Very happy with my progress on this path

Down the road, when I can consider myself a longer-term participant, I’ll post in the success stories. For now, I’m reporting with good results so far, and hope for the future.

I asked, in another thread, what you consider your list of most important practices.
At this point, my own list is lining up nicely.

1.I am attentive to the WW posture. It takes continual self-reminders, throughout the day. But these are good opportunities to take a mini-mindfulness break, while I pause, check shoulders, pull chest up, notice lumbar curve. And abdominal breathe.

2.Firebreathing and variations thereof. I especially do this after anything that feel like exertion, or after a nice successful visit to the ladies room. If I’m home, I will do hands and knees work. If not, then the standing kind. I’ve found you can, after carrying out the cat litter from PetSmart, open your driver’s side door, bend over as if looking for something in the car, and do some firebreathing without appearing too out of place.

3.Honey! I didn’t have any notion how important this would be to my ability to feel ok, when I first read about it here. Even with the body positioning, I was experiencing a good bit of discomfort. I am here to report—happy vaginal lactobacilli make for a much happier pelvis. I am doing this twice a day at this point, and carry a small container of raw unfiltered honey with me, for times when I’m out late, etc.

4.Diet and digestive management. I have been a whole food mostly vegan eater for quite some time anyway. With the addition of a Magnesium supplement that I can actually absorb (Calm, the fizzy drink,) I have had (for the first time in my life,) 2 years of soft, passable, regular bm’s.

5.Peeing strategy. Relaxation is big here. Sometimes both the dog and the cat want my attention when I’m in that position, and I have to tell them, no…I’m being zen right now, and imagining mandalas on the bathroom wall. It also helps to shift a bit, several times, until complete. A new trick I’ve learned is that when I first get up in the morning, feeling very full and somewhat inert, it is helpful to do a little hand and knee firebreathing and jiggling before heading to the toilet.

6.Modified exercise plan. In both cases where I found myself with a long-term case of extremely uncomfortable pelvic region, with beginning cystocele, I had been upping my exercise regimen to include jumping rope, treadmill jogging, and increasingly heavy weights and ab work.

I know Christine makes the point that almost any exercise that allows one to maintain the posture is acceptable, but I’m off high impact things for now. A little gun-shy in that area. For now, aerobics means brisk walking and gentle dancing. I love QiGong, which is a beautiful practice, very similar to Tai Chi, and is completely compatible with WW posture.

I believe my vulnerability came from a lifetime of constipation, 4 childbirths (all kids now in their 20s,) and the recent onset of menopause. (I’m 54, and am just about to hit the 12 month/no period mark.)
But since following the WW site’s guidance, and consulting by phone with Anne Walters, one of the practitioners, my cystocele, which was like an egg trying to bulge vertically through my vaginal wall, is barely noticeable.

Of course, I would love to still have the naturally juicy, highly excitable vagina of my youth, but fortunately I have a loving spouse, aging also, and he and I are working successfully, and enjoyably, on our new normal.

So, I’m very happy to have stumbled across Whole Woman, and I will recommend it.