Posture (reality) check

thanks for sharing that surviving. we have gotten so used to having furniture do the work of supporting our upper bodies that it takes real presence to remember to remember to pull up into the posture. we all trance out from time to time. i have to constantly remind myself. posture is important for men too.

lanny

Thank you for posting this. It's lucky for you to have gotten the reminder. The important thing is to be alert and engaged in all areas of life (instead of sleepwalking through it which we are so prone to do), and my appreciation of your post is sincere.

How about a funny story? My husband was in line in a convenience store and was looking at the monitor. He saw a man with a nicely trimmed white beard and mustache and looked around for him. He thought (he told me) if he could have a white beard that nice, he wouldn't mind it so much. He asked the guy next to him in line where that man was. The guy looked at him wonderingly, "What? Who?" Again, where is that man with the white beard? The guy says, "That's you." I'm sure the guy thought he was pulling his leg, but my husband has really been that disinterested and unfocused on his own appearance....even while maintaining himself so nicely. And, interestingly, is another facet of the idea of seeing ourselves as others see us.

As always, thanks for your indulgence of my sidetracking.

Bebe

Wonderful to hear that you are continuing to verify your reality, Surviving! As Bebe says, self-engagement is an ongoing, moment by moment occupation. My greatest push is an aging body that literally freezes up if I leave it unattended for too long. Always remember to remember!

A buffet and food tends to do that to me. I’m leading with my mouth and my eyes; no longer holding my neck aloof and in control. My mind is busy making rapid calculations about how many paces it is to the dish I particularly want and how many people are ahead of me on the queue and what are the chances of them wanting a bit of that dish too, and, if they do what other dish I like will most likely be available so there is not even a hint of a race for it or a last minute embarrassing side stepping manoeuvre. And then there is the internal dialogue going on about the purpose of dessert and how it being the celebratory season wouldn’t it be alright to indulge just this once. Then when that great censor of the mind warns me not to break the diet at this point of time or else risk undoing all the good I’ve done to date and the slump suddenly appears, from exhaustion and defeat I think or just sheer frustration and then the counter argument appears from seemingly nowhere or is it a telepathic message from the lady behind who secretly really wants that dessert too and not wanting to feel guilty thinks I should indulge myself: otherwise if I forgo those unforgiving little insatiable desires for chocolate will start to nibble away at my tummy and mind and I’ll finish up that ice cream from last Thanksgiving anyway and probably the whole tub and the slump is lower and I’m wondering should I just fade away off the buffet line and have nothing at all when the queue moves and there I am tall and proud stepping out, taking my place back to WWposture.

I love your writing .... and a sliver of cheesecake and maybe a small piece of pecan pie.

I was holding my breath, tensing my belly, and definitely had a slump going just reading that train of thought! You are most definitely excused, surviving ;)

Christmas is such a hard time to behave!! I decided to make December sugar month, buying milk chocolates and little sugary candies filling all my cute Christmas dishes and containers. While noshing on these little treats, I then made made full refined sugar and flour Christmas cookies to be sent out here and there, feeling guilty about actually buying real sugar and white flour; but plowing through anyway.
Well, hubby and I had to enjoy these little treats with our tea and coffee, of course!
All the inflammation Fab always talked about really hit full force! Never did realize what an impact sugar has on prolapse until I started this December experiment.
Hopefully, next year I will have a full reign and confidence in my baking so I don't do this again!! Lol!!
My Christmas present this year is luckily Whole Woman to get me back on track after the holiday!
Chin up, Surviving! You are the strongest person I know! You will conquer this too!!

It has seemed to me the more I eat sweets, the more I want. I had started cutting back and didn't miss cakes, etc., because we always have M&M's around. About five of those would do. Then, of course, lately there are all kinds of things available. I found that most of them were way too sweet, mucky, and even gave me a sensation of choking. I take that to be a good thing; I can no longer gobble up that stuff daily as if it were a necessary part of my diet. I will eat a sliver of cheesecake and a small piece of pecan pie when it's available, but I won't be on the lookout for them. I've lost 7 pounds lately. I suppose we should be glad to be reminded by these seasonal failures. Now we are empowered again.

Surviving, my shoulders are getting better too. I didn't think about it being because of cutting back on sugar, although I was aware it was a cause of inflammation. Other factors including side sleeping on a bad pillow didn't help. Since I started exercising again, I'm loosening up. I use muscle rub and do all around arm work with just 2-pound weights. My neck and shoulders aren't popping and cracking as much. Other things I do on the total gym help open up by chest and strengthen my shoulders without putting too much stress on my lady parts. The exercises I do with my WW baton feel really good and I think they help slim my middle some. I love doing the standing leg exercises and try to do them close to something I can touch but without touching. They are so effective for strengthening my ankles and knees and for balance. I'm having fun with this again.

Yes, ingesting sugar is like an alcoholic with booze. One drink and you want more. Thinking you can control how much you drink is a joke if you are an alcoholic; and thinking you can control sugar is a joke; you have to take it out of your life. Once you are off sugar for a month, you will lose your desire for it, the cravings will leave you and if you try to eat sweets they will taste so disgusting you won't be able to stand it. After the holidays are over, try it and see what happens, your body will tell you the answer. New Years resolution gals?????

I think after all the help and support you've provided, you deserve some support and encouragement for yourself. I know exactly what you mean about thinking about it, craving it more, and then (in my case) giving in just to get it off my mind, and starting the guilt and craving all over again. Giving up because of age is not an option either. (Let us live until we die.) You'll get back on track and come out shining. I hang around here and read every day just to keep being reminded. If nothing's going on, if there are no new ladies in need of help, we still need to encourage each other. Best wishes for a wonderful new year!

My husband swears by massage. He thinks it's even better than going to a chiropractor! He gets very knotted muscle in his upper back and shoulders from all the biking and other athletetic adventures he does, and when things get too bad he goes to this coworker of his who is certified in massage. He also has this long foam roll that he rolls on to work out knots in his back. I tried it out, and was surprised that it actually works! I think he ordered it on line somewhere.
If you do get a chance to go to a massage therapist, even if it is only occasionally, I think you will really like it.

My practitioner has me using a racket ball for self massage; place ball between back and wall and roll it around till you hit a sore spot and then work it around controlling the pressure by how hard you press. I have one in my kitchen when I am waiting for the tea pot to whistle or watching something cook on the stovetop, and one in the bedroom. They usually come in paks of 3 in sporting goods stores. She feels the 'Racket Ball' is the best softness/hardness and is the most effective.

I did also use a tennis ball that my chiropractor suggested. It did help, but I tell ya, that foam roll of my husband't hits all the spots at once. It doesn't look like much, and when my hubby suggested that I use it, I thought he was a little goofy, until I tried it!

I have been having some shoulder tightness and a little pain also.My Chiropractor has been working on it when I go.He has me visualising the shoulder and the chest muscles relaxed.It has helped a great deal!I also bought a bra that was less tight over the shoulders and around the abdomen.I also tended to carry my purse and EVERYTHING on that side.Things have improved since I am trying to not overload one side and relaxing the muscles.Maybe some of the nagging pain is from tension or stress.I was also told that we as women tend to tighten up the shoulders and the chest area over the heart for a sort of self preservation against our daily stresses and emotions.I can feel it as it happens with me.I thought this might help in some way.It has helped me quite a bit.

AG is right on target with her foam roller! I teach my clients daily the wonders of both exercising and massaging ones self with this inexpensive jewel!!! I have treated many hip conditions with it too, with miraculous results. I highly recommend, as a day does not go by that I am not on the foam roller for some reason (hubby too)!

Yes! It really is something! My hubby looked up online how to use it. Hips too! I want to add it is used for massaging, not as a replacement for whole woman practices for hips, because Christine's work is most important for the proper alignment for hips.

S60--look up the foam rollers online. I think you should consider "treating" yourself to one for the New Year! You work so hard promoting the "posture" for others as well as yourself, I think you would enjoy an adjunct to the WW workouts and posture walks (it could be your new "cookie" treat for 2014--lol). And....I totally hear you about the "shocking" view of ourselves in pictures or reflections when we try so hard to maintain the ideal posture ( I teach it for a living for heavens sake and still catch myself slouching--ugh).
So you are not alone :) Also, a thought just came to me about the WW baton...don't forget about it! I love this little piece too. Sometimes when my upper body feels fatigued after a day of teaching or whatnot, I will just grab it and the foam roll and do a quick upper body release in 2-5 min flat. Now thats something to be happy about...quick, safe and effective.

The foam rollers intrigue me, did look them up on the internet and see they come in several lengths. What is the best length for use with our prolapses? When lying on them, what position is the head in--on pillow, back hanging on the floor, or on the roller? S60, I still would recommend you --with the hectic lifestyle get some racket balls, they are small, you can throw one in your purse and use it wherever you are and have a spare minute. Go to the bathroom at work--take your ball with you and roll around the door before leaving the stall. Just a few seconds brings relief. My practitioner likes the racket ball over the tennis ball because the small size and deeper density of the racketball gets into the smallest sore spots. The foam roller sounds great for an after work massage when you get home. FYI-S60 you might want to check out the BALI 3036 cotton knit bra, very comfortable and supportive. I have been wearing them for years. It's not one of those one size fits all stretchy or a sports bra. It goes by cup and girth measurement. I think you mentioned in one of your posts that you live in the US, and I think Macy's is all around the country, which is where I get mine, or you can google Bali and order online. They do have promotions where if you buy 2, you get another for free, but I would recommend finding them in the store and trying them on before investing in more than one as thy are pricy, but do last for years. I don't know how women wear some of the bras I see in the stores, this bra is very comfortable --be sure you get measured so you have the right size.

The foam roller my hubby bought was about 36" he said. Just long enough to fit your body on. Like I said, he looked up how to use it on line. Can't tell you the site he found, but one of the techniques he showed me was to lay the roller on the floor, lay on top of it on your back with your arms stretched out above your head, and roll from top of hips all the way to the top of your shoulders. It really works out and loosen tight spots. There is hip one too where you cross one leg over the other and just roll on a hip, but I cannot explain it well enough to be understandable. Hubby just told me you google "foam roll exercises". His was cyclist specific, because that is his main sport. I want to add that this doesn't affect my prolapse either way, just a nice massage for the body.

Oops! Just wanted to add to the above, you are not suppose to go all the way to lower back when rolling on your back. I just googled it and found a lot of sites and videos on foam rollers. We have to be sure though to make sure we are not compromising ww posture with any of these many techniques which is always the most important aspect when we are trying anything new.
I was just doing what hubby showed me, back and hips. But some of these videos showed whole body massages with the roller. I was amazed, at least. Lol!