A major benefit of good posture is improved circulation. When you align your body well, your blood flows unimpeded and passes nutrients to cells to maintain homeostasis. Imbalances in this process lead to illness and prevent healing.
Here are three simple ways to improve your circulation starting today:
- The shoulder roll
Situate your shoulders in a relaxed and open position to ensure healthy circulation to and from your arms. This will repair damaged tissue and prevent future ailments, such as carpal tunnel and repetitive stress syndrome. Activities like typing, writing, texting and playing an instrument increase your hands’ demand for blood, so it is important to restore normal architecture in your brachial plexus, the major thoroughfare for circulation to and from your arms.
|
|
|
To roll your shoulders back:
1. Hunch one shoulder forward, causing it to round slightly.
2. Lift the shoulder slightly toward your ear.
3. Roll the shoulder far back.
4. Gently slide the shoulder blade down along your spine.
5. Repeat with the other side.
|
- Stand with unlocked legs
When you stand, make sure the groin areas (the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs) are soft and not locked. The softness there should feel similar to the crease of an unlocked elbow. This position allows ample room for the femoral artery and vein, makes standing more comfortable and allows you to exercise longer without pain or injury. Healthy blood flow to your legs and feet heals little injuries fast and can prevent cold feet, varicose veins, blood clots and Raynaud's syndrome.
|
|
|
Steps to soften the groin area:
1. While standing, sink your body downward, bending equally at the knees and hip joints. Your pelvis should “nest” between your legs.
2. Leaving the weight on your heels, slowly straighten just short of locking the groin.
3. Check the groin crease for softness by placing your fingers where the top of the legs hinge at the hip. You should feel some “give” in the soft tissue before feeling bone.
Stacksit
Stacking your spine on an anteverted pelvis while sitting provides you with a healthy way to relax at your desk, in restaurants, or at the dining table. When your spine stacks naturally, your back muscles relax, facilitating a healthy breathing pattern that moves the back with every breath. This movement provides a constant massage around your spine, optimizing circulation and keeping your tissues healthy.
|
|
|
To stacksit:
1. Form a wedge by folding fleece, a blanket or a towel so that one end of the folded material is higher than the other end.
2. Place the wedge on a chair, with the higher side to the back of the chair. Alternatively, you can use the edge of the chair.
3. Sit on the wedge or edge of the chair. Your pelvis should tip forward.
4. Feel the way your spine stacks naturally and notice the easy expansion of your lungs with each breath.
|
|
If you would like to share your progress with the Gokhale Method and restoring healthy circulation, please write to us.
Cheers,
Esther |
|
|
Esther Gokhale Wellness Center
(650) 324 - 3244
info@egwellness.com
{domain.address}(map)
Receive regular posture tips:
 
Forward this newsletter to a friend
|
|
|
|
Popular Workshops
Our recent workshops have been sold out, sometimes months in advance. We are glad to be training more GMF teachers as awareness and demand for this valuable training increases.
Public television program update
We have succeeded in raising 75K out of our 85K target to create a one-hour pledge program for public television. If anybody out there would like to contribute towards this worthy project, please click here. You will help bring valuable information to the American public, raise visibility of the Gokhale Method as well as help public television raise badly needed funds. Donations are not tax-deductible as our director's company is not a 501(3)c organization.
|
FREE EVENT OF THE MONTH: DANCE CLASS
For locals: Learn a fun and easy way to relieve stress and get your blood flowing. The dance forms taught in our classes naturally support good posture as they stretch, strengthen and exercise the body. We'll emphasize your shoulders and hips, areas where many of us store tension. This class will provide exercise, good movement habits, and an opportunity for self-expression all at once.
When: Choose between two times:
Fri, March 11, 9:30am – 10:30am OR
Mon, March 14, 10:45am - 11:45am
Space is limited, so please register for only one class time.
Where: 2439 Birch Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306
|
FREE ONLINE EVENT OF THE MONTH: ONLINE DANCE MOVES WORKSHOP
For non-locals: Learn Samba-inspired dance moves from Esther Gokhale. Dance is a fun and easy way to relieve stress and get your blood flowing. Learn moves that naturally support good posture as they stretch, strengthen and exercise your body.
When:
Choose between two times:
Wed, March 23, 8:00am – 8:30am PST OR
Fri, March 25, 5:15pm – 5:45pm PST. Space is limited, so please register for only one class time.
Where: Online - we will email you access codes 48 hours prior.
To participate in the online class, you will need:
a) a computer and a headset with a microphone
OR
b) a computer and a telephone.
|
|
Babies and young children have it all - shoulders posteriorly positioned, groin crease soft, spine well stacked, with the accompanying good circulation.
|
|
Gokhale Method Media Highlight
|
|
Upcoming Gokhale Method Foundations courses:
- March 3-5, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- April 9-10, Lovingston, VA
- June 3-5, Berkeley, CA
- September 16-18, Ann Arbor, MI
- Ongoing courses, San Francisco, CA
- Ongoing courses, Palo Alto, CA
- Want to see your city on this list? Request classes in your town
Click here for GMF Alumni class schedule
|
|
|
“To wish to be well is a part of becoming well.”
|
|
-Seneca
|
|
“He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.”
|
|
-Thomas Carlyle
|
|
|
I thought I was putting pressure on the inside of my upper arm when lying on my side that was causing the numbness, but you taught me it was the alignment of my shoulders with the rest of my body that was important to be aware of, and now I have no tingling or numbness. I've benefitted greatly from your classes in learning proper sitting, standing and walking. At over age 80, my chronic lower back problems have been effectively managed.
Walking is much more comfortable, and my ankle tenosynovitis (ankle strain) feels much better. I feel increased circulation in my feet and I have less tension in my mid-back. The GMF course is a very efficient resolution to many body alignment issues all at once.
-Katherine Lee, written this month after taking the course in October 2009
|
|
|
|
