posture question

Hi budahazya, I am new here and I bought Christine's book a few months ago. I've been doing the posture and the ballet exercises and ended up with the same problem. I have pain on the right side of my lower belly and also my lower back. I am almost 9 mths post partum, diagnosed with a recto, cysto, and urethracele stage 1. I also have a prolapsed uterus but no idea to what degree. In the last couple of months my belly has become even more saggy and there are days that l can't get up in the morning because of my back pain. I thought it's maybe because I push the belly out too much and the spine is stretched too much at the same time. I would be extremely grateful for any advice. Melita

I am thinking by the way you ladies are describing your symptoms that you both may be forcing the belly out. When all you should be doing is relaxing it. Relaxing the belly has to be one of the hardest aspects of posture. When I first started, I was constantly pushing my hips forward and exaggerating the lumbar curve. The curve comes on its owns. Posture has to be a gentle endeavor, a slow progression to accomplish over time. It actually took me almost a year to really grasp all the aspects of the posture. Don't force it. Do it as much as you can in a given day, and give yourself breaks.
The basics are relax lower belly, don't force it out or tilt your hips forward; shoulders down, but not back, chest lifted up, but not out. Concentrate on these simple principles, and then go back over Christine's complete description of posture, and tweak each thing as it comes up. I had to go back and think about little things, like relaxing my knees, and how to place my feet, and how to hold my neck up with chin slightly tucked.
Don't be discouraged. This all takes time to get our bodies back to the posture it always should have been in!

Thank you for your reply, Aging gracefully, now as I was standing and reexamining the posture I may be exaggerating the lumbar curve a bit, however, my belly seems to go very far out. When you mean relaxed should I feel any muscle tightness at all or should it be completely limp. Also what do you mean by chest up not out? Because when I pull it up from the last ribs it will go out. Thank you in advance, Melita

Sticking your chest out will cause your shoulders to go back also. Think of the back as broad and flat when you lift your chest up which is another aspect Christine describes in the posture.
Belly relaxed is just that, no tension in lower belly. I think that is why it is so hard for us, because as soon as we get tense about anything, the belly automatically tenses up.
The way I really got all these principle down was by watching Christine in the videos, describing and demonstrating over and over again.
Like I said, don't force it, just try your best to relax into the posture.

I wanted to add that this can also be a body image problem for some women. We have been taught to suck that belly in to look sexy. We whole women embrace the natural lines and curves that the posture creates. When first relaxing belly, it may seem to you that it is all out there for the world to see, a vulnerability. That is why this work is so enlightening in so many ways. We learn to love and respect ourselves more! And, if you look at Christine, you don't see a slovenly women letting it all hang out, just a strong beautiful women with a goddess belly, as she describes it, ready to take on the world!!

Yes, budahazya, walking in posture is one the the best ways to get the principles down. Just give yourself time to relax too. A good relaxing technique is to get down on knees and forearms and just rest breathing deeply into your lower belly. There is so much great stuff to be learned with whole woman practices!!!

Dear melita,
After practicing WWPosture for some time, and lately adding the exercises,
I now can feel a wall of muscle under my belly surface, which is "engaged" without any effort as I stand in WWPosture.
These muscles are lengthened and strengthened so the organs can be housed with space to function, but it doesn't mean they have no tone.
Best wishes,
Aussie Soul Sister

Love the way you said that Aussie Soul Sister! That is exactly how I feel after doing this work, but never knew how to describe it so it made sense! Lol!! Thanks!!

Dear Aging gracefully,
Thank you and it is great to know others have the same experience!
Have a wonderful WW day,
Best wishes,
Aussie Soul Sister

Hello Budahazya, I am not sure what to think about this whole prolapse thing now. I discovered my rectocele right after my son was born, maybe a week after. I was very frustrated because I live on tiny island of Malta far away from my family and there was nobody to talk to. I started researching but breastfeeding was problematic so I put off my issue. I carried my daughter who is almost 14kg and did some abdomials. Around the 4 month post partum things got really bad and I think that then my vagina walls went down. I went to the local gynie who described prolapse (now alzo a cystocele and urethracele and low uterus) as minimal and sent me for some electrostimulation sessions. I also received Christine's book in the meantime so I started applying the posture. The gynie told me strange things: that the uterus will continue going down for a few months and then it will stop and that this is due to hormone levels. I am 38 now and this is my second baby so I presume the hormone levels must be low because I'm almost 40. I also worked very hard both pregnancies to have health insurance. With thesecond pregnancy till 1 week before delivery. I'm an Efl teacher so standing and walking was a must. I have a feeling I just neglected my body and this is the price I pay now. There are days I get really frustrated. Ibelieve in the WW posture but so far I cant see much improvement. Sorry for this chaotic message. Melita

Hello Aussie Soul Sister, thank you. I'm hoping to get there soon. Now I'm going through the muscle chapters of the book again. I think I must do everything again. When I am on all fours my belly is sagging terribly... no structure at all. When I stand it is bearing down but I'm hopeful. Melita

Dear melita,
Please take your time as it can take up to two years to recover from birth and breastfeeding can take a lot of energy - been there!
Just by sitting in the posture, standing and walking your body is strengthening itself and healing those abdominal muscles. Learning the posture is a mindful exercise and eventually it will become more automatic.
Some women naturally have a flatter belly but most have curves to be celebrated- it does involve rethinking what society deems as a desirable shape for women, and celebrating our goddess shape.
I did the posture for about 18 months before I added the exercises. I take things slowly and am having a few days break from the exercises, as I feel my body needs it and I am going to work on walking more, but slowly and deliberately in the posture, almost like a meditation.

You are a bit younger than me so will bounce back more quickly but you must give yourself time to rest, recover and enjoy your babies. You also have an advantage with being able to start this at a younger age than many of us.

Watch how your babies sit, walk and stand, and belly breath - Developing their strong foot arches develops the lumbar spine curve, and belly breathing helps position their organs in their lower belly at the same time as curving their lumbar spine with every breath.
It is the same posture that we lose over time due to modern lifeslyle, tight clothes and inflexible, restrictively shaped shoes etc. We need to relearn the posture we once had as children.
Your body will tell you what it can do next - this is a journey - a wonderful one of self discovery, and how the body can be helped to heal naturally.
Best wishes,
Aussie Soul Sister

Hi melita. Parts of the book are very technical. I didn't even focus on all the muscle sections initially - this is great information but it will not help you "grasp" posture now.....it will mean much more if you go back to it later. Of course your belly sags when you are on all fours - that's probably true for most of us except for the very skinny who have never had kids. But doesn't it feel great to have your organs in your belly, out of your vagina? That's where you want to visualize them when you stand up. Posture! Relax and follow the great advice here from Soul Sis and AG, you'll do fine. - Surviving

one thing often forgotten is to soften off the back of the knees - not locked -- this allows the bottom to soften- gently tighen the herringbone like interlaced muscles of the spine at about your shoulder blades, with no shoulder lifting -this will bring the lumbar curve in if the tummy is allowed to be soft, and breathing is done deep into the abdomen - not restricted at the chest level

I'm wondering where to find "Christine's complete description of posture". I'm having trouble wrapping my head around exactly how to get there, and what it looks like, and how to do the "new kegels" properly, too.

Hi H&H and welcome. Yes, it is indeed a "new" and tricky concept but we are really only trying to return to the natural, fully-extended posture that we lost when we were taught to suck in the belly and tuck our butts. That posture, coupled with an unfortunate emphasis on abdominal "core" strength make up a large part of what got us into this prolapse pickle in the first place. So here are some resources for you:

An overview:
http://wholewoman.com/newpages/video/ww101.html

Now click over to the Blog tab and put kegels in the search box. There you will find a couple of Christine's articles on why to avoid traditional kegels! Also the "new Kegels" article and demo, which is basically just clips from the dvds. New Kegels are essentially pelvic rocks with great care being given to the breathing sequence (belly breathing....belly expands on the forward motion, falls back on the exhale).

Next, go over to the YouTube channel and watch this clip from First Aid for Prolapse:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RvGROzIYN6w

All of the above will give you an overview of posture. There is a wealth of information on the site, forum and blog. You will need to take a look at what's available in the Store to really get started, because many of us have found that you can't dabble, you have to immerse yourself. I worked with nothing but the book for a solid year. This takes time, is not a quick fix, but it's the only way to go. - Surviving