Success after set back

Body: 

I had a set back last month. I had been sitting without full lumbar curvature a lot. I thought I was doing well because I was sitting on the floor a lot, but I wasn’t sitting on a cushion and was not able to get a full lumbar curvature. I was very fatigued and unwell last month because of stress and overwork. I spent a lot of time lying down too. I gave up my daily posture walks. So many of my symptoms started to return. I immediately started floor sitting using a yoga bolster as a thick cushion and added a pillow to my chair so as to tip me forward a bit so I could sit in posture better. I resumed my daily posture walks as well as some whole woman movements and stretches and breathing. I started daily once again mindfully pulling up into posture to start my day. All these changes have brought me back to far far less symptoms. I hope this encourages someone.

Thanks for posting. This is SUCH an important point; there can never be too many reminders.

I've been doing WW for 8 years now, and I still go through periods like this (in fact I'm in one right now) where my good habits and best intentions fall away somewhat.....and I can feel a big difference. It is so empowering to realize how much control we actually do have. We need setbacks for that very reason!

Hoping you'll keep us posted as you go along - Surviving

I'm also going through a small setback here... it does kind of rock you a bit but I keep picturing my organs as water balloons in a bucket full of water... they WILL go back.
I have also gotten lax about sitting - i've been sitting on the couch (not lounging, I'm still always perched) but I've stopped sitting on the floor as much and I've stopped putting a rolled blanket under my bum.
I had a bad bowel movement due to postponing going to the bathroom (was in an all day meeting where I was working on a laptop as well). Plus my baby is somewhere around 25 lbs and he's getting hard to carry - he's also wriggly so I'm not always in great positions when changing/carrying etc. he'll probably be walking soon tho so that should alleviate the lifting (once the bending over to hold him phase passes that is).

I'm curious if it's possible that I'm having 'cycles' without the bleeding? I'm starting to feel like my 'bad' days are coming up on a monthly basis (have to start charting I think). It's like I have a good few weeks and then there are a few days where I feel bulgy.... I'm pretty consistent with the posture overall but I do need to keep on top of it, especially when life gets in the way... all day hard meetings like I had last week meant I got up very little, I sat mostly in posture but I did work on a laptop for long periods - i'm sure I wasn't in great posture the entire time. but apart from that, I do try to stay in posture and do all the right things... yet every once in a while I have a few bulgy days.
I'm pretty sure I'm ovulating so I wonder if these setbacks are also to do with hormones even though i'm not bleeding yet. my boy's 8 1/2 months so full menstrual cycles are on their way back soonish but who knows...

anyway - great news that you're able to take control and get yourself back to a good spot after a setback... always encouraging to hear.

All we can do is work with setbacks through the cycles of ups and downs - physical and emotional!

I'd like to express to our older sisters - Don't Let Setbacks Go Too Far! I know this to be true through my own experience and through working with other women. Our tendons and ligaments become more fibrous as we age, making it necessary to throw that yoga mat on the floor every morning for WW exercise! Afterward, pull up into WW posture every time you are on your feet and as much of the time sitting as makes sense for you.

I have a warm, cushy leather love seat that I fit into perfectly with my legs stretched out front. It is so alluring to settle into with my laptop "just to check my email", but I've given myself on various occasions hip, back, and knee pain from indulging in such "comfort". Far better to allow your body to stretch and strengthen under the forces of gravity while you work all day on the floor. Painful and contracted ligaments will heal, but it takes time and attention. One of the problems with our medical model, which influences us greatly, is that we think "Oh no! Now I've got a bad knee!" and off we go to the doctor to have it "fixed". I assure you most of the time these soft tissues simply need to be stretched into their natural alignment (as evidenced in our development as human beings) and kept stretched out through WW posture and walking.

Setbacks are part of the work, and as WW we must respond to them as quickly as we can. I send love and positive energy to all...living on earth is not easy!!

Christine

Hi and thankyou for posting UnCloudyDay, Typicalme, Surviving 60, Christine...
I have developed that "knee", and have been "healing" it myself, and fighting thoughts of letting WW down but now know that is silly ;)... and yay I CAN do this myself...
I was not regular enough with moving around and thought that Scottish country dancing was enough once or twice a week, along with the posture of course!
I love the prayer pose so I get into the squat on toes often around the house doing things, and was wondering why my left knee felt strange and tight, and didn't want to bend fully,but only realized that it was swelling a little around the kneecap and was a bit hot on Sat night but not since. So bending it right down is coming back slowly... yippee!

I was working out what my new morning routine would be before reading this!

Love you all,
Best wishes,
Aussie Soul Sister
( working on being a "young", "old chook") ;)

I too am kind of glad to get this nudge from Christine, I feel like she was speaking directly to me! When you have been doing this for a few years, you risk being so complacent about your symptoms that you can actually get quite lazy about some of the things you need to keep thinking about. A lot of it becomes habit, but some of it doesn't......we need to stay mindful and any setback is an important reminder of that. Soul Sis......I'm sure you will get yourself squared away! - Surviving

I have come
Back into my own. I’m feeling again, for the first time, what it feels like for my soul to live in my body in the alignment of its original design. I slipped for decades after childhood into having a sharp but short lumbar curve, poochy slopped-out belly, and sagging dropped chest. I wasn’t a Tucker, but I was a sloucher. I didn’t know better. I do remember about ten years ago looking at my terrible pooched belly and experimenting with sucking it in and also lifting it up
By my chest. Even then I thought the latter was more comely but I didn’t have the courage or the reason to do it. I have been set free! Now I’m back in whole woman posture , pulled up strongly in the
Chest with shoulders down and pulled up from back of head, chin slightly tucked, and upper back strong and broad. I
Believe God designed me this way and that Christine has distilled the truth from everything that has ever come her way and touched her senses. I
Feel and see my wide radius lumbar curve extended beautifully up the length of my back. My low back feels strong and free of tension, lightened almost. My innards are being lifted up my abdominal wall and I have hope that will continue. Today is a good day, being post set back, and I wish you all well. I feel beautiful and hopeful and grateful.

Thanks UnCloudyDay for coming back with an update. I, and many others here, can completely identify with the feelings you so beautifully describe. This work is a miracle for the mind, body and spirit. So grateful for this gift.....what else is there to do but keep trying to spread the word and try to save one whole woman at a time! Thank you for a lovely post. - Surviving