When I first “cracked the code” on stabilizing and reversing prolapse, and wrote and published Saving the Whole Woman, I set up this forum. While I had finally gotten my own severe uterine prolapse under control with the knowledge I had gained, I didn’t actually know if I could teach other women to do for themselves what I had done for my condition.
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MsNightingale
November 20, 2012 - 7:52pm
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Hello again dear petrified52
These are very good questions and we have all had them. In the first couple of weeks, it will be very normal to be sore and for your back to ache. Most likely, this is a very new posture for you as it was for me and most of us. It might feel like you are pushing your stomach out at first but little by little you will get to know the feeling of it actually being long and strong. You are expanding that abdominal wall when you lift the chest. It will become strong that way. It will feel bigger when the corset muscles actually learn to be relaxed. The important thing is that you are not pulling the tummy in, but learning to relax those muscles. Take note of how nice and tall you feel, and how nice and curved your lumbar spine is. Allow it it's natural curve. You might find yourself getting tired just from holding yourself up like this. Do not worry, you will become strong and in a couple of weeks you will begin to feel normal that way and yes, tall and even confident (little by little it will come). When you are walking, you want your feet to face forward, not splayed out or turned in. It was very helpful for me to make a checklist and I started with the feet. Feet straight ahead, knees soft and not locked back to far, tummy relaxed, chest up and the crown of the head reaching for the sky (that puts your chin ever so slightly tucked in). When you tire, can you find a position on your side, lying down with a pillow between your knees and book propped on another pillow ? that is one of my reading positions. Another could be on your back with book propped on chest (maybe a pillow there too)....maybe a bit of reading on knees and elbows? maybe sitting with legs crossed or straight out in front of you? You need to explore these positions with thought of not compromising your lumbar curve. I do not think that any of us get it "right" right away. It will take a lot of tweeking, and that will become a pleasure to you as soon as you get the feeling of improvement. When doing household chores, it can be a challenge in the first weeks. Upright is best (vacuum next to you not bending over for it in front), bending from the hips is a good hamstring stretch for when you need to pickup things, sitting on your heels (with a pillow between your bottom and your heels can be very good because the chest can remain lifted and the lumbar remains curved). You will be working with this for a while before you feel confidence but it will come. Best wishes to you!
lifegoeson04
November 21, 2012 - 3:18am
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Same
Hello,
I am the same, always wondering if i am doing it right! new to it as well. I got aches and pains as well i suppose from muscles we have never used.
Look under FAQ's at the bottom it has pictures as well of the posture or type in Christine Kent on you tube, it has the start to her first workout which i kept doing every day until the DVD arrived..
I am still struggling as i have to lean over my babys cot which i think is not helping me..
Good luck it does get easier with time and i still wonder if its right but I feel better so hope so..
best wishes x
Surviving60
November 21, 2012 - 7:57am
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Bending/leaning
Petrified, you speak of bending at the waist several times a day. Is this something that feels like it's helping? Be sure that you bend from the hips, not the waist. The difference is, when you bend from the waist, the back rounds and the lumbar curvature is flattened out. Instead, bend from the hips so that you can maintain that curvature in your lower back. This is what supports the organs.
Lifegoeson, same advice to you as you are leaning over your baby's cot. You're right, the angle is not the best for you, BUT if you do it from the hips and concentrate on maintaining lumbar curvature, then you are still "in posture".
Good luck, ladies!! - Surviving
petrified52
November 21, 2012 - 12:09pm
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Don't think I understand
Don't think I understand bending from the hips. That probably sounds stupid but how is that different? I bet I am bending at the waist. I was just in hopes that I was pulling things back up by bending over.
petrified52
November 21, 2012 - 12:24pm
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MsNightengale, thank you for
MsNightengale, thank you for all the helpful tips. It seems like lots of details to remember and combine all at once. I am wondering if my back hurts from trying to put too much arch in the back and that I might actually be tending to stand "sway backed." I see what you mean about lifting up from the chest and now I think that might help keep me from arching back too far. I have always stood with shoulders down as I am 5'8" tall and always felt like a giraffe compared to friends and others. My husband is also shorter than I. I always wear good, flat, comfortable shoes. As far as my stomach goes, I do feel a "relief" in the cramping of the pelvic area when I do relax the stomach. My mom, who has this far worse than I (bladder protruding), says that she was always taught to have a flat stomach and that is what dad likes. At this point, I say, put on a tunic and let it hang. Thank you for the pillow under the heels idea. I was having some difficulty sitting on my heels. I also am having trouble with the breathing coordinating with the exercises. I seem to have it backwards on the inhale and exhale. I guess I'm not very coordinated. One more question, if I may. When I sit on the sofa, should I use a small pillow near the bottom of my back to help with the lumbar curve support? Or is it fairly good as long as I am sitting at a 90 degree angle? Thanks again for all the help and I feel better knowing that the soreness that seems unbearable at mid-day will eventually subside and feel normal like my old unkempt posture. I also have to learn to breathe deeply, which I hear is good for anyone and more healthful. I have always been a shallow breather. Don't know where all you ladies live, but happy holidays........
Surviving60
November 21, 2012 - 12:26pm
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lumbar curvature
Petrified, are you understanding what we mean by lumbar curvature? Let's start with that. You maintain it if you bend from the hips; you lose it if you bend from the waist. - Surviving
petrified52
November 21, 2012 - 12:55pm
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Thanks Surviving. I've got it
Thanks Surviving. I've got it now. I can't bend too far from the hips.That really pulls the back of the legs. I think I must be very out of shape. I absolutely "was" bending from the waist. Thanks much for the correction.........Guess I haven't used the right muscles when gardening and raking leaves. Hope that an old dog can learn new tricks. Thanks again.....
Surviving60
November 21, 2012 - 1:08pm
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That is a good point. I, too
That is a good point. I, too, find that I can bend farther when I round my back - at some point you have to, if you're going to go the rest of the way down. But it is something to think about, and work on strengthening the muscles that allow us to be more flexible. Awareness is the key! Thanks - Surviving
petrified52
November 22, 2012 - 8:34pm
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lifegoeson04, thank you for
lifegoeson04, thank you for the encouraging words. I have not received my materials in the mail yet so I am just doing small things and getting in the right posture. (hopefully) Best wishes to you as well. You must be very busy having a little one. My son will be 27 next June.
Panda86
November 23, 2012 - 6:52am
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What has helped me is taking
What has helped me is taking advice from this site and not focusing so much on my back, but focusing on pulling my shoulders down and lifting my chest. It seems to make everything else fall into place.
petrified52
November 23, 2012 - 7:27am
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Thank you, Panda86. I think
Thank you, Panda86. I think that I am trying to add more curve in the back and that is causing the pain. I am probably over compensating in an effort to make sure I am doing the right thing. That sounds like a contradiction. I have always stood with my shoulders down, but I don't think that I lift my chest. It probably feels more natural than I think and I am probably making it harder than it is.
Surviving60
November 23, 2012 - 7:53am
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Getting the habit
In first trying to make the new posture a habit, I found the first hurdle was to remember to relax the belly. Then, after relaxing the belly, it was easier to remember to pull up the chest, because otherwise I was afraid of looking like I had a big beer belly! Yes, the lumbar curvature will take care of itself if other elements of posture are in place. After doing it for some time, I found at times I could accentuate my lumber curvature without causing discomfort. But that's only after using WW posture long enough to regain some of that lost curvature. - Surviving
louiseds
November 25, 2012 - 12:45am
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"making it harder than it is"
Hi Petrified
Yes, that may be true, but don't dump on yourself about it. You are trying to undo and recreate something that has been fixed, both by family culture and by your brain, and musculoskeletal system, for *decades*.
Of course it is hard. It is like learning a musical instrument. New nerve pathways have to be trained, relaxed muscles tightened and tight muscles loosened, in order to configure your body in new ways.
One day you will find that you have been in posture effortlessly for 10 minutes, before you lose it, then longer each week, until finally it is effortless, and you are instantly aware when you slip out of it. The more you practise it every day the quicker you will get there.
And you will reap the rewards for your effort.
Louise