Straddling a stool while sitting at desk

I think this would be a great way to sit in posture. You are using the strength of your spine, keeping the upper body pulled up, belly soft, pelvic organs held out in front, feet on the floor for stability (it would have to be close enough to the floor for that). It really would depend on the stool, but, once you get the feel of the posture, you can judge any way of sitting by how stable your organs feel, whether or not they are pinned over the pubic bones. - Surviving

In my experience, it all comes down to how well you can maintain posture, not let your spine collapse, and feel that the organs are in a stable position. You don't want to be teetering on the stool because that will just make all of the above much harder. But if you feel steady and in proper posture, I think it can work fine. - Surviving

Hi, I'm new to this forum and would like your ideas on cushions to use whilst working on my laptop. At the moment I'm using a stand-up desk which gets tiring. The physiotherapist at my hospital suggested using two small rolled up towels which is useless. Can anyone suggest a cushion for a back wall prolapse level 2? I've researched this a lot and someone suggested the {product removed} which works fine for them.

Hi Catalan - joining the forum for the express purpose of plugging a product, is prohibited. You will be blocked and you can take this up directly with Customer Service if you feel wronged. - Surviving

PS: Your account has been reactivated at your request. We are ready and waiting to answer questions and discuss the Whole Woman work with you. What brand of cushion to buy for your computer chair doesn't matter right now......go to the Home page of this site and watch the short video there for an overview.

hi catalan, first off - sitting is going to be the same whether you have a front wall prolapse, a back wall prolapse or uterine prolapse so at least that'll be less confusing...
I was very happy to learn that no matter which prolapse you have - the ww work is the same. made it less stressful as I was trying to figure out what was going on down below.

at first, I bought a cushion for work (i work in an office) and it was a wedge that helped me from tilting backwards (which is how i used to sit for a long stretch of the day - legs out front, back against seat, c shaped spine). So this wedge was supposed to help me sit tall and forward - away from the back of the chair. I also got a lumbar spine pillow for the car...
these helped me in the beginning... but after a while i found that i didn't need them anymore. I just adapted and i'm petrified of sitting back reclined these days apart from resting on the couch after a long day for a bit.

I could probably still use the lumbar curve one in our small car - we have a small hatchback and i'm 5'10". That car has bucket type seats and they're pretty low so i realized recently that it's not prolapse friendly to drive that one... i drive it about once a week because of carseats and pick ups and drop offs.... i've been meaning to get my lumbar cushion back out of the garage for the day i take that car.
I have also rolled up a jacket or sweater in a pinch and used that to support lumbar curve.

as you live in posture more and more you'll find yourself getting better at doing it. I used to also sit on a rolled up towel or small pillow when sitting cross legged on the floor and i don't have to do it anymore. the trick for me was to get both ankles on the floor where in the past I'd have my top ankle resting on my bottom leg. just that small shift (observed in christine's video) caused me to sit up straighter while cross legged without the use of a cushion or towel.

also re straddling a stool - there have been posts in the past about sitting that way, hooking your feet on the rungs below.... I think it's fine. As long as lumbar curve is in place, breathing is good, chest is not collapsed then I think you're fine not touching the floor or hooking your feet. I found I have to sit like that on occasion if only to change things up. I figure if I've got everything from the pelvis up in good posture, I can afford to have my legs not ideal for some of the time, especially when sitting since gravity is really pushing everything to your butt the most. also I sit a lot so I have to have a series of positions to rely on and I'm really missing just sitting with my legs crossed... I used to love doing that...

Sorry, in my haste to post a question I forgot to read the forum guidelines, my mistake, Lanny cleared this up for me, I didn't realize it's against forum rules to list the make of an item. Thanks Surviving60 for the tip to watch the video on the homepage, very interesting. Also thank you Typicalme for all the very helpful information. I've tried so many cushions, this one will help until I get my posture correct. I read a great article on how sitting kills you so will switch between my stand up desk and chair. I write for a living so am on my computer a lot. I'm also going to start using a dictating machine whilst out for walks, keeps you active and creative. Hopefully all this will help, I definitely don't want surgery. My doctor was surprised when I told her, she said it's only a few stitches, not a life threatening op. She referred me to a pelvic floor physiotherapist who examined me internally to make sure I was doing the exercises correctly. Some of the articles on WW make me now wonder if I should stop doing the exercises, so much to research and so much conflicting information, it doesn't make life easy, does it? I'm vegetarian, practically vegan, so my diet seems to be okay - just need to add more fiber and drink lots of water. Thanks again for all your help.

Christine has written several articles for the blog about why kegels actually aggravate prolapse. If they worked, I and many others would not even be here on this forum discussing our prolapse! Many years of kegeling have shown me this is true. Christine explains why in this post, among others:

https://wholewoman.com/blog/?p=1497

So if kegels are the PT "exercises" you are talking about, I would recommend stopping, yes. And I think you know that referring to prolapse surgeries as "only a few stitches" is dead wrong and very harmful advice. These surgeries have an extremely high failure rate, and once you have one failed surgery, there is not much else you can do except have repeat procedures which will just make things worse. Surgeries destroy the natural dynamics of pelvic organ support. When you go to a surgeon, you can expect surgery to be the recommended "cure". There is no cure for prolapse as such.....but it can be stabilized and often reversed with the WW work, and you can go on living without the fear.

As for your initial post......had you been a participating Forum member engaged in Whole Woman practices, and you had a product you had found to be helpful in that endeavor, I personally as moderator would have looked at your suggestion in a different light. But newbies are always suspect if they obviously haven't checked out or expressed any interest in our content here, and immediately come here possibly pushing a product (in other words, using our Forum for free advertising). That isn't tolerated here......we get spammed enough.

We're here to help you with Whole Woman so please keep poking around and reading. - Surviving

Hi everyone,
I am probably more focused on hip issues as I had them along with prolapse when joining this forum not realizing that these issues, and so many others are connected.
If you are straddling a stool your knees are best positioned so that they are level or lower than your hips, not higher.
I would adjust the height or change what I am sitting on if my feet couldn't be placed flat on the floor. Over time if your feet are entwined on rungs, (except in Christine's case where she can sit cross - legged in posture), that will effect your body and particularly if you are new to WW your body will not get the chance to re- shape itself, which can take years, given that many of us have spent decades in compromising posture.
I do straddle a stool to talk on the phone with my mother daily, but I sit with it so that my bottom is not sinking into the old cushion insert and my knees are not higher than my hips and feet placed flat on the floor. I place the stool lengthwise so that my thighs are supported by the wooden frame and my bottom is on the back of the frame. Otherwise I will stand.

One day I would like to have an ottoman - style stool like the one Christine sits on cross- legged. The one we have is not designed to sit on and has been styled with less support than the rest of the lounge setting.
I wish you all well - I have experienced improvement and healing beyond any expectation that I had as a newbie, and so anything is possible, and I am living proof of that.

All the best,
Aussie Soul Sister

Aussie Soul Sister - congrats on your improvements - well done! From what I have read in various articles, it seems Christine is saying that we hold the top half of our body erect at all times even while sitting (place a small cushion at the base of our back to give us support). We release the lower half - don't tuck stomach or butt in - is this correct?

I've stopped doing kegels and am using oestrogen tablets twice a week. I always lay pretty straight in bed, never cross my legs (like scissors) as this causes back ache etc, this I learnt from experience and always feel good when I wake up. I used to exercise a lot - did the the step and used weights, I felt so good - I had a strong core and was always on the go. What seems to have done me in is sitting for long hours at the computer, not exercising and nibbling (grazing which is something I never did before) - I put on weight and now this happened. My physiotherapist advised me to walk, swim, and said I could even use a cross trainer if it felt okay. So no more sitting at a computer for long hours, this is definitely not good for our health - I read somewhere we should have a break after 30 mins so for now I am switching between a stand-up desk and sitting, and exercising to build my strength up again. Thanks Aussie Soul Sister :)

Hi Catalan,
Thankyou!
The seated posture can be practiced by making sure of your posture while standing and then sitting down by bending your knees, placing the back of your legs against the edge of the seat, and sitting down keeping the posture you had when standing, and bending the knees further until your bottom is seated...Then I move my upper body back, until I have a 90 degree angle between my head and knees, the angle being my hips, while still in the posture I had while standing.
Then if you need to support the lumbar curve then do so. I used to roll up a scarf, or a jacket, and at home a cushion folded in half.
The trick is to sit unsupported which I can do now as I sit at the computer.
That will happen over time as your torso becomes stronger.
I still have to correct sometimes the sneaky habit of old, of completely hunching and twisting into a contorted shape that would shock me if I saw it in another and correct quickly knowing that some habits die hard!
I still use a folded up cushion to sit on the lounge in the evening, however I would like to sit in a straight backed chair more often even at night. If I recline on the couch I go to sleep which I would rather wait until in bed...I still find sitting on the floor a challenge and if I do I sit against the couch with a halved cushion behind me.
I try not to spend a lot of time sitting, however some my favourite things to do at home often involve sitting, so getting up often and moving around is what I try to do.
Thanks to Christine's approach, I live joint pain free, can now walk without issue, have excellent balance, and a more even body on each side, can dance, and stand in the correct posture while singing in a choir, which is my newest adventure... pop being the catalyst for all that healing...

I wish you well, Catalan,

Aussie Soul Sister