Horse back riders, piano players

Submitted by Tamara on June 1, 2006 - 12:13pm
Body: 

Hi all. I've been working on the posture stuff though I don't have the video or book - YET! I'm trying to wait for the new stuff to come out- should I or should I buy what I can right now?

But with this posture work I've been noticing/wondering something.
#1- when I sit to play the piano I seem to be in the exact posture, and on a wide wooden bench!, that Christine suggests. Anyone else play piano and notice this? If not, would the piano posture help others understand how to hold their bodies? And is it possible to arch your back too much?

#2- horse back riders- are there any out there? I ride bareback almost exclusively but I'll start picking up a saddle again one of these days. Now when I ride bareback I am always tucking my butt to protect my front from any jarring movements, which in turn causes me to slouch my shoulders forward to gain the balance and comfort for long rides. This position does give me great balance with the long legs that a bareback rider needs. At least at a walk- which I rarely do unless I'm riding with others or am worn out from high speeds. But this tucking postition is exactly what the wholewoman posture says NOT to do. I've been walking around tucked and sucked in and chest out- you know military/pilates style for years. And having sharp pains all through my lower abdomen. Now when I fall back into that posture I know it because those pains are there immediately. It totally reminds me to get back into the wholewoman posture!! But if I use the wholewoman posture bareback my front is totally exposed to the horse. The tissues are too soft down there to stay in that posture. So does anyone have any idea what I should do? Is the tucking posture okay for riding? Or am I worsening my prolapse?

At the trot I've begun to squeeze my upper thighs to keep my whole sitting area from hitting the horse- is that good exercise and good riding position? I would think the jarring from trotting would hurt prolapse, but with this squeezing postition I feel my entire lower body braced. At the canter and gallop I'm going so fast I'm barely on the horse but I am constantly moving my body to keep the horse going and stay in tune with her. So that HAS to be good, right?

Also- is it okay to lay down but have pillows behind your back to lift your upper body a little- like when watching a movie in bed? Does that hurt prolapse?

And one more thing- when I see that I have only been a member of wholewoman for a little over a WEEK I have to laugh. I already have the diet book (since I knew that was one of my main problems) and I have been implementing every change I can find on this website. When I found out I was prolapsing I prayed that Father would show me a way to avoid hospitals and doctors if He was going to put me through yet another scary, confusing thing. Anyone who has read my "WHHAAATTT!" in the forum knows how many degenerative problems I've had in the past year. And now I can see how many others are just as shocked to find this prolapse. What I can say is this ...
Christine- you are a gift from God. I prayed and I found you - the only alternative to surgery and everything I desperately seek to avoid. I will definitely be finding a way to donate to your work and I will support you in anyway I can. And I've only been a member for a week! :) That's how much of a reief your work is to me ... and my husband, who is just as upset over this thing as I am. We are not only in the process of implementing your changes but we are now trying to find a way to give you over $1000.00- so expect a phone call from me. :) Think of how much you've saved me not only in terms of fear and doubt but in money on doctors and surgeries. Not that I would have gone that route until I was carried in on a stretcher, and hopefully died before I got there. :) Quality of life is FAR more important than quantity.

If I knew anyone else around me with prolapse I would send them to your site and would be hounding them to give you money! :) But, as with so many of us, I don't know a single other person in my life who is aware they have prolapse. Again- this forum is a God send. I love you ladies!

So even though I'm in pain, and I constantly have to lay down to release my back and relax from practising the new posture (basically retraining my entire body like I did years ago when I started in the Marine Corps and then moved to Pilates)I have HOPE. I see a distant brightness and I am slowly, doggedly working my way to it. Pretty much the same way I face every fight. But when your body is dying around you a whole new set of doubts and fears flood the blood. If I just had prolapse maybe I wouldn't feel like my body was dying, but with everything else I'm dealing with I know it is. I have to change completely or succumb. Christine's diet book is going to help me with everything degenerating around me- so she's reached more than just prolapse.

Keep going Christine! It will all work out. God is with you.
Tamara

PS- is there a way I can email you rather than call- we don't have phone way up here in the Rockies. :)
My email- [email protected]

Christine

June 1, 2006 - 4:08pm

Gosh Tamara, what a gift! Thank you so much!! You can email me at [email protected]. To answer your questions:

1. It’s hard for me to tell people to wait for the new video, since the present one is my major source of income at the moment.

2. Right-angle sitting at the piano is fine, and if you keep the upper body posture, you can’t arch your lumbar spine too much. Externally rotated hip joints in both cross-legged and straddle positions allow the lower belly to fall forward a bit more (which is good), so sit these ways sometimes too when you’re not at the piano.

3. I know virtually nothing about riding, Tamara, but here are just a few thoughts. First of all, I’m amazed at your ability to ride bareback! It’s a beautiful style, but from what you describe is placing your body in that same obtuse angle that seems to wreak havoc on our pelvic organ support system. If you look at good English cantering, they’re using all aspects of the posture. In bareback, you’re counteracting downward internal pressure by strongly using the adductor muscles of your thighs, but I’m thinking it probably isn’t enough to withstand it totally.

I suppose a saddle wouldn’t make any difference anyway and would probably be even less comfortable – perineum-wise – than a blanketed horse’s back. And of course – you want to ride bareback! So…what would you think of creating your own undergarment. Just start with a pair of underwear and reinforce the crotch with many layers of flannel and batting. That’s what I would do and then I would incorporate the posture. When the spine is pulled up into its natural curvatures, which are maximized in the straddle posture, the organs are very apt to pull up enough to withstand jarring. This is highly experimental though, so use your best judgment. Also, it just may be that the posture is not compatible with bareback riding. I'm sure all of us will be very interested to hear how it goes for you.

3. And as far as classic reading in bed posture – Heaven’s yes – it would be impossible – and sad – to avoid that entirely. Our bodies are very strong and flexible…just make sure you keep standing and sitting postures as much as possible.

Thank you so much for your beautiful words, Tamara. This is definitely work that’s time had come and I guess maybe God figured I was ornery enough to get the job done!

Hugs,

Christine

louiseds

June 1, 2006 - 8:27pm

Spot on, Tamara. I am so jealous of you bareback riding in the Rockies.

I guess that just like every other form of seating in the western world, save the stool, the saddle has not been designed for female anatomy. Just quietly, I am not sure how blokes cope with a pommel out front there, either ;-)))) The mind boggles!

It's a while since I have been in the saddle, but I remember the very smooth, lovely whole body action of cantering, and wonder how I would go with it now I am so aware of Wholewoman posture. I guess you would have to put more weight on your stirrups in a saddle. But bareback? ...

I hope you can just keep enjoying your riding.

Cheers

Louise