First Aid for Prolapse workout

Submitted by louiseds on August 1, 2013 - 5:50am
Body: 

Hey, all you good women who have purchased First Aid for Prolapse, tried the workout, and put the DVD away, deep in the back of the cupboard because the exercises are too hard!

Yes, you! I know I am not the only woman on the planet who finds aspects of these exercises hard.

There are some things you can do to make the workout easier until your body learns what you are asking it to do in this workout. Christine, Nikelle and Romy are all quite fit women, and many of us can't get anywhere near the speed and accuracy of their movements.

If you find that it is too fast for you to keep up with, do each exercise at half speed at first.

Just do one of each to each side or in each position until you can do that easily, then go to the full number of repeats as the dancers on the DVD.

The golden rule is to go to the dictionary of movements and do each exercise once as described by Christine. Christine does them all slowly and deliberately in the Dictionary of Movements, so you will know exactly, in great detail, how to do each exercise for greatest benefit.

You can just do the Dictionary of Movements part several times over at first, without the music.

Then you can do it with some music of your own playing on a portable player and just watch the video and do the steps in your own time, if you want to. This will give you a sense of the rhythm of the movements. When you have the method of each exercise figured out and can do them pretty well, your body will be more able to do the workout to the delightful Celtic music which is the soundtrack.

If you can't keep up, don't worry. The sky will not fall. Just do what you can, even if you don't get your plies as low as they do, or your leg lifts as high, or your half moons perfectly round, (That's why Christine says at the beginning to do the workout in a room where you will have no distractions, ie nobody can see you, doing it in your daggy pyjamas with your boobs flying in all directions!)

You will eventually do the whole beginners workout without much effort. Only then try to do the advanced workout. Try it without the ankle weights, using a chopstick instead of the heavier baton. This is not the Olympics! Give yourself a break. Pain does not mean gain. Gain is doing what you can do, a little tiny bit better every week or so. It is for flexibility, balance and strength, from which flows confidence, and a regal posture.

Just do it. to the best of your ability, and with the intention of doing it as well as you can.You get to wear the crown when you think you can do it.

Have fun.

Louise

Forum:

Aging gracefully

August 1, 2013 - 6:33am

Good tips, Louise!! I have found this DVD to be difficult to adjust to, but also very rewarding as well. I just do what I can the best I can. Every aspect seems to require thought and concentration. I think the hardest part was and still is keeping my legs straight without bending my knees during some of the exercises, but, like I said, I keep working at it, because i can feel the benefit in my body afterwards. I sometimes, who am I kidding, I a lot of the times skip the section just follwing the advanced with weights section. I feel all uncoordinated! I just can't dance, but I will keep trying!
Thanks for the encouragement, we all need it!!

want2know

August 1, 2013 - 7:40am

What a good idea, Louise!!

Now that I think about it, that's the way we are supposed to learn anything, isn't it: "do it slowly -- do it correctly -- speed will come".

:-)
w2k

lifegoeson04

August 1, 2013 - 3:14pm

Hello, I really like that DVD and if you keep at it you do get really used to it! Was wondering if I could ask a question though, I have got the second wheel which I have started doing and again took me a bit to keep up but really like it now, because I have curved spine at the top does make my shoulder ache even with the simple moves but ache in a nice way if you get me as shows I hardly use the top half of my body!! But what I have noticed is I get sharp pains in my lower abdominal sort of towards my vagina they are uncomfortable but not really painful and don't have pressure but notice it when I've finished the DVD about an hour after and they don't last ages, could that be because I am using my stomach muscles etc, just very worried in case it was my last thing to completely prolapse my cervix!!! Though would I get pressure? I feel good about the DVD so hoping its just because its working muscles, any thoughts?

apismellifera

August 1, 2013 - 5:09pm

Louise. I read one of yr posts earlier today and now can't find it. It was to a lady who had had a hyst and bladder sling. You recommended that she didn't do the firebreathing and pelvic rocks. As with all the surgery she may do herself damage. Now for my question: I had an anterior & posterior repair about 15 years ago and now have a uterine prolapse. I have been firebreathing the DVD and even a bit of nauli. As my ops weren't as severe as a hyst or sling do you think Ian ok to still be doing these exercises. I thought on the basis that Christine has had a bladder suspension and finds ww beneficial I should be ok.

Thanks
Apis

louiseds

August 1, 2013 - 8:50pm

Hi Apis, that is a very important point that you raise. How much surgery is too much, as far as limiting exercises? I would like to handball this one to Christine and ask her to Comment on your question, and another one. Keep checking the topic for more comments.

Louise

apismellifera

August 2, 2013 - 12:45am

For the swift reply. I love this forum it's such a fantastic resource. Also got my vulva health DVD yesterday. New Mexico to uk in 3 weeks is amazing.

laughLOVElive

August 3, 2013 - 5:09am

Thanks Louise for your encouragement. I am one of those who have lapsed with the DVD exercises but its always on my list! What helped me was to watch DVD and write/draw prompts for exercises (I've only done up to the fire breathing part). This way I can exercise on many occasions I wouldn't have previously as I don't need DVD player. But I intend to check the DVD at different times to ensure I'm doing the exercises properly.

Surviving60

August 3, 2013 - 6:02pm

I studied the book for around a year before I got the DVD. I am a reader and don't have a good space (much less the time) to do workout tapes these days. So for a long time I figured I didn't really need the DVD and probably wouldn't get nearly as much benefit as I did from the book. Boy was I wrong! The first thing I did was memorize several things from the Dictionary of Movements that quickly became my go-to moves throughout the day. Between this and walking, I felt like I was managing to work all the right body parts in all the right ways. I now have collected all the DVD's and I have done this with all of them. I also watch them like movies sometimes! My goal at the moment is for my life to settle down a little to the point where I can actually find a good spot and do an entire workout. I know for a fact I wouldn't look like those three! Except for the T-shirt of course (love my WW tee) - Surviving

Daisy2951

August 3, 2013 - 9:38pm

Thank you Louise I just finished ordering the first aid video.

Surviving60

August 4, 2013 - 6:21am

Daisy, I'm glad you're doing posture and that you have ordered the DVD. These can benefit you but I want to suggest that you proceed with caution on all of this - especially the workouts. Go slow, be aware of your body's reactions to certain moves. Below is a discussion - if you go to the bottom you will see a long post by Louise with cautions to a member who had hysterectomyy in addition to a bladder sling. Not exactly the same as you, but you get the general idea. - Surviving

https://wholewoman.com/forum/node/2474

Daisy2951

August 4, 2013 - 5:24pm

Ok thank you.

louiseds

August 5, 2013 - 11:44pm

Hi Aging gracefully

Hey, there are not a lot of us for whom dancing comes naturally. That's why it is so hard to learn it. That's what you are learning - to dance. Your muscles have to get used to doing different things. Those nerve pathways need greasing and repeating, so they become easy. It is a brain thing. Don't blame your legs and feet! Slow and steady. Lots of slow repeats of the individual parts of those celtic steps before you put them together into a complete step. Then speed up the whole step until you can do it intuitively and without effort. Then tweak your posture, before putting it into the workout.

I learned ballet for a couple of years in mid primary school, but that was all until I started dancing again at about 49 years with classical Egyptian bellydance, then ballroom and latin, then American Tribal Style bellydance. Once you can accept your own frustration with slow progress, and just accept it and work at it, the difficulty factor just becomes normal, rather than frustrating. Then you can use it as almost a meditative process, and just enjoy it for what it is. :-)

louiseds

August 6, 2013 - 12:02am

Hi All

I can't find it at the moment but someone was telling me that they have difficulty using the glutes and other hip extensors to bring the top half of the body to upright after the forward bend with baton.

I would suggest doing it without the baton first. If too hard, then try an even easier way, with arms relaxed, and hands clasped loosely behind the back. This lessens the arm weight.

It may be that your glutes have 'gone to sleep', and they need waking up. The movement required is a straightening of the hip joint through 90 degrees to erect. You can approximate this by lying your upper body on a dining table with arms outstretched over your head, and with both legs straight. Lift one leg at a time using your gluteal muscles. Your buttock will tense on the same side as you are lifting the leg. Do a few of these and take note of the sensation only in your buttock. Then stand up and do a back leg lift. You will feel the same sensation. When you have gotten that sensation into muscle memory, try the leg lift on the dining table with both legs. There is no need to lift them through 90 degrees. It is the sensation that you are noting in your buttocks. I feel it like a kind of outward rotation of the whole leg, that ends with a buttock clench once you have come all the way up. Just remember that it is only a buttock clench. Your pelvis should still be in WW posture, not tucked under. Keeping your hands over your head and adding a baton will reinforce the WW posture aspect. At this point your buttock muscles (glutes) will know what you want them to do, and you might find that you can easily come up from a forward bend using these gluteal muscles and other hip extensors, rather than using just your back muscles. Try and get to doing it with the baton, or a chopstick (!) if you don't feel strong enough yet to do it with the WW baton. ;-)

Louise

Aging gracefully

August 6, 2013 - 12:16pm

Thanks Louise,
I will keep working on it, so that DVD won't get dusty on the shelf. But honestly, I am also so glad that the yoga DVDs are there for us dance uncoordinated ladies to turn to. Lol!! I feel like a swan when I am doing those!
Again thanks!!!

laughLOVElive

August 12, 2013 - 4:50am

Yes! I love the yoga DVD! Just logged on to say that it's great and so glad I finally played it and started the movements. The first aid dvd is also great and I'm going to go back to the dictionary of movements as suggested by Surviving60 to memorise movements, but I am more motivated to continue the yoga DVD.

Beth74

September 10, 2014 - 10:02pm

Hi! I am one who lost my First aid for Prolapse DVD in a pile of "stuff" and just found it today. Unfortunately, the DVD was not in its case so it had a few scratches on it. My uterine prolapse has been getting worse because I haven't done anything about it for the last few years. So I was happy to find the DVD. However, much of part 1 of the beginning workout must have a scratch on it, and it won't play. How much of the part 1 beginner workout am I missing if it starts with relaxing and moving the head around?
Should I order a new First Aid for Prolapse DVD?

Surviving60

September 11, 2014 - 5:05am

Not missing much. Glad you found it! Remember that the posture is the key. Stay in WW posture while exercising, and the rest of the day too! Firebreathing is real important. Check out Dictionary of Movement on the dvd for a great demo. You will eventually want to add some more gems to your collection, like something from the yoga group. Posture all day long! Get those organs forward. Good luck and keep us updated and welcome back. - Surviving

Aging gracefully

September 11, 2014 - 7:13am

Before the head rolling is a forward stretch on knees, so no, you are not missing anything if that's where the scratch is. I love the beginning work out on that DVD, such nice stretching, and pelvic rocks! If you do start getting into the DVDs again, the yoga DVDs are fabulous in conjunction with the first aid. I just switch around every day to a new one, because they stretch you and strengthen you just a little differently in each one, plus it keeps me from getting bored doing one DVD all the time, and motivation is so important in this work.
But always, of course do it in strong whole woman posture to reap the benefits of this work!

Proverbs31Mama

June 25, 2017 - 8:52pm

I just started the WW program and love the dance routines, but always have toddlers underfoot. So when I had no time to the do the workout today I went through as much of the routine as I could remember while brushing my teeth. Also do tip toes and 1-2-3's whenever I can while I walk down the hallway.
I really struggle to stay in posture or use my body correctly without some sort of small workout to "activate" the muscles. So glad to be able to pull a few items out of the dance routine I can implement in small ways in the morning.

Surviving60

June 27, 2017 - 3:22am

This works! I've gone through longs period of time when I just wasn't able to do full workouts on a regular basis. If we are endeavoring to stay in posture as we go throughout our day, we are always doing the WW work. Building some of the workout moves into our routine was one of my favorite strategies as well. - Surviving

Proverbs31Mama

June 28, 2017 - 2:21pm

Has anyone else really struggled with the back of their thighs being tight?
I am starting to see the they may be one source of knee pain for me. And they also make it REALLY tough to do bends correctly.
Last night in the shower, I turned the water on hot and stretched them out directly under the hot water, bending over with straight knees as far as I could. It was really hard, they are so tight and always have been. But after I got out, I stretched them several more times before going to bed and they are better today, but still not as mobile as they should be. There are so many areas my body is struggling to adjust. Another area is lifting the chest. Is this a place that also has to build muscle?

Surviving60

June 29, 2017 - 5:10am

Hi proverbs.....you are now in the second half of your pregnancy, and I don't like to think of you as struggling to adjust. You have the basics down. Keep working slowly, but don't overdo in an attempt to tweak everything all at once. The days and weeks PP will be a very important time to apply what you are learning. Lots going on physically, emotionally, hormonally......You'll be ready. - Surviving

tit willow

August 20, 2017 - 9:18pm

Just been given this DVD and finding the firebreathing very difficult anyone got any tips please?

Surviving60

August 21, 2017 - 5:27am

Just keep practicing. Follow the directions in the Dictionary of Movements and keep working on it. You can try on hands and knees if that makes it easier. The trickiest part is to get the breathing sequence correct. Many of us had become chest breathers from years of holding our stomachs in....so returning to the belly breathing that is associated with the WW work was not intuitive at all for me. Using the DVD along with the pictures and description in the book was essential for me to learn it. - Surviving

tit willow

August 21, 2017 - 6:41am

Thank you , I'll keep at it.

Reba4

August 29, 2017 - 9:15am

The concept of these exercises make sense, just not easy for me to balance. I thought my balance was pretty good until I started these a couple of day ago when I got my DVD. When I do the Firebreathing exercise I feel like my bladder is slipping out, is this uncommon, am I doing it wrong? And my lower back is really getting sore. I'm certainly starting with the dictionary movements to learn them first.
Thanks for that information. Yesterday was really difficult, hoping each day gets better.

Aging gracefully

August 29, 2017 - 10:55am

Hi Reba,
Don't get discouraged, we have all been there in those beginning days. Take it easy on yourself and take your time, the balance will come along as you practice. I still have days where mine isn't always perfect, nor do I want it to be, otherwise, I would have just given it up. For me it is a nice way to meditate and stretch my body out at the same time.
You can bend over and jiggle before firebreathing to get those organs moving forward, and you can also do the firebreathing on hands and knees. I did that in the beginning and then graduated to the standing version.
Keep up the good work and don't be to hard on yourself, this will come with patience and time.

Reba4

August 29, 2017 - 3:35pm

Aging gracefully,
Thank you for the encouraging words. I tried rolling my stomach to no avail, it only goes from back to front. Not side to side. I went outside this afternoon to sit down on our barnyard hill and was trying to move my organs around and to help to clear my mind. I'm a clogger so I can stand on one foot and balance in place while dancing but not in these moving positions apparently. I'm trying to stay positive. The bladder is in staying better today but tomorrow it may not. I clog on Thursday's and it's part of my life I don't want to give up and I also teach it. My doctor is waiting to find out if I can continue with the clogging and what it's going to do, so here's hoping and praying! I'm wondering as the wall is weak if I should have a pessary to hold the bladder in place while it tightens up but not hearing good things about the pessary. Again thank you for your encouraging words.

Aging gracefully

August 29, 2017 - 7:09pm

Hi Reba,
There shouldn't be any reason why you can't continue clogging. Once you have developed a nice strong posture, it should actually be beneficial in forcing your pelvic organs into your lower belly, just as Christine's jumping does for her and so many.
Whole woman posture frees us to get back to the things we enjoy in life.

Surviving60

August 30, 2017 - 5:40am

Reba, what sort of posture is promoted in clogging? A nice lumbar curvature, or, are you taught to hold in your stomach and butt? If it's the latter, then you will want to make some changes. WW posture is a wonderful way to dance, and I'm sure this includes any type of dance. - Surviving

Reba4

August 30, 2017 - 8:12am

Good point. You are right. I do stand straight and hold in my stomach, but I don't tell my group to do that , I tell them to relax and enjoy. Several of us are over sixty and keep doing it to stay in shape and have fun. I will definitely try to be aware of that. The bouncing is what I was concerned about seeing my bladder is still bulging. Oh my, you given me more to think about, but will try to be aware of how I stand, I have enough trouble thinking about my routines, Hopefully it with become natural to have the lumbar curve, right now I'm still trying to remind myself to bring my shoulders forward. This is all so new to me I'm still reeling with it.

Aging gracefully

August 30, 2017 - 9:15am

I felt the same about biking when I first started, all the bouncing on the bike and getting into a good enough posture to actually do it. My first year wasn't so great on the bike, because I was still developing the lumbar curvature, but the second year and so on have been tremendously helpful, and the road bumps only further encourage my pelvic organs to move into my lower belly.
If anyone has doubts about being able to run, jump, or bounce they need to check out Christine doing it in her videos. She is a true inspiration that life isn't put on hold because of prolapse.

Reba4

August 30, 2017 - 9:56am

Right you are! Today isn't going so good with the bladder but it's going to be ok, at least that's what I'm telling myself. We just ordered new seats for our bikes so we can enjoy riding. Riding my bike was where I first noticed the prolaspe last week and told I my husband something just not right. So the next day I went to my doctor to have it confirmed. I had to give up some things I enjoyed about twenty years ago due to knee surgery and I determined not to give up anymore because of this. So with you all encouraging me I can make it through this.