menopause and prolapse

Firebreathing - Yes Pompom, there is a picture in the book, and it is also shown in the video "First Aid for Prolapse". I have never seen it on-line. - Surviving [edit: Sounds like maybe you have the first edition. Orange cover, not blue? I don't think F.B. is even there. Recommend video and/or second edition of book.]

Hi pompom,
Hope you found the information you needed re. fire breathing. Chrtine says it is an important element of the 3 cornerstones of the WW work;
1) Postural work, inc. posture, exercises, fire-breathing, daily movement...
2) Diet, inc. awareness of female hormones & hormonal systems & the health giving properties in our food & drink intake.
3) Good elimination, inc. avoiding constipation & definately no straining against the rim of the toilet seat. (When you need to strain a little, lean forwards so some weight is born by your legs & your belly is forward. Sometimes it is better to wait until you really need to go, rather than needing to strain a lot to defecate).

Happy fire-breathing! It's worth the effort og getting the hang of it.
xwholewomanuk

Hi pompom12,
Ah - thank you pompom12. I
It all takes time, consistency, practice & patience - but it get easier & better.
I think it one of those processes where you travel from conscious incompetence to conscious competence - & then there's a magical moment when you realise you're pretty much in unconscious competence mode! I think this probably takes a year or years. This may sound daunting but when you think of it, we have to live & breathe during that time, so we might as well learn to do so healthily as unhealthily!
Good luck! xwholewomanuk

WWUK, you are so correct and I love the way you have described the process. I think that we could remind women of this 10 times a day on the forum and it wouldn't be enough. All of my best moments came in the second year. Many women will come and go from here because they couldn't instill themselves with that vision of how their body might be in the future. They dabbled for awhile, got discouraged when results weren't immediate, moved on, back to their kegels or their urogyns. If I could tell women one thing, I'd say forget everything you know, immerse yourself totally in this knowledge, work hard, have patience and faith. Don't fantasize that your prolapse will go away. Concentrate on living well with what you have. I have physically never felt better in my life since this posture became second nature and my hips felt like they had finally settled securely into place. I can't even really describe it but it has overwhelmed me with awe. My 'celes tell me when I have been overdoing things, and the rest of the time, I don't let them bother me because they serve as a constant reminder of what I need to do and how far I have come.

Hi Surviving, Thanks for sharing your experience with us and for the reminder. I know I am in it for the long haul but I struggle so much with patience. I wished it was a year later now. LOL Thanks for encouraging me and reassuring me that it takes time, time, time. I'm so glad you had success after a year. Its good to hear. I have good days and bad days and I'm still trying to figure it out. Finding out what is good for the POP and what I cannot do because of symptoms. Thanks again because I do get discouraged at times as I'm sure many of us do. This has helped me and probably many others.

Jaylove

I am now doing the videos and find the full relaxation of my lower abdomen a strange concept. Throughout the day I have noticed that I am unconsiously holding in my stomach as I had been taught for so many years. I am constantly reminding myself to relax my abdomen. Is this normal?? Also in firebreathing (I have read Christines instructions several times). I am not sure when to purse my lips. Is it with the outbreath or the in breath??

Dear LTwesp

It is difficult to break old habits. It takes intellectual acceptance; my tummy is going to stick out, it takes emotional acceptance; will I still be loveable, comfortable, whatever, it takes practice; constant vigilance (it gets tiring) and it takes success to reinforce the practice. If you can relax your tummy for even 30 seconds that’s first success.

With the Firebreathing: Breath in through your nose. Breath out through pursed lips.

Glad to see you clarifying things. You’re not a mess-about girl; way to be.

Best wishes, Fab

You are FAB! Thanks for the encouragement.

I used to be a fabric printer, that's why the name. I thought I was typing in a pass word not a forum name.

I found it a bit embarrassing at first, but I left it because on it's own it sounded positive (if up myself) and that was how I really needed to be at the the time.

best wishes

Also, with pursing the lips, I find it more useful to bring the cheeks in, but leave the lips relaxed, like I am making a 'whistling wind' noise. If you purse your lips too much, and make too small a hole, you can cause a buildup of in intraabdominal pressure while exhaling strongly. This can produce fullness in the vulva, rather than drawing the organs in and away from the vulva. Open you lips more and the fullness feeling does not form. Just breathing out more slowly, but still forcefully, also helps.

Louise

The essential point with wholewoman firebreathing is that when you breathe out, you concentrate on those abdominal muscles coming in and lifting your diaphragm and everything else will follow.

And incidentally, this is how people with cystic fibrosis get rid of crap in their lungs.

Best wishes, Fab

WWUK, Surviving 60, and others... your comments are like treasure, reminding us that changing habits, and being resolute with new ones is no mere shallow inconsequential thing; it's serious stuff. Isn't it fantastic to have this site to help when we might feel a bit 1/2 hearted !
I'm feeling hugely smiley today ~ I think I did the work-out from the Book, + 3 mins. decent Fire-breathing with sincerity & faith..both good for the old heart/mind. Pelly

If it wasn't for this site and for Christine and Lanny I would never have questioned the things I now question. Without having others thinking similarly I would never have come up with some of the wacky questions that have led me to new knowledge, and from these questions have come research and finding facts that debunk the normal medical way of treating prolapse, and give us back our bodies. I would never have challenged my own fixed beliefs and realised how many of them come in shades of grey.

Thanks everyone.

Louise

what should we take home from alemama hahahahahaha

I am 51 years old, premenopausal , grade 3 prolapse and I am now having very light spotting. I was wondering if this is a common symptom of a prolapse. I have immense fear about going to have a pap smear. I work very hard on my health and I guess if they said to the contrary from the
results I would just freeze I think. Anyhow I am not having much luck in anyone mentioning spotting as part of menopause of a prolapse and would really appreciate some feedback.

Hi Happy - You should probably consider yourself "perimenopausal" at this stage, in which case, basically anything is normal when it comes to spotting and periods. You might want to keep track of it, just for the record. What kind of prolapse do you have? I see that you are not new to this forum, although this is your first post. Do you observe Whole Woman posture? And do you find it's helping? Welcome - please ask your questions here, and use the search box and the rest of the website to look for information. - Surviving60

Thank you for your reply. I do observe the WW posture and I am so grateful for this website. I haven't had my prolapse "named" by a doctor although I have seen one about it. From the website I think it is a
uterine prolapse that has just recently become worse which I think is due to hormonal changes [ pre menopause]. I have lower backache also which I notice is there when I have worse than normal days from the prolapse. Does a prolapse improve after menopause. I am working on lessening the prolapse as much as I can , taking remedies etc... and an operation is just not an option really. It scares me what could be down the track from that one, after all the research I have done on it.
I am not sure what else to do?

Hi happy - I wouldn't exactly say that menopause improves prolapse, but if you have all your organs and have not had other repair surgeries done, then you can certainly start this work at ANY time in life and expect to have results. I started at 60 and have been continuing to improve over the last 2-1/2 years. The degree of stabilization will depend largely on how much effort you put into it. Are you currently staying in WW posture all the time....standing, walking, sitting? In the car? Protecting your lumbar curvature at all times? Staying regular, avoiding straining on the toilet? What kind of "remedies" for prolapse are you referring to? It is really all about the posture. Lots of walking in very excellent WW posture is one of the best things you can do. Do you do any WW workouts? Have to tried firebreathing? It works!- Surviving