Diastasis Recti: The Whole-Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation Paperback – Illustrated, February 1, 2016

I just finished reading this book and I absolutely love it. Finally a book about diastasis recti that clearly explains the biomechanical reasons why it's not going away. There are many stretches and exercises in this book and, at first glance, they look easy. Ha. They have been very challenging for me. I had no idea how tight my muscles were nor how much those tight muscles were pulling on my abdomen. I also had no idea how poor my alignment was - just working on that alone is challenging. But I feel like I am now headed in the right direction. Thank you, Katy, for your clear explanations, your humor (which makes this book fun to read), and for giving attention to this issue which affects so many. I feel hopeful now!UPDATE: I've been following this program for almost 3 months and I am seeing improvement. DR is smaller and connective tissue has gone from deep to medium. My alignment has improved, too. It's much more automatic now,

I am currently rereading this book because I’ve slacked off in the years since I read it last. So much great and practical advice for every day life! I love that the exercise can easily be worked in to your day without having to set aside a whole bunch of time. Just the breathing and posture tips alone are super helpful.

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.

I found out about this book after googling Diastasis Recti. I have a couple of her books already, so the minute I found out about this one, I ordered it. I have been dealing with DR for 13 years. Until now, I thought the only option was surgery, which I am not willing to do.This book is easy to read and she explains things very well. Her personality and humor come out in her books, and with this one, I feel like I got to know her a little better because of the personal details she goes into regarding her DR. She goes into the mechanics of why DR happens (and not just to women-but men as well!) and how to correct it. It is a whole-body issue and she walks the reader through the necessary steps to fix what needs to be fixed from a whole-body perspective.The book is set up well, with facts and mechanics in the beginning-building the foundation for the physical stuff toward the end. I like how the back section has all of the suggested exercises and photos that she suggested earlier in the book, but are now all in one place so I don’t have to flip through it to find them.This was a personal purchase. I was in no way asked or required to leave a review.

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!