MSMS Presents: Bre Dumke Helfrich, MSc, PhD

Pregnancy & Postpartum

Course Description

From a physiological and biomechanical perspective, few things, if any, can compare to all of the changes that the human body endures during pregnancy and postpartum. However, as movement professionals, our Pilates teacher trainings often fall short on educating us about how to best help this population. This is also an area that is laden with myths about what one can or cannot do. As such, let’s do a deep dive on this incredibly dynamic period in one’s life and where the current research sits on recommendations to better help our clients and our own bodies!

This Pregnancy & Postpartum course is composed of a lecture and a movement class. The lecture will cover the physiological and biomechanical changes that occur during pregnancy and postpartum with emphasis on how such changes impact movement and physical activity. Following the lecture, the movement class will implement what we learned in the lecture. We will cover specific areas to focus on during pregnancy and postpartum as well as many helpful modifications and ways to work with the ever-changing pregnant & postpartum body.

Bre Dumke Helfrich, MSc, PhD, is the founder of Movement Design Lab in Salt Lake City, UT. After surviving a mountaineering accident in Southern Colorado that left her with numerous injuries, she left the world of academia on a mission to heal. It is from her own experience rehabbing with both the Pilates and the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® that both systems blended perfectly with her geeky science mind. She is passionate about adapting both systems to fit the needs of her clients. Clients first - choreography second. Bre earned her MSc in Health and Exercise Science from Colorado State University and her PhD from the University of Utah in Kinesiology specializing in Cognitive & Motor Neuroscience. Bre is also a Certified Comprehensive Pilates Teacher, a Certified GYROTONIC® Teacher, and a Certified GYROKINESIS® Teacher. To say she is a movement geek is a bit of an understatement. 

Outside of the studio, Bre loves all things mountains. From trail running to backcountry skiing, from climbing to simply going on a hike, Bre feels most at home in the high alpine. She feels lucky to call Salt Lake City home with her husband and two sons.