Christine Hagelin Success Story

Let me introduce myself

I’m Christine, and I live in a retirement community. We have an average age of 78, and I’m almost there! In the community I see so many issues with walking and mobility. For example, I’ve been in a hiking group with the same friends for about 15 years, and we've aged together. I’ve seen them go through an increasing number of procedures for knee replacements, hip replacements, back surgeries. When I then started to have some issues in my knee with arthritis, I thought… I don't want that.

I see wear and tear on poorly used joints reducing the mobility of the friends around me.

Finding the Gokhale Method

It just so happened I met some friends last summer who had gone through a particular wellness program. Curious about what they told me, I knew I would really like to have a session, so I signed up for an online Gokhale® Consultation with Esther Gokhale. For me, this was a better option than driving over 90 minutes each way to see Esther in person. In the consultation I immediately realized that there was so much here that I could learn. I could achieve healthier posture, smoother, stronger walking, better mobility, and less pain. 

So, I registered for the Gokhale® Elements online course of 18 x 13 minute online lessons, each one a bite-size piece. The course was comprehensive and intense. You study ahead to orient yourself for the lesson, and cover a lot in 13 minutes. In the lesson you get to dissect and practice one posture technique, and you work on it afterwards to consolidate it. The second half of the course weaves it all together in everyday movement like walking and bending. 

Changing lifelong habits has challenges and rewards!

Glidewalking was tough for me initially, and I was frustrated at not “getting it”. That degree of change can take some getting used to when it hasn’t been how you’ve been walking for decades, possibly since childhood. 

Then something clicked, and though I’m still refining my walking, it has made a real difference. In particular, when hiking uphill I can really engage my glutes, making a big improvement to my power and balance.

Here I am hiking near Bodega Bay, C.A.. When walking, I’ve learned to keep my back leg straight and strong; nature's walking poles! I now have some healthy external rotation in my hips, knees and feet, which used to drift inward. 

Aligning my feet, knees, and hips

About a year ago I was hiking a trail on uneven ground. This particular trail proved to be way too much and my foot started to hurt. My HMO physician (Health Maintenance Organization) said, “Oh, you know, it's nothing,” but it was really bothering me so I went to a podiatrist. I had somehow pulled ligaments in my big toe and second toe. She said I needed to change shoes to avoid a rocking motion which had caused me to walk on my toes too much. I was also aware I have a tendency to have my knees going inward. So the Gokhale Method principles of natural gait, aligning your hips, knees, and feet in mild natural external rotation, strengthening the foot muscles, sparing the toes, and using your heels well, has really been good for me.

I notice that my stance, and learning to bend better from standing, has changed a lot of things. The external rotation of my legs and healthier tracking for my knees really improved when I learned to kidney-bean shape my feet. There are still twinges from time to time, so I scan my body, check in, and respond to these, adjusting and improving my stance as necessary. You can see the dramatic changes I made to bending by learning to hip-hinge in these “before” and “after” photos.

Childhood memories

I distinctly remember my mother saying to me, “Are you slouching? You know how, sit up tall!” Reading Esther’s recent blog about Embodied Empowerment, I realized my slumped posture was a sign that I lacked a sense of self-worth and self-confidence. It's fascinating to now understand how our posture reflects—and reinforces—our emotional states. On your Gokhale Method journey, not only do you learn about your body's posture, but in the process you also learn a lot about yourself. 

I now realize that I used to exist largely in my head, and my body just followed. As an adult, I went into science, very much in my head, and as a biology teacher and a busy mother of two children, did not give my body much attention. As you get older, your body begins to complain, and largely ignoring it doesn't work any more. Now, I’m much more in my whole self—not 100% of the time, but I'm so much more at home in my body, which is nice.

Now I pay attention to my body, I'm much more comfortable in it. Here I’m taking a rest and stretchsitting.

Widening my horizons and physical activities

Since I retired, I've created a healthier balance in life that enjoys walking, swimming, doing Pilates, and more spiritual things. I've also gotten into music. I'm trying to get a new club going in our community, a drumming circle. Despite having to jump through many administrative hoops, I'm determined to make it happen! I'll figure out how. Doing the Gokhale Method has helped me be clearer about my needs, and especially what makes my body happier. 

Through exploring Reiki healing many years ago I also learned yoga and became certified as a teacher. Though I didn’t go on to teach, it was the beginning of my search to rediscover my body. Unfortunately, some of the yoga classes I took later were not good for me, and I ended up sometimes hurting myself and so stopped practicing. Having already enjoyed the Gokhale Active online Dance Party I now have plans to try the Gokhale® Yoga program, which I know follows the principles of healthy posture and will be safe. Who knows—maybe I’ll see you there!

Best next step

Join one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops using the sign-up below—and learn more about how the Gokhale Method can help you to sit, stand, and move pain-free.