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Yoga for Inner Strength

Beginner II
(174 Reviews)
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Melissa begins with core activation, helping you understand and engage the pelvic floor, then teaches you how to incorporate it into a hatha yoga class. It's crucial for stabilizing, protecting and strengthening your lower back and ensuring that you are using your body in a safe, efficient and optimal way.

Equipment

  • Block

Focus

  • Strength
  • Spine
  • Core Strength

Style

  • Hatha Yoga

Comments

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Profile image for Kmhouse10
Kmhouse10
April 19, 2020

My first class on your site - and it was great. Corona captivity requires i get on the mat at least every other day (duh) and i can't always plug in to my local studio's schedule. Been wanting to find an excellent online source and very grateful for the free trial (#laidoff). Can you say a little more about prolapse? I've heard of it but not sure if it's a general or a specific term (eg bladder or uterus). Thanks again!

Comment Replies

Profile image for Melissa Krieger
Melissa Krieger
April 22, 2020

Hi! isn't this site amazing? I feel so grateful for it as well. I'm also #laidoff and doing lots of online yoga too.

Yes, re prolapses, to give you a really detailed answer I am straight up copying the page from my governments health page on HealthLink (https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/tv1000) I was referring to a vaginal prolapse but there are other kinds as well. It's a lot of information but hopefully that covers your question! If not feel free to reach out again.

What is pelvic organ prolapse?
Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when a pelvic organ—such as your bladder—drops (prolapses) from its normal place in your lower belly and pushes against the walls of your vagina. This can happen when the muscles that hold your pelvic organs in place get weak or stretched from childbirth or surgery.

Many women will have some kind of pelvic organ prolapse. It can be uncomfortable or painful. But it isn't usually a big health problem. It doesn't always get worse. And in some women, it can get better with time.

More than one pelvic organ can prolapse at the same time. Organs that can be involved when you have pelvic prolapse include the:

Bladder. This is the most common kind of pelvic organ prolapse.
Urethra.
Uterus.
Vagina.
Small bowel.
Rectum.
What causes pelvic organ prolapse?
Pelvic organ prolapse is most often linked to strain during childbirth. Normally your pelvic organs are kept in place by the muscles and tissues in your lower belly. During childbirth these muscles can get weak or stretched. If they don't recover, they can't support your pelvic organs.

Pelvic organ prolapse can be made worse by anything that puts pressure on your belly, such as:

Being very overweight (obesity).
A long-lasting cough.
Frequent constipation.
Pelvic organ tumours.
Older women are more likely to have pelvic organ prolapse. It also tends to run in families.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse include:

Feeling pressure from pelvic organs pressing against the vaginal wall. This is the most common symptom.
Feeling very full in your lower belly.
Feeling as if something is falling out of your vagina.
Feeling a pull or stretch in your groin area or pain in your lower back.
Releasing urine without meaning to (incontinence), or needing to urinate a lot.
Having pain in your vagina during sex.
Having problems with your bowels, such as constipation.
How is pelvic organ prolapse diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and about any pregnancies or health problems. Your doctor will also do a physical examination, which will include a pelvic examination.

How is it treated?
Decisions about your treatment will be based on which pelvic organs have prolapsed and how bad your symptoms are.

If your symptoms are mild, you may be able to do things at home to help yourself feel better. You can relieve many of your symptoms by adopting new, healthy habits. Try special exercises (called Kegels) that make your pelvic muscles stronger. Reach and stay at a healthy weight. Avoid lifting heavy things that put stress on your pelvic muscles.

If you still have symptoms, your doctor may have you fitted with a device called a pessary to help with the pain and pressure of pelvic organ prolapse. It is a removable device that you put in your vagina. It helps hold the pelvic organs in place. But if you have a severe prolapse, you may have trouble keeping a pessary in place.

Surgery is another treatment option for serious symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse. But you may want to delay having surgery if you plan to have children. The strain of childbirth could cause your prolapse to come back.

You may want to consider surgery if:

You have a lot of pain because of the prolapsed organ.
You have a problem with your bladder and bowels.
The prolapse makes it hard for you to enjoy sex.
Types of surgery for pelvic organ prolapse include:

Surgery to repair the tissue that supports a prolapsed organ.
Surgery to repair the tissue around your vagina.
Surgery to close the opening of your vagina.
Surgery to remove the uterus (hysterectomy).
Pelvic organ prolapse can come back after surgery. Doing Kegel exercises to make your pelvic muscles stronger will help you recover faster from surgery. The two together can help you more than surgery alone.

Profile image for ÀfricaRM
ÀfricaRM
March 14, 2020

Thank you very much, Melissa, for this informative and helpful class. Linking the core and pelvic floor to breadth is a key concept.
Just one important question: I understood in this class that the mechanics of breathing is inspire-abdominal and free // exhale-activate the core and pelvic floor . This worked OK for me, but I remember that in my Pilates class the teacher told me to do it the other way: inspiring with the ribs and "hollowing" the abdomen. I am a bit confused about that. Can you help me to understand it? Thank you and namaste!

Comment Replies

Profile image for Melissa Krieger
Melissa Krieger
March 17, 2020

Hi!

The reason I teach the relax on the inhale and engage on the exhale is because that is what is already happening in the body. It doesn't always feel natural for some students. I don't know the term 'hollowing' the abdomen but in my pilates classes the teacher uses different cues than I do but still exhales to engage.

Does that answer your question?

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dukegal1213
July 31, 2019

I loved this class. Learning more about engaging the core and the pelvic floor was very informative, as someone who is fairly new to yoga. I love the slower pace of the class, and it was also challenging in places. Perfect!

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