PREPARATIONS

Once I'd decided on surgery (and two months before the date), I had a preliminary meeting with a physical therapist who introduced me to Pelvic Floor exercises ("Kegel" is the usual term) designed to strengthen the muscles which would later be needed to act for the sphincter at the bottom of my bladder, which would be removed as part of the surgery. The essence is what is called in yoga mula bandha, 'root lock', and the exercises involve contracting the pelvic floor many times a day—10 x 10 one-second squeezes (resting after each set), and 10 x 10-second holds with breathing. Not difficult, but one really does get better at it with practice.

After 10+ of yoga, I figured that there would be sequences to address specific aspects of preparation for healing after surgery, and Toni Small kindly designed an asana practice for me. The sequence takes about an hour, and I did it almost every day for the six weeks before surgery.