A big part of the Gokhale Method is about changing habits. We ask the body to replace movement patterns that may have been ingrained for decades with new (old), natural patterns. We may understand the new patterns intellectually and practice them diligently, but our old patterns tend to linger and reassert themselves. If we are tired or not paying attention, the body slips back into familiar grooves. Dance turns out to be very helpful in circumventing this problem.

However different the language, costume, or climate, traditional dances the world over share the same underlying body architecture. They represent a living fossil record of the way we humans are meant to move — not just in dance, but in everyday life. The dances I saw on my travels — and often joined in — had different rhythms, moves, histories, and styles. Yet beneath all that variation, the bodies performing them shared an unmistakable common architecture.