The OMP exercises below are available as a FREE RESOURCE.
OMP has a direct impact on optimal fetal positioning. The baby needs a smooth path to navigate through the pelvis during labour and birth. This relies on the ability of the baby to work through cardinal movements during the processes of descent and dilation. The teamwork between the mother and her baby will offer the best chance of a swifter easier birth and can help avoid interventions and caesarean section.
“OMP brings alignment and mobility within the mother’s pelvis enabling the baby’s cardinal movements to facilitate labour progress”.
Danae teaches the OMP exercises below to her clients in preparation for birth and offers additional live workshops in Sydney CLICK HERE.
OMP (based in Singapore) offers further online education.
OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocols are passive exercises for the pregnant mother and her birth partner to do ideally on a daily basis.
As these are myofascia releases, you are encouraged to start with 3-5 breaths ( 30 seconds) for each exercise and work your way to 3-5 minutes per exercise in order to achieve a myofascia release that enables your soft tissues to be aligned and maintain ‘dynamic equilibrium’ within your pregnant body. Your birth partner will also get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing how much you enjoy and are relaxed by the exercises.
OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocols and WHY they are important for you to learn and apply
1. Pelvic Side Lying Release
Works with various soft tissues however most effectively used for aligning your pelvic floor. Here are more benefits of Pelvic Side Lying Release.
2. PSLR with diaphragm release | DR – Posterior Sacroiliac Release | PSR – Ischial Tuberousities Release | ITR:
DR creates space within the diaphragm; PSR softens the ligaments covering the sacroiliac joints; ITR creates suppleness in the sacrospinous and sacrotuberous ligaments. The sacrospinous ligament attaches from the ischial spines to the sitzbones. The sacrotuberous ligaments attaches from the sitzbones to the sacrum.
3. Side Lying Illio Psoas Hip Flexers Release | SLIP-HFR
Nicknamed as ‘slippers’, this exercise works with the front of your body where it encourages suppleness and alignment within your psoas muscles, round ligament and your hip-flexors.
4. Forward leaning Inversion | FLI
The uterosacral ligament acts like a rudder to the boat where it controls the direction of where the boat is going. FLI enables the ligament to untwist and be aligned.
5. Pelvic Floor Relaxer | PFR
PFR is a sacral release which is also helpful to relax the pelvic floor.
6. Abdominal Sifting | AS
This works with the broad ligament and encourages the hot air balloon to get into ‘dynamic equilibrium”.
Please note: For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
* Recommended daily or as often as you can manage.
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates the Pelvic Side Lying Release | PSLR.
PSLR is a part of OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocol to be used during pregnancy, and when needed during labor and birth.
PSLR has many benefits however its primary function is to align the pelvic floor.
A few guidelines can be helpful with PSLR:
For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body.
PSLR can be done anytime during her pregnancy.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If a pregnant mother is experiencing any pain in her pubic symphysis joints, she may not be able to do this exercise.
If she has a pendulous belly or is expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release.
Mum will not often feel alot of stretching or feedback, this exercise is all about internal release.
When a mother is in the PSLR position, it can be helpful to enhance this position by doing the following:
Diaphragm Release | DR: Creates space within the mother’s diaphragm which often makes her feel that she has more room to breathe.
Posterior Iliac Release | PIR: These are the ligaments located where the sacro-iliac joints are and releases can enhance pelvic mobility (intrinsic movements of the pelvis).
Ischial Tuberousities Release | ITR: These releases target both the sacropinous and sacro-tuberous ligaments and releases can enhance pelvic mobility (intrinsic movements of the pelvis).
A few guidelines can be helpful with PSLR + DR + PIR + ITR:
For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body.
PSLR + DR + PIR + ITR can be done anytime during her pregnancy.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If a pregnant mother is experiencing any pain in her pubic symphysis joints, she will not be able to do this exercise;
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release.
SLIP-HFR
OMP Side Lying Ilio Psoas Hip Flexors Release
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates the Side Lying Ilio Psoas Hip Flexor Release | SLIP-HFR.
Otherwise nicknamed as “slippers”, the Side Lying Ilio Psoas Hip Flexor Release (SLIP-HFR) is meant to aligned the front of the mother’s body focusing on releasing her round ligaments, psoas and hip-flexors.
SLIP-HFR is a part of OMP’s Pelvic Alignment Protocol to be used during any time during pregnancy, and when needed during labor and birth.
A few guidelines can be helpful with SLIP-HFR:
For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body
SLIP-HFR can be done anytime during her pregnancy
Remember to go slow when assisting with this particular exercise, reminding the mother that she should not feel any pain or pinching in her lower back and to go only as far as her body would allow her to
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist
If a pregnant mother is experiencing any pain in her pubic symphysis joints, she will not be able to do this exercise
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release
FLI
OMP Forward Leaning Inversion
Forward Leaning Inversion | FLI originated from Dr Carol Phillips of www.dynamicbodybalancing.com
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates the forward leaning inversion | FLI.
FLI is a part of OMP’s Pelvic Alignment Protocol to be used during pregnancy when the mother is able to feel the growing weight of her belly, and when needed during labor and birth. FLI’s primary function is to untwist the utero-sacral ligament which acts like the rudder of a boat and allow for dynamic equilibrium within a mother’s “hot-air balloon”.
Please avoid any inversions if:
The pregnant mother is experiencing severe heartburn;
The pregnant mother has hypertension;
The pregnant mother has had a recent eye surgery;
The pregnant mother doesn’t want to do these exercises.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least a total “accumulated down-time” of 1 minute to achieve a fascia release.
PFR
OMP Pelvic Floor Relaxer
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates Pelvic Floor Relaxer | PFR.
Pelvic Floor Relaxer (PFR) is one of the many rebozo techniques originating from the midwives in Mexico.
PFR is a part of OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocolsto be used during any time during pregnancy, and when needed during labor and birth. PFR is as its name states is meant to relax the pelvic floor. Whatever variations you choose to use with PFR would be dependent on both the effectiveness for the pregnant mother and the sustainability of doing this exercise for the birth professional.
A few guidelines can be helpful with PFR:
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least a total “accumulated down-time” of 3-5 minutes to achieve a fascia release.
PLEASE NOTE THIS EXERCISE IS MUCH BETTER DONE WITH MUM RELAXING OVER A CUSHION ON THE COUCH RATHER THAN THE BALL – FAR MORE STABLE THAT WAY
AS
OMP Abdominal Sifting
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates Abdominal Sifting |AS.
Abdominal Sifting | AS is one of the many rebozo techniques originating from the midwives in Mexico.
AS is a part of OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocols to be used during pregnancy when the mother can feel the growing weight of her pregnant belly, and when needed during labor and birth. AS is meant to encourage dynamic equilibrium within the mother’s ‘hot-air balloon’.
A few guidelines can be helpful with AS:
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if you are experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release.
PLEASE NOTE THIS EXERCISE IS MUCH BETTER DONE WITH MUM RELAXING OVER A CUSHION ON THE COUCH RATHER THAN THE BALL – FAR MORE STABLE THAT WAY
PDF DOWNLOAD
Optimal Maternal Positioning
A guide to preparing your body for birth.
OMP exercises, stretches, massage and gentle rebozo can be done by couples in pregnancy to provide relief from daily aches and pains and maintain dynamic equilibrium (alignment for birth) in mums body.
OMP positions and movements help couples work together in labour to maximise space in mums body for the progression of labour and provide focus, bonding and comfort.
Techniques relax and balance the pelvic floor, lengthen diaphragmatic muscles, relax ligaments connecting the uterus, pelvis, sacrum and hip flexors, change the orientation of the pelvis and open areas of the pelvis which create space for the baby to move down for normal vaginal birth.
OMP helps reduce tricky fetal positions such as Breech and Posterior (baby’s spine on mums spine) extended labours, inductions or cesarean section where babies are in positions that make birth difficult for mums. The mothers body and the way she moves in pregnancy and in labour impacts the birth. When you understand OMP you are able to work with your body to create the space within your pelvis to enable your baby’s cardinal movements which facilitates labour progress.
OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocols are passive exercises for the pregnant mother and her birth partner to do ideally on a daily basis. As these are myofascia releases, you are encouraged to start with 3-5 breaths for each exercise and work your way to 3-5 minutes per exercise in order to achieve a myofascia release that enables your soft tissues to be aligned and maintain ‘dynamic equilibrium’ within your pregnant body. Your birth partner will also get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing how much you enjoy and are relaxed by the exercises.
Here are the OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocols and WHY they are important for you to learn and apply:
Pelvic Side Lying Release: Works with various soft tissues however most effectively used for aligning your pelvic floor. Here are more benefits of Pelvic Side Lying Release.
PSLR with diaphragm release | DR – Posterior Sacroiliac Release | PSR – Ischial Tuberousities Release | ITR: DR creates space within the diaphragm; PSR softens the ligaments covering the sacroiliac joints; ITR creates suppleness in the sacrospinous and sacrotuberous ligaments. The sacrospinous ligament attaches from the ischial spines to the sitzbones. The sacrotuberous ligaments attaches from the sitzbones to the sacrum.
Side Lying Illio Psoas Hip Flexers Release | SLIP-HFR: Nicknamed as ‘slippers’, this exercise works with the front of your body where it encourages suppleness and alignment within your psoas muscles, round ligament and your hip-flexors.
Forward leaning Inversion | FLI: The uterosacral ligament acts like a rudder to the boat where it controls the direction of where the boat is going. FLI enables the ligament to untwist and be aligned.
Pelvic Floor Relaxer |PFR: PFR is a sacral release which is also helpful to relax the pelvic floor.
Abdominal Sifting | AS: This works with the broad ligament and encourages the hot air balloon to get into ‘dynamic equilibrium”.
Please note: For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
RECOMMENDED DAILY OR AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN MANAGE
OMP Pelvic Side Lying Release | PSLR
Pelvic Side Lying Release | PSLR originated from Dr Carol Phillips of www.dynamicbodybalancing.com
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates the Pelvic Side Lying Release | PSLR.
PSLR is a part of OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocol to be used during pregnancy, and when needed during labor and birth.
PSLR has many benefits however its primary function is to align the pelvic floor.
A few guidelines can be helpful with PSLR:
For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body.
PSLR can be done anytime during her pregnancy.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If a pregnant mother is experiencing any pain in her pubic symphysis joints, she may not be able to do this exercise.
If she has a pendulous belly or is expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release.
Mum will not often feel alot of stretching or feedback, this exercise is all about internal release.
When a mother is in the PSLR position, it can be helpful to enhance this position by doing the following:
Diaphragm Release | DR: Creates space within the mother’s diaphragm which often makes her feel that she has more room to breathe.
Posterior Iliac Release | PIR: These are the ligaments located where the sacro-iliac joints are and releases can enhance pelvic mobility (intrinsic movements of the pelvis).
Ischial Tuberousities Release | ITR: These releases target both the sacropinous and sacro-tuberous ligaments and releases can enhance pelvic mobility (intrinsic movements of the pelvis).
A few guidelines can be helpful with PSLR + DR + PIR + ITR:
For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body.
PSLR + DR + PIR + ITR can be done anytime during her pregnancy.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If a pregnant mother is experiencing any pain in her pubic symphysis joints, she will not be able to do this exercise;
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release.
OMP Side Lying Ilio Psoas Hip Flexors Release | SLIP-HFR
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates the Side Lying Ilio Psoas Hip Flexor Release | SLIP-HFR.
Otherwise nicknamed as “slippers”, the Side Lying Ilio Psoas Hip Flexor Release (SLIP-HFR) is meant to aligned the front of the mother’s body focusing on releasing her round ligaments, psoas and hip-flexors.
SLIP-HFR is a part of OMP’s Pelvic Alignment Protocol to be used during any time during pregnancy, and when needed during labor and birth.
A few guidelines can be helpful with SLIP-HFR:
For exercises 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, please be sure to do this exercise on both sides of her body
SLIP-HFR can be done anytime during her pregnancy
Remember to go slow when assisting with this particular exercise, reminding the mother that she should not feel any pain or pinching in her lower back and to go only as far as her body would allow her to
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist
If a pregnant mother is experiencing any pain in her pubic symphysis joints, she will not be able to do this exercise
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release
OMP Forward Leaning Inversion | FLI
Forward Leaning Inversion | FLI originated from Dr Carol Phillips of www.dynamicbodybalancing.com
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates the forward leaning inversion | FLI.
FLI is a part of OMP’s Pelvic Alignment Protocol to be used during pregnancy when the mother is able to feel the growing weight of her belly, and when needed during labor and birth. FLI’s primary function is to untwist the utero-sacral ligament which acts like the rudder of a boat and allow for dynamic equilibrium within a mother’s “hot-air balloon”.
Please avoid any inversions if:
The pregnant mother is experiencing severe heartburn;
The pregnant mother has hypertension;
The pregnant mother has had a recent eye surgery;
The pregnant mother doesn’t want to do these exercises.
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least a total “accumulated down-time” of 1 minute to achieve a fascia release.
1.5 OMP Pelvic Floor Relaxer | PFR
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates Pelvic Floor Relaxer | PFR.
Pelvic Floor Relaxer (PFR) is one of the many rebozo techniques originating from the midwives in Mexico.
PFR is a part of OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocolsto be used during any time during pregnancy, and when needed during labor and birth. PFR is as its name states is meant to relax the pelvic floor. Whatever variations you choose to use with PFR would be dependent on both the effectiveness for the pregnant mother and the sustainability of doing this exercise for the birth professional.
A few guidelines can be helpful with PFR:
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if she is experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least a total “accumulated down-time” of 3-5 minutes to achieve a fascia release.
PLEASE NOTE THIS EXERCISE IS MUCH BETTER DONE WITH MUM RELAXING OVER A CUSHION ON THE COUCH RATHER THAN THE BALL – FAR MORE STABLE THAT WAY
OMP Abdominal Sifting | AS
In this video our beautiful pregnant model demonstrates Abdominal Sifting |AS.
Abdominal Sifting | AS is one of the many rebozo techniques originating from the midwives in Mexico.
AS is a part of OMP Pelvic Alignment Protocols to be used during pregnancy when the mother can feel the growing weight of her pregnant belly, and when needed during labor and birth. AS is meant to encourage dynamic equilibrium within the mother’s ‘hot-air balloon’.
A few guidelines can be helpful with AS:
Contraindications: Please follow the “no pain” rule where if you are experiencing any pain, please stop and consult with a health care professional or an alternative healthcare therapist.
If she has a pendulous belly or are expecting twins or more, using a rebozo/scarf or belly belt to support her belly can be helpful for her.
Always start with 3-5 breaths and slowly work her way up to holding the positions for at least 3-5minutes to achieve a fascia release.
PLEASE NOTE THIS EXERCISE IS MUCH BETTER DONE WITH MUM RELAXING OVER A CUSHION ON THE COUCH RATHER THAN THE BALL – FAR MORE STABLE THAT WAY
DANAE RECOMMENDS FURTHER EDUCATION
OMP has a direct impact on optimal fetal positioning. Creating a smooth path for the baby to navigate through the pelvis during labour and birth depends on the ability for the baby to work through the cardinal movements during the processes of descent and dilation. And because of this perspective, the teamwork between the mother and her baby will give her the best chance of a swifter easier delivery.
“OMP is bringing alignment and mobility within the mother’s pelvis enabling the baby’s cardinal movements to facilitate labour progress”
Danae strongly recommends further education on the subject. Learning how to apply these skills in labour can help support mums labour to progress more smoothly and avoid caesarean section.
OMP for parents – Online course
Direct link including discount for OMP for parents —> https://www.ibirthprofessionals.com/offers/VyxSZc9u?coupon_code=DANAEOMP10
OMP for Birth Professionals – Online course
Direct link to birth professionals —> https://www.ibirthprofessionals.com/offers/6QVojMsD?coupon_code=DANAEOMP10
