Posture!

Hi,
Type posture in the search box on the left and it wiil take you to quite a few posts abvout the posture.
Regards,
Flora

Hi A,

The blue book is really what Saving the Whole Woman should’ve been from the beginning, but I had to work the science out myself, which I did primarily by studying the orthopedic literature. I was developing the postural work with the publishing of the yellow book, but not quite there yet, predominantly the anatomical reasons behind it. Hope it helps some…particularly in getting you motivated to help change this area of women’s healthcare!

Regarding the posture, the main thing is to pull yourself into it when you stand up and when sitting for long periods. I bend directly over at the hips to pick things up off the floor and it really doesn’t matter how you transition from sitting to standing as long as you pull up into the posture once there. There’s not a static shape that we stay in all the time. Rather, our body is an amazing organism that acts much more like a wire-spoked bicycle wheel than a fixed architectural structure. The sacrum is the hub of the skeletal wheel and because the center of the human body is a few centimeters in front of the second sacral vertebra, this means the uterus is the soft-tissue center of the female body. We are tremendously flexible, yet able to “tighten the spokes” by pulling up into our natural shape when moving throughout our day.

:-) Christine

Hi A

Could I suggest that you take that deep breath into you lower belly, then chest, instead of just into your chest. It will have two different results, whilst still lifting the bottom of your ribcage. It will allow your shoulders to stay relaxed and low instead of lifting them, and it will allow your lower belly to relax and make a little spot for your pelvic organs over your pubic bone.

Cheers

Louise

and it doesn't feel right does it? So glad you asked about that

Soup

Someone has asked this before, but it probably would be hard to find the post even with the search function.

First of all, except for when you are tired and needing extra support, you should try sitting using the strength of your own spine instead of putting a pillow behind you.

Right now I can sense that I am sitting on my sit bones, yet my belly is relaxed and my lumbar curve in place. I can artificially push myself more forward, but then I feel great pressure at the front labia.

There is a comfort zone that you will discover in time. If you have to constantly readjust by sitting forward then back then forward, that's fine too.

you wrote:
When I feel I am not holding the posture correctly I take a deep breath into my chest area which pushes my boobs out and lifts my whole chest area and I imagine my insides lifting up and resting back down ontop of my pelvic area where they should be. This is probably just in my head but it helps me focus.

I think you are getting it....

I was going numb too, until I realized that I have to sit as if I'm pg, meaning, legs apart and belly loose and hanging (for lack of better term, its not really hanging) between.

what you are going through right now is very typical. I think many of us could've been the authors of your last post a few days/weeks after finding our prolapses.

my experience was that my cystocele got worse initially, and then I developed a small rectocele. I think it was inevitable and not related to the WW Posture.

getting to know your body better is valuable. you will learn lots about your body, and knowlege is power!

it is also a common experience here, that things are worse just before and during a period. my cycles have always been somewhat unpredictable so the silver lining for me was that when I felt my cystocele get worse I knew to pack a tampon in my bag. ah, finally a way to know AF was near!

you can't predict the future, so try not to think about falling apart so completely one day. worry only about today, and maybe tomorrow but no further.
It is hard to do I know, but practice it anyway. I've recently been diagnosed with early stage otosclerosis, which is a progressive hearing loss. I find myself suddenly consumed with fears of complete deafness and a string of 'what ifs' but when I can bring my thoughts to the here and now, the fears dissipate. fear will not be helpful to you right now. so that is my advice for the day : )

Dear G.mom,

I am so sorry to hear that you now have otosclerosis to contend with too! I remember that your sister has it as well? I know little about it, is there treatment for it?

Despite your latest hurdle, I feel sure that you are meeting it head on and perhaps in a strange way, dealing with prolapse has made you more able to contend with things of this nature.

You are so right about the power of bringing thoughts to the here and now and the deep value of doing so when dealing with fear. I too have been working on this and literally feel a calmness coming over me when I am able to do this!

As always, big hugs to you! XXXxxx

its ok to think all your 'selfish' thoughts. get it all out, express it somehow, and then you will be able to gather yourself together and get past it. no getting past it though, without going through it, kwim?

and yes, be strong for your family, but also allow yourself to take strength from them.

be careful about looking at those pictures of prolaspe on the internet. I'm not sure which you've seen, but alot of them are taken during surgery, so the vagina has already been somewhat dissected and the bladder or uterus PULLED DOWN to better photograph. It is unlikely that you will ever look like that on your own.

and :::soapbox warning::: its a darn shame that our society doesn't tell it like it is when talking about childbirth. for some reason we are indoctrinated to believe that our bodies were meant to bear children and bounce right back to the way we looked at 18. and stay that way. what with the new 'mom-jobs' and celebs back in their designer size 0's by 6 weeks pp, its no wonder that we experience regret about destroying our bodies through childbirth.
If we were shown to appreciate the beauty of a maternal physique from a young age, we would probably feel differently.
and this isn't much different from the pp flab I have. after my first two my belly went back to where it was, but after number three I couldn't for the life of me get rid of the extra skin around my waist. I was thinner and more fit, but a larger size. seems silly, but it took some time for me to accept that too.

I absolutely feel more able to deal with this latest hurdle now that I've been learning to deal with the prolapse. I think everyone needs to learn to deal with loss and hardship in one form or another during their lifetimes. sometimes more than once, but maybe the first one is the hardest? hopefully this will be it for me : )

and re: otosclerosis, its a calcification of the stapes. the bone eventually stops moving so it stops conducting sound. aside from hearing aids there is a surgery available that replaces the bone with a prosthetic. 1% risk of complete hearing loss in that ear if surgery fails. success (meaning improved hearing, but not necessarily normal hearing) is variable, but likely (85% or so). I am not considering surgery at this point. and yes, my sister has it as well, it is hereditary.

thanks for the hugs!

We love you!!!

it will get easier. Your body is working out right now. Holding the posture is very challenging in the beginning. In 6 months you will feel funny doing anything else. Your upper back will become so strong. You will not ache- it just takes time. You are strengthening your whole body by pulling into the posture. Balance this work out with adequate rest and good nutrition. When I am sore I take extra magnesium and vita. C. This is an emotional work out as well as a physical one. you will come out on the other end stronger.
I remeber spending a ton of time on my hands and knees and elbows and knees- I even crawled around to pick up toys and laundry. We talked for a long time about using a small wagon for laundry so I didn't have to lift heavy baskets but in time I felt it was unnecessary.
I also worried about how to unrack the dishwasher, how to lift the babes, how to push the heavy grocery cart, how to sleep, how to sit in the car- you name it I worried about it- but I have found that once the posture became "my posture" all those worries fell into place. Now I do things that compromise my prolapse- like yoga- and it doesn't make a lick of difference and when I do something stupid like move heavy plants outside while holding the baby- I recover in a few days-right back to normal.
In the early days I would have to lie down on the floor to rest in the middle of making supper because my perineum ached so much- now I go all day with no ache-
I know when you are in it all this stuff seems so unreachable- but it is baby steps- and then one day you will go to bed and realize you didn't even think about your prolapse.

You have such grace granolamom. I am thinking of you-