Pilates. Final question.

Hi and welcome Ginny!
Just wanted to give you some info until more experienced ladies give you an answer/
Firstly I would say read as many posts here as you can, by putting the word "PILATES" into the search box.Without confirmation, I would say I have all 3 POPs you have.I would be careful with anything you do until you know
how it affects your POP. So eg if any of the Pilates moves makes you feel uncomfortable in the POP area or bulge , don' t do them.Personally I have only dabbled at Pilates, done short spells of Yoga over the years, aerobics and circuit work (ladies gym).
Now I prefer to do different types of dancing, and pushing myself to do short walks as a lot here say that is helpful.Starting at the pool this week, but gently.
Secondly learning about the Posture shown here, is paramount, probably I should have put this first, as thats what helps most women the most.
It's about learning to be kinder to oruselves and listening to our bodies, rest, appropriate exercise ,and healthy food.
We are all learning together here :-) and help each other as much as we can, hop on board and enjoy the trip.
Im sure you will get more answers soon here .

Edited to say...ooops sorry ginny you have been here longer than me so sorry for thinking you were a newbie :-(

While Pilates certainly has exercises and positions that put your body in obtuse angles (i.e. the 100's and the Clock) which is known to direct intra-abdominal pressure in a way that can exacerbate prolapse, in the end your answer comes from how *your* body feels. If if feels better, continue. If it feels worse, stop. We can only speak from our own experiences . . . some women here enjoy Pilates, others like myself avoid it. As for other forms of exercise, there are many good reports about walking, swimming, biking, running, dancing, and yoga.
The posture does take some time to get comfy while your muscles are re-training, but there should not be pain. Here is my favorite image of the posture: http://www.wholewoman.com/picture_library/goatgirl.jpg
Focus on lifting the chest, and your lumbar curve should follow into place without much effort from your bum ;-)

Hi again ginny, I haven't done pilates long enough to give you a yes or no answer, so I hope someone who does can. But I did have a quick search so here's a link to a recent post by Doubtful , she has good posts..
http://www.wholewoman.com/drupal-6.16/node/3885
I have a gf who exercises a lot, and has tried to get me to her Pilates class, as she reckons her teacher is very good and open minded.So I expect like doctors or any practioners/teachers there are huge differences between some of them. eg I find my chiro group excellent and far ahead of their time. Friends are amazed at what I learn and get from them.25 years history with them now.
Personally I don't think I'd do the Pilates,I love dancing, but then that is more for my soul and spirit :-) what about short walks done gently on the flat to start with.And something Im going to try in the next week, is aqua jogging with my daughter who is pregnant. I'll give feedback after we've done it for awhile.
I have bought and tried all sorts of exercise dvd's ,books,even gone to a new gym and tried everything , in my pursuit of the perfect regime. Alas my body is not as it once was, and now I must focus on what my body is telling me.
If you can afford it ,you could try a personal trainer with experience. I say this because I went to a small gym and had a really good trainer, who gave me a gentle workout for 30minutes and I felt really good at that time.After a year he left and I got a man who did not listen or understand what my body had been through.Not one bit!!! he pushed me to my limit, and then would say...I thought with all your dancing you should be able to do this or that! I was going through meno at the time, and that's not that long ago.I stayed way too long with him.I left and went to a womens gym.Left that too now, got bored.
But it doesn't matter what kind of gym you go to,you would need to find someone who will listen to you and work with you.Usually your gut instinct will tell you.
Last week I got out my old Jane Fonda pregnancy workout book and did all the exercises(took 1 hour).But I had to eliminate some exercises that didn't work with POP.So have marked them. Just thought it would pay to look in a bookshop and see what appeals to you and start with that maybe....
PS I don't think there is a clear yes or no answer.Maybe it's a change of mindset to think outside the square of what you can do for exercise. Ive been there , done that, so understand where you are coming from....I think ;-) sorry im rushing this a bit, had an interruption, excuse any errors.

Hi Ginny

Sorry, in a bit of a rush and can't remember whether you've got Christine's book. I found the ballet workout in there brilliant and was seriously toned when I was serious about doing it - all the while knowing nothing there would worsen my pop. Unfortunately I've not done it for quite a while - work and family mad at the moment. Pop is not worse but I certainly feel creakier and less toned - so it must have been helping. Just a thought.

Doubtful

I found swimming to be FANTASTIC for my pop. (U in my case).

I didn't know what to do so just REALLY paid CLOSE attention to what was going on in my body, ready to quit at any moment and changing stroke according to how I felt.

I started out by piling two kickboards on top of each other, resting my chin and hands on it and gently kicking. I did that for like ten minutes. Then I did a little doggie paddle for five min. Then I did a few laps breast stroke but i did a regular kick, not the frog kick.
Then I did a little bit of the ballet work out in the water minus the plies.

Then I did just a few laps of the crawl and a couple of laps of sidestroke on each side. As soon as I stepped out of the water I felt GREAT. Re-aligned! All inside. And it's just gotten better ever since.

Note: I allowed myself to go back and forth as I swam - and up and down - I RELAXED - and swam slow and really paid attention. I think the rocking motions clearly gave me a sense of feeling better and well being and like things were gently going back into place because of the motion. Good luck to you as you go. Oh,btw, I prayed while I did it. And I pictured God saying yes, He will heal me now. And then I just thought about nice things and enjoyed the sun shine. I was in a steam room and sauna for five or ten minutes before swimming.

Hi ginny, I would suggest just getting your head around your POP first, and into a better headspace, then that would be in a more inviting frame before starting a new life.
There are some lovely inspiring and helpful threads here .Think about searching along that line first. Look at Lotus flower's replys to Hiker-annie today or yesterday. No matter what our story, we are all going through what is an emotional roller coaster,when we have POP,or had poor medical treatment and procedures.
Onwards and upwards together,yummy mummies, gorgeous gals of wisdom, we are it all here :-)
I find affirmations helpful ,once you get over feeling silly saying them, they do work,if you believe so ;-)
Look after you, love kiwigirl.