Postpartum Recovery Series
The Reality of Postpartum Recovery—Time, Not a Timeline
Blog Post 1:
Posted by Anne Catherine 4.2.25 | Holistic Yoga Teacher & Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here. Whether you’re pregnant, newly postpartum, or reflecting on your journey years later, this series is written to support you with warmth, kindness, and deep respect for your unique experience.
You deserve care that honors your body, your emotions, your energy—and your baby’s unfolding needs, too. Working with a postpartum doula during the early days and weeks offers profound support—both practical and emotional. A doula helps create a nourishing container for rest, nourishment, and attunement. This care is not a luxury—it’s an essential component of recovery. You don’t have to hold it all alone.
When you’re ready to begin re-integrating gentle movement and community around the 6-week mark, attending a guided, safe-space class like my Nurture: Postpartum Yoga with Baby will provide you with confidence and peace of mind. My classes are intentionally created to honor this sacred, vulnerable phase. I’ll never push you beyond what’s appropriate, and each class offers movement, breath, connection, and compassion.
Postpartum is all about connection—
connecting with your self, your baby, your support networks, and your community. The more you lean into connection with your inner needs, the better you’ll navigate the emotional, physical, and social realities of postpartum life. Nourishing the biopsychosocial self enables a mother to nourish her baby, too.
For the first two years after birth, it's still a WE—
baby and birthing parent remain symbiotic. Just as in pregnancy, your nervous systems are intertwined. The more grounded and resourced you feel, the more ease baby will experience. This interconnectedness makes it even more vital to respect the full arc of postpartum recovery, which unfolds across months and even years—not in a few short weeks.
Let’s revisit the Ayurvedic and somatic postpartum wisdom that supports this expansive view. This includes daily practices rooted in care, consistency, and nourishment—because postpartum recovery is sacred.
Postpartum is the continuation of the pregnancy journey, not the end of it.
I encourage you to follow the 42 days of care as a foundational framework, this is the “Fourth Trimester” which is the 6 Week timeframe between birth and the standard postpartum checkup (usually 8 weeks for cesearean birth).
Begin with the 5-5-5 rule: five days in bed, five days on the bed, five days near the bed. Then allow the following 27 days to be a slow integration of gentle movement, mindful nourishment, and simple presence with your baby.
During this time, less is more. Rest, rest, rest. Use this sacred window to go inward, to build strength slowly, to feel your body, and to reconnect with yourself.
This is also when the most rapid postpartum transformation is happening. There is an Ayurvedic saying: 42 days for 42 years—not because something magical happens after 42 years, but because a person’s lifespan thousands of years ago would have reflected this. What it really means is the way you care for yourself now will echo throughout the rest of your life.
“the first 42 days shape the next 42 years”
Ancient Lifespans: Approximately 4,000 years ago, during the Bronze Age, the average life expectancy at birth was estimated to be between 28 and 38 years. This low average was largely due to high infant and child mortality rates. However, those who survived early childhood often lived much longer, sometimes into their 50s or beyond. Verywell HealthEgypt Tours Portal
Interpreting the Saying: In this context, the "42 years" mentioned in the Ayurvedic proverb likely symbolized a full, long life. The emphasis is on the profound impact that the initial 42 days postpartum can have on a person's overall health and well-being throughout their lifetime. Proper care during this critical period was believed to set the foundation for enduring vitality and wellness.
Understanding this historical perspective underscores the importance of honoring and prioritizing postpartum recovery, recognizing its lasting influence on long-term health.
If you are bleeding more, feeling depleted, or emotionally overwhelmed, these are not signs of weakness. These are signals from your body inviting you back to rest, to stillness, and to the sacred nest of healing. Journaling, warm food, herbal infusions, and slow breathwork are your tools. Not pushing, not proving.
Postpartum is not a 6-week finish line—
it’s an unfolding journey of restoration, transformation, and reconnection. Healing after childbirth happens in layers: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Many birthing people feel pressure to "bounce back," but the truth is, recovery takes far longer than most people realize.
Let’s break down the big picture:
Wound healing (including perineal tears and/or cesarean incision (Yes, you can have both!)): approximately 6–8 weeks【1】
Hemostasis Phase (immediate to 6 hours after birth): Blood vessels constrict and clotting begins to stop bleeding.
Inflammation Phase (6 hours to 4 days): White blood cells begin cleaning the wound; swelling, redness, and soreness may be present.
Proliferation Phase (4 days to ~3 weeks): Tissue regeneration begins, with collagen forming to rebuild the site.
Remodeling Phase (3 weeks to 6–8 weeks+): Strengthening and reorganizing of tissue continues; deeper scar maturation occurs over time, especially with cesarean incisions and perineal tears.
Pelvic floor and ligament recovery: ligaments and connective tissues impacted during pregnancy may take 6–12 months or longer to heal fully【3】
Hormonal shifts: hormonal levels shift dramatically after birth and begin to balance in support of lactation by around 6 weeks postpartum. However, true hormonal homeostasis (non-pregnant baseline) often doesn’t return until ~6 months after weaning from breastfeeding【2】
Full physical strength and energy: restoration varies for each person but commonly takes a year or more【4】
Emotional and identity integration: the journey of rediscovering oneself and adjusting to parenthood may unfold over 1–5 years【5】
“There is no bounce back. Only a deeper becoming.”
Ayurvedic Wisdom - for the “Fourth Trimester”
Ayurvedic Tradition
This first 15-day window prioritizes full-body rest. After that, the remaining 27 days of the sacred 42-day postpartum period should be approached as a gradual and mindful integration phase.
It’s a time to slowly begin gentle movement, emotional connection, and daily rhythms.
Ayurvedic tradition teaches that the first 42 days after birth set the foundation for the next 42 years of life. While 42 years reflected a full lifespan in ancient times, it now represents the importance of long-term wellness. How a birthing person is supported in this early window can influence their experience of menopause and beyond.
Ayurveda recommends daily warm oil massage (abhyanga), warm and moist foods like kitchari and soup, and rest supported by family or community. These practices nourish the nervous system, digestion, and emotional stability—setting the tone for a lifetime of vitality.
“The emotional environment in your home will always be reflected in your child’s emotional state.”
💗 The 5-5-5 Rule: Your Sacred Start
In the first 15 days postpartum, your body, mind, and spirit are tender, open, and deeply receptive. This is not the time to "bounce back"—it’s the time to go inward, to receive, and to connect.
A helpful framework for the first two weeks beginning immediately after birth is the 5-5-5 Rule:
5 days in bed
5 days on the bed
5 days near the bed
This window is for deep connection:
Connection to your SELF—your breath, your energy, your healing body
Connection to your newborn—through presence, scent, sound, and skin-to-skin
Connection to community and family—those who hold you with love and care
Connection to the sacred divine—your spiritual path, your intuition, your inner knowing
Connection to the gift of life—the awe and power of birth and becoming
The 5-5-5 Rule is a simple but powerful framework to guide your healing in these earliest days.
🛏️ 5 Days IN the Bed
Stay lying down as much as possible.
Focus on rest, skin-to-skin with baby, bonding, and nourishment.
Accept help—meals, laundry, emotional support.
Eat warm, easy-to-digest foods like kitchari, soup, and stewed fruits.
Practice Dirga (three-part) breath and soft humming to regulate the nervous system.
Let yourself be held. Your job is to rest and heal.
🪷 5 Days ON the Bed
Sit up in bed, supported by pillows.
Begin gentle seated breath and awareness practices.
Try light stretches in bed: wrist and ankle rolls, gentle twists, and seated cat-cow.
Begin light journaling—track your mood, bleeding, energy, and sweet baby moments.
You may begin short visits to the bathroom or kitchen, but stay close to your nest.
🪴 5 Days NEAR the Bed
Move to soft surfaces near the bed (couch, floor cushions, etc.).
Begin very short outdoor moments—sit on your porch or step outside for 5–10 minutes.
Take a walk around your yard only if it feels good and always stay close to home.
Watch for signs of overexertion: increased bleeding, pelvic heaviness, fatigue.
Enjoy warm herbal tea, music, cuddles, and baby gazing.
🌿 This time is sacred. Every day of rest now is a deposit into your lifelong wellness.
🌙 Let the world wait. You and your baby are still arriving—together.
🌿 The Next 27 Days: Slow Integration
After your initial 15 days of rest, the remaining 27 days of your sacred 42-day postpartum window are all about gentle reintegration. This is the time to begin:
Taking short, nourishing walks close to home
Preparing or receiving easy, warm meals that are grounding and easy to digest
Inviting trusted support back in—soft social contact, help with baby, emotional check-ins
Practicing light breathwork, restorative yoga, or seated movement
Journaling daily reflections or tracking your healing experience
Attuning to your baby’s cues and gradually introducing them to the outside world
💗 Always check in with yourself after an activity:
Do you feel drained or more centered?
Did your bleeding increase?
Do your muscles feel sore or overwhelmed the next day?
These signs are important. Let them guide you.
This time is still sacred. You are still healing. Let every step you take be gentle, supported, and aligned with your needs.
Watch for signs you’re doing too much too soon:
Are you exhausted or overstimulated afterward?
Do you feel heavier in your pelvic floor?
Is your abdominal wall pushing out instead of engaging inward?
Has your lochia increased?
Do you feel sore the next day?
These signs are your body’s way of asking for more support. If this occurs during the activity, STOP right away. Allow yourself to rest until you feel energy restored to your new Post-Birth level. When you return to activity again, start slow. For example, if you attended a general yoga class and felt depleated afterwards, try a Postpartum Yoga class instead. With mindful expert guidance, a Restorative or Yin Yoga class may also be appropriate. If you went for a hike, try a walk around your neighborhood instead. If you tried a basic core workout and felt nauseas, it’s too hard for your rehabilitating body.
Focus on what really matters.
Journaling can be a beautiful way to track your recovery. Include physical notes like energy, mood, bleeding, and appetite—as well as small joys: the way your baby smells, quiet moments, a nap in the sun.
Emotionally, the early postpartum period can feel raw and identity-shifting. Your old self may not fit anymore, and your new self is still forming. This is a sacred rite of passage. Let it take time.
Postpartum healing is not linear. Honor your own timeline.
Prepare for postpartum before baby arrives. This is one of the most powerful decisions you can make. Don’t wait until you're in the middle of the fourth trimester to start gathering tools and support. When you're still pregnant, plan ahead for your sacred postpartum window. Just as you create a Birth Plan, you should also prepare a Postpartum Plan.
My Beginnings: Yoga for Pregnancy class is a beautiful way to prepare your body, mind, and spirit for what's to come. And when you're ready to return to gentle movement with baby in arms, my Nurture: Postpartum Yoga with Baby class will meet you right where you are.
→ Learn more and register: Nurture: Postpartum Yoga with Baby
Interested in deeper support?
Let’s prepare together—not just for birth, but for the beautiful journey that follows.
Join one of my weekly group yoga classes for pregnancy or postpartum
Sign up for a semi-private Core + Pelvic Floor Functional Yoga workshop
Book a private yoga consultation or postpartum coaching session
Hire me for postpartum doula care to receive one-on-one support at home - COMING SOON!
Together, we create a supportive path forward—gentle, empowering, and deeply healing.
This blog post is 1 of a 3 part series.
