Diastasis recti getting worse

Hi, granolamom might be more helpful than me, but I was wondering if you've gotten the hang of nauli yet? It's so powerful, maybe that could help?

Hi Fortitude,

I'm sorry to hear that your symptoms are worsening. It's puzzling because the diastasis in the pelvic floor and the diastasis in the recti muscles should both be pulled together - like elevator doors - in WW posture. It's also a curiosity that you haven't been exercising - and worrisome that you're under the impression abdominoplasty will cure a diastasis.

I'm going to take a wild guess that your shoulder girdle is weak, and an educated guess that a few targeted upper body exercises will help narrow the hiatus. Here are two to begin with:

1. Stand in WW posture. Make sure your chest is well-lifted, your shoulders pulled down (not back) and your head pulled up throughout the back of the head and neck. Raise your arms out to the sides, with palms facing front. Stiffen your fingers slightly, sort of like claws (this helps stabilize the movement). Keeping arms straight at the elbow and with control, bring your hands together in front of you, then back out to the sides. In out, in out. Do as many sets as feels comfortable, but work up to at least 30/day.

2. Begin in the same way, but with palms up. Raise your arms (elbows straight) above your head until your palms touch. Up down, up down. Keep your shoulders down and breathe evenly through your nose.

Not to sound like a commercial, but we've put together a great program for our second WWYoga dvd, which focuses on the belly. There are many additional exercises, including the ones above, that help reinforce WW posture.

Good luck getting moving!

Christine

I also want to add that the most common misunderstanding of WW posture is a 'flopped out' belly. That really isn't the case at all and we need more models (Alemama? Gmom?) to show that the WW belly pulled up (instead of in) is slimming, beautiful and natural.

Yes, there is slight tension throughout the belly in WW posture - more under the breasts and less in the lower belly. I think the work we do standing strengthens the shoulder girdle and abdominal wall so that in sitting positions the belly can relax even more while everything else remains pulled up - although the lower belly is definitely "engaged." If you really let it pooch out completely you will see that your shoulders and upper body drop along with it.

Abdominoplasty is performed primarily for loose skin and fat. Suturing muscles toward the midline, which is what they do in vaginal "obliteration" operations permanently damages muscle tissue and creates scar tissue. There may be plastic surgery that uses sheets of porcine or cadaveric fascia to attach the rectus muscles to the midline, but over time the material would be absorbed and the portions of muscle damaged by sutures atrophied.

Christine

Fortitude, we did have a Member a few months ago who was pretty certain she would have abdominoplasty, as she had lost a lot of weight and had a pannus which was physically very uncomfortable for her. She was worried about whether it would worsen her prolapses. She did have a diastasis too. If you put 'abdominoplasty' into the search box you will be able to find those discussions, where we tossed around what we thought.

You could also google 'abdominoplasty procedure' to find out exactly what they do.

I agree with Christine that if you can 'pooch out' your belly, then your chest is not lifted enough or your upper body does not yet have the strength to maintain a lifted chest. When I stand in WW posture I cannot pooch out my belly unless I strain, and then I feel it in my vulva. That is because my abdominal muscles are stretched taut like a sail full of wind in WW posture. The only way to make the sail curve more is to reduce the distance from the top of the sail to the bottom, ie slacken the ropes and let the sail billow out more. This would be the same effect as lowering my chest.

In a sense a woman in Wholewoman posture is very like a ship in full sail, moving tall and firm with nothing flapping. Maybe that is why ships and boats are regarded as being female? ie the men look like they are really in control, but it is all bluff. They are really at the mercy of the wind, and rely on the strength and good design of the ship to get them to where they need to go. Ships also need regular and thorough maintenance and care, and a new coat of paint every now and then.

Phwoo! Where did that one come from?

Hope this makes some sense.

Louise

EDIT: Another quick thought. If you don't use your abdominal muscles they will get flappy and floppy. Then they will behave like loose elastic and sag. Wholewoman posture stretches them out, and they can contract against that pull when you are moving. Dance, walking, and everyday movement in WW posture will get them working. Getting muscles moving through their full range of movement is the best way to make them stronger, not necessarily with a lot of load either. You may still have the diastasis (ie stretched fascia in the linea alba), but the shortest route between the underside of your chest and your pubic bones that they join onto, is a straight line, so your rectus abdominus muscles will come together when your internal and external obliques and your transverse abdominus muscles become less flappy.

There are only three groups of abdominal muscles. They are layered between each other. Internal and external obliques are diagonal, like the two arms of an 'X', the TA goes around your body from one side of your spine, around the front and back around the other side to the other side of the spine. The RA is in two halves, one each side of your diastasis (stretched linea alba), and goes from the pubic bones up to the underside of your ribcage. All of them need to be strong together.

:-)

Hi Louise
Loved your sailing ship analogy, it's made me realise I probably haven't been pulling up enough, so I've been a stately galleon all day today. It put me in mind of Joyce Grenfell (English comedienne a long time ago)who sang a song called 'Stately as a galleon' about a lady going old time dancing and sailing grandly across the dance floor. I've just found it on u tube, made me giggle. Perhaps we are a flotilla of whole women, or even an armada?
Tintagelx

I think it is a fascia-tightening issue rather than muscles knitting together. It has been theorized that if all muscles, bones and vessels were removed, the entire fascial system would maintain the shape of the body. Drawing the whole fascia-body into natural alignment will go a long way toward bringing the muscles toward the midline. I think we have to assume, though, that after four continuous years of diastasis, the tendency toward separation will always be there.

I can find whats left of my diastasis if I lay on my back, attempt a sit up while my fingers are on the spot. I can barely feel a slight weakness while I do this (which I dont obviously, because its bad for prolapse!)
but during the course of my regular activities, it appears - and feels- as though the gap has completely closed.

(just to give you a sense of how bad it was at one point my mw was suggesting surgery to close it up)

An armada as a collective noun for a group of Wholewomen!

I am new to this forum. I found out this past summer that I have Rectocele. I bought Christine's book and tried the exercises, but couldn't do some of them because I had double knee replacement 6 years ago. They suggested I get the DVD for Elders, so I did. Well, the exercises start on the floor and have you get on your knees which, of course, I can't do. I've done the ones I can, but so far I'm no better. Any suggestions?

Hi Aspendale. Can you do WW posture comfortably? - Surviving

Yes, I can do the WW posture comfortably.

If you have bad knees, skip the moves that you cannot do, or modify them keeping posture in mind at all times. This is a great deal more than just an exercise program. Memorize posture so that it becomes second nature - this didn't happen for me until some time in the second year. Protect your lumbar curvature throughout the day - standing, sitting, walking, driving, bending, lifting. The idea is to reshape your body back to its natural spinal shape. Do you perform firebreathing every day? I have rectocele and cystocele, and I manage these quite successfully. But it isn't a quick fix so you might need to adjust your expectations as you ramp up your posture awareness. - Surviving

Surviving, just wanted to let you know that it's helpful to hear that the posture didn't become second nature to you until some time in the second year. Gives me hope on my not so comfy pop days, when I forget that I'm really in my infancy with this material and find myself getting impatient. Also, connecting the posture with it's purpose i.e. protecting my lumbar curvature throughout the day kind of drives home the point that I'm not as much in control of my pelvic organs as I am in control of the environment that I'm shaping for them. The more inviting I make it, the more likely they'll settle in for a while. Thanks, Snap.

Yes thankfully, the body does eventually "remember" to keep in this posture all by itself most of the time. I still have my moments when tension creeps in and takes hold of things when I'm not paying attention! I also tend to get lazy about back support when driving, and I often do a terrible job of bending until I catch myself and correct my body position and just feel those organs say "thanks, we needed that!" It's amazing. - Surviving

Dear Aspendale,
I wrote a post to you and could not find this thread when I finished it so the link to it is below.
Hoping you find it helpful,
Aussie Soul Sister
https://wholewoman.com/forum/comment/47265#comment-47265