theater

Some years ago I had a student who had difficulty engaging his glutes and leaving his back heel down while walking. I had guided him through my usual toolbox of techniques and principles, but this piece still stubbornly failed to land. All of a sudden something dawned on him, and he exclaimed, “Oh, it’s a jaunty walk!” and proceeded to do exactly what I had been trying to teach him with an additional spring in his step.

Reflecting on this later, I realized that the precise and technical breakdown of gait pattern that I had given him was far superseded by his “aha moment”—not only had he found an abbreviated way of pulling many technical aspects of gait together, but he had also articulated and embodied an important emotional aspect of natural human gait.

Of course, learning breakthroughs don't always happen this way, but it was a profound lesson in how desirable it is to be on the lookout for emotional cues that can evoke, conjure up, and breathe life into technical instruction.

Roleplay, theater, and imagination can help us to conjure new patterns and feelings in our walking.

In the upcoming second edition of my book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, which is due for publication September 1, there are some changes to the Glidewalking chapter that reflect this discovery. The original walking chapter is not “wrong”; it provides deep and helpful insights into healthy human gait. Its detail is forensic, and the choreography precise. But over the years we have found ways to make the technicalities of glidewalking more accessible and experiential for our students.

A sneak peek at a new cue for glidewalking, from the new edition of 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back.

Even in the Gokhale®Foundations, the core six-lesson face-to-face offering to learn the Gokhale Method®, where the technical components of healthy walking necessarily occupy much of the lesson time, we like to use imaginative cues from animal gait, walking tall, finding steadiness, and sometimes dancing a simple Samba.

Alumna Deb Claire, who is legally blind, talks about her newfound confidence in walking having learned the Gokhale Method.

In the Advanced Glidewalking course, where all students are alumni and have already somewhat digested the basics of healthy gait, we not only deep dive into the more complex technicalities of walking, but come Session 5, we experiment playfully and more freely with emotional and associational cuing. We explore feelings of strength, balance, relaxation, dignity, openness, interdependence, and more. With each exploration, students deepen their understanding, practice, and access to natural human gait.

We have found that music is a powerful way to augment this immersive experience. Carefully chosen music can help our students tap into positive natural emotional landscapes. As an example, the opening theme music to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (from Thus Spake Zarathustra by Richard Strauss) enables students to feel their innate power and strength—we invite them to experience that in a glute-enhanced walk that also uses the inner corset and longus colli deep neck muscles, giving a profound sense of support.

Turn up the volume and take a walk to this magnificent passage of music and cinematography. Who would not be uplifted by it?

Over the next few days, I urge you to tune into, and play with any emotional connections you can feel with your walking. And this Valentine’s Day, consider exploring my very favorite emotion as you take a walk—a sense of connection and love of all that surrounds you—walk with your heart.

Our next Advanced Glidewalking course starts Monday, March 31, at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. If you are an alumnus, consider joining your fellow Gokhale Method alumni on this exciting journey of walking techniques and self-discovery.

I recently took the six-session Advanced Glidewalking course with Esther and Doreen, and it was fabulous, a deep dive into the mechanics and spirit of walking… I’d been introduced to glidewalking about 10 years ago when I took Gokhale Foundations, and have been using what I learned there ever since (I’m a daily walker). Still, there was more to be remembered and more to learn and integrate. Esther and Doreen… inspired us with music and helpful images when we were getting caught up in thinking about too many details at once. My walking has improved greatly since the course; more gliding, softer landings; and I have the tools to keep improving. Definitely a worthwhile experience! A great big thanks to Esther and Doreen!
Julie Reichert, October 2024

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For some, Summer is a time of rest, relaxation and vacation. Unfortunately, for teens and young adults, these months are often wrought with the anxiety of life ahead: starting college, searching for a job...It is important to address the major role our bodies play in how we weather times of stress and uncertainty.

We’ve always known that there is a connection between the physical and the emotional. We know how hard it is not to get grumpy when we aren’t feeling our best. Being laid up with a cold or fighting a headache can spoil anyone’s mood.

Now there is a mounting body of scientific research suggesting this connection is much stronger than simply reacting to discomfort or pain. It appears that, to some extent, our emotional states are actually determined by the position of our bodies. In her book, Emotional Contagion, researcher Elaine Hatfield compiles evidence that our physical states are interpreted by our brains to create the emotions we feel. In her view, it is our bodies, rather than our minds, that react to situations, and this physical response tells the brain what we feel.

A beautiful girl in a Goan market whose regal affect matches her glowing smile (India)

Amy Cuddy introduced this concept to millions in her extremely popular TED talk on “power posing.” Her research shows that people like you better when you are more confident - and you can make yourself more confident by standing tall and throwing your hands high in the air. This almost instantly increases your feelings of power (testosterone) and lowers your stress levels (cortisol). In other words, just moving your body in a certain way for a few minutes causes measurable differences in your hormone levels.

This teacher in Otovalo, Ecuador does not compromise his form in order to please the children, and they are not the least bit put off by this! 

Another group of researchers found that bipolar patients felt significantly less depressed when they stood erect with their heads up, smiled and breathed deeply. In fact, this position eliminated the need for medication as long as they maintained it.

A recent Gokhale Method Foundations course graduate wrote eloquently about some surprising emotional effects of her posture training in her blog, the Moody Pinata.

Rates of depression are often lower in developing countries than in the west. One has to ponder whether we have more to learn. 

When dealing with the stresses of young adult life, posture probably isn’t the primary source of anxiety and depression. However, upright posture may be a successful coping mechanism for stress, as researchers at the University of Auckland recently demonstrated by subjecting participants to stressful tasks. Those that had been coached to sit up straight were “enthusiastic, excited, and strong,” while those who had been instructed to slump were “more fearful, hostile, nervous, quiet...and sluggish” while completing the same tasks.

Actors use posture to portray a variety of mind states. More than many, they understand the value of the body in establishing character - both mental and physical. 

This field of research deserves the attention it has received in the press lately. While human emotions are complicated and should be approached holistically, posture may be the easiest variable to control, and the fastest step toward a more balanced life—literally! After all, any of life’s hurdles are more easily cleared when our bodies are functioning at their fullest capacity.

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