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By Daniella Gray
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A mom from Arizona has gone viral after revealing one simple daily habit as a game changer in her postpartum recovery.
Landrie Strain, from Scottsdale, showed viewers her body before pregnancy, at 41 weeks and three days pregnant, and again at six weeks postpartum.
"I'm 8 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, which is honestly insane," she said in a clip on TikTok (@landrie.strain).
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The "secret" was something called '360 breathing'—a deep core breathing technique she practiced throughout pregnancy and every single day postpartum.
For the 24-year-old, 360 breathing has allowed her to recover faster and strengthen her core. "Just two months postpartum, I can already see my abs returning," Strain told Newsweek. "I’ve been doing 360 breathing daily throughout both my pregnancy and postpartum journey."
The technique involves inhaling deeply so the abdomen expands in all directions, then exhaling audibly while drawing the belly button in and upward to engage the core.
Strain discovered the technique through Jadyn Heck, a fitness instructor who runs the JH Movement app, which includes pregnancy and postpartum workout programs. She credits learning proper technique there as key.
Still, Strain is careful to frame the transformation thoughtfully. In her clip, she described the idea of "bouncing back" as clickbait, stressing that her goal isn’t rapid weight loss but feeling comfortable and like herself again.
"I wanted to make it clear that I was simply offering a helpful tip—not trying to make anyone feel bad if they’re not reaching their goals as quickly as they’d like," Strain added.
During pregnancy, Strain said she craved mostly junk food and stopped working out around 30 weeks because of full-body discomfort.
Before getting pregnant, however, she had spent about a year rebuilding a consistent fitness routine, practicing yoga roughly three days a week and strength training on the others. She avoided cardio altogether, saying it never felt good on her body.
"At one point, I questioned whether it was worth putting so much effort into getting my body in great shape just to get pregnant again, but I’m really glad I stuck with it," she said. "I think it helped with my recovery."
Physiotherapist Alex Lee told Newsweek that studies show deep breathing techniques combined with pelvic floor rehabilitation after giving birth can improve deep core activation and pelvic floor coordination, enhance posture and overall core control, and help relieve lower back and pelvic pain.
"Importantly, [breathing techniques] should be used in connection with progressive training, walking, mobility, recovery habits, and sleeping whenever possible," Lee said.
Ultimately, Strain said her message isn’t about speed or appearance, but about support, patience, and respecting what the body has accomplished.
"Birthing a baby is one of the most incredible things your body can do, and it’s completely natural to gain weight during that process," she said.
"Practices like 360 breathing aren’t necessarily about weight loss, but about helping your core come back together more effectively postpartum."
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