Pogo-sticking

Hi Rosewood

I know I am not Christine, but...

I find this quite believable. I find I can do almost anything these days, save over-exerting myself with my butt tucked, without aggravating my POPs. I think you and I (and may others) have been coaching our bodies into Wholewoman ways for long enough now that our bodies intuitively know what to do, in order to maintain the postioning of pelvic organs. There are tasks that I instinctively baulk at these days because my body refuses to do them, eg pushing a piece of heavy furniture across a floor with my arms above hip height. My brain then goes into "how else can I do this?" mode and I can always find a way to do it comfortably. In this case I often back up to the piece of furniture, put my butt against it and push it backwards with my butt, using my thigh muscles. It is as if my brain is using my lower body musculature more, and my upper body less.

I am sure there are things that I can do comfortably now that I could not do comfortably a couple of years ago (I've been doing WW now for almost 6 years). This includes a few bellydance moves that I thought I would never be able to do comfortably because I would always get pressure in my vulva.

Whereas I had to consciously arrange my body when I first started, it now happens automatically.

L

...but have just finished my day's work and granddaughter is coming over to make doll clothes on *her* new little machine! Will find time tomorrow. xo

I have never tried a pogo stick. I wish you lived near me, marie. I'd totally come by for some pogo-playdates.
now I want to get some pogo sticks too.

Thanks, Marie, for being a beacon of light. You are proving one of the basic tenants of WW, which is: The more pressure the better when we are in our rightful shape! As you have learned, jumping is actually good for us if we can maintain our natural spinal shape. The organs are being pushed down and forward In Front of the pubic bones. The pelvic outlet is at the back.

It drives me crazy to hear the old drivel from gynecology:

"The hole is at the bottom; The pelvic organs are perched on the edge of the abyss; Intraabdominal pressure pushes everything out the hole; Suck it all up with kegels; Sorry, you were just made this way; Don't worry, we can operate! First we'll lower the head of the surgical table, known as Trendelenburg position. Then we'll rotate your hips as far backward as possible by strapping your legs into high stirrups. Then we will amputate your uterus, dissect and fortify your vaginal walls with mesh, and suture the top of your vagina to your spine. When you stand up, your pelvic interior will be permanently rotated ninety degrees backward and you will finally be re-made in our image!"

I always feel so much better after a hard (but short - my stamina is not great and I don't want to give the impression that I'm a "runner") run and the harder I pound the pavement, the better by symptoms, IF I'm taking long strides and maintaining WW posture. I take a short run every morning for this reason and then try to maintain the posture throughout the rest of the day.

I just love the pogostick story, which we should put in the FAQs - lol. I'm thinking Santa should bring my granddaughter and I roller skates next holiday season. I've always maintained that we can do anything we want as long as we do it in the right shape.

Oh!....maybe with the exception of African dancing??? I took my granddaughter to a class last week thinking she would love it. She wouldn't participate without me, so I took the class with her and left with my uterus between my legs. I Loved the dance and live drumming, but it did raise the question - do you suppose what we know as "African" dance might have been co-opted by men somewhere along the way?

Cheers,

Christine

Christine, what do you mean by 'African' dance? I am thinking of the repeated 'jumping up and down' action, or is it something else that caused the problem? Have you seen footage of real African tribal dancing where the woman do this jumping? I cannot recall seeing women doing it, only men.

You are amazing, Marie! Thanks for sharing all the great fun you are having. Looking forward to hearing about Chi running!

Hm-m-m. This is a complicated question, Louise. I was talking about African dance as it is often taught in the US.

Interestingly, I struck up a conversation with a young exchange student from Senegal while I was on the University campus last week. I just had to take the opportunity to ask this very question. His answer was very amazing.

He said his people dance for particular ceremonies and occasions. There are men's dances and women's dances and never do they cross boundaries. Men and women do dance together for certain ceremonies. The conversation really got interesting when he told me:

"For instance, we dance for our dead, whom we believe are still here with us. We play our music for them, which we know they can still hear. There is no reality here in the West for such a thing, so we usually just choose not to talk about it."

My questions were not fully answered, which would've involved deeper inquiry into particular movements, postures, etc.

If you look at several YouTube videos you can get a sense of the intense athleticism involved in many dances, and it is the men who have most of the strength and ability to dance in those ways. It all remains a mystery to me at this point.

Christine

I recently purchased a pair of rebounding boots ( they are like ski boots on top shaped in a bow on the bottom) and are made for hopping around. Initially they were used for injured athletes who were being rehabbed for a knee, ankle, hip, or other sprain or injury. I LOVE THEM!! You can walk, hop, dance, run, jog, etc. and not feel any pressure on your joints. I use them to dance around and do mainly low impact aerobics at home. I thought that they may aggravate the prolapse, but I actually feel good. I guess they are on the same premise as the pogo stick. I must admit that I do not always do the posture when using the boots, but when I think about it, I do.

Sounds like fun! Let us know how you do with them over time. :)