Toning stomach

But of course!...you need the Whole Woman Workout!! :-)

Hmm not sure if it fits with posture, but my midwife says if you let your stomach sag then breathe out as you pull your belly button back into your spine and up and hold for a count of 5 - 10, and repeat 5 - 10 times, it tones the stomach and works your deep pelvic floor muscles (the ones right at the front). Not sure what Christine or anyone else thinks of that one?

My pilates teacher got me to lie on my tummy face down and imagine I was vacuum packing my tummy, sucking my navel towards my backbone (breathe out), hold, release (breathe in), repeat. It's very effective because it helps knit the muscles back together rather than making them bulge (as, for instance a sit-up would - you shouldn't do sit-ups post-natally, and in any case they're not the best thing for prolapse). Because you're lying on the floor you're fully supported and can really focus in on the right muscles without compromising anything else. Good luck!

Wendy

When we first started analysing Pilates and prolapse a few years ago I suggested that if the entire mat program were flipped over onto the stomach it would be a lot more female-friendly. :-)

Hi

I've just started investigating a kind of chinese healing bodywork, a little like a chinese yoga. It's called QI gong or energy work, but one of the things it involves doing is cultivating and directing energy from the place TCM sees as the nexus of our cetral energy - the lower dan tien. About an inch and a half below the belly button and an about an inch in.

ANyhoo an important excercise for prolapse is apparantly a breathwork that involves something very much what that lady describes below. Breathing in (throught the nose with the tip of the tongue to the back of the upper teeth) and pushing out with the stomach.

Then breathing out while blowing air out and pulling in as if this dan tien were to touch the back spine. So sorta bellybutton to spine.

Plus at the same time feeling everything pulling in and up.

I have to say i like it a lot for some reason... and will keep you posted on how i find this work with prolpase.

Secondly - my osteopath in toronto is very very impressed with christines book and has started a physio/pilates class with adjustments made on the basis of christines recommendations (i.e keeping the curves in place), which i'll try to go to if it's not on at school time.

Best wishes

Anne-helen

Can anyone tell me ,why the stomach gets so big after you have a prolapse.
everything else is ok. but stomach sticks out. And clothes are too tight around the stomach.

Hi Tessyellow,
I have had a big tummy since I had my kids, so with the posture I find that really lifting up strongly in the chest only helps smooth out the look of my profile, rather than when I used to try to tuck it in. I think it is simply a matter of perspective, really.

Hi Tessyellow, the tummy issue is certainly something that we are concerned about in society.
Over the last five years, I used to think that I would never "sell " the concept of WW to others because of the flat tummy trend.
Over the last 5 years my torso has gained so much strength.
Holding the body up and being wider at the side, and having a more barrel/like shape is different to conventional suck and tuck posture. However one of the secrets of WWP is how strongly we are pulled up.
Also Christine's exercises open up and lengthen the spine and limbs, expand our breathing in the torso and enable us to stand tall.
The conventional methods of exercise shorten muscles and fascia, shortening our limbs and more importantly the spine, perhaps one of the reasons we feel that even in our earlier adult years that we are losing height.
I also found it almost impossible to have a "flat" stomach the conventional way, without constantly battling a shelf of tummy, which naturally can be stubborn to flatten as the muscles and fascia underneath are SHORTER! Any stretchmarks were also wrinkled together!

With WWPosture I have a lovely curved front, sometimes wider - and that is ok... I feel relaxed, yet strong, knowing that my body has the space internally to function at its best.
Diet with enough root vegetables and fruit for fibre is helpful as well for a more sleek front...

As we become tired of restrictive clothing like I have the last decade or so, anything tight around the waist is not welcome. I think comfort becomes more important than the stress and discomfort of conforming to uncomfortable women's fashion trends!

All the best,

Aussie Soul Sister

I too have a somewhat big belly, but I wouldn't say that prolapse causes this (going back to Tellyellow's original statement). In my case I lost the flat abs of my youth after surgery for a ruptured appendix. Then I had two enormous babies. My belly looked huge to me when I started the WW work, but like the others, I found the posture actually improves the look. Over the last 2 years I've lost about 30 pounds through diet changes, and some of it came off the belly, which only served to accentuate the loose skin there! I still look better, and feel better, carrying myself in correct posture, compared to the suck-and-tuck. So don't necessarily blame prolapse for the size of your belly, stay in posture and keep your chest strongly lifted to create the best possible shape for yourself. -- Surviving

Thanks for the help.