Gokhale Exercise

Taking the daily classes has helped me perfect the practice and really get the nuances. I am now able to accomplish the rib anchor, which I was struggling with. Also, the daily motivation that I get from checking in and feeling the energy from the group—it has just been an amazing opportunity.
Elizabeth Kubicki, Gokhale alumna

Gokhale Method® teacher and editorial writer Clare Chapman explores the When and Why of Gokhale® Exercise with its creator, Esther Gokhale.

Clare: Can you tell us how the Gokhale Exercise program got started?

Esther: For a long time now, our teachers and I have been surprised at how much our alumni—graduates of our courses—can forget. This despite their being delighted by the courses and their results. Of course, it shouldn’t be surprising at all, given that humans have forgetting curves as surely as they have learning curves, and that our beginner courses cover a lot of material in a short time frame. 

The forgetting curve was developed by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus and depicts the way learned information falls away over time. Research confirms that, on average, students forget 70 percent of what is taught within 24 hours of a training experience. 90 percent is forgotten within a week. Image: www.organisingstudents.com.au

On January 1, 2020, I decided to try a new format—an online 21-day challenge. Each broadcast was short, reminding alumni of one basic principle of the Gokhale Method that would be familiar, if semi-forgotten. I chose it to be an exercise program to additionally fill the well-understood need for more movement in daily life.

Esther answers a question from Gokhale alumna Elizabeth Kubicki about the posture principle of straightening the back leg in speed walking.

Clare: And before long COVID hit, correct?

Esther: Yes, along with shelter-in-place orders. It became clear people would be stuck in their homes without their usual access to sports and exercise facilities, or their usual interventions for their aches and pains. We had a tested offering whose value had suddenly increased dramatically—it felt important to continue the program, and also to open it up to a wider audience. It gathered a large number of daily participants and evolved to include a great variety of music and dance, art, anatomical education, community and mutual support. Many participants told us that this is what kept their bodies and spirits afloat through the dark period of the pandemic.

Clare: How did Gokhale Exercise evolve its current format?

Esther: Gokhale Exercise started with 1-2-3 Move, which uses dance as the vehicle for posture education and entertainment. It continues to this day without having missed a beat! The 13-minute class is our main program, focusing on 1 posture principle, 2 dance moves, and 3 images. It is preceded by a joyous, free-form, 15-minute Dance Party.

Dance is a human universal, and besides providing a fun way to revisit posture principles, it improves cognition, staves off dementia and depression, brightens spirits and community feeling, and more. Traditional dance is especially true to our ethos of taking lessons from other cultures. Various members of our teacher team contribute: Sabina has deep knowledge of blues and swing styles, Eric loves Latin, and Lang is expert in Capoeira and Brazilian dance moves. My passion is Indian, Brazilian, and Congolese dance​​. . .

Gokhale Exercise has now blossomed into multiple offerings, adding Gokhale Fitness, Moving Meditation, Fitness for Cyclists, and Yoga, with an increasing number of teachers offering their expertise throughout the day. 

Gokhale Exercise teachers enjoy sharing their movement expertise with a “Gokhale filter.” 
Top left to bottom right: Roberta, Julie, Esther, Kathleen, Eric, Sabina, Tiffany, and Lang.

Clare: Can you say more about how these different forms of exercise encourage healthy posture?

Esther: Every 1-2-3 Move class uses traditional rather than modern dance moves. This comes with a level of reassurance about their suitability for the human body; we know these moves have been vetted by entire populations who didn’t have modern pain. 

Gokhale® Yoga, Moving Meditation and Gokhale® Fitness also explore posture principles that are not emphasized or respected in the average class: anchored ribs, recruiting the inner corset, kidney-bean shaped feet, etc. Respecting the body’s natural blueprint enables us to increase fitness, strength, and flexibility without risking injury. 

Across all the classes we follow a Posture Principle of the day—for example, Healthy Rotation of the Torso—so whichever class(es) students participate in, they get the range of healthy posture reminders they need at regular intervals. 

Each Gokhale Exercise email comes with a daily Posture Principle image to remind and inspire. This vintage baseball illustration shows healthy rotation of the torso while keeping good form throughout the body.

Clare: Who attends the Gokhale Exercise program?

Esther: Classes span a variety of pace and challenge, so for example, our Gokhale Moving Meditation classes are gentle enough for even the most physically challenged members of the community, while Gokhale Fitness pushes almost everybody’s boundaries (while giving easier modifications of the exercises offered). 

Clare: Is the Gokhale Exercise program suitable for beginners?

Esther: The ideal starting point for beginners is to take one of our comprehensive courses (the in-person Foundations course, or one-day Pop-up course, or our online Elements course). This is especially true for those suffering pain or dysfunction. In these courses, students can learn with optimal sequencing and detail, and get the one-on-one attention they need. For students who would like a free introduction to the Gokhale Method we recommend signing up for an in-person or online free workshop. For comprehensive personal advice, consider taking an in-person or online Initial Consultation to determine which course is best for you. 

Many people start with the Gokhale Exercise program because it has a free trial week and costs very little thereafter—we are glad to be able to provide this service for people who cannot afford our courses or who are curious to see what our offerings are like. Having the program open to the public also means that alumni can invite their friends and family members along to try it without any obligations.

Clare: What is next for the Gokhale Exercise Program?

Esther: We want all our students to have a minimum of one month’s live support, available every day, as they approach the end of their courses. So we are delighted to announce that all our valued alumni—from the in-person Foundations, Pop-up, or online Elements courses—will be gifted a free month’s membership of our Online University, which includes the Gokhale Exercise program!

Online University member Claire Phillips explains how membership has inspired her progress.

In addition to Gokhale Exercise, our Online University additionally offers two 45-minute Live Chats every month with me, Esther Gokhale. Topics include flexibility, the human spine, posture and emotional health, to squat or not to squat, and more. There is also unlimited access to our On-Demand Video Library of over 60 topics including advanced posture techniques and practical applications like gardening, cooking, etc.

Clare: Thanks Esther, Gokhale Exercise is an inspiring and continuing journey!

FREE 10-Day Back to Basics Challenge

Alumni often tell us they get a lot of benefit from reviewing the basics—so we are also offering an exciting Back to Basics Challenge, designed for alumni, but also open to beginners, as part of our 1-2-3 Move program and starting September 26 for 10 days.

Here is the Challenge:

Each class will review a different Posture Principle, with exercises for practice and challenge. We have prepared a downloadable booklet for participants to print and journal their postural changes and progress. 

How to take part:

Online University and Gokhale Exercise members automatically qualify for this challenge—their daily emails will tell them about it. 

People who have not yet taken a Gokhale Method course and who are therefore not alumni are also welcome to join, and listen in to the Q&A sessions by signing up to our Gokhale Exercise program with a monthly subscription—with our free trial you can test it without any obligations.

We look forward to seeing both new and familiar faces! 

Gokhale Method alumnus Ben Bernstein PhD appreciates daily reminders of what to work on.

   
If you’ve found yourself in a slump these past months, you aren’t alone. Exercise can support mental wellness if you go about it skillfully. Image courtesy United Nations COVID-19 Response on Unsplash.

It’s no secret that depression and anxiety are rampant these days. So many people worldwide are feeling the effects of the ongoing pandemic, and dealing with its many, varied results, not to mention other stressors. It can seem that there is so little in our lives that we can have influence over, exacerbating feelings of powerlessness and depression.

In addition to the range of standard therapeutic interventions like psychotherapy and medication, there’s something all of us can adopt that will help boost our mood: adding exercise to our routine. However, it pays to be skillful in trying this approach. Here are a few practical pointers for how to realistically approach exercise when you’re depressed.

When you’re just starting (or even simply trying) to emerge from your chrysalis, it’s important to be gentle with yourself and set modest, realistic goals. This extends to starting exercise while also dealing with depression. Image courtesy Miriam Fischer on Pexels.

If You’re Depressed, Set Small Exercise Goals
When someone is depressed, it’s crucial to have realistic expectations for how much exercise they are likely to be able to do. A depressed person isn’t merely being “lazy,” and can’t simply “snap out of it” and go run a marathon; there is a physiological cause at work. In severe cases, it can take significant effort merely to get up out of bed. Because of this, setting the bar low and taking a gentle approach is the most likely to yield good results.

Could you commit to taking a few deep breaths when you get out of bed? Or how about a little no-judgment, freestyle dancing?

Finding alternate ways to connect during COVID times can be a great boost to our well-being, both physical and mental. Image courtesy United Nations COVID-19 Response on Unsplash.

Exercise in (Virtual) Company to Combat Isolation
Just like the “oomph” to easily get out of bed, both motivation and accountability can be hard to come by for people dealing with depression. I recently came across a great quote by Keith Johnsgård, PhD, emeritus professor of psychology at San Jose State University and author of Conquering Depression & Anxiety through Exercise. “Having social support for exercise is crucial when you’re depressed,” he says. “A lot of folks won’t exercise on their own, so I tell patients to enlist a family member or good friend to be their exercise partner. It should be someone who is willing to help them...exercise every day.”

Considering the limitations of the pandemic, virtual fitness is a great option for connecting with others safely. If you have a low day you have the option to turn off your camera and still participate without “showing up” — you won’t have missed a session, and odds are you will feel all the better for it.

Exercise in ways that improve flow in your body
According to Chinese medicine, “liver Qi Stagnation” is a common contributor to depression. The solution is to get the Qi flowing; exercise and movement are important ways to make that happen. If you prefer to think in terms other than Chinese medicine, exercise stimulates both blood circulation and our natural “happy hormones”. At a moderate intensity, 20 minutes or so of exercise stimulates the body to release endorphins, giving the “runner’s high” that joggers so enjoy. 

Less talked about are the benefits of low-intensity exercise sustained over time. Even at this level, you can feel better because your brain chemistry changes. Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School writes "In people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain—the region that helps regulate mood—is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression." 

Just like the rest of nature, our bodies require a lack of impediments in order to function optimally. According to traditional Chinese medicine, getting your liver Qi flowing with exercise is one way to help clear the stagnation of depression. Image courtesy Tom Fisk on Pexels.

Some forms of exercise offer benefits beyond the usual and customary. Exercise that improves your body architecture, posture, and movement patterns, sets you up for benefits 24/7 — your flow is augmented even as you sleep, sit, and stand, and you are much more likely to proceed doing your daily activities with the same health-enhancing form.

In the Gokhale Exercise program, born on January 1, 2020, the focus is on one movement principle a day — this keeps it digestible and fun, even if you are starting off feeling a little (or a lot) glum. Even through a Zoom window, it’s possible to siphon a little of the high energy that has built in this community over the past year and uplift your mood. In addition to high spirits, the community is generous in sharing their discoveries, thoughts, and feelings. For many who have written emails to me, as well as for myself, the support has been invaluable through difficult times.

Would you like to let us do the heavy lifting and just show up to one of our daily programs? Change the course of your New Year with a new exercise program, new habits, and bolstered spirits. 

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Some balk at the idea that showing up is at least as important as succeeding...but what if there’s something to it? Image courtesy Anna Shvets on Pexels.

A common saying in the United States is “Showing up is half the battle.” I would prefer that to read “Showing up is half the game.” This distinction notwithstanding, the saying speaks to the big difference between giving something a try and opting out of participating at all. But does this lowest-common-denominator approach predispose us toward laziness? And does it cheapen the earnest efforts of others?

People make a big deal about perfectly adhering to routines, attending classes (or in pre-COVID times, the gym) daily, etc. As it turns out, however, the imperfect, fuzzy-edged effort has a great deal of value.

Leaning into imperfection can be a constructive attitude to adopt. Image courtesy Pixabay on Pexels.

How is “less than perfect” still good enough?
Take developing a Zen meditation practice, for example. Arguably, one major goal of Zen meditation is to refrain from actively engaging in thoughts.

People starting out in this type of meditation practice sometimes erroneously place a lot of importance on having to be (or appear) peaceful or outwardly stoical. They may wrestle with their minds to force mental stillness, but much like trying to smooth the surface of a pond with one’s hands, that effort to control the outcome generates ripples (more thoughts). It turns out that it’s not possible to force our minds to stop thinking.

Imperfection is built into the process. Our minds are made to generate thoughts, a phenomenon referred to as “monkey mind.” There’s a learning curve. This can be uncomfortable for people who expect “perfect” results right out of the gate, end up with something “less than perfect,” and give up, never to try again. That is a lost opportunity.

If we never tried anything we didn’t already know, we’d simply never learn new skills. Imperfection is baked into the process of learning — and that’s a good thing! Image courtesy Maggie My Photo Album on Pexels.

Another example is learning how to garden. We can certainly absorb knowledge intellectually from reading a book, but it takes actually getting our hands dirty (and getting the rest of our bodies engaged!) to learn many of the physical skills at the core of gardening.

Whether we’re talking about a meditation practice, learning to garden, a new exercise habit, cultivating healthier posture than that with which we grew up, or embarking on the journey of learning some other new skill, the simple act of showing up with your attention and presence is deeply meaningful.

We have a great opportunity in just showing up. Why squander it? Image courtesy Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.

Showing up helps you...and others too
We’re so grateful for those of you who “just show up” to our daily exercise programs. Your presence not only benefits you, but also enriches the experience of every last one of your peers by giving them one more real person to be in community with. This is more precious than ever during this ongoing pandemic.

On January 1, 2020, I made a decision to show up daily in a live broadcast. This was pre-COVID and in response to a degree of dismay that our alumni, despite being extremely satisfied with our offerings, surely and steadily forget what we teach them. The phenomenon of forgetting is hardly surprising, as forgetting is adaptive, and as we are surrounded by poor posture practices and props. I decided to use the Tiny Habits approach of B.J. Fogg to remind alumni of one little body / movement principle daily, wrapped in a workout. Like many of the participants, I have found it to be of indescribable value.

Just a few of the lovely people who join in the daily 1-2-3 Move program.

I’ve faced extra challenges in recent times, like almost everyone I know. To be able to just show up in any of our exercise programs, and be guaranteed to feel uplifted in body and spirit, by the activity and the community, has been wonderfully reassuring. I’m deeply grateful to all involved. If you are curious to check out how it feels to show up in our little community, here’s the page to take you there.

Feeling that Thanksgiving exercise motivation? Learn how to work out smarter, not just harder, today and every day! Image courtesy Andrea Piacquadio on Unsplash.

Ah, Thanksgiving. For many of us, it’s a time for gratitude and connection. It’s also a time when many people’s minds turn to exercise to offset the rich and abundant food on the menu. How can we make that extra push, enjoy it, and not injure ourselves in the process? Due to the pandemic, more and more of us are working out at home, without our usual exercise partners or in-person access to recreational facilities. Now’s the perfect time to learn to work out smarter, rather than harder.

Exercising harder and longer on top of poor structural alignment is like continuing to drive a car with a mechanical problem. Better to address the root of the problem so nothing slows you down long-term. Image courtesy Pixabay on Pexels.

#1: Fix your posture
Fixing your posture helps you work relevant muscles more efficiently. It also prevents unnecessary wear and tear. When people want to get more exercise, they often simply increase the time spent or the intensity of their exercise. Sometimes they drive themselves to exercise more because of an injury. But if they don’t address systematic posture problems while exercising, they may in fact exacerbate their injury. The analogy that comes to mind is driving a car with a crooked axle. If the car begins to have problems, the solution is not to drive extra or drive faster; you need to fix the axle. Fixing your posture can do wonders for getting more out of your exercise time.

If our daily activities are done with good posture, they can dovetail with exercise. Image courtesy Mark Timberlake on Unsplash.

#2: Use your daily-life activities as the main dish in your regimen
We’re all busier than ever, so it makes sense that it’s challenging to shoehorn separate exercise time into our schedules. A way around this is to use the activities you do every day, around the home and/or office, as the central piece of your exercise regime. Much like this recent Medium piece in which a Japanese writer shares the central role walking plays in keeping Japanese people fit without dedicated gym time, using our bodies wisely as we go about our day means that exercise is built into everything we do. Think of it as clever, efficient multitasking for the body.

To really encourage healthy habits to stick, it helps to do them in community — whether that’s friends, family, or fellow participants, or a combination. Image courtesy Andrea Piacquadio on Unsplash.

#3: Include friends and family if you're going to dedicate time for a workout
Working out smarter can also happen by incorporating the community aspect of exercise. It’s simply smarter to double up your exercise time with social time by exercising with friends, family, or online classmates. Working out with others is wonderful for both habit retention and our mental well-being. On this very strange Thanksgiving, where we can’t be together in the usual ways, having a ready-made vehicle for time spent together safely is another purpose that exercise can serve. Everyone within a family has their individual exercise needs that are valid and more important than ever to satisfy, so be sure to pick something with variety that is accessible to everyone.

We aren’t machines, but humans born of rich traditions, who need things like art, music, dance, and culture to thrive. Exercise that incorporates such enrichments satisfies multiple needs simultaneously. Image courtesy Omotayo Tajudeen on Unsplash.

#4: Include art, music, dance, and culture
You only have but so many hours in the day, and art, music, dance, and culture are universal human needs that must be met somehow. Especially in COVID times, when we cannot attend live, in-person performances, go out dancing in groups, or easily visit museums, incorporating art, music, dance, and culture into our exercise helps fill our primal human need for creative input and enlivens our spirits. And our spirits can use every boost they can get these days!

Every journey begins with a single step. Why not start yours today? Image courtesy Bruno Nascimiento on Unsplash.

Get going on the good foot, starting today
With the live, daily Gokhale Exercise program, we have arrived at just this combination of ingredients. Starting out with figuring out how to meet my own needs, I realized the audience has roughly the same needs for a textured, multi-layered, upbeat offering. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’re offering 3 free days of access to our vibrant and ever-growing Gokhale Exercise program, beginning today. Feel free to invite your friends and family to join you in a safe way this Thanksgiving weekend.