Da vinci exercise question

Hi. I am a new poster but have been lurking a while. LOVE the support and info here! My da Vinci hyster is scheduled for next Wed. (gulp!). I understand that the recovery is supposed to be a lot faster/easier than traditional abdominal surgery.
My question is - realistically, how soon can I return to the gym? I am a fitness instructor and love teaching dance, yoga, and weightlifting. When I asked my doctor about the gym, he said I could go back in maybe as early as two weeks?! I know the da Vinci is supposed to be great, but doesn't that seem a little ambitious?
I don't want to be out of the gym (and off work!) any longer than I need to, but I am scared to death of starting back too soon and injuring myself. I want to make sure I'm really healed b/c it's just not worth the risk. But I've read on here that, esp. w/ da Vinci, you sometimes feel better than you "should," so I'd really like some concrete guidelines to follow.
I would love to hear specific gym experiences from da Vinci girls!
Thanks in advance for any insight.

I started going for increasingly longer walks immediately. I felt tired faster and had slightly restricted movement. I started doing some light yoga (light being the keyword) at around 3 weeks. At 4 1/2 weeks I was cleared for everything except sex, but my doctor reminded me that even though I have no restrictions, the key is easing into it and listening to your body. Recovery is different for every woman. I felt great during my recovery, but if I overdid it at all I would start to feel like crap, so I gave myself the time to recover. I felt great because I took it easy and took the time period to ensure a healthy full recovery- which is actually 6-12 months. The way you feel could be affected by various things- additional internal work, supracervical vs. total hysterectomy, etc. Wishing you a quick, healthy recovery from your upcoming surgery, and I hope I helped in some way.

I am 3 weeks post op from Da Vinnci. I go back to my Dr. in 3 more weeks & she said I would be cleared for everything except lifting. There is no way I could go to a gym now @3weeks! I just now have been able to sleep on my side! I would say at least 6 to 8 weeks, and even then not sure about lifting! Good luck!

I think lifting is out of the question until about 5 to 6 weeks. That is only because you were used to it.
Walking immediately, but "nice and easy" at first.

It has been 5 months for me. I walk about 3 1/2 miles for 47 minutes a day.
I think the treadmill said that I burned 400 calories. I can run for short distances, then I have to rest.

Yoga is good if it is easy. If you have to stretch a lot, be careful.
I was not used to it, so at one of the yoga classes I took, I did what i could and didn't do the "tough stuff."
The instructor was not understanding my surgery limitations, so she was barking at me to do better. She almost got a mouthful.
I will not go to her class again. Yoga used to be so relaxing.

I tried Zumba at 8 weeks and loved it.

Anyway, remember that you have hundreds of little stitches inside your stomach, so you don't want to overdo and pull them out.
The doctor would have to perform another surgery to fix your internal injury.

I was wondering this also. I take pilates twice a week and a TRX class once a week. Since both are such "core" based classes, I'm wondering how long I will have to wait to do those abdominal based exercises.

Thanks so much to all the helpful responses so far. I was afraid that two weeks was pushing things. I have definitely taken 3 1/2 weeks off teaching classes for sure, with my bosses realizing it may be more depending upon my recovery. It sounds like I may need more time.
I do a lot of twisting/stretching in yoga classes, and my dance classes are high-energy with lots of wiggling (think Zumba w/ all different types of music). Those two classes I'm most worried about. The weighlifting class does not concern me as much, actually, as I can teach that w/o actually using weights myself (w/ an empty or even no bar). But the twisting/wiggling and "core" moves scare me.
Suziq55, I'm so sorry about your yoga experience! Surgery limitations or not, you should never get barked at in yoga class. It's all about reconnecting the mind/body, and that's impossible to do with someone yelling at you. I like to provide options to challenge my class, but the choice is always up to them w/ no judgments from me or anyone else about the path they choose. I hope you find a better instructor.

I am due for my surgery on the 18th, and have similar questions and fears. I am an archaeologist- so my job is digging holes with a shovel. I think I might be writing reports for a long while rather than doing what I truly love, which is the digging!

My doc said at least 3 weeks of no digging, and after that only limited trowel type work (think gardening) if I felt up to it. *sigh*