Safe yoga positions

Body: 

I hate to give up yoga class because of POP. WW workout is wonderful, but isolating. I miss the experience of a class and/or the gym with my friends. The yoga instructor said she would work with me to include poses in the 90 degree angles and acute angles avoiding intra-abdominal pressure. I'm reluctant to resume classes fearing the worsening of my POP. An example is the bridge pose. While it doesn't exert abdominal pressure, you do lift your hips up while reclining on your back with feet on the floor and knees bent 90 degrees. Is this a safe pose? Do I need to abandon yoga if I can't always determine how to protect my pelvic floor?

Would appreciate some insight.

Mag

Hey, mag,

I don't know the proper yoga pose names in english, but I did Bikram yoga in the first year afterI discovered my POP. I modified poses which included pelvic tilts, and I never did anything that did not feel good.

You absolutely can go to a class, but you'd better tell the teacher what is going on with you. Stand in the back row and modify or skip poses.

I'll be honest, after 2 years I am braver now, I do things I'd never done 2 years ago. Sometimes I overdo it, but now I am confident. Few days of rest and I am back to baseline.

Good luck with this experience, listen to your body.

Almost forgot: have a look at Christine's article "A new yoga for women", in the Village Post.

Liv

Hi Mag

I agree wholeheartedly with Liv. Go for it. You will know if you are doing something wrong because you will feel the pressure somewhere near or in your vulva. You might need to tune in to this, but eventually you will recognise it, and be able to test any movement for 'pressure' before you launch fully into it.

Do all testing very slowly. It is when we are hurrying that we tend to overshoot the safe position and get into POP-dangerous territory.

You will be able to leave your fear behind eventually. That is real freedom. It is 'living well with prolapse' , trusting yourself and your movements again!

Hey, even little children, and big weightlifting strongmen have a point past which they do not go. We learn this the first time we fall off our bike, and keep learning it in all aspects of life right the way through to our death.

Thanks for the encouragement! Best medicine ever!

Mag