Favorite WW exercises for urinary urges?

Body: 

Looking for a few exercise recommendations after a setback today! I've got a cystocele/rectocele combo, usually with no incontinence issues, that WW has helped me keep manageable for the last three years. Normally, setbacks just mean I need to take it easy for a few days and stick to the low-key ballet-type exercises, but this time is different (and entirely my fault, I'm afraid.) Stupidly I strained to urinate today, and as a result am experiencing a non-stop urge to go. Nervous that it'll escalate into not being able to stop going.

The weird thing is that everything feels like it's tucked up where it's supposed to be. Getting a lot of annoying nerve sensations in the left anterior side of the vagina and on the left outside bits, though.

Anyway, I thought I'd ask if anyone had a preferred exercise for urinary incontinence, since my usual routine isn't helping.

Hi Josee - I have read back through your older posts and I realize that you have had some other issues besides your prolapse. But what I find missing in all your posts is any mention of what you are doing besides exercises, and whether or not the exercises themselves are Whole Woman exercises. Do you stay in WW posture all the time? Exercising is to reinforce posture and strengthen the muscles that you need most in order to do that. Do you do anything else like firebreathing or nauli? Just wanting to get a bigger picture of how you manage your prolapse now. Any of Christine's workouts would help you, if you aren't using them now. - Surviving

Hi josee,
I do emapthise. I'm sure most of us have 'done the wrong thing' at some point or another. We're only human! However, the female body is marvellously resilient and I'm sure you can recover from this blip. I hope you don't mind me saying - but I'm glad to hear you have some weird nerve sensations in your vagina and outside bits... It's very reassuring to know I'm not the only one who experiences those at times. I know treat those sensations, as well as what feels like the beginning of sciatica (aka a pain in the but), as warning signals that I need to take more care than I have been doing. At those times, I get back to my daily 20-30' WW yoga routine, take care of my diet andlife-style etc. Invariably the sensations go and I things get better. Sometimes it can take a few days to feel much better. Usually - there's a direct correlation between the length of time I've not taken enough care and the length of time it takes to feel back to what's normal for me.

I think many of us have a few pet exercises, which we find works particularly well for us, and often ones we can do in isolation as well as within an exercise/yoga programme. I personally find forward bends particularly helpful. It's possible to do these in various situations on various pretexts, eg picking something up - and I have a personal little routine of doing 3 deep forward bends every time I go to the loo! (Every little helps!) I also find the cat posture v. helpful... I know an awful lot of women find fire breathing really helpful too. It's worth palying around with various postures/exercises and find out what seems to work for you.

I completely agree with Surviving60 - that continuously coming back to WW posture is crucial to this way of working. I find it helfpul to get into the mental habit of asking myself "am I in WW posture?" - whether I'm cycling, walking, in a bar, at the cinema... It's changed how I sit with people! I find it best if I sit at the end of a row, otherwise I feel like I'm sitting bolt upright between people, who're naturally lounging back in our lean-back seats, and block their view and conversation with each other!

Also - remember being relaxed helps symptoms, being stressed worsens symptoms. I reckon I'll be doing this work for life, however my prolapse issues go... So my prolapse situation is almost certainly going to be up and down (scuse the pun), so after a few freak outs each time my prolapse got worse, (which of course hinders rather than helps), I'm now much more mellow and register and observe rather than freak out each time there's a set back - and of course do all I can to improve the situation; eat well, no straining on the loo, WW posture & exericise - and enjoy life as much as I can.
Wishing you all the best.
wholewomanuk