Christine's Methods

Of course we have. Don't be a lazybones, momma - do some research here, then come back and tell us your story and ask some specific questions. Welcome to the Forum. - Surviving

Hello, Born Again Momma. I am fairly new to the Whole Woman way of managing prolapse but in the few months I have been doing this work this is what Christine's method has done for me.

I have a moderate cystocele and was Kegeling like mad thinking it would reverse it a bit and keep it from getting worse over time. All that Kegeling did for me was to give me urinary retention and the constant urge to pee with minimal results. After I stopped the Kegeling, within a few days I was able to pee again and the constant urge to pee went away. As you read around the site you will find that Christine's work does not include the old-fashioned Kegel's that our gyne recommends. I will be honest and say that I do still occasionally throw one in, usually when I know I am going to lift something heavy or have to bend in a manner that is not prolapse-friendly. But other than that, I don't do the Kegel routine...I like being able to pee. As I never had incontinence with my cystocele, the recommendation to "just Kegel" probably did me no favor.

I am still learning the WW posture but so far it has been very encouraging. I walk better now, my steps are more fluid. I am able to walk on the edge of the curve and keep my balance (something I have not done in years). My cystocele and rectocele seem more anchored and there seems to be a little less heaviness. In posture I have noted less shoulder pain and lower back pain than when I resort to my old way of standing. I started out very skeptical about this posture but as I go along I keep noticing positive results. Today even...I noticed my neck looked longer and realized that in my old way of standing my shoulders were hunched up towards my ears.

The ballet moves in the STWW book have been wonderful. I am more limber now and can bend over to touch the floor without feeling like I'm going to face-plant it. I am 59-years of age and am reconnecting with my body again.

I am a woman with prolapses and will always be so, but I am learning how live with them as I do not wish to take a surgical route which may, in the end, leave me in worse shape than when I started. This is a doable solution for me at this point in my life. I don't know what lies down the road but for now, I will continue to utilize the resources that Christine has provided and implement suggestions from the awesome women on this site if I think it is beneficial or "tried and true".

I have taken a realistic approach to this, knowing there is no "cure", medically or holistically for prolapse(s), but I have been able to manage my symptoms and hopefully, with diligent effort, will stabilize my prolapses. So YES, I have had positive results with Christine's methods. Please give them a try.

Hi Born again Momma. I had a stage 3 Cystocele this time last year, and I was very uncomfortable all the time and on the verge of having surgery. I bought Christine's book and the First Aid for Prolapse DVD and after three months I could see some improvement. Now I live normally and mostly the Cystocele is more a stage 2. I do have to work at it daily. I do a select few of the exercises every day and I try to stay in posture whenever I can. I am also eating more fruit and vegetables and drinking lots of water so I don't have to push too hard for BM. So the Cystocele does not go away using Christine's methods but I forget I have it most of the time. Walking in posture is also excellent.

The support from this forum is amazing. I read the forum often. To know that other ladies all over the world are working at the same problem, and helping each other is great. Often if I have what I think is a problem, I check out the topic on the forum and use the ideas.

There are times when things get you down a bit but you learn that these are temporary setbacks. If I am tense the Cystocele gets worse because I hold my stomach in when I am tense. When I relax my stomach it goes back in. So it isn't a cure, but it is a very effective form of management and there has been some improvement. I certainly no longer feel panicked and worried. The Cystocele is a part of me, but it is not stopping me from doing anything. I travelled for ten weeks this year, driving long distances, sitting on planes for 24 hours, hiking and carrying a back pack and it was fine.

You do need to be aware though of the posture whenever possible. I have bought a special wedge to use to sit on, in the car and at my desk. An added bonus of all of this, is that I have always had lower back problems, and with the posture and exercises, that also has improved.

So after a year on this journey, I would like to thank you all for being there. It really has made quite a difference to me.

What lovely posts. And thanks dionysius for stopping by with an update - so happy to know that you have been checking in regularly.

Anyone is welcome to tell their stories here, and of course there are stories like this all over the Forum just waiting to be read. But the Forum is a 2-way street, so it will be nice when momma introduces herself properly. That is when the real support can begin. - Surviving

Christine hit it on the head in her current newsletter, both in regard to posture & the healthcare system in our country.

For the past 9 months, I've been walking a minimum of a mile each day along with properly squatting throughout the day & stretching my hamstring muscles. I've found help here but also over at alignedandwell.com & from Esther Gokhale's book "8 Steps to a Pain Free Back". Esther's YouTube videos helped me to gain a better understand of how to stand, sit & lay properly.

One of the keys for me has been wearing very flat (water shoes) shoes when walking & then barefoot while indoors in order to engage my glut muscles as much as possible. I also had to work on proper alignment while standing - I initially crouch with my rear-end out & then I stand straight while maintaining the proper pelvic position. Esther likes to say "ducky butt, not tucky butt". It feels a little strange at 1st but you will get used to the stretched out feeling in your lower back. My backside is typically sore, in a very good way, as my "newly-found" glut muscles continue to strengthen & support my pelvic floor. What I also find helpful is doing shoulder rolls in order to keep my shoulders back for as long as possible.

At this point, my rectocele has totally disappeared & my 2nd degree bladder prolapse is almost gone. I don't remember the last time I had to wear my pessary. The bonus is that my plantar fasciitis has disappeared as well!

I write this to encourage you & let you know that it is possible! Thank you very much to Christine & the others out there who are bringing this very important truth to the public.

All the best,

Brenda

Hi mom - I just want to make some important distinctions here, since you have broached the topic. In WW posture we do not hold our shoulders back (down, not back) and we do not consciously stick our butts out. Trying to do so can cause some lower back pain, and it is not really the essence of posture. By relaxing the belly, and pulling up the chest strongly, and maintaining all other aspects of the posture, the lower lumbar curvature takes care of itself. Nothing is pushed or forced out. The orientation of the pelvis will be correct. KB and EG have some ideas that we do not share. Thanks for your post - Surviving

I logged in this morning to thank Christine for the December newsletter and found this thread right away. My gratitude is for two things. The first is the reminder and encouragement that we only get out of it what we put in and that posture is the key. The second is how clearly you, Christine, talk about the oppression of the institution of medicine (within and without) and encourage fearful women to let it go and trust in their own faculties (physical and mental). I'm not saying this to flatter you but because it is right and true.

For you, born again momma, my experience with WW posture and exercises is in agreement with Arizona and dionysius' testimonials. When I haven't made progress, I know it has been my own fault; but I never, never consider surgery but renew my commitment to posture with the encouragement I get from reading on the blog and forum. And remember that we aren't promised a cure but a management system whose only alternative is bad medicine (surgery) or continuing to progress in misery with our bad habits. Don't let skepticism affect your reading comprehension. Read simply what is written, consider it, try it and decide for yourself. Best wishes to you.

Thanks again, Christine.

Bebe

Please don't think that my post was written to counter you, Surviving. I missed the part about 'shoulders back' and was responding to Brenda's comments on the newsletter and was still writing when you posted.

Didn't take it that way at all, Bebe, no need to worry. Thanks for a great post. - Surviving

When I first began text messaging, one son responded to me with simply "K". I had to ask what it meant. (OK) Now that's lazy! And maybe stupid.

Yep, been there Bebe! And I'm such a bad texter myself, that I sometimes find myself actually welcoming those official shortcuts, and using them! - Surviving

Loved the newsletter! It pretty much says it all!!

Amen to that, AG - Surviving

Hello WW,

Thank you ever so much for your feedback…I love our Whole Woman family with all my heart. This is not only Whole Woman, but also Whole Man and Whole Child posture too. Losing our natural human form is a travesty that invites in all sorts of serious diseases. Compounding the problem are teachers of posture who give misguided instructions that set the body up for all manner of health disorders. So it is with Esther Gokhale, who has swallowed the conventional kool-aid and is teaching a bizarre form of “tucky” that is not at all “ducky”. I do not say that to be mean or competitive, but to bring us to the truth of the matter.

Let’s begin by (clicking here) and watching her posture video.

Esther offers up a dose of the mythical “inner corset” to straighten out lumbar curvature. She does not understand that it is only by way of our wide-radius lumbar curve that we maintain a functional human gait, healthy hip joints, and normal organ placement.

Take a look at these young, pre-ballet girls click here to remind yourselves of the primal nature of the forward-placed abdominal wall. As soon a child begins to stand and walk she puffs out the midriff area above her navel. This is where the stomach and liver reside and are kept healthy until we start chronically pulling in that area. Then we set ourselves up for acid reflux and hiatal hernia, because instead of our stomach sitting at right angle to its channel, the esophagus, it sits in line with it, so it’s easier to suck the stomach up the pipe, so to speak.

As a girl matures click here her abdominal wall elongates, but it is still held forward in natural posture. Her chest is held high because her shoulders are strong. However, she does not hyper-extend her upper back because her shoulders are held down and her head is pulled up through the back by slightly tucking her chin.

Here is a picture of me click here at five years of age that shows another example of natural human posture.

Notice when you tuck your ribs - even slightly - that your entire pelvis rotates backward. If you try with all your might to maintain the “ducky”, you must rotate your upper spine and shoulders forward. Both shift your center of mass over the front of your hip joints, where all the disease is known to occur. You may be tipping your organs forward with a lot of "ducky", but it will be at the expense of your sacroiliac joints.

Notice the wonderful, wide-radius curve that develops when you lift your chest. The reason this is deemed "sway back" is rooted deeply in a male-biased medical culture that has historically believed lumbar curvature to be pathological. When in fact, it is perhaps the most primary factor distinguishing us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

I hope this helps to clarify the differences between Gokhale and WW. Esther gives many other misguided instructions, such as placing most of your weight on your heels. She does this to give herself more “ducky” because her upper lumbar curvature has been obliterated by the rib tuck.

Hers is an unhealthy alignment that can never be compared with Whole Woman posture.

Keep up the squats, but only if you are able to balance high on the base of your toes and hold your body in strong WW posture. Trying to flatten your feet to the floor has similar implications as Gokhale’s posture.

Wishing you well,

Christine

Dear Christine & ladies,
Just by living in the posture during the last 18 mths I have noticed benefits that I have noted on the forum.
While doing the exercises on the Hips DVD & reading the Hips book, I have come to a greater understanding of WWPosture, including the importance of foot arch strength, balance & particularly the lifting of the rib cage & breathing into the belly, & the all important result of the femoral head sitting in the correct position under the acetabular roof.
I had been developing hip problems for some years, which led to a painful crunch just before I found Christine's work with WWP for my pop & hips. Thankyou Christine - I am eternally grateful.
I did the exercises with my dear Mum who is just begun her 80th year. She has been spared pop, however WWP will help her enhance & maintain her existing excellent physical ability. She has a mischievous sense of humour, though managed to behave herself better than I did during the exercises, & we had better sessions for it. I absolutely love the foot arch exercises!!
Mum also understands Anatomy, which she studied to become an Artist, giving me the opportunity to discuss it with her, & I treasure all her Art along with her layered drawings of the human body from skeleton to skin!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful WWP life,
Aussie Soul Sister

Hi Soul Sis. I too have been working on those deceptively simple and surprisingly satisfying hips dvd routines, really working the arches. Christine has always stressed their importance. Like Claire in the dvd, I have the beginnings of a bunion on one foot, and find that it does slightly affect my ability to go really high on the toes - that foot keep wanting to wander off a little to the side. Determined to work on this carefully and with any luck, nip the bunion in the bud. - Surviving

Dear Surviving 60,
Yet another aha moment. I have been wearing sensible footwear most of my life, & barefoot at home when possible, so imagine my surprise/disappointment that I was developing a bunion on my right foot. I never gave it much more thought as the word "heredity" was believed as my Mum has one in spite of her taking care of her feet in the same way....
The bunion I have after doing WWP has decreased in prominence & no pain as it was a little painful to the touch before. Guess which foot it appeared on??? The right one which is the side with the most HIP trouble.......
The list of benefits goes on!!
WOW!!
& probably no surprise to Christine...
(((hugs)))
Aussie Soul Sister

I too have been prudent with footwear throughout life, and felt a bit cheated by the developing bunion. Mine is also on the right. Didn't Christine attribute this right-side thing, at least in part, to driving? I wonder about this because I have driven nothing but standard transmission cars for the past 40 years - working both my feet, not just the one. Hmmmm....... - Surviving

Hi S60,
I think it could be contributory, though I have driven automatic cars later in life for the last 15yrs & not that often. Tension in the right hip & leg, as it is hovering over the brake or pressing on the accelerator has been significant with me & I have had to learn to relax. I used to also have a purse in my back right pocket of my jeans, until I noticed discomfort - I think hip, from sitting on it, before WWP.
I also had a habit of sitting more on my right buttock in cars & perhaps leaning more that way when seated elsewhere... the habits we have without realizing....
Before I had a straight sided waist, I think on the right - observing lately it seems to be resolved with an even curve on left & right....
Interesting discussion... good luck with the bunion!!
Thanks Surviving 60
Aussie Soul Sister