Looking to "up my game" with the Gokhale Method - SUGGESTIONS?

Hey all, I am in SE Michigan. I've worked through the Gokhale Method in depth on my own. I also have done some work with a friend who used to work with Esther. I do regular weight training, and am planning to start taking martial arts classes again this year. I've been thinking about supplementing my weight/sports training with a Pilates, yoga, or dance class. My goal with this is really to include a fuller range of motion into my training, and to really continue to practice and internalize the Gokhale Method. I also feel generally disengaged (or not as engaged as I would like to be) in my core, and so would like to work on that. ***Do you have any recommendations for what type of class I should be looking for and how I might screen the instructor for "GETTING the postural stuff"??? I know there are a lot of new types of integrated movement classes - so I'm open to suggestions.*** No need for a long response. Even a sentence or two would be great. Best!

Hi there,

My favorite technique is just to open up a discussion with the teacher and see what they say. I might ask what they think about hip positioning during exercises (do you instruct your students to tuck the pelvis?), if they are particularly fond of extreme positions or stretches, especially ones that involve twisting, or whether they feature a lot of back bending/arching/rounding.

However, even more than any particuar type of movement, what I look for is a teacher who has some flexibility in how their students participate in the class. If an instructor is going to force me into a position because they think I can twist farther than I am, that's a class I want to avoid. If, on the other hand, the teacher offers multiple options for each move, says "only do what feels comfortable" and seems amenable to varying the routine based on the needs of the students, well, that's a teacher that I want to support!

Hope that helps, and best of luck!