spinal discs

Yesterday was midwinter day in the northern hemisphere. For many of us, this time of year means colder, shorter days, and a time when outdoor activities and social get-togethers can be more limited. 

Get out walking 

One thing we can do whatever the season is to get out on foot. Walking, done well, can significantly boost our circulation, burn calories, keep us warm, and assist our digestion—especially useful after rich and large festive meals! A good walk will also fill our lungs with fresh air and can boost our immune system to fight off winter bugs. 

Such exercise, especially in nature, is known to lift our mood. We can enjoy the company of friends and family—or go solo for some peace and introspection, as fits. All these potential benefits and more are summed up in the Latin phrase, Solvitur Ambulando, which translates as “walking solves everything.”¹

Daylight, fresh air, nature, companionship, and good posture all contribute to walking being a healthy and holistic activity. Pixabay

Walking—a primal activity for optimal health

It’s all too easy, especially on busy days, to go without any significant period of walking. We could be at our desk, or “on our feet” all day, without getting into the rhythm that comes with sustained walking. Walking for 30 minutes or more at a time would have been much more familiar to our ancestors—going to school, to the shops, or to work—than it is to many of us today. 

In many parts of the world this is still the case, and women in particular often walk many miles to fetch water, food, and fuel. I don’t want to romanticize hard labor, but I do think that the lack of sustained walking in much of the industrialized world, especially the US, means that we miss out on an activity that has been intrinsic to our evolution and healthy functioning. 

Glidewalking describes the natural gait of our ancestors and many people living in more traditional or nonindustrialized societies—where joint and back pain are rare.

Learning to glidewalk makes walking a pleasure

Walking with the healthy gait pattern that nature intended keeps the feet, legs, and glutes strong, and the joints mobile. The Gokhale Method calls this glidewalking, and it is explained in detail in my book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. As the term suggests, it results in a smooth action which spares the joints, including the spinal discs and nerves.

The basics of glidewalking can be learned in our Gokhale Method® in-person Foundations and Pop-up courses, and our online Elements course. Students experience the most significant changes during sustained walking, as it takes some time and distance to ease any stiffness in the muscles and joints, find a harmonious rhythm with the breath, and “get into one’s stride.”

Students find that sustained walking embodies the changes they’ve learned to make in class.

Sustained walking also allows students to cycle through the cues they have learned, checking for details such as “back heel down,” and “land on a bent front knee.” By refining these cues with each pass, they become integrated as habits. With healthy biomechanics, students find their new walk becomes smoother, more powerful, and more pleasurable. 

The essence of glidewalking

For Alumni we offer an Essence of Glidewalking course, where you can deep dive to find out what’s possible for your walking by slowing a movement down, tracking the detail, and troubleshooting anything holding you back. You have two expert teachers, one demonstrating and the other watching you, plus the opportunity for Q&A both inside and outside the session. 

Essence of Glidewalking participant Elenore Wieler speaks about her experience of the course.

If you are one of our Alumni and would like to revisit and refine your walking, the Essence of Glidewalking is especially for you! Our next six-part course starts on January 16 at 8:00 a.m. PT time. You can sign up below:

If you would like personalized guidance on any aspect of your posture, consider scheduling an Initial Consultation, online or in person, with a Gokhale Method teacher. 

Find out more about how the Gokhale Method can help you with our range of upcoming FREE Online Workshops. . .… 

References

¹attributed to the Greek philosopher Diogenes or, alternatively, St. Augustine.

This is our fourth blog post in the series where we put popular exercises under scrutiny to examine how they stack up—or not—against the principles of healthy posture. Here we are looking at “low plank,” a whole-body exercise that particularly develops abdominal strength and trunk stability. 

Our model for the photographs is Eric Fernandez, our Gokhale Exercise teacher who teaches the Gokhale Method in the Philadelphia area.

Low plank is done on the forearms, which avoids pressure on the wrists. 

The classic version of this exercise with straight arms. Active hands and a slight bend at the elbows will likely ease strain on the wrists, but we recommend you do low plank first.

Get all the benefits of plank, avoid any risk of damage

Plank is an excellent exercise for developing the muscular strength and coordination you need to align, support, and protect your spine. While pursuing these benefits you don’t want poor form to distort your spine and risk damage to your spinal discs and nerves. The exercise guidelines that allow you to do plank safely also train your body for healthy posture in daily life.

If you are new to this exercise, or the Gokhale Method®, I recommend that you prepare your body by learning to use your inner corset. The inner corset consists of the deep muscles of the abdomen and back which support and protect the spine. This is explained in detail in my book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back.

Free Chapter of 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back

To help you on your posture journey we are delighted to offer you two gifts:

• A subscription to our bi-weekly informative newsletter Positive Stance™
• A pdf of the Inner Corset chapter (ab strength) from 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back

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CAUTION: If you have back pain or a diagnosis or suspicion of herniation, stenosis, osteoporosis, or other spinal deterioration, you should consult your preferred health professional before practicing plank. 

Let’s get started

Start with a baby version of low plank in which your knees remain on the floor. This creates a shorter span and requires less abdominal strength to hold you horizontal. From a kneeling position:

• Engage your inner corset—you will maintain it throughout the exercise.
• Roll your shoulders back, lengthen your neck, tuck your toes under. 
• Lower yourself into your start position, elbows on the floor directly under your shoulders and forearms forward and parallel. You can also start in a baby Cobra position and lift your trunk away from the floor. 
• Bring your trunk to horizontal. Maintain your torso, neck, and head in this straight, horizontal line. 
• Initially, aim to hold baby plank for 5-10 seconds at a time. Repeat 5-10 times.
• Breathe steadily throughout. 

Baby plank develops healthy muscular strength, endurance, and coordination.

Full low plank

When doing plank on your knees is easy and you can breathe evenly, you can progress to doing the exercise with your legs straight and your weight on your toes. 

Full low plank. You may need to drop back on the duration or repetitions initially, and then build up again. 

Common Mistakes:

Neck tension:

Keep your neck lengthened with your head parallel to the floor; do not crane to look up. Tension in the back of the neck should not be attempting to lift you up. Neither do you want to drop your head down—rather, you want the deep muscles at the front of the cervical spine (longus colli) to support your neck, along with the inner corset.

Do not tense the back of your neck and pull your head up. 

Swaying the back:

It is important to not sag in the middle. Without a strong inner corset, the abdominal contents will hang downward, which will sway your lumbar spine and compress your discs and nerves. Practice the inner corset exercises consistently and you will soon be able to maintain a horizontal position.

The lower back is dipping into a sway, with tell-tale shirt creases in the lumbar area.

Tucking the pelvis, rounding the back and shoulders:

You may find yourself tucking your pelvis, especially if you have been trained to do this when working your abdominals. You may also be working your glutes inappropriately—you want your inner corset to brace you, not clenched buttocks. Work with a more relaxed feeling in your pelvis and hips and allow your behind to remain behind you. 

Rectus abdominis is flexing the spine and tucking the pelvis. Rounding the back and shoulders are also misguided efforts to push or lift up. 

It can be tempting to push away as you take your weight in plank, rounding your shoulders. Resist this habit and allow your chest to remain closer to the ground. Drawing your shoulder blades together may help.

Make sure you are not tucking your pelvis or pushing your chest away from the ground, both of which will likely result in rounding your back.

If you would like to practice this great exercise for your back health, join Eric for a “low plank” Gokhale Exercise class on Friday, November 26 at 9:45 a.m. (Pacific Time). If you have not yet subscribed to the 1-2-3 Move program, sign up now for your 7-day Gokhale Exercise Free Trial.

1-2-3 Move happens daily with Esther or guest teachers at 9:45 a.m. 
Gokhale Fitness with Eric runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays from 7–7:25 a.m.
(Pacific Time), and Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays from 3–3:25 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Gokhale Moving Meditation with Roberta is Mondays at 2 p.m. and with Kathleen is Wednesdays at 12 p.m. (Pacific Time)