new to all of this. Ordering the kit, but need some assistance

Thanks for the very good summary of where you are at. These pelvic organ prolapses (POPs) have a habit of becoming more apparent, or worsening, during menopause, while so many of our hormones are no longer in active reproductive phase, but not yet quiesent. Until you have been without menstruation for one year you don't really know where you are in the whole process. Other symptoms you are having may make you more sensitive to POP symptoms too.

No, you don't have the opportunity to 'let your gut hang out' when in WW posture. The abdominal wall is draped between the underside of the ribs, the spine and the pelvic bones, right down to the pubic symphysis. When you raise your chest your belly will become firmer by itself because the extremities of the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles move further apart, kind of like hoisting a sail a bit further up the mast. If you have been tucking your tummy and butt, many of the muscles around your pelvis, hips and abdomen will have been contracted almost continually, and this weakens them. You will understand better when you have seen the book. In WW posture they will be lengthened and strengthened. Your whole pelvis, spine and legs will be much more stable when these muscles are stronger.

WW posture can be hard at first because all your abdominal muscles need to find their 'new neutral'. You may even have trouble keeping them relaxed, as I did, because they had been sucked tight for so many years. It is a brain thing. It gets much easier as you become stronger, and your brain figures out what you want your muscles to do. Learning to isolate the activity of certain muscles from others can be quite difficult but it is worth doing.

Try inhaling deeply, which allows your belly to come right out. *Then* lift your chest by straightening the part of your spine where your ribs are. *Then* allow yourself to exhale, and your tummy should come in but be loose. If you can't do that yet, I would start off by learning to breathe with only your diaphragm so that your belly comes out when you inhale, and in when you exhale. This is the breathing that you need to master so that every breath pushes your pelvic organs forward and down. there is a lot of re-education to do with your body, but you have the rest of your life to do it.

Your stress incontinence may improve spontaneously, once you have reinstated your lumbar curve, and relaxed your belly. This will make your abdominopelvic cavity biaxial, ie it turns backwards at the sacrum, keeping the downward pressure from your abdominal organs off your pelvic organs, particularly your bladder.

Are you able to relax and contract your pelvic floor muscles at all?

Louise

Hi Leona

Stress incontinence being hormone related. Possibly, especially if it has developed along with perimenopause. I used to find that I leaked more while I was having periods, especially when my body thought a period was due or in progress. It is not so much of a problem now I am through menopause.

You can do Kegals if you like, but ensure that you do them while vertical. When in WW posture your pelvic floor muscles are more taut than normal, so you won't get the degree of contraction that you would normally. You will be exercising them in every day movement so there is no need to do special Kegal exercises. There is no evidence that Kegals will help prolapse unless the prolapse is very mild. The real reason I asked about pelvic floor movement is because some women cannot move their pelvic floor muscles until they make a concerted effort via kegals.

You have got the message about breathing. :-)

Re walking in WW posture, one of the things that happens when you hold your tummy in and tuck your butt is that the upper body becomes c-shaped, ie the thoracic curve increases and the head juts forward to compensate to compensate for the flattened lumbar curve, so you are unable to lift your chest far and get as much lumbar curve as you need. This may be another characteristic of your posture that you can work on. Building upper body strength and flexibility will help this.

Re firebreathing, I noticed you said you got the technique from a yoga video. The only yoga demos I can find are Breath of Fire, and they all seem to be the same, inhaling then doing rapid inhale/exhale cycles. This is not the same as basic WW firebreathing, which is more akin to deep abdominal breathing, with some tweeks that pull the pelvic organs deep into the body on the exhale. Search the Forums here for firebreathing descriptions. It is also described in detail in Saving the Whole Woman and in some of the DVD's. You might be able to find excerpts showing firebreathing on Youtube.

Hi timeforchange. The surgery that your doc suggested sounds like anterior colporrhaphy. You can find out a little bit about this if you go to the Theater tab above and watch Christine's video, "Whole Woman 101". There is more about it in the book. I hope it wasn't your doc who referred to this damaging procedure as a "trim". Good luck, can't wait for you to receive your goodies and dig in. Louise is of course an encyclopedia unto herself, so I imagine you have things well underway by now! - Surviving

Dear Leona,
Welcome to Whole Woman. Try and take a few deep breaths and know that many have been in this position before you. It sounds like you are trying a lot of options at one time. Surgery,however is not reversable. I decided to try WW techniques instead. It takes a long time. I've been at it for a year and have a ways to go. Some women can reverse their conditions. Most can stabilize their conditions. All can live satisfying and fulfilling lives once they start to make changes. I'm afraid the changes will need to be permanent. I needed to find ways to sit in WW posture even while watching TV. I try and spend some time each day sitting on the floor in posture. It is an adjustment. However your body will get stronger. You will learn to listen to your body and adjust to what you hear. I also like to walk alot. I now stay in posture and do a style of walking called Chi walking. I feel definite improvement and much less stress on the knees. Also I am exercising muscles around the hip area including the psoas muscles that don't often get the exercise they need. I highly recommend that you read the book when it arrives. Focus on learning the posture correctly and firebreathing. Firebreathing can be done throughout the day. You should start to feel some improvement quickly. Also, you will learn from the book that we do not really have a pelvic floor-more like a slanted,back wall. Kegels may strengthen some vaginal muscles,but they do not affect your prolapse condition. I did tons of Kegels and probably worsened my condition. (I was doing them lying down as recommended.) Louise told you if you do do Kegels sit up in posture or stand in posture. Christine shows some sitting posture pictures in the book and at the end of the 1st aid for prolapse DVD. Good luck and be patient.
Whole Woman PA

Goodness knows how it happens. I think you can safely say that your bladder has shifted. Maybe your pelvic cavity and organs have suddenly rearranged themselves to a more normal configuration? It is all bags of jello in there. Once you change your posture the results can be, but are not always, dramatic.

You don't say your age. Stress incontinence can be worse at some times of the month. Sometimes we think it is urine, but it is actually coming from the vagina, ie it is a watery discharge. This used to happen to me during menstruation.

You are obviously pretty aware of what is happening in your body. You could try diarying anything strange. It is easy to forget after a few days what happened when. These records can be quite useful when you see patterns emerging.

Louise

Hi timeforchange, glad things seem to be going well! You don't need a ballet barre (who has one of those?) - you can hold onto a chair back or anything that is about at the right height. The videos also have great exercise and movement information (First Aid for Prolapse, and the Yoga ones). Keep up the great work and keep us posted. - Surviving

Hi timeforchange,
Welcome to the WW community. I'm so pleased you found this site. I do hope you continue to make positive progress whilst working with the WW posture and principles. All the comments and suggestions above sound really helpful. Just a couple of thoughts:
One safe and effective way of resting is to lie down to rest. Everyone's different, but I find if my prolapse symptoms are worse, I beneift from having a lie down. For some reason I often feel more tired when my symptoms are worse. It's almost as if my body's telling me to rest. Other WW ways of sitting whilst watching tv etc is to sit in WW posture with you legs straight out in front of you or cross-legged (Indian style) or sitting on your heels. I find lots of cushions for support and comfort levels helps a lot.
Many women say fire-breathing makes a significant contribution to prolapse improvement, as the ww have already said. There are demonstrations of fire-breathing in the dvd's 1st Aid for Prolapse and the 1st Wheel Yoga.
When you're in ww posture remember to lift your chest and hold your head up high (lifted from the crown). You may feel this 'lift' and tone your abdominal muscles. Keep you abdomen relaxed. As you walk allow the back leg to remain in contact with the floor for as long as comfortably and naturally possible. This helps to stretch the psoas muscles amongst other things. You don't do anything to consciously curve the lower lumbar spine. The lumbar curve arises naturally when all other postural factors are in place. I love Louiseds's description of standing/walking as if you are a queen surveying all her minions from a great height! Feels great!
Keep practising the breathing. The breath from above and the energy from generated via you feet below, are important aspects of pelvic organ support and good health in general.
As surviving60 pointed out, the 'trim' that your doctor mentioned may well be an anterior collporaphy, which can have negative side-effects, as described in Christine's Saving the Whole Woman book. It does kind of annoy me that POP surgeries are often described in trivial and understated ways. I think women deserve to be better informed in order to make informed decisions. If your doctor mentions surgical options again, it might be worth asking him/her what the surgery entails and what the side-effects may be. Be aware that verbally many doctors are very reassuring about POP surgery, even though the long term outcome for many women can be life alteringly negative, so it may be worth asking for written information.
Wishing you all the best on your WW journey of a life-time!
xwholewomanuk

You can use a tall backed dining chair or bar stool with a back, as long as it doesn't rotate. It is just for stability and to help with balance.