muscles

In our culture a loss of up to 50% of the height of the discs as we age from our twenties to our fifties is considered normal. It follows that the herniations, nerve pain, and arthritic change that accompanies this chronic degeneration of our discs is also not seen as unusual. Pain and reduced ability to function is normalized.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In the Bhil tribe in central India, the average disc height of the discs of people in their fifties was discovered to be the same as those in people in their twenties¹, as detailed in Esther’s book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. It is their habit to actively maintain the length of their spines whenever they do anything that might otherwise compress their discs.

The human spine is able to carry considerable loads without damage—when length is actively maintained.

Maintaining healthy discs requires a healthy J-spine and the engagement of a matrix of muscles—which we refer to in the Gokhale Method as the inner corset. This muscle recruitment and more is taught in our in-person Foundations course, one-day Pop-up course, our online Elements course, plus our Gokhale Active program. The inner corset performs two main actions: a strong engagement of the deepest spinal muscles, and a strong engagement of the deeper layers of abdominal muscles. Together they create length and stability in and around the spine, thus preserving the height of each disc and protecting them against wear and tear. When we make recruitment of our inner corset a habit, every time the spine would otherwise be challenged and damaged, the spine is strengthened and made more resilient.

The effect of engaging the deep abdominal muscles is easy to understand. It’s similar to wearing an external corset, or weightlifting belt, that makes our torso a thinner cylinder. We are mostly made of water, which does not compress easily, so as we squeeze our torso it gets thinner and that fluid has to go somewhere—so it makes us taller, increasing or at least maintaining disc height.

As your torso gets more slender, it must get taller because its volume stays the same.

The action of the deep spinal muscles along the spine is however somewhat counter intuitive. When muscles engage, they contract, becoming shorter. How can that lengthen the spine?

The answer is tensegrity, a word coined from the phrase “tensional integrity”. This is a new word for something very old. If you have ever pitched a tent, that is, almost, a tensegrity structure. The poles are compressed and kept stable by a general tautness, or tension, of the tent fabric. If you leave the tent fabric loose, or leave a guy rope slack, the tent will easily fall down or blow over. But with good all-round tension the tent can resist gravity and additional forces.

In a true tensegrity structure the poles, or bones—whatever is being compressed—do not touch each other. They float as islands of compression in a sea of tension. The simplest example of this is the tower of string, demonstrated below in a short video.

Tensegrity offers an alternative model of structural support. The string is compressing the semicircular strips of plastic which are trying to straighten, putting the string under tension—now even a piece of string can stand up straight! 

 
This striking structure, Kenneth Snelson’s Rainbow Arch, is made from metal poles—islands of compression—and wire—the sea of tension. None of the poles touch each other, as with the bones in our bodies (in their natural healthy state).

 
The roof of the Denver airport uses fiberglass and steel cables in a tensegrity design to create a striking structure that is strong and lightweight, covers 300 x 1000 ft, and is evocative of First Nation teepees. It is modern, but native Americans have been pitching teepees using this principle for millennia.

The human spine is a sophisticated tensegrity structure, or more accurately, a biotensegrity structure, part of a living organism. The wood and fine string model in the video below shows how the bones and deepest muscles use the biotensegrity effect. Engaging the muscles increases the biotensegrity effect and the bones actively “float” apart, increasing space for each disc, the overall length of the spine, and its ability to bear load.

This simple wood and string model demonstrates the tensegrity principle, showing how the tendons and muscles can suspend the bones of the spine.

An electromyographic study of the rotatores muscles, the deepest on the spine, confirms this. The rotatores run the length of the spine connecting each vertebra to the next on both sides of the spine. If you engage the rotatores on one side, they assist in spinal rotation. Engage the rotatores on both sides, and the spine lengthens.

The rotatores muscles—small, deep muscles which attach each vertebra to the next—
were thought to be the main rotators of the spine. Their larger role in fine movement, stabilization, and extending the spine is now better understood. 

Our bodies have many fluid-filled spaces contained in “bags” or pockets of elastic material, fascia, where fluid pressure works with healthy tension in the tissues. We also have various “guy ropes” among our fascia, muscles, and tendons, and some are self-tensioning. This makes biotensegrity very elegant and dynamic.

Though it can be difficult to imagine biotensegrity, instruction from a Gokhale Method® teacher makes learning the inner corset very doable. You can lengthen and protect your spine in any number of situations: carrying shopping, running, cycling on rough ground, high-diving, being on a bumpy car ride—the list is almost endless—as are the benefits for your body.

References: 

1.   Fahrni, W. Harry and Trueman, Gordon E. (1965): Comparative Radiological Study of the Spines of a Primitive Population with North Americans and Northern Europeans, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 47-B (3): 552. 

Best next action steps 

If you would like help integrating your structure through healthy posture, get started by booking a consultation, online or in person, with one of our teachers.

You can sign up below to join any one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops…

I’m grateful that my posture journey is still unfolding

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. 

In the fall of 2023, I took another step forward: I completed the PostureTracker™ and Advanced Glidewalking online courses for alumni. This time, I immediately noticed a striking sense of groundedness and well-being—so much so that I volunteered to write my first Gokhale Success Story (you can read it here.) I could not have imagined that only a year later, in early 2025, I'd be writing again with even greater excitement, but here I am! In this Success Story I'll describe the surprising (to me) and wonderful changes I'm experiencing as I complete my fourth month of steady attendance at the Dance Party, 1-2-3-Move, and Gokhale Fitness classes. 

My fitness gathers momentum

I signed up for the three-week Gokhale Fitness challenge in September 2024. I attended all six classes each week, for three weeks. I loved the classes. I also felt fantastic. 

Emily speaks about the momentum of her posture and fitness journey, from a six-lesson course, to taking a daily program…

So after that, I joined Gokhale® Active and I simply kept going. All along, I've used the Dance Party and 1-2-3 Move classes as a sort of mindful warm-up before the Gokhale Fitness class. In this way, in an hour a day, six days a week, I've managed to get dramatically stronger. Even better, I've done it without pain or injury. 

What the process has felt like

My muscles are sometimes a bit sore, especially every six weeks when the Gokhale Fitness instructors change up the exercises (each class features three exercises, always taught with keen mindfulness to Gokhale principles.) However, I appreciate the change because it means I never get bored, and because each class pinpoints specific areas of the body and aspects of fitness (lower body strength, upper body stability and mobility, and so on). I find this gives my muscles and joints ample time to recover each week.

Our foster cat Arjuna relaxes while I do my daily 1-2-3 Move class. I aspire to have shoulders as flexible as his! (see below)

In addition, I took advantage of the special lesson rate we were offered during the fitness challenge and signed up for two private lessons online in the weeks after the challenge ended. I found the lessons invaluable to help me "see" (and feel) the ways I was holding and moving my body well, and the ways I still needed to change.

The body worker I see once a month was wowed by the increase in my strength and vitality, and friends have commented on the change. When my partner and I had to (literally) pick up an unwieldy 28 lb. (13 kg) bag of cat litter at the pet store recently for the cat we were fostering, my partner just looked at me and raised an eyebrow. He knew I'd want to be the one to do it. I did, easily. Not surprising as I’m now lifting a 35 lb. (16 kg) kettlebell for squats in class. And everyday life is easier, like bending to put a heavy cast iron pot into the back of a low cupboard. 

Emily shares the secret of her new physique!

My strength is increasing

The 1-2-3 Move posture work and the Gokhale Fitness classes create a powerful synergy. Having done both classes for four months, I understand clearly now that for me, strength had been the key missing piece of the postural puzzle. A year ago, I couldn't keep my shoulders back all day because the muscles in my upper back that perform that action were weak. In fact, in the PostureTracker™ class, my upper back would start to ache after just a few minutes. Now that I have reached the necessary baseline tone in that area in the Gokhale Fitness classes, I have no problem resting my shoulders back.

In the past, I instinctively shied away from work with weights. When I did try it, my neck would get worse. Now I understand that if I do strength work in the right way, with healthy alignment, it makes my neck—and my posture overall—better, not worse. What a joyful discovery! I have two sisters-in-law who are very athletic: one of them does clap pushups. Observing them, I’ve always felt like a cat watching a bird through the window. I admired their strength, but I thought I could never be that strong myself, or that if I could, it would take way more time than I could possibly spend (and, possibly, make my neck worse.) Now I see that getting stronger is a gradual process, one that I can engage in by investing a totally manageable amount of time each day.  

As I knead bread, I'm conscious of keeping a J-spine, engaging my inner corset, and letting my shoulders stay back and down.

Feeling joy and confidence in my body

I’m almost 65: I just finished applying for Medicare. Yet I feel more energetic than ever. While I already had a positive attitude towards aging, I really did not see this coming. I am, in fact, in my body more: it is like a mindfulness practice. I am aware of what my neck and shoulders are doing, for example, and this awareness keeps me in my body. The daily 1-2-3 Move classes I attend are like drip irrigation for my posture: the changes soak in easily and gradually, leaving me with a deep, ongoing sense of well-being and strength. I also feel peace of mind knowing that the strength and postural habits I am building will help reduce my fall risk as I age. Best of all, I’ve noticed that in stressful situations, I’m much better able to stand on my own two (kidney-bean shaped!) feet and say whatever I need to say in a calm way. In other words, improved posture has noticeably changed for the better the way I show up in my relationships.

Thanks to my Gokhale studies since the first picture (above) was taken in our garden in 2021, my posture has shifted from tentative and diffident to sturdy, erect, and confident (below)

Investing in my health now—and for the future

We all do our best to save money so we can live comfortably as we age. That’s important. However, I’ve come to realize that investing in my body, as I do each time I take a Gokhale class, is equally important. I want my quality of life to be high as I get older. Healthy posture and robust strength are underappreciated but crucial elements of a good quality of life. By cultivating these qualities, I’m making a tangible contribution to my health and happiness not only now, but years down the road.

Now that I understand that good posture is a lifelong journey, attending to my body alignment and strength has become as regular a habit as brushing my teeth—including regular “checkups” with Gokhale teachers through classes and lessons. The physical, emotional, and relational benefits of my newfound regular attention to posture are hard to overstate. I hope that reading about my journey inspires you to dream big about how you’d like to feel as you get older. And I hope I’ve conveyed how much studying the Gokhale Method has helped me live the way I want to live—feeling joyful, energetic, and strong.

Best next action steps

If you would like help finding your potential for healthy posture and exercise, get started by booking a consultation, online or in person, with one of our teachers.

You can sign up below to join any one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops…