The Neutral Pelvis

Submitted by Christine on June 2, 2007 - 9:43am
Body: 

Hi Everyone,

Those members who have been here a long time understand that this has been an evolving work and I did not have everything figured out from the beginning.

Most significantly was what to “do” with the position of the pelvis. I knew the pelvis had to be brought into its natural alignment, which for a large percentage of women is several degrees from flexion, or backward rotation with the tailbone tucked under.

It took me longer to figure out how important the relaxed and “pulled up instead of in” abdomen is to the natural curvature of the lower spine.

I used to give instructions I would never give now, such as to “push the navel down and over the pubic bone” and to hold the belly – oh geez, I can’t even remember now – but something like “firmly”. The amazing thing is, we were greatly exaggerating the posture then and maybe that was what was needed at the time. But I have a sense that there are women who are still trying too hard, and really…the posture is so very effortless.

I could only have learned by working with my own body and other women in the studio that we have to “do” absolutely nothing with the specific area of the lower spine to bring it to neutral alignment. What frees the lumbar vertebrae to find their own natural curvature is relaxing the lower belly and pulling up the chest. What supports and holds this neutral pelvic shape is an elongated head/neck, shoulders down and upper back flat and broad.

Just like any other kind of conditioning, the more deeply one moves into it, the more the body changes as a result. This is very true of the lumbar curve. Here at the Center we’ve been doing a lot more deep-second-position-plié dancing and it’s amazing how much more the pelvis opens as a result.

I realized early on that the “neutral” female pelvis was not quite that being defined by Pilates, Yoga, and even modern ballet companies…the same institutions trying to recover from decades of forcing the female spine and pelvis to tuck under and conform to the shape of the male. This is because all these disciplines are still trying to control the lower belly.

Christine

babs

June 2, 2007 - 10:53am

mmm this is interesting.

i think i was guilty of overdoing the posture when i tried it last year. it was forced and uncomfortable and exaggerated. pretty much felt like walking like a duck!

its funny because i never found the photo of the pretty girl with the flowing flame hair and the long flowing skirt all that helpful. it wasn't until i tried to recreate the pose and then walk tall with my neck elongated that it came.

even at that i think the subtle change in my posture from breathing so as to fill my ribcage, which correspondingly does mean holding the spine and shoulders differently has meant i have found the whole woman posture, or perhaps the version that is right for me.

its certainly more natural and comfortable than the forced duck walk of last year. it is also more of a neutral pelvis, but as you say not quite the neutral pelvis of pilates.

i know from what you have said before there can be a lot of improvement in the 6 - 12 months post partum. i am now 8 weeks post partum, and i did venture a peek with a handheld mirror today. unlike 6 weeks ago there was no bulge from the cystocele. it does appear to have gone (praise God and i pray it will stay away). likewise the cervix is definitely a good quarter of an inch higher, and better still tucked up higher on what feels like the top of the front wall of my vagina.

i am due to see the woman's health pt that i saw after baby #3 on tuesday. she hasn't seen me since may 2006 and it will be interesting to see how she grades my prolapse this time.

even if it transpires my improvement is imagined, it doesn't really matter. bottom line is i am continent, nothing isa hanging out, i no longer have to manually stretch my anal sphincter to empty my bowels, and i have a 4th beautiful baby daughter. i can cope with this. life is good.

granolamom

June 2, 2007 - 8:40pm

I agree, the posture felt much more natural once I stopped trying to overexaggerate the lumbar curve and concentrated on elongating the neck and keeping the shoulders wide and down.
I also find that breathing towards my tailbone seems to lift the tailbone and that just plain feels right to me.

I think that once the basic concept is in place, the particulars of how best to achieve 'neutral pelvis' may vary from woman to woman. and that makes sense, we all have different constraints. I may have low muscle tone, you may have scars from prior surgeries. so while we are all trying to get to the same place, we have very different obstacles to overcome, as well as our individual strengths.

granolamom

June 2, 2007 - 8:42pm

sounds like you've had some incredible improvement. and only 8 weeks pp! I'm so thrilled for you.

jepala

June 5, 2007 - 7:27am

Sooo from what I understand...the automatic holding of my stomach in for the last 25 years is WRONG? HOW do I retrain myself to Let it loose? I get and have been doing pretty well the relaxing of the shoulder and pretty good at keeping my neck "long". At least I think I am. But I am having a heck of a time relaxing my belly!
I've ordered the book w/cd..and while I love to read, I am a "visual" learner... so I am hoping that the cd along with the book will give me a better idea as to all this new posture stuff! Until then... please give me some tips....

Thanks a bunch!
Linda

Christine

June 5, 2007 - 8:58am

...instead of pulling your belly in.

granolamom

June 5, 2007 - 11:18am

when you pull in your belly you are contracting your abdominals, mostly lower abs.
when you elongate your neck, keeping your shoulders broad and down, and pull up your chest, your abdominals can lengthen. your belly will still be taut, but this will be due to the muscles stretching over a greater distance (think, stretching a rubber band) vs. contracting.
when you hold your belly in and contract the abs, those muscles bulk up and compress what's inside, likely to push everything down (also changes orientation of the spine/pelvis). when you allow the muscles to stretch out, there's more room for internal organs.

when in the posture I still feel my abdominals are active, but mostly the obliques. It does take a while to get used to letting go of the belly, but once you get the hang of it you'll forget how you used to hold your stomach in all day long.

jepala

June 6, 2007 - 9:53am

ok...I'm working on it. Is it normal to be sore? I can't believe I'm that out of shape that simply sitting/standing correctly leaves me sore.

Christine, love the new book! I've almost finished reading it..just got it yesterday. Of course will have to read it plenty more times to retain it though! I was a bit disapointed that the CD only contains music, I thought it would have the workout on it as well. I need the visual! I am musically *challenged* to say the least... so I don't even know how to count "bars" and all that. All these need poses sure make me feel like a klutz! I will keep trying though. I do not want surgery.

Linda

Christine

June 6, 2007 - 10:39am

Hi Linda,

So glad you are enjoying the book and I'm sorry we couldn't include a dvd.

Yes, everyone gets sore at first, which is a good sign that you are pulling everything up and in that has sort of oozed down and out over many years of destructive posture. I like to think of it as "tightening the spokes".

Rest, feed yourself very well, and rejoice in learning to live in your intended shape.

Christine

louiseds

June 6, 2007 - 9:30pm

Hi Christine and all the other lovely ladies

I have had a lot of lower back pain for many years, but it may not be related to prolapse.

I have some very ragged lumbar discs which have given me trouble for years and do not seem to want to heal. I suspect that they are a legacy of many early adult years of butt tucking while doing heavy lifting, which meant that I was using my spine as a stacked column, instead of a long flexible truss, and all the compression forces were directed downwards to squash the discs.

My physiotherapist taught me about four years ago to brace my lower abdominals to stabilise the area when straightening up. This did help at the time and I can see has now become pretty automatic, but I now find it very difficult to relax those same muscles to enable my pelvic organs to sit forward in a relaxed lower belly. This means that I have inadvertently created another intraabdominal force which tries to squeeze my prolapses out when I straighten up.

To be honest, it doesn't happen all the time, only when I have been doing strenuous exercise, like the farm fencing repairs I have been doing these last few days. Muscles get tired and seize up, which seems to put more pressure on my joints, which causes more spasming. I think maybe I just need to stop for a break more often, work more slowly, be even more mindful of the way I move, and do more stretching on the job and afterwards.

I am 54 and my body feels the strain of a day's hard physical work more acutely than it did a couple of years ago. The following morning it is very hard to get mobile. My Mum is 95 and her mother was 104 when she died. I suspect this body of mine may have to carry me around for a long time yet.

One of the ladies was talking about using the oblique muscles more than the abdominals. What are your comments on this?

Do you or any of the other ladies know anything about Feldenkrais or Alexander Technique? I fear I may have to go right back to the drawing board and learn to move properly all over again.

Cheers

Louise

Christine

June 6, 2007 - 11:54pm

Hi Louise,

Yes, I read everything Alexander ever wrote and have studied Rolfing, Feldenkrais, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (School for Body-Mind Centering), Egoscue, Structural Yoga Therapy, dance therapy, and biomechanics. What I am calling ww posture is a synthesis of everything I have ever learned about the natural workings of the spine and pelvis. I do not believe there is anything forced or artificial about it, but rather a simple pulling up and into our deepest human shape.

It is the obliques (our second and third deepest abdominal layers) that are perhaps the most mobilized when the abdomen is braced, but not hollowed, as when we pull the chest up in the posture. The abdomen stretches lengthwise.

Lower back pain is a symptom and one that, according to the best of physiology, is almost always related to muscles. If one or both of your legs were to go numb, it could mean major nerve impingement by a disc or vertebral structure. But even then, experts would probably agree that the original cause of such a problem was muscular dysfunction. Muscle strength begins to wane after just a few days of being sedentary. We might ask what sort of regular activity you do to keep your muscles fit enough to undertake the occasional fence-mending chore?

I am so sorry you are back to square one! I think in this case you really do need to study your body further to try to understand how to move with greater ease. An Alexander or Feldenkrais course may be greatly beneficial.

Or…become a Whole Woman instructor! lol. We’ve incorporated ankle weights and the program has become pretty intense. We now have a young woman teaching belly dance at the Center whom I trade classes with and we laugh that hers are the fun classes and mine are the Gestapo classes. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been in my life, though. However, I have decided I will never again do any of the heavy lifting (as in moving large amounts of rocks, boxes, or fence posts) that I did as a matter of course as a younger woman. Like everything else, we just become a bit more delicate and I’m okay with letting it go.

Heartfully,

Christine

louiseds

June 7, 2007 - 4:01am

Hi Christine

I wouldn't exactly say I am back to square one, just that I have been exerting myself rather a lot since returnng from the States. I have a feeling that the human body is not meant to travel economy class for 13 hours at a stretch. We did *a lot* of walking (and a little dancing) while we were away, but little whole body exercise. I made sure that I did standing leg lifts in all directions every morning on rising, which seemed to get the body moving comfortably for the day ahead.

Tourist land seems to be designed for sitting, standing and walking and little else. My body gave me little trouble while I was away, which was very reassuring as it told me that this pain that I have is not with me *all* the time, but the whole body fitness I had before I left deserted me while I was away.

I know my body was complaining when I returned home, and I probably should have just spent a couple of days untangling my body while my mind unfuzzed itself and adjusted to the time and season difference, instead of launching straight into lots of very physical activity. I am feeling better physically today, and I figure that part of that is that my body is becoming more accustomed to more strenous whole body exercise instead of just walking. It is also loosening up a bit today, so the worst is probably behind me. My cervix, which has taken a temporary dip, also seems to be rising again today, which is positive.

The other thing is that I know it will all get better, and I have not been panic-stricken about my peeping cervix, as I know that now my body is getting back to a healthy state again, it is disappearing again.

I think I will check out Feldenkrais and Alexander Technique though, as I keep getting the same sort of pain and stiffness, no matter what sort of therapy I have. It is sorted for a couple of days then gets painful again. It has to be something to do with the way I use my body, whether there is extra exertion or not. I'll let you know how it goes, though I know it could take a while.

Cheers

Louise

alemama

June 7, 2007 - 6:39am

Just a thought......are you getting enough magnesium? I know that if I am not getting enough calcium and mag. I wake up stiff!
So sorry you are out of whack. Feel better.

fortissima

June 7, 2007 - 8:47am

Hi Louise and Everyone,

Alexander and Egoscue both emphasize balance -- but they approach the problem from opposite ends: Alexander starts with the head and neck and works downward. Egoscue starts with the feet and knees and works upward.

Another important difference is that Alexander Technique tries to change habits without building strength. Egoscue, on the other hand, insists that you must be strong to maintain good posture. (Based on my own experience, I agree.) He has designed some excellent exercise routines for women, published in his book, "Pain Free for Women".

Just to introduce myself: I have been reading this website since I was diagnosed with mild prolapse 2.5 years ago. The diagnosis turned out to be wrong -- but Christine's teachings have turned out to be so right for me. As a classical musician who depends on good balance and posture for the fine coordination needed to play piano and violin, I have benefitted tremendously from Christine's work.

Like many of you, I had spent my whole life holding my belly in. But since I discovered Christine's website, I have worked hard to increase my strength and change my posture. Looking in the mirror now, I find that my belly is flatter when I relax it than it ever was when I tried to hold it in.

I hope that someday Christine's teachings will reach all girls and women -- not just those with prolapse!

Best,

fortissima

granolamom

June 7, 2007 - 9:51am

way back when I was in PT school we had weekly feldenkrais sessions. one of our professors had studied under Moshe Feldenkrais and ran those sessions. at the time I failed to appreciate the genius behind it, but now I think its probably alot more useful for back pain than what most PT's would do for you. I'd definitely say give it a try.

Christine

June 8, 2007 - 9:39am

Thank you SO MUCH for this beautiful post! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support...this is EXTREMELY hard work!!

I have a feeling you are "closely related" lol to another lovely woman who used to post and also played piano and violin.

God bless you and I am thrilled to hear you are doing so well.

Christine

fortissima

June 8, 2007 - 8:25pm

Christine,

You must be telepathic. I am that very person you are thinking of.

I haven't posted in a long time, because I couldn't sign in under my old name. But this topic always gets me going, so here I am with a new name.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm very glad to be back!

fortissima

Grandma Joy

June 9, 2007 - 3:53pm

I thought that was a beautiful endorsement of Christine's work. I know, too, that being a violinist or pianist takes strong discipline with balance and posture, and am pleased her work has increased your strength. I used to play classical violin, but can't anymore, so content myself with listening daily to Andre Rieu. It is interesting to note that your belly is flatter now so it must be because you are doing the posture very correctly. Discipline pays!!

Blessings and best wishes,
Grandma Joy