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Feet Out or Straight Ahead?

September, 2022
When it comes to foot position, feet parallel is often regarded as the ideal in our present-day culture. Standing with the feet apart, pointing straight ahead, is also seen as the starting point of a normal and healthy gait. Walking then proceeds along two parallel lines, like being on railway tracks.  From a Gokhale Method® perspective, a healthy baseline position for the feet is angled outward 5–15°, or “externally rotated.” Why is there such divergence of opinion—and angle?  Most people learn and then teach feet straight ahead Feet straight ahead is the model learned and perpetuated by most professionals who are trained in anatomy, whether they are fitness coaches, yoga teachers, Pilates instructors, physical therapists, podiatrists, family physicians, or surgeons. Training regimens, gait analysis, shoe design, and equipment such as elliptical trainers and step machines are also based on this belief.  Read more

Fixing my Posture Fixed my Pain

December, 2021
I am a 45-year-old software engineer living in California. I grew up and lived in India until I was 37. In my mid-twenties I developed lower back pain and right hip pain, and I recollect having a series of MRIs and medical traction but obtaining nothing more than temporary relief. I also went for Indian massage therapy, which did effectively relieve the pain for some years. Read more

How Not To Do Yoga

April, 2022
This blog post explains how some common yoga injuries occur and how applying the principles of healthy posture to yoga postures replaces this scenario with movements that are good for your body. Yoga postures and back pain Growing up in Mumbai, India, my Dutch mother was a student of BKS Iyengar and the Satyananda yogis, and keen for me also to learn yoga asanas, or postures. I practiced, and, being reasonably athletic as a child and already trained in Indian classical dance (Bharata Natyam), did not find it particularly difficult to choreograph the back bends, forward bends, and twists that were asked of me. I became a yoga model, demonstrating postures alongside visiting swamis’ presentations to induce the audience to sign up for upcoming yoga courses. 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

The New Year 3 x 3 Fitness Challenge: Strength without Strain

January, 2023

We’re here to help with your New Year’s fitness resolution. Join us for a FREE 10-day New Year 3 x 3 Fitness Challenge, which is offered as part of the Gokhale Exercise program. It will be fun, safe, and effective, enabling you to build your strength without strain and injury, because, all the while, you are also training for healthy posture!  Read more

Posture Tips for Meditators

April, 2023
It has been over 60 years since Eastern schools of meditation became widely known in the U.S. and Europe, and meditation became widely practiced, with over 14% of Americans having meditated at least once. If we include those practicing mindfulness techniques, using meditation apps, and attending yoga classes with a meditation component, this figure goes far higher. The effects of sitting in meditation The potential benefits of meditation are well known, and include a calmer, clearer mind, lower levels of stress, better sleep, improved relationships with others, and better mental health.  From a posture perspective, whether you sit in meditation regularly or are just getting started, you want the experience to be as healthy for your body as it is for your mind.  Read more

What Makes the Gokhale® Exercise Program Special

September, 2023

Taking the daily classes has helped me perfect the practice and really get the nuances.
I am now able to accomplish the rib anchor, which I was struggling with. Also, the daily motivation that I get from checking in and feeling the energy from the group—it has just been an amazing opportunity.
Elizabeth Kubicki, Gokhale alumna Read more