Modifying Rx for Prolapse Stretch Exercises

I am a newbie to this WW workout (started 3 weeks ago) so my suggestion is to be taken with a lot of precaution but what about sitting on an exercise ball for the pelvic rocks? I have been wondering if the exercise ball could be a better alternative to the sofa when I can't sit on the floor anymore :-) I hope the WW veterans and Christine can give their opinion to enlighten me as well.

Hi,
I think "firebreathing" is a form of pelvic rock that is done standing. It is explained in the WW Book and on the DVD. You can do pelvic rocks lying on your back with bent knees but I'm not sure if it moves the pelvic organs up from a lying position. The exercise ball idea works too and may be more comfortable for your rear but you have to be careful to stay balanced. Belly dancing has a lot of pelvic rocking too and that might be fun!

Hi Happyheart

I would just like to add a rider to your bellydancing idea. Bellydancing utilises the pelvic tilt, ie tilting the pelvis back slightly, to 'accentuate', for want of a better word, the movements of the hips. This means that in good bellydancing posture the pelvic organs are not very well supported on the pubic bone, being allowed to slide backwards over the vagina. I find that as long as I don't tilt my pelvis back and, instead, do bellydancing in WW posture, I feel OK. As soon as I tilt my pelvis 'correctly for bellydance' I get pressure feelings in my vulva.

The only problem with this is that, aethetically, all the movements have to be done in a way that tips them backwards visually, which means that you or Robin or anyone with POP needs to learn to do the hip movements, and upper body isolations as well, with different muscles, or using the same muscles differently. eg the chest isolation that goes up, back, down, forward is almost impossible to do with POP. You really need to incorporate a full body undulation from the knees, or risk feeling pressure in the vulva. There are a lot of intraabdominal forces at work while you are dancing, so minimising the risk is the name of the game. If you do a full body undulation you can get the same effect visually by bending deeply at the knees, and keeping the lumbar curve intact. That's if you will be seen by anybody.

If you are doing it in the privacy of your own home, and everybody else is engrossed in watching football on TV, or better still somewhere else entirely, you can do what you like to maintain the integrity of your pelvic region! Just go with what you feel deep in your pelvis, vulva and vagina.

If none of this makes sense, I would be sticking to other ways of getting your pelvis moving. Email me, or post if you want to discuss it further. I have been working on mastery of bellydance moves with POP for a coule of years now, because I love it and don't want to give it up. For me it is a wonderful way of enjoying my body, encouraging the whole body to move at my command, improving my balance, and keeping me flexible and aware of my movements. I would welcome the input of other bellydancers who would like to have some input, for the benefit of all. I am hoping to put together some video resources eventually.

Seriously, if you want to do bellydance, go to a teacher who is qualified as a personal trainer, and who can teach technique well. Teach them the principles of Wholewoman posture work, and they should be able to help you to learn safely. That way you learn from them and they learn from you another way to teach dance safely, and bring it to a group of women who would otherwise not even try it.

I'll put in an ad for my teacher, who teaches in Midland, Western Australia. If you are in Perth metro area or nearby, and want to learn, email me privately for her number.

Cheers

Louise

Hello, haven't been on for a while, but got the DVD, book, belt and also a kneeling chair (just tonight). My chiro also adjusted my sacrum tonight. I was (am) getting really bad. (Have the tailbone and lower back issues along with POP). I have always wanted to learn bellydancing so once I get into better shape again - keep me in the loop with all this, ok?? Pretty tricky with me, but kind of excited to see it brought up.

I've been freaking a little lately with how my innards feel. I know my vag. is lower and protruding more than it should be cause I feel it and can see it. Feel weird saying that cause I've never been one to look there, lol. I also got a pelvicizer and smart balls. Tried the smart balls, but my tissues are so irritated it just made me sore. Has anyone ever tried those? It sure isn't pleasurable for me. I can see where it makes you tighten up cause mine want to slip right out.

All this sure does a number on your "womanhood" and it bad enough being perimenopausal and 49....almot the big 5-0. I need to watch the DVD through, obviously. Its all in the back of my mind, though, and can feel how this chair will help although its not real comfortable for long cause I'm weak in my postural muscles. I am skipping a period apparently cause I'm 2 weeks late so have that constant congested feeling and it won't go away..... I actually contemplated surgery for a minute cause its discouraging so figure I'd best check back in. I tend to obsess about things and then get bored but need to keep this up.

I have a hot tub! I planted flowers in it because it broke! LOL

Hi Lauren

I know just how you feel, with your body not knowing whether it is Arthur or Martha. I (think I) have just come through that, and my body is now quieter. I no longer get the weeks on end when I feel that a period is just around the corner. That's quite nice. However, I have experienced a bit of extra droop with the quietening. It is quite manageable but it is something that I can see is a bit different from before. I guess perimenopause is a bit like pregancy. While we are there, there are some weird things that happen, often more of the same, but less or more. The body will decide for itself when it has finished with menstruation. Unitil then, we just have to manage it and put up with the turmoil until the storm has passed. Unlike the end of a pregnancy which is heralded with a big event and a yummy new baby, menopause seems to come with a whimper and thoughts like, "Was that it?" A bit of an anticlimax if there ever was one. However, some women do experience an event at the end, and it is not always nice.

Sometimes 'doing something about it' is productive, but sometimes it just makes you think about it more, sometimes too much. That's like transition, just before second stage of labour, when we get restless, impatient and grumpy, and just want somebody else to take over and finish it, because we have had enough! We have used up all the constructive ways of making labour more comfortable and wish there were a few more rabbits we could pull out of the hat, and not realising how close we are to the end (and the baby!)

You are certainly tackling your POPs from all directions. Yes, sometimes we buy gadgets that are ultimately less than helpful, but you don't know until you try, so don't beat up on yourself over the balls! Yes, the uncertainty of perimenopause does make one's womanhood a bit frayed at the edges, but I think that is because we get into new territory and need to learn to read the signposts. As I have experienced the quietening I have started to make friends with it a bit (Yay! No more purse stuffed with napkins!). It did throw my trust in my body a bit, but I think it is going to be OK. Try not to overdo the new things you can do. Changes can cause instability if done to quickly and too much. Overexercised muscles get tired. Both the instabililty and the tired muscles can feed back negatively and make us think we are getting worse, rather than better. Sometimes doing nothing is OK, and adjusting to how we are, right now, is OK. Later you can try something else. Doing too many new things at once can also confuse us, as to the benefit we are getting from each. It is not like adding suger to tea, where adding more spoonfuls makes the tea sweeter and sweeter. Sometimes adding more things can be like the straw that breaks the camel's back, and we end up way behind again.

Take it slow. Be kind to yourself. Ride it, rather than fight it. Was that me who just said all that? I'll probably make a fool of myself now, and get a period next week.

Cheers

Louise

Thanks again Louise. (I just got your other post too). I started finally!! I was wondering, though,, if I would just feel bloated forever if I don't start finally at some point. I guess its a gradual adjustment that way. I really appreciate your wise words and help. I AM sore but am feeling progress so doing ok. I'm encouraged by the muscle tone of just sitting better cause I've been so out of shape that way so long. I am over weight but my tummy looks better than I can remember now!!! Its truly amazing!!! That's after starting, though. I was so bloated a few days ago I looked pregnant!!! I was also getting flabby along with it, though. Maybe this will stick....

:-)

What a happy Sunday I am having!

Thanks Louise for your expert advice. After further investigation I have found that bellydancing can aggravate POP. It had been a while since I had done any belly dancing so I decided to try it again. It seemed logical that all that belly work would help move my POP up but, just as you said ,I found the tilt of the pelvis more irritating. I just thought my POP was irritated due to other things but after a couple of tries it became obvious that the posture used in belly dancing was not going to do what I had hoped. On the upside, the movements of the dance do make you feel beautiful and sexy, so dance with modifications are definitely in order.
I also aired up my exercise ball to see how that would work with prolapse and found out that sitting on the ball to do pelvic tilts also smooshed my POP worse than sitting on the hard floor. So much for trial and error.