Thriving with a prolapsed bladder

Hi Thriving and welcome to the Forum. Yes, the posture does become second nature after awhile, but that can be weeks, months, or more. I think I was into my second year before I really could stop thinking about it every minute, though even now (almost 5 years) I still have to be mindful when bending and lifting.

Since you have had previous repairs and also hyst, it's very important for you to understand that your pelvic dynamics have been drastically altered, in a way that can't be reversed. The uterus is the "heavy lifter" that helps pull the organs forward. When this is gone and the round ligaments severed, the job is a bit harder. Prior prolapse repairs also alter the dynamics quite a bit. You might have sutures that are holding things in place that you do not want to compromise.

All this being said, WW posture is the NATURAL posture of women, before we were taught to hold in our bellies tightly. You still need to work (gently) to try and keep the remaining organs forward as much as possible. All of this is very important for hip health and stability, hips being another thing that is often changed gradually over time because the "keystone" of the pelvis has been removed.

So approach the workouts with caution, be gentle on yourself, and practice mindful posture walking as much as you can. Long walks in posture is what made it "click" for me finally, and it is the perfect exercise for you. Wear soft comfy shoes and socks. We talk a lot here about barefoot walking and running, but post-hyst, cushioning is more important.

Best of luck and good wishes to you in this WW journey! - Surviving

Thanks for your lovely positive post. It's quite inspiring how you are doing the work and positive.

I am in a different place in my 30s but I too want to be active in my 70s (hence my name). I have been doing this a year and am just nailing the posture now and have it fairly natural and am just tweaking my final things (foot placement straight ahead and shoulders down and natural not back for me).

I have family members in their early 60s with hsyt and no symptoms that I know of yet (they know what I have and said they were fine). They are not open to this work but I do feel for them thinking it must down with time as they are active and not in WW posture. I hope they will take to this as you have.

All the best x

Well I just work on my posture with mindfulness and as I can feel things down there so I didn't need to remind myself.

It's just a total commitment every moment. Practically speaking I probably do body scan every 10 seconds or when moving into a new posture and make corrections as best I can with the understanding I have in that moment. It has helped me being really active on this forum lately and reading some of the posts where people are struggling with an aspect and different people talk about it in different ways.

I got the relaxed belly and tailbone out easily from day one but the shoulders, chest and feet have taken me until now. The belly bit is interesting to me as I had a very flat tummy and very tight abs. I have had to learn how it feels and understand my anatomy by feel. I can now feel how when my feet are a bit turned out my pelvis is narrower and when I push my shoulders back (my old posture staple) I cannot life my chest easily. Also my breathing has taken time but it's actually hard for me to mouth breathe when in posture. When I was first sorting this (months in to this work), I kept wanting to open my mouth and felt like I was not getting oxygen. Now I don't so much. I also felt like I might go pee - how crazy. I was so tense in my body.

I also have dreams where I am in posture or managing my prolapse so it really is part of my subconscious now and once there it is natural to adjust and head towards the right posture. It has taken me a year, it might take you much less or more but either way we are all on the path here and it will take what it takes us. I simply could not get some of the stuff earlier, despite reading and seeing it over and over. I guess that was just my journey. A consultation probably would have helped but I would have needed someone to see on Skype or in photos I think. I have emailed ladies re a consult but not heard back.

I also spend time really studying how Christine and others move on the DVDs and try to feel like that. I people watch too and it is so interesting seeing how few people stand tall with their chests out and how hunched over they are.

I don't do the DVDs in one go as that's not me and I guess I don't priortise doing that in the evenings when I can but I do, do bits of the exercises all day long, just choosing which one suits me at different times.

I also sit on the floor a lot and can now put my legs in front of me for a few minutes at a time. (My 4 year yr old was laughing when I said it was hard - he could not comprehend that - he is right - damn you modern furniture). I would do all this with caution or get advice from others on here who are similar to you.

I feel really feminine and I love my body and am not obsessed with how I look but more how I feel. That doesn't mean I don't have bad days :o) and that I still don't have lots to work on and through.

I wanted to progress faster but have accepted that I will have bulges for life and so I just try to use them as a guide as to what is working re my posture and by doing the work I have my plumbing working and feeling a lot better. I am not obsessed with pulling things forward by firebreathing all the time. I was, I wanted the bulges gone but now I think well it's a long journey and I am 100% posture committed and the yoga stuff becomes part of my daily chores and movements so I find that quite manageable. I am not sure if firebreathing is recommended for you Thriving 70s.

Maybe the fact that I have accepted that I can't take it all away as made me relax, not be less committed, just not so impatient for improvement.

Next step for me a total ban on the foods that I know affect my prolapse. I have already done a lot of work on this but had not fully committed and when I don't do things right I feel horrible and if my tummy is horrible so is my prolapse, digestion, BM....

It would be really interesting for me to hear how you find the change in your body and if you love your new WW body Thriving 70s. It's great on this forum we get input from women of all generations as women have always done until the modern era.

Hi Thriving and welcome,

The posture can become somewhat ingrained over time especially for me with my feet, belly and upper body, from living in the posture and the DVDs.

A posture reminder for me is to belly breath at all times.

Not only is it calming,relaxing,centering,meditative, and energy saving, it is a great reminder for me to tweak the posture in general.

The other is making sure the back of my head is lifted and chin tucked slightly.

This is a journey of amazing discovery above and beyond anything you imagine now.

Welcome to the journey,

Aussie Soul Sister