New to Prolapse and exercises

Hello rafable!
I just started the exercises and WWP and have much lower back pain too and would appreciate some comments and suggestions also.
I do feel my cystocele is better!!!!!!!!!!!
I am getting so much out of this site---thank you again everyone!

It is not unusual to experience pain when you first start the exercises. I guess you have to decide whether the pain is from using muscles you have not used a lot in the past and tiring them out, or whether you are trying too hard, eg trying to pull up your tailbone, or trying to tilt your pelvis forward by just using one set of muscles to the exclusion of others. Or if the pain is not muscle related at all.

I posted today to MonicaC under her topic entitled Desperation. Read that explanation and see if it rings any bells to explain what we are trying to do inside the pelvis. It is a whole body approach, rather than a local effect on any one body part. You might like to ease off a bit on the effort and go a bit slower. But you have noticed the effect on your cystocele, so something good is happening.

It is like learning anything new. Until it becomes automatic there is real effort involved. I am learning guitar. I get some hand pain, but I am finding that as new, fine movements become more automatic my hands experience less pain, because they are more relaxed. Even though it is a brain thing, I still feel the discomfort and tension in my hands.

Just doing the exercises will only accomplish so much. It is not a case of "do the exercises until it hurts and your reward will be fixing your pelvic organ prolapses (POP's)". It is your overall posture that is most important. That will become easier as different muscles become stronger. You also need to attend to your diet, loosen your clothes around your abdomen, and use your body differently for lifting, bending and everyday tasks. Slowly, slowly catch a monkey. It will take time to adjust your body and get consistent relief from symptoms.

Louise

Louise is so right about the importance of the overall posture. I have been working on this for less than a year and a half. I rarely do any of the exercises because I literally have no time and place for this. I only just recently got the video; I love it, but I have to watch it at work on my lunch hour! I have relied totally on the book and this site, and I feel my prolapse is more or less under control just from posture, body positions, improved eating and bathroom habits, and letting go of my panic and stress over POP. It's not a quick fix; you have to train yourself to do the right thing all day every day! Good luck to you Rafable - you have come to the right place!

Hi rafable
When I first discovered Whole Woman a few months ago I was so relieved to have found help that I launched myself into it a bit too enthusiastically - my thinking was along the lines of 'if a curved lumbar spine is good , then an even more curved one must be even better' - not true - and I had aches and pains too, from overdoing the exercises. I think it takes quite a while to really learn and adjust to the posture and incorporate it into everyday activities, to be honest I think I've only just recently started doing it properly and naturally. My much loved cat died this weekend and we buried her in the garden; I was really upset but had to smile when I realised I was doing Whole Woman grave digging, nicely in posture!
With best wishes
Tintagel

hi Tintagel,

I wanted to reach out to you in your loss of your much loved cat.
I'm so sorry to hear you're going through that grief right now.
As someone who was devastated after losing my feline 'soulmate' a number of years ago, and thinking I would never heal, I want to let you know that time does actually change the grief and allow you to remember fondly, feel the love over time with much less pain.
thinking of you and hoping you can pamper yourself
Salt

Oh Salt, thank you for your kind words. My cat was over 20 years old and had been with me through many ups and downs, always there for a comforting cuddle. She even used to sit under me (watching me in some amazement) while I was firebreathing - my out-breath would make her fur ruffle! I do miss her!
Thank you again - and I do hope you will soon find some improvement with your prolapse problems.
Tintagel

Tintagel that is such a wonderful, precious memory of your cat sitting under you as you did firebreathing - her fur ruffling with your breath!
One of the things that I did after my cat died was to start writing things about her. I have a bad memory and was afraid I would forget so many precious things.
At times it brought lots of tears but over the years I have been so grateful for those memories I wrote.
I imagine that with 20 years together, there are so many memories!
It is such a gift to have such a dear companion with us on our journey through the ups and downs of life.
I'm so sorry for your loss
((((hugs))))
Salt
p.s. thank you - I have learned to firebreathe and it's helping prolapse stuff thank goodness. I'm so grateful