Whole Woman Village Forum

I'm just back from a pilates workshop which focused on the pelvis. I was intrigued to see how the teacher would address the whole pelvic floor issue. Well, Christine would have loved it! We were examining the model skeleton of the female form they have in the studio, noting the curve at the base of the spine, and spent most of the class emphasising it, and learning how essential it is that we use that curve in our everyday lives to encourage the pelvis to strengthen in its natural position, rather than doing all that "lift and tuck" stuff that some exercise classes encourage. She even talked about imagining we had tails. I've always felt my pilates teachers know their stuff on female anatomy, but this was very much in tune with Christine's work. I'm going to pass on the details of Christine's website and book to her.

Hello all!

I just happened to stumble across this board a couple of days ago and find it to be pretty informative. =)

I am about five weeks postpartum with my first baby and have been dealing with a cystocele. I can feel it at the entrance of my vagina and wondering if this is considered "severe". I've been doing kegels but I don't feel it helping at all. I have my six weeks check up next week but I am so scared of what the doctor will say. I don't want to go through surgery, yet I don't want to have this uncomfortable feeling for the rest of my life.

I was also wondering what is this "posture book" that everyone is talking about and how do I get it??

I attempted to run over the weekend. I was going to wait but have been so itching to get out and really exercise. Even with the posture things did NOT feel good at all! I had a horrible sensation that I had no pelvic floor at all and after only a few steps felt like things were much worse than they have EVER been for me although this feeling stopped when I stopped running. I still have no symptoms when not running and the rectocele and cystocele are very small but I guess they will have more significance on my long term activity than I had been thinking recently. I simply can't bear that I will only be able to walk and swim for the rest of my life and feel so sad. Sorry but I am at a loss again at the moment. I have heard of people wearing pesseries to exercise, has anyone had any success with that? I know some use the sea sponge but do any of you use that to exercise? I so miss my old vital and fit self.

Just on average I was wondering how long it took to make a difference? I've been doing this about three weeks now and not much change, if anything a little worse. I have the book, which I really couldn't afford but bought anyway in desperation! I don't want to bother people, coz it's obviously really working for all you guys. At the moment surgery is looking attractive to me, my doctor says to review after six months (my physio starts next week) and if there's no improvement they can just 'sling it up' (I have a cystocele). They have no financial incentive in this country so I'm not suspicious in that department. I'm only 29 and I can't live with this horrible sensation for the rest of my life. Has anyone seen postpartum improvement from a prolapse with full symptoms?

I've been musing on diet and how it assists with healing. Anyone familiar with an Auyervedic diet? I've been doing some research. Different body types, different "doshas", different foods pacifiying the different primary doshas.

My Dr. of TCM (trad. chinese med.) has stressed the importance of "warming up" the body for prolapse. Warm drinks, warm foods, no cold foods, no raw vegetables, even no green tea because it is "cold", no alcohol, no sugar, no caffeine. This may be specifically for me for he says most people in US are too warm, but I am too "cold". But I've heard this from others doing tcm too. Also, Food well cooked, red meat every day.

I just ordered a nature's platform but just read on the blog that a half squat is better than a full squat which is what the nature's platform puts you in. Shall I cancel my order or go ahead with full squatting while defecating?

Hi everyone. I am a 36 year old female with 5 children only recently given birth 5 months ago. For a few years now I have had a small bump on my labia which never gave me any problems. There were a few times that it hurt but it would last a few days and then the pain would go away. A few weeks after I had our baby, I noticed I was going to the bathroom alot to pee. I would get up and pee about 8 times a night and I also had back pain with it. I went to see my doctor who did a test on my urine and told me I did not have an UTI. They told me it was because my bladder was streched out from having kids and that was causing me to pee frequently. He even had me go to the hosptial to take pictures of my lower back thinking it was from a pulled muscle. All of the test were normal and finally my insurance had expired. Fast forward a few months later and I am having the same problems but now I am peeing more and that small bump on my labia is really hurting. I went to see my doctor and he charged me $100 to examine me and tell me that my uterus had a 2nd degree prolaspe and that I had enlarged skell glands( I think I spelled it right ) and he wanted me to go to the hospital and have a test to which they insert a cathater in me and fill my bladder up with fluid and inject dye in me and then have me pee in front of them. He never really said what he was looking for and when I asked him if it was serious, he wouldn't answer me. I asked him if he thought it was cancer, and he got mad and said" Did I mention cancer?" and then he walked out of the room. When I called the hospital to see what they were looking for, the lab technician told me they were looking for diverticula in the urethera. I have no insurance so I don't know how I am ever going to afford this test. I can't qualify for medicade and I make too much to get indegent help and the hospital told me that if I don't have any money to pay for the test, that they won't do it. I'm not sure how seriuos this is or what I should do. I had over 10 ultrasounds when I was pregnant and 4 transvaginal ultrasounds and none of them ever showed any problems with my bladder so I'm wondering why all of this is going on now. My pap smear came back normal too at my 6 weeks examine. I have no idea on what I should do. Should I wait until our insurance kicks back in ( which could be 4-5 months ) or should I keep panicing? I have been trying to find out information about all of this to no avail.

As it turns out, I’m not hooked up to the blogosphere yet, but hope to be just asap. Everything associated with this project is very expensive.

I’m curious though, about the lack of response I received from my last blog entry. Aren’t any of you (thank you, Amy!) outraged at what I discovered? I wore my jaw around my knees for those several days I was putting it together. That chemical is outlawed in food, and unregulated in cosmetics, medicine and much of agriculture. That it ever got into a widely prescribed vaginal lubricant in the first place is horrifying, but that it remains there after thirty years is just damn eerie. Comments?

I am a 50 year old who at the age of 34 had a complete hysterectomy due to endometriosis and ovarian cysts. My interest is for anyone who has experienced the dilemma of having to use some form of herbs, etc. to prevent the vaginal tissues from thinning so badly that it causes severe vaginal cramping. I had taken HRT for years and now have fibromyalgia, chemcal sensitivities, and a host of other complicating factors so I prefer not to use Bio identical estrogens etc. even have sensitivities to these. Need some help! Thank you for your interest.

Berta

Last night when trying to sleep I could not help but think of the women on here and Posture and trying to understand it in as easy a fashion as possible...

I remembered someone had mentioned Triangles on here a while ago...

This pic if ver veryyyyyy basic but I am hoping it kinda explains what I think of...

Yes - Your body is not a Triangle and never will be - But I think of the front edge of that Triangle (Back being your spine) And tilting this triangle (Which is not really possble to show in a straight line pic lol) I think of tilting that 'Triangle' to a different internal angle. Thus the bottom part of the triangle becomes more 'flattened' and gives the Organs (Uterus etc) Something to 'Rest' upon.