Clarification on Back Exercises (Goddess Belly)

Submitted by Proverbs31Mama on October 6, 2018 - 4:31pm
Body: 

I am working on the goddess belly work out and some of the yoga. Having to move slowly due to real muscle weakness. I also had to start working with a chiropractor to re-align everything. I had so many ribs and my hip out of place that trying to adjust my posture was very painful.
Anyway, back to the point. When Christine does the exercises on her back, like scissors or lifting the knees toward chest, is the lumbar curved? My back tends to flatten and i cannot tell if I am doing them correctly.
Also, when I am on elbows and knee to do the legs lifts, my supporting hips want to collapse. What should I be focusing on muscle wise while trying to keep the movement strong. I am struggling to figure out how the posture looks in the position.

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Surviving60

October 9, 2018 - 5:44am

I don't think you can consciously maintain lumbar curvature when lying on your back, but if it feels better, you can always tuck a rolled-up towel into the small of your back when you are exercising lying down. I don't think it's really necessary....and in my view, might tend to make it harder to lift up your legs. I do that mainly when I am trying to get a good stretch, because it feels good. Lifting up my legs when I'm lying down, tends to make my pelvic organs feel strained, because I'm not as flexible as Christine. In doing any of these moves, I'm focusing on how my organs feel, and I can't really give you a good answer to your second question. Hopefully someone else can. - Surviving

Proverbs31Mama

October 10, 2018 - 1:24pm

The yoga program is helping me to loosen my hamstrings in a way that the First Aid never did. I am pleased with that. However, I am having a hard time with my hips popping/ grinding as I stand from a bent position. I am trying to engage my glutes to help me stand AND I am recently working with a chiropractor to get aligned. That hip has been out of place for awhile. But the popping is worse now that it was. What am I doing wrong?

Aging gracefully

October 10, 2018 - 4:57pm

Hi Proverbs31Mama,
I had a lot of hip cracking and popping before starting this work. I would stretch and pop it on purpose just to get some relief, but stretching out well before my workouts helped the most. Sitting on the floor with legs wide open and slowly stretching forward over one leg, the other, and the middle helped loosen muscles well. I also varied my routines. I did the original First Aid, and the first 3 yoga videos, alternating daily. When I started strengthening my muscle into posture better, all that hip discomfort went away.

Aussie Soul Sister had issues too, and she went right to the hips program which helped her tremendously.

It wasn't until well within my second year of doing this work that I was able to strengthen those muscles well enough for the hip pain to go away, but I rarely even have a twinge in that hip anymore.

Aussie Soul Sister

October 10, 2018 - 5:25pm

Hi, I found a similar issue once when doing the same movement when I first started. Our muscles have tightened to a point where the joints are out of alignment and causing these issues.
My body was so contracted I could barely do the exercise programs and had to go very gradually, which is what I advise we all do to take it slowly, and avoid any exercise that you have issues with.

I decided to do Christine's Save Your Hips program, which evened out both sides of my body, lengthened the contracted muscles everywhere (including around the hips), ligaments and fascia, strengthened my feet and so much more. I took that slowly and carefully and now I can do the floor to
standing position no bother, and so much more.
I stand from a bent position hinged from the hips, by feeling my feet grounded, and then pushing up through that grounded strength, using my legs, and I don't tense the bottom muscles at all to get up.

You could be making things worse by bottom clenching. I know that in the beginning my whole body was weak so that if I bent over just a little to sort washing that was on my bed, I would bob all over the place, and I think that I would have clenched my bottom before WW and that is why I noticed this instability when stopping that. Clenching just throws the body out of alignment and the skeleton and joints as well. It creates extra tension which is not needed at all.

Our body in the posture is a tower of strength, however it has that relaxing innate strength without any need for conscious bracing or engaging of any of our muscles, and changing our natural stance like conventional posture, and approaches.
Perhaps a consultation with Christine could help with your specific issues.

All the best,
Aussie Soul Sister