Hi there,
I'm new to the Gokhale Method, and I'm wondering if flamenco dance would be incompatible with the posture guidelines. I'm in a flamenco class where we do warm-ups and dance in about two-inch heels. My knees often hurt in this class (I am reading 8 Steps primarily for knee pain), but I love the dance and hope to continue the classes if I can modify my structure with Esther's book.
Thanks!
Samantha
3 years 2 months ago
12/15/2010 - 7:51am
Hi Samantha,
I too love Flamenco! Dance is an excellent way to explore your posture and the Gokhale Method. If your knees are bothering you, you may want to pay attention to your knee and foot alignment. Keeping a small amount of external rotation in both your feet and legs (kidney bean feet) could be helpful. Although tall stilettos are not ideal, a little bit of a heel isn't the worst idea for your posture. Having the heels lifted can actually help to antevert the pelvis, especially if you have tight hamstrings.
The stamping involved in flamenco is something that requires a lot of core strength as well. I would imagine your Flamenco teacher is more of an expert in this particularity of this dance than we are. Perhaps he or she has a tip on how to eliminate too much pressure on your knees/feet.
I hope this is helpful to you!
Warmly,
Charlene Hannibal
Gokhale Method Teacher, Palo Alto and San Francisco
3 years 6 months ago
06/22/2012 - 8:18pm
Thank you Charlene!