Belly Lacing Technique: Right vs. Left Side & Exercise Tips

Question
Hi Helene,
I just bought your book and DVD and I am trying to learn your positions and work outs.
Anyway, your belly lacing exercise always just talks about laying on your right side but on your DVD the women lays on her left hand side. Does this mean I have to work both sides or is one side good enough?
I must say I thought it would be easier to get those positions down but it does take some practice.
Thank you for you help.  

Answer
Great question.

For clarity and consistency, I cue "right" side in the book. The left side was used in the DVD because the camera angles worked better from that side.

All of the muscles in the abdominal wall have right and left sides. You can't contract or stretch one side without the other, that's the way our nervous systems are set up. So it doesn't matter whether you lie on your left or right side to perform the "Belly Lacing" exercise.

And you're absolutely right about needing some practice to really "get" some of the exercises. Sometimes simple movements are more difficult do well. But the pay off is BIG when your body learns these new skills.

"Belly Lacing" is a Transverse Abdominis (TvA) isolation exercise. Strengthening this muscle is by far the most important step in postpartum reconditioning. For some variations, there are two standing TvA exercises on my web site which are good for both pregnancy and postpartum. Go to http://befitmom.com/strength_training.html and scroll down to the bottom of the page to: Two Safe and Effective Abdominal Exercises for Pregnancy.