Two hernia surgeries in 2012 - help

I gave myself an umbilical hernia back in 2010 when I helped lift an early 1970's model Chevy off of a curb when it hit ice and slid and hit the curb to miss me. I felt it only fair to help the guy get back on the road. So, like a moron, I lifted the car off the curb myself and sent him on his way. Later that night I noticed a little ball above my belly button and then eventually went to the doctor and discovered it was a hernia. My family has a history of umbilical hernias - most of my cousins have had surgery and out of my 8 aunts and uncles on my mother's side of the family 7 of them had hernia surgeries. I think it's a genetic thing as well for us.

Anyhow, I dealt with it the best I could and just lived with it. Then in 2012 when I weighed myself at 398 in February I decided I HAD to start exercising and getting a grip on things. I bought DDPYoga which I love and did help me lose quite a bit of weight and I bought a Smooth Fitness Elliptical. I worked out and ate better and from March through May I went from 398 to 342. But one day I was on the elliptical and it felt like someone was stabbing me - intense hot searing pain in my abdomen. It kept on for a couple of days and I went to see a doctor about the hernia. It was partially strangulated and he scheduled me for a surgery the following week. So I had surgery in late May 2012 - he done his surgery with a small incision. When he repaired the one he discovered another hernia that was pushing on the existing hernia and repaired that also. I think "that" was the pain I was actually feeling because I had somehow developed another hernia in the process.

His repair lasted all of 2 months before I saw the bubble on my stomach again. I had tried to be careful and follow his advice. He had told me I could resume working out in about a month and I did and then another month later I had the hernia back out. I then went to see the doctor who I initially wanted to do the surgery but was out of the office on medical leave herself at the time of my first surgery. She eventually did the surgery in mid December. She done the surgery laprascopically and I had 18 tiny holes all around my stomach as well as holes in my sides. It's a much different and more painful to recover from procedure IMO. However, her surgery has withstood this past years worth of wear and tear on my body and still holding up.

But I am also now pretty gun shy about working out in general. I don't want to be shelved again for another month or 6 weeks and when you are a big guy the recovery is much harder. Now, I always used to work out to lose weight and I lifted weights and like to work out and do cardio and all that. My "good" doctor - the female - told me that I should be able to work out with little issues as long as I don't try to lift over 50 pounds. I'm worried that I will strain the repair loose again. Has anyone else dealt with hernia issues and can tell me how you got around your problems and was able to workout?

I'm most hesitant about the yoga to be honest - and it's the thing I liked the best. Resistance based yoga kept my heart rate up and I sweated buckets and became much more limber by doing that DDPYoga. But some of the exercises are like the planking and other things that stretch your midsection. I'm not sure if that would be good for me or not - common sense is telling me not right now but I may just be thinking more cautiously than I should be.

So, can anyone shed any light on my issues? Thanks in advance.