Uncomfortable (rubbing between legs) while walking

Body: 

While the WW posture and DVD's seem to help reverse the bulging sensation of my Cystocele, I am still feeling a rubbing in between my legs when I try to walk. Things are clearly lower and my genitals are rubbing together whether I wear nothing under my drawstring yoga pants or I wear underwear… I am not used to anything touching between my legs. Prior to the POP, i didn't feel anything. Now I feel like everything is rubbing and going to become raw. I've stopped my attempted walks within the first 2 minute and turned around to come home. It was sunny and 72 degrees outside and I'm a sweater, too. I don't have as much trouble going up and down the stairs inside which I do 50 - 60 times a day, but the walking I just can't seem to do (as I don't want to add raw genitals to the list of symptoms) even though I know that it is very important. Any suggestions?

What exactly is rubbing against what? When my 'celes are having a low day, the bulge is coming in contact with my pantiliner, and that can be quite irritating. Doesn't sound like that is what you are describing though.

When I was early in this work, I'm pretty sure that walking made things feel worse, not better. But I understood and had faith in the anatomical concepts and I decided, from everything I had read, that really good mindful walking was going to get me there. Posture walks turned out to be the vehicle by which I really trained myself in posture. Now, the longer I walk the better things feel. A couple of years ago I hiked for several hours, and I was virtually symptom-free for a long time after that.

So stick with the walking but do it very mindfully and think about all aspects of posture as you go. Do some jiggling and firebreathing to get things out of the way, and then visualize yourself as the 4-legged animal who is horizontal from the hips down. It will come.

Meanwhile, if skin is actually rubbing against skin, some coconut oil might be soothing. - Surviving

Thank you for the suggestions. I will try again tomorrow.

I have been following your progress and am sure this is just a learning curve as your attitude is so positive and u sound so fit, as many of us thought we were when striving for a flat tummy ! !
I may be repeating things here but a few things have helped me and I now find walking very helpful. When I feel rubbing as I walk I find that in spite of thinking otherwise I am still clenching some tummy muscles almost automatically, also although I have altered clothing I sometimes find that there is pressure across my abdomen . When I have very low cut jeans it is comfy but I have to make sure they do not fall down ,lol, I use a thin belt sometimes. I walk miles in the mountains but stop for firebreathing if things r not in the right place down below. Sometimes I stop several times to do this but can walk for over an hour with no problems so long as I am standing tall,in posture. I have been doing this work for a year now.I do find it easier to walk in correct posture on level ground . I use a little raw organic honey twice a day , deep inside the vulva as advised here and it helps a lot . I had trouble getting the fire breathing the right way round but the Uk w.w. was so patient and encouraging and eventually ,I got it! The letter Lanny wrote to explain the prolapse to husbands and partners was so helpful and quite a turning point for me and could help u explain things too perhaps. I am only a beginner here but hope you soon find all the answers you need . Good luck!

I can't tell what the actual rubbing you describe would be, but everhopeful's suggestion of honey is a good one, a dab deep inside the vagina really does take away the sting. It could be the rawness of your initial prolapse still giving you the sensation of rubbing.
As for the walking, surviving is right on with that. When I first started this work, and surviving kept saying walking is what helps, I thought she was insane. How can I ever walk with this thing hanging at my vaginal opening! I started out just walking around the block, and realized that nothing was going to fall out, and then increased my walking back to what I had previously done before prolapse.
Now I can walk for miles, and I hike, and I bike farther than I ever did before this. Prolapse sucks, but it challenged me to do everything I did before and even more after that.
Thank you surviving for continuing to tell people to get out there and walk!

for explaining the honey application better. It seems that Prolapse is not the only new word I am learning about!

Thanks for the tips!

If your upper thighs are rubbing together, actively lift your tailbone when you walk, which will rotate your femurs inward and reposition your thighs. You may see that the area being rubbed together at the midline has now moved toward the back. I get that - usually in the winter when I’ve gained weight. It can be terribly uncomfortable and a good salve on the area will help.

I wish I had more time to write here, but am buried in a *huge* project. Just want to give a shout out to Pompom and others who are struggling.

Use a dab of honey vaginally first thing in the morning to call in the friendly bacteria. It is lactobacilli that create the moisture, allowing the vaginal walls to move smoothly against each other. Our lacto friends wane during the second half of the menstrual cycle and take a permanent leave of absence after menopause. Honey is the only substance on earth that I know of that is the next best thing to our own natural glycogen (the food that feeds the little animalcules before menopause). I get up every morning - go potty, wash my hands, and apply my sacred honey. If there is any problem with itching, spray a little half water half vinegar on your vulva and any little yeasty beasties will disappear in a heartbeat.

Open your spine first thing in the morning with WW mat exercises. The organs cannot move forward if your lumbar spine cannot hold a wide-radius curvature. Pay close attention to whether you are breathing naturally - or not! Most adults breathe backwards, which slowly but surely dislodges the organs from right behind the lower belly toward the pelvic outlet at the back. Do leg lifts on hands and knees. Pelvic rocks, pelvic circles, etc. You can do it!

Do not sit in soft furniture. I am writing a book sitting on the floor in WW posture all day long. You can do it!

Firebreathe, nauli, do belly tosses. In an older woman the connective tissue is stretched out like a wool sweater. It takes more effort to affect prolapse, but moving the organs forward with posture, exercise and the breath is the only thing to be done. There is no surgical cure for prolapse.

An anti-inflammatory diet will keep your connective tissue healthy. The organs are just passengers - wrapped in sacs of fascia. This fascia thickens and connects onto bones. We use our muscles to move our bones, which in turn drags our organs in one direction or the other.

Prolapse *will* respond. It is not a mystery. The female body is designed to move the organs forward with every breath we take.

You can do it!

Christine

Great post. For those unfamiliar with the term, the belly toss is from Destination Prolapse Free. - Surviving

for every thing ,you have helped me on my way yet again. I have your book and dvds but this is the best web site ever and the perfect compliment to your wonderful educational material.

Honey and tilting tailbone seem to help. I will try my walk again today. Thanks for all of the tips. I'm researching the belly toss in the forum search. I've been alliterating through the WW sitting positions, fire breathing, etc. It's all coming together!

SH,
My first mentor and I, the Chi-running, instructor, would take people to the beach and have them run in the sand. We could see in the sand, the heel strike, the feet turned out, etc. The group would all look at each others footprints and talk about them. After several hours of hip loosening exercises, teaching mid-sole strike (instead of heal) we would have them run again. They were SURE that their feet were pointing ing straight ahead and that they were not striking their heel first, but, even though their issues had improved slightly from the brief hip work that we'd done, the sand didn't lie! It was a fun way for people to see that the brain to muscle connection was weak. They realized how important the hip work and looking at their feet to make a visual check was necessary. At work I'd always say feet straight ahead and clients would say, "I feel like they are turned in, pigeon-toed". They were always surprised to look down and see that the feet were still turned out even though they FELT like they were turned in! I love seeing them have THAT lightbulb moment…and NOW I know that TOE STRIKE is an even better approach to this posture. Here was another lightbulb moment for me thanks again to WWW!

SH, I just got back from a long walk and felt a little pressure when I returned. I immediately sat, alternating between the 3 seated poses and the pressure went away. I'm sure that I got fatigued towards the end of the walk and perhaps tensed a bit, so I'm still working out the kinks but feeling better each day.

SH, I also discovered that it feels like the slight tilt of tailbone, which leads to a slight internal rotation of the femur (thighs) also, if I allow it, picks up my arches a little and keeps my knees apart. I may be keeping my knees over my 2nd and 3rd toes intentionally because I know that mine (knees) tend to collapse (closer to each other) when I become tired. Not sure, I am still playing around with it, but regardless, it is helping to prevent the rubbing more and more each time and feels like it helps to undo the heal strike. I could be wrong about this but I am hoping that someone will chime in with some clarification

SH, yes I have my whole knee story and am too well-aware of them at all times! I'm sure that doesn't surprise you. When things hurt, you can't help but notice them. I always have my ankles and knees in alignment with my hips. I think that I had been unconsciously turning my femur out as part of the naval in, squeezing those bun of steel thing. For me, that slight internal rotation is a correction of my posture pitfalls and habits. It may not be for others. We are all so different with our bad posture habits. The hips DVD is going to be great for me. I have limited sensation/feeling in one of my hips due to my blunt trauma accident and nerve damage, so I have to be very careful and aware of every change since I can't feel it. Don't be jealous though, about the not feeling the aches and pains, I make up for it and feel plenty in the other hip...LOL!