Sitz bones/Pubic bone triangle

Maman, I am not an expert on the anatomy side of all this, but I think your observations are basically accurate. I think you would probably find that the lumbar curve is not as extreme as it may feel. That has been my own personal observation, that when I looked at my lumbar curvature in the mirror it was considerably less extreme than it felt. This has been a continual motivation for me to keep working at it, because it isn't restored overnight, especially at my age. Good for you, paying attention, that is important. - Surviving

Just wanted to say thank you for the description it is very helpful and it is the way I try to sit when in WW posture. Please any other comments on this interesting topic would be nice?

One thing I have begun to notice as I have been sitting at the computer and other places of course in WW posture is that the area around my pubic bone is getting sore??
Any thoughts on this?

Rose, does it seem to make a difference what you are sitting on? Are some of these chairs/seats harder than others? Maybe you just need a little more cushioning. When I sit in WW posture, generally the weight seems relatively evenly spread over the whole area, nothing really gets sore. But I rarely sit on anything that hard. - Surviving

It doesn't really matter what I am sitting on but in the past I always have prefered sitting on hard surfaces and sitting on things that were too soft. But this is just a regular padded chair, actually very comfortable.
Maybe I should find one of those 'donuts' pillows with a circle that many times they recommend women to sit on right after childbirth??

If you can sit on a donut without flattening lumbar curvature, I suppose it's OK. I never sat on one, so I can't say. Maybe you just need a little more time to get used to sitting forward? - Surviving

Hi Rose

I have made an assumption here, but I know that my vulva was not as comfortable at 54 as it was at 24. As long as my organs are well inside when I sit down, and my outer lips are closed, I don't get discomfort. However if my lips are open it is a different story. However you may be referring to something else.

The other half of the story about having an extreme lumbar curve is that when you zip and tuck it makes your lumbar curve straighten, but it also causes more forward curve in the thoracic spine, and subsequent backward curve in the cervical spine, so the head juts forward.

If your upper body has been held forward for many years it is going to take some time to lengthen and regain strength in the muscles of the front of your shoulders and chest. This also involves regaining the ability to shorten the muscles of the upper back and back of shoulders which have been chronically shortened.

Dance and yoga which require a lot of arm movement are both good for this. See Christine Kent's workout DVD's and the ballet workout in Saving the Whole Woman.

When you can comfortably hold your upper back further back, the thoracic curve will lessen, your neck will be taller, and your lumbar curve will have a larger radius. which will put less strain on your lower back.

Louise

ps, I don't think a donut cushion would be best because it leaves a gap in the middle. I think it is better to have support under the vulva. A squishy cushion that still gives your pubic bones and sit bones a firm support but allows a little padding in the middle will give your pelvic organs some support if they need it. I think it is worth trying all sorts of cushions and see if any are better than others. I don't think there should be too much difference in weight distribution between the front and back of the pelvis when sitting. That firm triangular base is intuitively right, in my opinion. I still think that what happens in the upper torso will optimise what happens in the lower torso.

Hi Surviving and louiseds, thank you for your comments. I think it all boils down to inflammation.
I have the inflammation in my bowels and now it seems to have journeyed up around the vulva.
I am trying right now a firm pillow on the seat and it feels better. I guess the days of sitting on hard surfaces are over?
As you mentioned above the lips of the vulva being open or closed? How do you close them if they are open.
I do not have christines dvd's I am working on getting those, but first I have to get some money to buy them. But I do feel they will help me understand better, and my body does tend to be stiff and not always want to cooperate with exercises, but I do stretches and walking.

1 Make sure that you don't cut pubic hair too closely. Longer pubic hair provides a buffer between vulva and undies.

2 When sitting down, stand in front of the seat, close to it. Bend your knees and hip hinge forwards, so you are nearly seated. Keep your knees and feet firmly together. Tilt your pelvis forward and relax your belly so your pelvic organs fall forwards, and the front of your labia are in contact with the seat, and sit down. Your labia will be pressed together. Now you can wriggle into a more comfortable position and separate you feet and legs to get into stable WW posture.

That's how I do it, anyway. if your prolapse hangs out of your vulva when you sit a few firebreaths, or a locking of the epiglottis to create an abdominal vacuum, might help to reposition it before sitting. This is not something you could do at an important business gathering first time, but with practice you might be able to do these sorts of manoeuvres quite discreetly.

There is so much of Whole Woman work that we can do simply by learning to use our bodies differently. It is just a matter of learning the new ways and normalising them.

Louise

Yes I agree. It can be very hard to maintain lumbar curvature in a soft chair, especially if it is at a bad angle that makes it hard or impossible to sit foward. Properly placed cushions can help with this. Cross-legged is also a hard position for maintaining lumbar curvature but this will get better as you get stronger. Meanwhile, a cushion under your butt will help leverage lumbar curvature and keep you from slumping back. But do work towards a goal of being able to do this on the floor, even if your bed is too soft for it. - Surviving (PS, I too have a bed that's too soft for all this)