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Glidewalking Deep Dive

December, 2022

Yesterday was midwinter day in the northern hemisphere. For many of us, this time of year means colder, shorter days, and a time when outdoor activities and social get-togethers can be more limited.
Get out walking
One thing we can do whatever the season is to get out on foot. Walking, done well, can significantly boost our circulation, burn calories, keep us warm, and assist our digestion—especially useful after rich and large festive meals! A good walk will also fill our lungs with fresh air and can boost our immune system to fight off winter bugs.
Such exercise, especially in nature, is known to lift our mood. We can enjoy the company of friends and family—or go solo for some peace and introspection, as fits. All these potential benefits and more are summed up in the Latin phrase, Solvitur Ambulando, which translates as “walking solves everything.”¹ Read more

How to Climb Stairs Part 1: Onward and Upward

December, 2022

Few of us, wheelchair users excepted, pass a day without climbing steps or stairs. Students often ask if posture has any bearing on how best to do this—and the answer is yes! Our approach to pain-free, healthy posture works precisely because it helps you with all your daily activities. This blog post is the first of several containing introductory tips for using steps and stairs. We will focus here on how to power yourself upward.

Steps and stairs—the benefits

If you are looking to maintain or improve your cardio fitness and lower body strength, climbing steps and stairs will check that box. For example, this could be opting for the stairs rather than the elevator at work. Read more

Giving Thanks

November, 2022
There are so many things in my life that I feel thankful for, and Thanksgiving gives an opportunity to reflect on these feelings of gratitude. For our newsletter I wanted to share the deep gratitude I have for my personal journey out of back pain, and for how that journey continues as a growing ability to support and empower others in this direction.  When I came to write this blog post, I quickly realized that this is a daunting task! The truth is that so many people have played invaluable parts, both great and small, in helping me to create the Gokhale Method® that it’s impossible to pay tribute to everyone in a short piece of writing. So I decided there will be other posts of gratitude, including to my teachers, to the people around the globe on whom this work is based, and to our team of dedicated teachers and staff. But on this National Day of Thanksgiving, I’d like to focus on things related to living and working in the US. Read more

Sheila Bond’s Back Pain Journey

November, 2022
My name is Sheila Bond, and I am an artist, knit and jewelry designer, and an art teacher. I am also the mother of four sweet kids. In this blog post I would like to share with you my Gokhale Method® journey out of pain and despair. On May 6 2022 I severely herniated the spinal disc between my L4/L5 vertebrae. In addition I had developed bursitis in my left hip during the previous three months, I believe from sitting improperly teaching online classes. It happened on the Friday before Mother’s Day. By Saturday morning I could barely move and thought I might die or at the very least never recover. I ordered a TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, a mild electrical current to give pain relief) from Walgreens, bought Salonpas patches too, and a walking cane. I took three Advil or two extra strength Tylenol alternating every six-hours hours. I had previously herniated my L4/L5 in 2015, and had a laminectomy (a surgical operation to remove part of the back of vertebrae, usually to relieve pressure on nerves.) That surgery had left me still in terrible pain. When I told the surgeon I was still in pain in my tailbone/sacrum area, he told me he could operate on my tailbone. I declined. Following surgery I also went to physical therapy for a year and a half. It gave me more pain than it took away. Read more

Join Lang’s New Gokhale Yoga Class

October, 2022

If we haven’t yet met, my name is Lang, I am a Gokhale Method® teacher, and I also teach Gokhale Yoga. I offer two Gokhale Yoga classes every week as part of our Gokhale Exercise program for subscribers on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m. (Pacific Time).

In this blog post I am excited to tell you about four Yoga classes you can try from Tuesday, November 1 until Thursday, November 10, as part of our upcoming 10-day Gokhale Exercise Free Trial which includes 1-2-3 Move, Gokhale Fitness, Moving Meditation, with teachers Esther Gokhale, Eric Fernandez, Kathleen O'Donohue, Roberta Cooks and Sabina Blumauer. Read more

A New Perspective on the Neanderthal Spine

October, 2022
October 16 is World Spine Day, which makes this the perfect time to share with you a fascinating piece of recent research about the human spine.  In April I was contacted by Scott Williams PhD, Associate Professor at the Center for the study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University. He and his team of anthropologists had recently published a scientific paper that concluded that understanding the spines of Neanderthals, a human ancestor, may explain the back pain experienced by humans today. Who were the Neanderthals? The Neanderthals populated Europe and Asia between about 400,00 and 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals became extinct, but are considered one of our most recent evolutionary ancestors. Research shows there is DNA evidence that they interbred with early human populations. Read more