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a Question to Esther

lschmidt
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06/04/2012 - 2:26pm
a Question to Esther

I am a family physician ( www.SameDayFamilyMedicine.com) who has been practicing empowering people via
>> > educating them how to harvest their own heating power.  I have had difficult time in connecting with Esther directly after multiple attempts.  Esther's staff Alex directed me to this site: The best place for these conversations would be in our online Forums.
Here is the proper subforum for discussions on foot issues:
http://gokhalemethod.com/forums/foot_conditions

I would like to discuss with Esther about your opinion in resting ones soles on a flat surface. I do not agree with your feet position in her videos, at this point. I believe more with Alexander technique."  My email is [email protected].  Thanks.

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Hello Dr. Schmidt,

Thank you for inquiring about the Gokhale Method and in particular, in regards to foot positioning. My name is Kerri and am a Gokhale Method Teacher. We teach what we call the kidney bean feet. This is where the heels rotate inward while the front of the foot stays in place. This creates a kidney bean shaped foot and the toes angle out slightly with inner arches off the floor. This also creates healthy alignment in the knee as the knees externally rotate outward allowing the knees to track well. Additionally, this foot positioning allows the femur bones to exernally rotate and fit into the hip socket so that the pelvis can settle in the best postion for sitting. The behind is behind when sitting and the weight is on the anterior portion of the sitz bones. This foot positioning allows for good alignment all the way up the body. For me, when I learned to position my feet this way as well as keep more of my weight on my heels, I was able to, over time, correct the pronation issue I had all my life and contributed to a number of foot problems. I hope this gives some clarification for you and please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

Best, Kerri

lschmidt
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Thanks so much for the excellent explaination, Kerri.  Happy Poising!

lschmidt
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Kerri or whoever is able to help: Please send me a link of video how to do "kidney shaped feet" because I have been trying to follow Kerri's writing and worried that I may have practiced wrongly.  I could not find any by googling "Gokhale, kidney shaped feet".  Thanks.

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Hi,

Here is a short video that briefly explains how to kidney-bean shape the feet. It explains how to strengthen tibialis anterior which is a key muscle needed to shape the feet and ankles well. Another resource is the book, "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back". Particularly on page 135, there is a more detailed description on the topic. Ideally, if you have a chance to take a lesson from a trained GM teacher, that is the best way to learn. Intellectual and visual ways of learning are a great start. Still, there is a kinesthetic element needed that a qualified teacher can give to help make lasting posture habits.

http://gokhalemethod.com/video/gokhale_moment_toe_tap

Hope you find this helpful! 

Kerri

lschmidt
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HI Kerri,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.  If you had been in Tucson, I would have come to you.  Will keep an eye on the Tucson workshops. Will revisit page 135 of the book.  I read the book before but it was too much info for me to digest and learn.  I watched the video, got a glimpse of Esther hand positioned her heels bit inward, which is not easy for veryone to do it. I do not know if I did it right. I wonder if everyone can and should do kidney bean shape feet? 

Thanks.

 

 

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We teach our students to shoot for something between where they are at now and what's ideal when practicing the GM techniques. The kidney-bean feet is one of them. In modern society, we don't have much opportunity to strengthen our feet because we are often in shoes and walk on cement and other hard surfaces. This can make them stiff and not easily able to kidney-bean right away. Nothing we teach should cause pain. We recommend backing off if this happens and allow the feet to get stronger and more flexible over time. There are some good exercises in the book on page 211-212 that will help strengthen the feet. Great questions!

Thank you 

Kerri 

lschmidt
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Thanks Kerri.  One reason maybe myself has no problem with unable to do kidney shaped feet because I tend to be bear foot when at home.  I am going to copy and paste my 1st post to Esther's blog, to see if I can reach her directly that way.  I really appreciated your help. 

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