-rate number for Pilates during pregnancy. Here's why ACOG dropped the old 140-bpm rule, and what to…
Oct 27, 2026
Can Pilates Help With Gestational Diabetes? An Honest Answer
A pre/postnatal specialist looks at what the (thin) research says about Pilates and gestational diabetes, and how to exercise safely…
Oct 25, 2026
Pilates During a High-Risk Pregnancy: What's Actually Safe
High-risk doesn't always mean no exercise, but it means the usual Pilates advice doesn't automatically apply to you.
Oct 22, 2026
Pilates for Postpartum Mood and Anxiety: What the Research Shows
A pre/postnatal specialist walks through what a major review of postpartum exercise studies found about mood and anxiety, and what…
Oct 20, 2026
Pelvic Floor Too Tight? What Pilates Gets Right and Wrong
A tight pelvic floor can feel like weakness, but the fix is release, not more Kegels and not more bracing.
Oct 18, 2026
Swollen Ankles and Feet in Pregnancy: What Pilates Can Do
Swollen ankles are a normal, if annoying, part of pregnancy. Here is how movement eases the pooling, and when swelling…
Oct 15, 2026
Sciatica During Pregnancy: What Actually Helps
Pregnancy sciatica has a different cause than classic sciatica, and that changes which Pilates moves actually help.
Oct 13, 2026
Carpal Tunnel in Pregnancy: What Pilates Can (and Can't) Do
Carpal tunnel syndrome is common in pregnancy, and Pilates can't cure it, but modifying a few hand-heavy moves can keep…
Oct 8, 2026
Rib Pain in Pregnancy: Why It Happens and What Pilates Can Do
Rib pain in pregnancy is common and usually harmless. Here's why it happens and the Pilates breathing and stretches that…
Oct 6, 2026
Can't Sleep During Pregnancy? What Pilates Can (and Can't) Fix
Side sleeping is the safer habit, but Pilates breathing and alignment cues are what actually make it comfortable enough to…
Oct 2, 2026
Round Ligament Pain in Pregnancy: Why It Happens and What Helps
That sudden stab low in your belly during pregnancy is usually round ligament pain, not a sign anything is wrong.
Sep 30, 2026
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction in Pregnancy: What Actually Helps
SPD makes the front of your pelvis ache with every step. Here's what actually eases it, and the moves that…
Sep 27, 2026
Returning to Reformer Pilates After Birth: A Realistic Timeline
There's no single magic week for the reformer postpartum - here's a realistic, evidence-informed timeline and what to watch for.
Sep 22, 2026
Breastfeeding Neck and Shoulder Pain: What Pilates Can Change
Feeding and carrying a baby loads your neck and upper back for hours a day. What actually helps, and what…
Sep 18, 2026
Pilates With Pelvic Organ Prolapse: What's Safe and What Isn't
Most people with pelvic organ prolapse can keep doing Pilates. What changes is pressure management, not the whole repertoire.
Sep 15, 2026
Pilates After a C-Section: When to Start and What to Skip
Most people are cleared at six weeks, but that is a start line, not a finish line. Here is how…
Sep 9, 2026
Pilates and Your Pelvic Floor: What It Can Do Before and After Birth
Pilates can genuinely strengthen your pelvic floor, but only if you contract those muscles on purpose. What the research supports,…
Sep 8, 2026
Pilates During Pregnancy: A Trimester-by-Trimester Guide
Pilates during pregnancy is one of the most well-tolerated forms of exercise — when it's done right. Here's what changes…
Feb 25, 2026
Pilates for Diastasis Recti: A Postpartum Recovery Guide
Two-thirds of postpartum women have diastasis recti. Most never get the right guidance to heal it. Here's the evidence-based progression…
Dec 30, 202512 years of teaching.
Aviva is a Pilates instructor and certified pre/postnatal exercise specialist who has worked with over 800 pregnant and postpartum clients since 2012. She came to Pilates after her own first pregnancy, when she couldn't find a single instructor in her city who understood diastasis recti beyond "don't do crunches."
Now she trains other instructors in evidence-based pre/postnatal modifications and writes about the unglamorous truth: most postpartum recovery advice is too cautious, and what's actually missing is graduated, intelligent loading.
