Running

Hi Nicole,
I would guess that your menstrual cycle would have more to do with the increased prolapse symptoms than running. As long as you're running in WW posture, you're only doing good for your prolapse :-)

Nicole - I agree that if (and only if!) you have totally and completely mastered WW posture, then running in posture can be good for you. But at one year PP, you are still healing. 35 miles a week is an awful lot of running. Might you consider from time to time, swapping in some other type of lower-impact exercise for part of that? Christine has so many routines to offer, and they work different parts in different ways that you will not get from all those hours of running. Just a suggestion. - Surviving

Consider it a wake-up call. You have quite a lot of energy, but you need to bump prolapse management up a little higher on your priority list. You aren't doing the best that you could be in that department. Even now, you are thinking perhaps a pessary will allow you to continue running 35 miles a week in less-than-good posture.......not the solution. - Surviving

There is an old saying that I believe has a lot of validity, "Too much of a good thing is not good". My mom who had prolapse for 18 years always gave me good advice and she always told us to be moderate in all things. When you run as opposed to walking you are putting more impact on your body and to do it to excess (35 miles) in my humble opinion can be counterproductive to healing. Having prolapse brings us to the realization that we have to take ourselves to a "new normal" and if we make some changes in our lifestyle , we may even find out that we are having a better, happier life than we had before the prolapse. If you do any amount of research on the effects of running on female organs you will find it's not the best exercise in general for women. Walking can be very exhilarating, you have time to enjoy nature, do deep breathing AND get a celes friendly workout stopping ever so often and allowing a better concentration on staying in WWposture. Life is a great adventure and we are given so many choices. I wish you the best for your highest good. Free2be

Just thinking about that makes me feel tired Caterpillar7, but I get it. I get the the full life extending and embracing of the universe through my heat, and arms and legs. It's so very important in life to do what you love and you can chase that goal a little further by perhaps talking things over with a coach. There are good ones out there who will give it to you straight and maybe through their help and advice you can find a way.
Otherwise, I am with free2be, surviving and Kiko, a good athlete knows to quit when there is injury, fix the injury and then work forward. Sometimes delays teach us necessary experience for our greater benefit when meeting future trials further down the track in life.
Glad to read you are putting your prolapse to the forefront at this stage in your life. As well as your cycle think back about your diet over the past few days and toileting adventures. Remember any pressures from constipation, diarrhea, intestine inflammation and wind etc can have a downward pushing effect on prolapse and release of these pressures allows it to recede.

OK Caterpillar. Your last paragraph made me wonder how seriously you have been studying/practicing WW principles. I discovered that you have been a member here for 6-1/2 years. If you haven't gotten a copy of Saving the Whole Woman and/or the FAFP dvd, now would be the time. if you have, it's time to go back and review. I wonder if some of the anxiety you experience comes from not fully accepting and addressing your prolapse. - Surviving

Hi Caterpillar, thanks for writing back and clarifying. I truly did not mean to offend you in any way. It’s just that your posts were not unlike many that we get from new members who are dabbling in the work but not really ready to commit; who still look to their doctors for guidance with prolapse, despite traditional medicine’s complete lack of understanding of pelvic support. I know you don’t want to hear this, but nothing less than 100% will do here, and I know not everyone can or will be able to devote that. Of course you do not need to memorize the exercises (that’s what DVDs are for); but the posture, yes, absolutely, you must. I hope you will continue to look for guidance here, and find what you are looking for. If you want to love and respect your body again, and live life without fear and dread, Christine’s path is the only one. - Surviving

Caterpillar, I was into my second year of serious effort before the posture became second nature. I still have to think about it when I bend, lift and carry, but at least my body has "memorized" the shape. Have you read anything about Christine's hips work? This posture is not just about prolapse at all. Save your hips while you can!! - Surviving

PS, if you have the first edition (orange cover) I would recommend getting the second edition (blue cover).

caterpillar,

on the 3rd yoga DVD, christine talks about barefoot running. runners need to run. how to run is the issue. experimenting with an alternative to heel strike running may be helpful as it is for christine. also, when you are running, particularly uphill, be careful not to bend your torso forward. once you put yourself in an obtuse angle, you are asking for trouble.

hope this helps...

lanny (christine's DH)

I thought of you while reading Christine's latest newsletter, which I'm sure you also received. Not only about throwing yourself 100% into the posture work, but trying very hard to break from the notion that doctors are going to help you with this. Unlike some of us here, you have been "doctoring" for a long time and it's hard to change. But Christine explains the issues as no one else can.

I believe that you can find every bit as much exhilaration in diligent posture walking (at least some of the time) as you can from running or elliptical. I trained my body in the posture by conscious mindful walking, lots of it. Thus, walking isn't merely something that you can STILL do despite prolapse, but rather, something that you NEED to do, to actually address and improve the problem. I can now do it for hours, and it only makes my 'celes feel better. - Surviving

I've been running (bit by bit!) up on my toes for about three years now. I go out about every other day in the early morning and run around my neighborhood. Honestly, I cannot fathom running heel-strike-first anymore and understand how researchers are finding far less injury with "barefoot" running. For beginners who want to try it, go very slowly, stay strongly pulled into WW posture, and pay attention to how your knees are responding. My knees took several weeks to adjust, often aching significantly. The knee ligaments are strengthened now and I never experience knee pain.

On alternate early mornings I go to hot yoga up the street. It's traditional Bikram yoga, which I can live without, but I just love the sauna effect. I would do hot WW yoga here if I wouldn't risk the wear and tear of such high heat on my natural plaster walls and wood floor. The teachers let me do my own thing and sort of ignore me as the old lady at the back of the room, while I delight in changing the asanas into something much more anatomic. This morning we were in some sort of arabesque-type extension pose and the teacher said "now pull up your pelvic floor and straighten through your torso." Instead, I strongly pulled my tailbone up, lifted my chest, and tucked my chin. I was performing the true spinal extension and had perfect balance, while the others were wobbly because they were actually contracting throughout.

The world simply has it backwards!!

Christine

...is running on the balls of the feet, yes. Although some people also run midfoot aswell, which is okay too. The research that I've read has in fact been inconclusive on whether heel-striking causes more injuries though. But try barefoot running and you won't be landing on your heel!

I'm doing the hips work because running (and other activities) have indicated I have weak hips.

Also, I'm reading a book on marathon training (which might interest you Caterpillar!) which advocates strongly the idea of cross-training rather than just a lot of running. In fact, to start off, the author recommends only three walk-runs a week of 20 minutes. That's not a lot of mileage! I find the whole woman workouts to be excellent cross-training for running.

I definitely don't think you should stop running - I totally understand the stress relief and elation that comes from a run. Nothing beats it, right?

You don't NEED to run on your forefoot/midfoot. It's a theory that's out there that many people have found useful. I personally changed my running from heel to fore to try to alleviate an old running injury - it hasn't totally solved the problem and I managed to give myself Achilles tendonitis for a month when I switched technique very quickly. So go slowly with changes :-)

Caterpillar, I am glad that you will continue to run but that you will moderate your former routine a little bit. I understand that runners need to run; but that is, after all, an emotional/spiritual need above all. Physically....you are young now, but 2 or 3 decades down the road, I don't want you to wish that you had subjected your joints and other parts to a little less constant impact over the years. - Surviving (an old person!)

I have always only run a little bit at a time. I'm not sure why, but perhaps my large bone structure is just too much to carry on long-distance runs. Or maybe I'm lazy.

Toe (forefoot)-first running leverages lumbar curvature much more so than heel-strike-first. The reason being that the entire back side of the body is elevated and not pulling down the tailbone. For me, the effect is that my pelvic organs are pushed down and forward against my lower belly.

Steve Levin and others say we have a gravity-free body, with the sacrum as the hub of the wheel. I believe in women the center of mass is actually the cervix. But COM is highly subject to change depending on how you carry your body. It seems logical that we can only be gravity-free when we are in our intended form. Barefoot running and jumping in WW posture feels gravity-free to me. I have not experienced any joint pain, although the ligaments at the base of my toes will cramp if I do not adequately stretch out my calves. I love to dance up on my toes (Irish, Scottish) and this is probably why I took so well to forefoot running. This is all a great experiment, really, and it will be so interesting to see how we all are doing in our 80s and 90s.

Christine

There's a very interesting article on plosone.org called
"Variation in Foot Strike Patterns during Running among Habitually Barefoot Populations" . It's a bit of a read and raises more questions than answers. Worth reading if you're experimenting with how to run.

Caterpillar7 I think the bike would be a great cardio workout for you. This is an excellent way to cross train and still get your endorphin high. In addition it works different muscles and is non impact, so a win win in all areas for you :) It is always best to cross train so as not to develop repetitive stress injuries. In this case that old saying "variety is the spice of life" works well!