nauli and bending

Body: 

I do alot of gardening and would like to make sure that while I'm bending I'm not doing it in the wrong way. I read a post by Louise that it would be better to do the hip hinge. Is this like fire-breathing but with straight knees. Does this put pressure on the back?
I've had some back problems and was always told to bend my knees not my back. I'm not quite sure how the hip hinge works as you can see.
Secondly I had a look at nauli on youtube and nearly had a fit.
I've no idea how to start. Any ideas for real beginners please.

Do you have christine's DVD? Great demonstration of Nauli and firebreathing for beginners...makes it super clear.

bending...i personally hinge at the hips, so basically lean over with my bum in the air! not so lovely, but keeps organs in place. but i wouldn't lift from that position. i don't really lift anythign heavy off the floor anyway, so not a problem...

Hip hingeing is Esther Gokhale's term, so I probably shouldn't use it, because her version of 'good' posture is a bit different from WW posture. However, I describe it as bending at the hips, not the waist. The hip joints are where the head of the femur sits in the hip socket (acetabulum).

To bend at the hips, simply keep your torso in the same configuration as WW posture and bend straight forward with your feet apart far enough for your belly to go between your thighs. Keep your knees relatively straight. This will stretch the hamstring muscles down the backs of your thighs, which is very important for us chair-sitters. Don't push past gentle stretch without bending your knees. Your back should not be affected at all as it is not involved, unless you push further, and end up flexing your lumbar spine, rather than just bending your hip joints forward. Now that can cause problems!!

I never lift anything much in this position. If I need to lift a load I bend my knees deeply, keep my feet flat, stick my butt out and lift using my leg muscles. As long as my torso is slightly inverted at point of lift, and I have a good lumbar curve, it will actually stretch the spine, rather than compressing it. Then I straighten my back as my knees are straightening. It is like straightening out a zigzag, spreading the load between all the joints of the feet, legs, arms, pelvis and back.

You can see bending at the hips if you find pictures of women planting out rice seedlings in paddies. These women do this all day every day during the season.

BTW, yes, when you firebreathe, you are bending at the hip joints.

Louise

Louise - I'd like to thank you for your helpful description of the hip hinge.
I'm doing my best to keep the WW posture, do firebreathing etc.
I'm so keen to try to prevent my POP from getting worse and am always pleased to read mails which tell readers that they are quite likely to get their uterus back into the vagina a bit. I think I'd be really happy if the uterus does not peak quite as much as it does now.
Thanks so much for support and information

Thanks for the reminder that there is a DVD, which I have, which will help me work out how to firebreath and do nauli exercises correctly.
I'm keen to get my uterus and whatever else is being pulled down with it back up in place just a little. Thankful for small mercies.

Hi Pompom

Yes, you might never get your cervix right back inside, but at least 'preventing worsening' is now realistic for you. You might still find that you are not quite getting WW posture right. At some point in the future you might be able to organise to go to the WholeWoman Center in Albuquerque and have some time with Christine. I'm glad my explanation of hip hingeing made some sense.

Keep trying to understand more about how your body works. I still find that pennies keep dropping, even six years after starting Wholewoman techniques. The improvement goes on for years. You are still at the beginning. The learning never stops.

Louise