aging

Esther Gokhale explains the many proven benefits of dance for physical and mental health, and how it delivers much needed healthy posture reminders.

Imagine it is 2027. You're moving easily through your day—gardening, playing with grandchildren, hiking, dancing—whatever brings you joy. Your back doesn't hurt. Your knees work. You feel strong and capable in your body.

My Gokhale Method® journey has unfolded in stages. I attended an in-person weekend Gokhale® Foundations course in 2016, seeking relief for a stiff neck. My neck had been a chronic problem during my long career as a professional oboe player, and it was now much worse after a freak fall down the stairs. As I began to incorporate the Gokhale principles into my daily life, my neck gradually improved.

We assume in our culture that aging will necessarily be accompanied by a loss of height, increasingly stooped posture, loss of muscle strength, and a precarious inability to balance. But is this really the inevitable trajectory? Here we look at why this occurs and focus on how a healthy gait can help us maintain good balance throughout life, including into old age.

Walking sticks and poles help prevent falls but are poor compensation for loss 
of natural stability and balance from the feet and buttocks. Unsplash

Falls can have fatal consequences for the elderly, potentially resulting in broken bones and a cascade of problems that can ensue from hospitalization, injury, surgery, and immobility.

Photo courtesy Norman Crawford.

Norm, a hydrologic analyst and author now 82 years of age, originally hails from Alberta, Canada. When Norm was 16 years old, he accepted a summer job in Lake Louise (also known as Lake of the Little Fishes by the local Stoney Nakoda people), a location in the Canadian Rockies so known for its rugged beauty that it is frequently included on lists of “Wonders of the World.” This breathtaking landscape formed the backdrop for Norm’s lifelong love affair with the outdoors. Decades later, Norm still speaks of Lake Louise with understated reverence.

Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, where Norm first fell in love with hiking. Photo courtesy Kevin Noble on Unsplash.

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