WHOLEWOMAN CENTER!

you lucky duck!!!

I'm sure you will have a wonderful experience there. give christine a big fat hug for me and I expect a full report when you get back. and pics!

and have fun camping.

Stella came to class before her camping trip and stopped by the Center afterward – when we walked and ran around my neighborhood park, and that’s when the posture clicked for her. It’s so helpful to walk (and run) next to another so they can get the posture sort of by osmosis. We need WW teachers in every town! Great working with you, Stella.
:) Christine

Hooray for Stella!! This is such good news, dearie. I hope you won’t mind me saying that ‘If Stella can do it, you can do it!’ as your posture was in great need of correcting – and once corrected, voila! Keep running. Our member, Mare, ran marathons after learning the posture – at sixty+ years old!

A lot of reclining in bed will aggravate prolapse – but not the average reading-in-bed-at-night-or-Saturday-mornings. As Louise just wrote to Karen, the work gets done while we’re on our feet.

Heartfully,

Christine

Hi Stella. I hope to be able to take a backpack trip or two next summer. That Grand Canyon trek is a tough one! Did you use any kind of internal support like a tampon? I lean forward when I carry a pack in that POP aggravating obtuse angle. I don't know that I'll be able to backpack in posture.

Good news about the running. Right now, I am sticking with walking until I am more consistent with posture. Running aggravates my POP now.

Good for you, Stella!!! = : D Though I can't seem to rise above my stage-3 status, for love nor money, it truly warms my heart every time I read about another's progress. The forward steps you are making (and now running!) are an inspiration, to be sure! Keep up the great work, kiddo!

Since your return from the Whole Woman Center, I've been wanting to ask both you and Christine, if you don't mind sharing, just what were the different posture corrections made when star pupil had a chance to meet with and be evaluated by wise and generous teacher?

I have to believe that as you so successfully graduated from "not quite getting it" to "getting it", Stella, that those of us who have studied the same off-campus course and who may likely be similarly lacking, posturely, as you once were, could benefit as well by trying on the same corrections ourselves... While it's true that we may not all carry our WW-selves quite the same due to our differences, it could very well be that the parts of your posture that needed fine-tuning are common to many starting out.

I'd give anything to make it to a lower grade (except my uterus and other natural pinnings, that is)...... I really truly do want to "get it" too!

Many thanks to you both, Christine and Stella; I look forward to applying all that you share.
= : )

♥Blue

Hi KatKat

How big is your backpack? The full self-contained camping size that rises over your head at the back?

This may sound stupid but I have worn a very heavy, compact backpack on my front successfully on a walk of sevreal kilometres, and treated it as a pregnant belly, slung quite low. It made me keep my shoulders back, instead of bringing them forwards which seems to happen when the straps are pulling back on your shoulders. Does that make *any* sense?

Serious climbing would be pretty impossible with a bulky backpack on your front, though. The other option might be to sling the heavy stuff low at the front and put the light, bulky stuff on your back. Bend over at the hips.

What I am probably asking for is a backpack that is built for a woman. Now why not? One that does not rely on a bulky, strong, upper body and one that keeps the centre of gravity low!

Cheers

Louise

Hi Blue,

I’m going to write this in a hurry, as my little granddaughter is napping while I get dinner together. This is our first sleepover and she’s being weaned too, as dd had an out-of-state rugby game she very much wanted to play in…even with giant, rock-hard boobs – old athletes never die…lol.

I hope Stella doesn’t mind my using her as an example – I’m betting you won’t, Stella…

Her previous carriage was just about opposite of the Whole Woman Posture in every aspect: flat feet, hyperextended knees, flexed spine, pulled in tummy, caved shoulders. She’s adorable and looked very much like she belonged in a hip, NYC songwriter’s café…but her anatomy was screaming.

We corrected everything just like I talk about in the FAQs and elsewhere. She returned from her camping trip on a Monday evening when the studio was occupied with a belly dance class so we headed up to the park, which, btw, I discovered is a very good way to teach this.

We walked and ran around the park and as I remember, two things really helped. I told her to stick her butt way out and that her spine couldn’t hyperextend if her upper body posture was correct. To help in that regard I told her to lift the back of her head up – just above her neck. When I said “Lift your head up by the crown”, she tended to tilt her head back, so I said, “No…lift it up from the top of your neck in the back, while pulling your shoulders down and keeping your upper back flat and broad.” If you do these two things while keeping your feet pointing straight ahead, you’ve got it! I think it does help to exaggerate the posture at first, but I’ve always been a bit hesitant to say so.

xChristine

My backpack is full size with a hip belt. You don't need that strong of upper body because the hips take most of the weight. The belt has to be snug across the upper abdomen and I think that might aggravate POP. I usually carry 35-40 pounds depending on the length of the trip. That amount of weight would probably push the butt under. The Whole Woman Posture might be impossible.

DH is 69 and his feet bother him now on backpacking trips. It is probably time to have a packer take us in to a base camp from which we would dayhike. I could have a nice comfy pillow and a king size air mattress. Sounds pretty good.

Thanks for the suggestion about carrying the load on the front, but I think I like the horse idea better.

Thank you Christine for the posture guidelines.

Stella: Your comments are encouraging. DH and I usually only go 3 or 4 miles a day with full packs and it's not usually as challenging as the Grand Canyon climb. We spend 2 days getting into some place nice and then dayhike. It is great to hear your are doing so well with POP.

I have used a heavy full-size backpack, and I think it is better for a woman slung as low as you can get it without it falling off, so the hip strap is around the hips, rather than above the hips. This would allow the base of the backpack to rest vertically on the sacrum, rather than on the hip bones, ie the load would go down via the sacrum and pelvis onto the legs, rather than being cantilevered on the lower spine, and the belly would be freer to expand over the top, rather than be squashed in and downwards by the hip strap.

I really like the horse idea as well. Just wondering if a lightweight, wide-wheeled trolley with a low hip harness would have some application (for use on well-made tracks only)? You might need brakes for the downward journey, or put it in front of you to lead the way. This type of trolley would work on the same principle as being able to tow more on a trailer behind a vehicle than you can by piling the load onto the vehicle.

There is something very satisfying about carrying your home on your back, propelled by your own two legs, but is it really something that the highly developed human mind should still be doing (if we are really that clever), especially when we are getting old enough and creaky enough to know better? Even snails have a long, wide, and very well-lubricated base when they go walkabout!

Cheers

Louise

Thank you both, Christine and Stella. In going through the example of your posture checks, it looks like I may just "get it" after all! The one thing I have to stay focused on is keeping my chin down. Not that I have it raised high, really, but taking it a bit closer to my chest, crown up, even makes my neck feel more relaxed besides being the proper headline for the rest of the WW posture to follow (all things connected ;). Thank you for taking the time to share, and for putting my doubts to rest. Any time any of the key posture points are revisited like this, I'm betting yet another wondering reader finds their place in line.

I took my properly postured POP for a long woodland hike on Saturday and for a bike ride today, and for the most part, everything stayed comfortably situated, with only a slightly 'sensational' reminder to take good care every now and then, depending on the terrain. A good time, both times out.

I'm betting that your first sleep-over with your granddaughter was a fun and memorable one, Christine. I get to enjoy those special times every other Friday with my own dearheart - It's a special time, to be sure.

Thanks again!

♥Blue

to stick your behind out and direct energy up through your head is helpful. I can see how one on one work is invaluable. One of these days, a whole woman retreat in NM, I hope. Christine?

Marie

Stella...this is just wonderful news...keep up the good work!

Marie...we absolutely Must do this someday. You probably remember that I've tried to make it happen in the past, with no success. I don't know the formula for getting everyone in one place at the same time, but I'm going to continue to try. I can't be the only one who would just Love to meet face-to-face all my wonderful sisters with whom I've shared so much through the years! It will happen some day!!

It's always going to be an up-and-down kinda thing, Stella. When you're feeling symptomatic, remember all the other tips - bending over at the waist and pulling things forward; firebreathing; pushing your cervix up (I know you don't have primary UP) and applying Peri Balm; walking while making large circles with your arms; kegeling as I have described in my blog "Kegels the right way." etc. You have to have a sense that your organs are out in front of your pubic bones while running, for running will aggravate unless your belly is relaxed and your lumbar curve fully in place. Keep us posted! :)

oh your visit sounds amazing!

i'm starting to think of getting to NM next April...any chance you'll be there Christine?
I would love to come walk in the park with you (I don't run...) and my little ones can go see the dinosaurs. need to broach the idea to DH...it would mean not playing on the beach in Santa Cruz for 4 days, but I do feel like i need this so much! AS much as I try, i know my posture is lacking--too many years of ballet are so hard to undo...
will keep you updated...
Kiki

Kiki, just do it. I am jealous that you are at least on the same continent.

I am sure that you would do the same thing for DH if he was the one who would benefit from visiting NM for some health therapy that he couldn't get at home.

Cheers

Louise :-)

well, not on the same continent, but endure the 12 hour flight with little ones every year to see family (less of a flight than for you i know!). so what's another 3 hours???
i know, DH will understand. he'll grump and panic at being in alb on his own with two kids (the roads are straight! what's the worry????), but he'll be fine.

now i just need christine to be there...i'll get you dates asap ;-)

kiki

Sorry Kiki, thought you were in the States. Yes, I can see why it is a challenge for you. Good luck.

L