acupuncture

My name is Sheila Bond, and I am the mother of four sweet kids, an artist, a knit and jewelry designer, and a private art teacher. In this blog post I would like to share with you my Gokhale Method® journey out of pain and despair.

Photo of me after my second disc herniation in seven years.

On May 6, 2022, I severely herniated the spinal disc between my L4/L5 vertebrae. In addition I had developed bursitis in my left hip during the previous three months, I believe from sitting improperly teaching online classes.

It happened on the Friday before Mother’s Day. By Saturday morning I could barely move and thought I might die or at the very least never recover. I ordered a TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, a mild electrical current to give pain relief) from Walgreens, and bought Salonpas patches and a walking cane. I took three Advil and two extra strength Tylenol alternating every six hours. 

I had previously herniated my L4/L5 in 2015, and had a laminectomy (a surgical operation to remove part of the back of vertebrae, usually to relieve pressure on nerves.) That surgery had left me in terrible pain. When I told the surgeon I was still in pain in my tailbone/sacrum area, he told me he could remove my tailbone. I declined. Following surgery, I also went to physical therapy for a year and a half, but it gave me more pain than it took away.

   
My MRI from January 2015, showing my first L4/L5 herniation (red arrow).  

My MRI from May 2022, showing my second L4/L5 herniation. I was particularly disturbed by the amount of tissue damage in the area after my first surgery (circled in blue).

It wasn’t until five years later when I discovered a traditional Chinese acupuncturist that I found any real relief in that area. During that timespan I was also diagnosed with EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder), and discovered that I consequently had a hypermobile sacrum that was prone to dislocation.

Returning to May 2022, I was in denial that it could be my spine and insisted it must be my hip causing the electrifying pain that ran all the way from my hip to my foot. I thought maybe it was something wrong with the joint. I just really didn’t want it to be my spine again. On Monday, May 9, I finally agreed to go to the ER after hearing that my GP could not squeeze me in.

The electrifying pain ran all the way from my hip to my foot.

At the ER they gave me an IV, Valium and Fentanyl. It barely touched the pain, and only for an hour, and then they’d give me more. They did an MRI of my back and an X-ray of my hip. After about four hours they sent me home with the diagnosis of a severely herniated disc and bursitis in my hip. They gave me 10 Vicodin pain pills, 30 muscle relaxants, and a package of steroids and told me to see an orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon. 

The ER room looked bleak, just like my state of mind.

The pain continued. I couldn’t dress myself. I could barely move or function at all. I called the orthopedic surgeon the next day who said my hip didn’t need an operation since the problem was bursitis, and that I should see a spinal surgeon or a neurosurgeon. I did not as I was so scared by my last experience. (I didn’t take the steroids either.) Instead, on May 12, I headed three hours away with my youngest kid in tow to see an acupuncturist who specialized in chronic pain and spinal injuries.

There was severe weather on my agonizing 3 hour drive to seek help. But I was desperate—and determined.

The acupuncturist recommended daily treatment so I checked into a hotel. She told me all my L1-L5 discs were not doing well. After five days of treatment, I experienced some pain relief, but sadly I tripped on my cane and fell into a wall, reversing any healing done. The pain then became so bad that I felt as though I was being constantly electrocuted. I couldn’t sleep. I drew and painted from my bed trying to explain what I was feeling. 

I tried to communicate my experience visually.

I am the main breadwinner for my family and I really could not miss work. I tried to teach my private Zoom art classes, but standing and sitting were both unbearable. I forced myself to teach some of them and rescheduled others. My birthday was on the 22nd and I felt like I was on my deathbed. I am used to being the one to care for others, so this was a terrible place for me to be.

I felt so bad for all my kids. I took the youngest one, who was with me, to the zoo, but had to use an electric wheelchair. I took the prescribed Vicodin and muscle relaxants to make it through, but still had to keep changing positions, fighting the pain. Some of the time I couldn’t even hold the steering wheel to make the wheelchair go, and then my kid would offer to steer for me. We didn’t stay long.

This video shows a GIF I made from two drawings to express the pain I experienced.

My sweet sister Aileen who lived states away was worried about me. She had recovered from back pain having worked with Esther Gokhale in California, and told me Esther could help me and sent me the Gokhale Method website. From my hotel bed she and my father helped me to sign up for the 18-session online Elements course. 

Before meeting Esther Gokhale I tried. . . 

Ice
Advil
Norco
Tylenol
Tens unit
Massager
Hydration 
Electrolytes 
Arnica salve
Heating pads 
Cyclobenzaprine
Lowering my chair 
Gentle safe stretches  
B and C vitamins, zinc 
Short walks every day 
Heat wrap around calf
Gentle and slow motion 
Hot baths with Epsom salts
Trying to correct my posture myself
Hand massage of my leg muscles, daily
Inversion table—horrible, won’t do it again
Acupuncture—two weeks of daily treatment 
Herbal tea from my acupuncturist and herbalist 

I met Esther on May 24 from my hotel room over Zoom. Esther was kind and gentle, and confident that she could help me. I couldn’t sit so Esther guided me to a position lying on the floor with my feet in a chair—that relieved enough of the pain so we could talk. We set up the sessions to begin on May 31. It was so hard to take the before-course posture photos.

From the very first Elements lesson I found some relief. It was small gains at first, but I could tell the difference. I was in so much pain even the littlest movements were hard. The tiniest shifts helped a lot. I hadn’t slept well in so long.

Esther thought pain medication might be helpful to assist me though the sessions. Finally in the middle of June I went to see the neurosurgeon. I carried with me my copy of 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back. I told him I had been having private posture lessons with Esther Gokhale—I had done five at that point. He hadn’t heard of the Gokhale Method, and, as he could see that my herniation was pressing against my spinal nerves, he wanted to do surgery immediately. I told him I wanted to continue to try to heal myself, and that I wanted to try pain medication to support that. He couldn’t believe I had held on so long in my condition, and I think he realized my strength and conviction. He made an appointment for a spinal injection in two weeks’ time (which I never had) and prescribed me the second strongest Percocets available. 

I took the pain medication for only three-to-four days as they made me nauseous, but it was long enough to give me some relief and I was able to do more during our posture sessions. Each session gave me a posture gem that I needed to know. I practiced over Zoom with Esther, and by myself in between our sessions. It was amazing to me that I was learning how to heal myself and avoid pain. 

Today I find myself returning to making joyful and more optimistic drawings like this sketch of a tree, looking skyward.

Things really began to shift for me about a third of the way through the course. When Esther taught me standing, I changed my stance by kidney-bean shaping my feet, externally rotating my legs, and relaxing my pelvis and belly, allowing my behind to be behind me. I’ve had four kids, and had gotten used to holding tension and trying not to let my belly show. I had become scared to move out of my “locked up” position for fear of more pain. After learning how to relax into a healthy standing posture, a huge percentage of the back pain dissipated. 

Around mid-July, halfway through Elements, we started learning to glidewalk. This brought another huge shift, as my searing leg pain finally started to recede. I had admired my sister’s strong, smooth way of walking since she had taken the in-person Foundations Course, and now I too was learning how to keep my back heel down, and to land on a bent front knee. Having struggled even to stand for months, getting walking again took some determination just to move a few yards. 

By August I was able to return to making jewelry like this charoite and copper pendant.

By lesson 14 or 15 I was able to walk without a cane. I realized I still had to focus on anchoring my ribs as well as all the changes with my gait. I still hear Esther saying to me “heel down, ribs down. . . ” Having a teacher prompt you in real time was so helpful.

Some days were better than others, and progress ebbed and flowed. I have learned that I need to treat myself with love and patience. I had become so used to having to push through my pain to look after everybody else—to work, look after my kids, even just to get the dishes done. 

I still keep a 20-minute reminder (app) on my phone, to bring me back to mindfulness about my posture, whatever I’m doing. I realize that the pathway for the disc herniation is still there—but I feel that it isn’t going to happen again because I now have the tools to stay long, strong, and well aligned in my back.

I’m getting back to living again. I’m able to teach my private art classes comfortably and have hope for the future.

At the end of my 18 lessons, I actually danced to the 1-2-3 Move Gokhale Exercise program. I have always loved dance, and it was thrilling to start to do that again, at my own gentle pace. I want to share my story far and wide, so please share this post. Everyone in pain deserves to have realistic hope, and to know that they can heal.

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

If you would like to find out more about how the Gokhale Method can help support you, sign up to join one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops. . . 

I am an acupuncturist and massage therapist who specializes in assisting individuals with chronic pain. Over my 30 years in the profession I had been exposed to hundreds of continuing education classes but had never heard of the Gokhale Method®. 

I suffered with cervical stenosis, multiple herniations, and bone spurs

My battle with cervical stenosis (a narrowing of the neural canal in the neck, causing compression of the nerves), multiple cervical herniations, and osteophytes (bone spurs) began 40 years ago, all of which progressively worsened over time. 

As you can see in this photograph, I had become used to hunching and compressing my neck. I believe this was the cause of my neck problems.

My life had become restricted due to the increasing pain in my head, neck, tingling in my arms and hands, and the severe migraines which I suffered if I moved my neck too much or tried to look down or carry packages. I took migraine medications in order to function, which I was grateful for even though I didn’t want to take them. It’s no exaggeration to say that pain had closed my life down.

It had been years since I worked a normal patient load; one or two patients every other day allowed me to do what I loved while I did my best to manage my symptoms. I consulted two neurosurgeons five years ago and after serious consideration I chose against a recommended fusion of three cervical vertebrae. This was because I had seen many patients after a fusion and observed firsthand the difficulties they endured. According to my observations usually one or more discs above or below the fusion would end up herniating due to the rigidity of the fusion. Neck mobility was often severely decreased, and headaches, tingling, and numbness were common. Certain patients were referred to me if they got nauseous with physical therapy. It was often a long haul for them to get better.

Many of the therapies I tried for my neck problems made my pain worse; few helped me at all. I have spent the last 40 years learning to support myself and advising those sent to me on how to live in a body that experiences various levels of pain on a constant basis.

Me as a baby in 1955. As an adult I could barely remember what it was like to be free of neck pain. How had it crept up on me? Where did the problem begin? I wanted to wind the clock back to the beginning!

As a 10-year-old I enjoyed physical games and happily let my behind behind me and kept my shoulders back, though perhaps I was beginning to sway my back. . .

Me with my Aunt Tilde (left) when I graduated from massage school. It was 1990 and I was 36 years old. I can see that my head is forward and that my legs internally rotate. In my twenties I had learned tai chi in a style that taught me to tuck my pelvis. I now realize this encouraged a poor biomechanical position for bending over my massage clients.

Treating pain as a massage therapist

My focus in treating patients in severe, acute, and chronic pain evolved when I realized massage treatments were a somewhat temporary fix—people experienced relief for a while, but the same aches returned. After a year of practice, I branched out to include craniosacral therapy and was blessed to study with Dr. John E. Upledger, the developer of CST. Over ten years I took a half dozen seminars and began incorporating the techniques into my treatments with much greater success. I also began doing the techniques on myself, getting some relief from the migraine episodes I suffered. Many times I was able to alleviate the nausea and severe pain through the gentle guiding and “unwinding” of my cranial bones and the sacral joint.  

In 1993 I was excited to begin acupuncture school. Acupuncture gave additional assistance to my patients on their healing journey. One of the great benefits of acupuncture is the opening of stagnant energy pathways which have become blocked due to physical and emotional trauma. The release of neurotransmitters (endorphins) from the insertion of needles begins the process of pain reduction and allows the fascia to begin to “unwind.” I always thought the major advantage of acupuncture over acupressure was its ability to affect many points at the same time, allowing the body to unwind in ways that do not occur using just our two hands. While the needles are doing their work, I begin the CST work as well as manual traction.

During the first session with a patient I would advise, “We accept all miracles, but healing is usually a process—sometimes a longer and more multidimensional process than we initially anticipate.” Of course, patients referred to me were very relieved that they could become pain-free for periods of time; but I was still frustrated that their treatment was more of a Band-Aid—a better Band-Aid, but still not a solution to the cause of their problem. At that time my patients and I did not realize that they had work to do in this healing process too. I now believe that healthy posture is the “missing piece” that not only enables the benefits of therapeutic treatments to be preserved, but also allows the body to heal itself. I wish I had known of the Gokhale Method all those years ago.

Finding the Gokhale Method

Thankfully, my local paper printed an interview a couple of years ago with Joan Baez (longtime peace activist and folk song writer/singer). Joan was asked the secret of her ability to continue performing concerts around the world at 77 years of age. She responded that she studies with Esther Gokhale and consistently uses the principles of good posture taught in the Gokhale Method. 

Joan Baez in Esther Gokhale’s garden, preparing to pick some calendula with a deep, healthy hip-hinge and her behind well behind. You can read more about Joan Baez learning the Gokhale Method here.

I immediately searched “Gokhale Method” and became very encouraged and excited. I ordered Esther’s book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, the DVD, and subscribed to the newsletter, Positive Stance. 

The pandemic prevented me from attending a Gokhale Method Foundations Course scheduled for March 2020, but later that year, I revisited all the instructional materials I had and began active self-directed study. Once again I felt a sense of hope.  

Beginning my journey home

During the pandemic I was thrilled to see Esther was offering numerous Online Free Workshops. You could improve your posture by working on your stance, ribcage position, neck strength, and glutes. (Who doesn’t want a tighter bum, right?). I quickly signed up and began my journey home. I say home because you learn to return to a place of comfort in your body that was there naturally for you as a child.

At about seven years old, I still had a nice open chest and outward facing feet. Both these things changed as I became an adult.

Each workshop built upon the last with wonderful, simple insights. In November 2020 I also joined the 123 Move Gokhale Exercise Program which remains incredibly healing. Awakening each day I look forward to improving how I move through simple, healthy dance moves (I even learned the Samba). I saw improvement in my posture—I could look in a mirror and see noticeable changes to the hunching in my shoulders and the forward protrusion of my neck. 

As a 32-year-old office worker, look how forward my head and shoulders are as I hunch my back!

I continue to learn from the questions students ask as well as the clear explanations and demonstrations by the teacher. If I can’t watch live, no problem—there is always a catch-up available until the next class. And I just love when I get an added bonus—learning new dance moves is apparently as beneficial for the brain as learning a new language, and there is music to enjoy from all around the world. There is also Esther’s generous sharing of her vast knowledge of diverse cultures and their artifacts. 

My neck pain reduced within months of starting the Gokhale Method

Within a month or so of practicing the Gokhale Method, I began having less pain. I immediately felt a difference when sitting and using a wedge to antevert my pelvis, so no more tucking my tail under. This is called stacksitting. I now could sit for prolonged periods of time with NO neck pain. I could physically do more and psychologically was significantly less depressed. I saw a future with fewer restrictions and life seemed filled with endless possibilities.

My 2020 Christmas list consisted of an Online Initial Consultation with Gokhale Method teacher Kathleen O’Donohue. I prepared with photos of myself in a few positions so Kathleen could evaluate how best to help me before our meeting. We worked on a couple of key points and I was astonished and very excited to see how simple tasks could be done with no pain.

Taking the online Elements course

During the pandemic I was initially skeptical about navigating my way online through the Gokhale Method Elements course. Could I set the camera up well enough for the teacher to be able to see and correct the details of each technique? Would I be able to make the postural corrections without the touch of a teacher’s hand guiding me through the experience? I had so many questions before I felt able to make this significant commitment. I had several more online consultations with Kathleen and was amazed as she picked up the smallest detail and guided me to healthy posture. 

Here I am in my current massaging stance, which is healthier for my feet, glutes, hips, back, shoulders and neck. Applying the Gokhale Method techniques, I can continue to tease out residual sway and rounding in my spine as I massage my clients!

The online experience had several advantages for me. It allowed me flexibility scheduling and pacing my lessons and individualized attention. Another feature is that Elements allows you to learn over 18 lessons of bite-sized information, rather than a weekend immersion. I can see advantages to both, but for me, learning one move at a time, or even a part of an activity, such as walking, registers in my brain significantly more easily. I worked hard to learn each step before I moved forward. Luckily, absolute mastery is not required! 

My nerve pain and hyperreflexia are all but gone

I have come to a point where if I am not in healthy posture, I notice the discomfort and immediately want to pause and reset. The nausea I lived with every day is a rare occurrence only experienced momentarily these days if I am doing some very taxing activity. As soon as I correct my stance, I am relieved of any pain or nerve sensation. Life has become a dance with increased strength and grace, rather than a challenge.

One of my neurological problems had been hyperreflexia, which meant that my reflexes were overactive. I was looking forward to seeing how my reflexes checked out when I saw my neurologist a few months ago. (I had seen her six months previously, when they tested significantly better, but still hyper). To our amazement they were normal.

Here I am working on tallstanding. In daily life I can take a more relaxed stance but checking in with points to attend to boosts my progress. You can learn about tallstanding in Esther Gokhale’s book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, Lesson 6.

As an Alumna of the Elements course, I am a member of the Gokhale Online University (and will be forever!), where I get ongoing support and continue my progress. I am thoroughly amazed at how much Esther shares with us. I just LOVE it all. It is such a rich resource. Even though I practiced tai chi and qigong for almost forty years, Kathleen and Roberta’s Moving Meditation has enhanced my understanding significantly. The forms they teach incorporate the Gokhale principles beautifully and I am enthused to be doing it once again. A wonderful way to begin and end each day; energizing, or relaxing and meditative.

Eric's Gokhale Fitness class is challenging and insightful. His calm nature sets the stage as he provides several ways to perform each exercise depending on one’s aptitude. Gentle breathing techniques have provided a new focus for me and are very effective in reducing stress in our structure. The Gokhale principles are always emphasized, so it is a great review. I notice increased strength and vitality as the weeks go by.

When I first came to the Gokhale Method I had a very rounded upper back when bending. 

Over time I have improved my form in bending. Here I am practicing the cues I have learned to make bending health-promoting rather than harmful. 

I am forever grateful to Esther and all the teachers for my continued progress and for proving we are never too old to learn new tricks and grow in our understanding of moving in healthy ways. I am looking forward to continuing my posture journey—standing taller as I age gracefully. Hope lights the way.

Namaste,

Felicia Grimke

Elenore W. is a Gokhale Elements alumna hailing from Canada. She kindly volunteered to share her experience with the Gokhale Method. —  Editor

Elenore W., singer and Gokhale Elements alumna, with her trusty ukulele. Image supplied.

I lost my voice completely 5 years ago after singing a full out concert of Brahms’ Requiem. My voice came back, but never with the same resonance. The ears/nose/throat specialist said there was nothing wrong, but I knew something was. I couldn’t sing for long without having a sore throat. My speaking voice became raspy very easily. I couldn’t sing through a phrase without gasping for air. After a physio appointment, I’d have “my” voice back for a day or two and then everything would go back to “not normal.”

Voice problem...or neck problem?
Finally an Alexander Technique teacher told me: “Elenore, it’s not your voice, it’s your neck.” I took about 10 lessons with her and they did help, but I found the exercises tedious and didn’t experience enough success to stay motivated. Still I searched — acupuncture, chiropractic, reflexology — nothing helped for long. But I knew that if it was my neck and posture, there had to be something out there that would work for me.

Feldenkrais was another modality I tried. After a free summit I signed up for a course. It was lovely and gave me lots of new body awareness but was disappointing as an ultimate answer for my vocal issues.

Lots of women my age would just quit choir and singing, saying they must be too old. I was determined to show that a 67-year-old could still sing!

A new tack — that worked
I’d found the Gokhale Method online, ordered the book and tried following the instructions, but couldn’t seem to get it. After a free class with Esther, I was infected by her enthusiasm, convinced by her statistics, and decided to bite the bullet. Thank Goddess I did! I did the initial consultation with Esther and then the Elements class with Sheelagh Tobin. The results speak for themselves…

My husband and I put on three beach concerts from the balcony of our home this summer. This is what the distanced crowd looked like:

The distanced audience for our July beach concert. Our house is in the background, with the balcony visible. Image supplied.

The first of our three beach concerts took place in July when I had just started the Elements class. Notice how my shoulders hunch around the ukulele in the picture below and my neck strains toward the microphone. I was so disappointed to see this picture. I’d been determined to use my new learning. But I wasn’t surprised. This was a 30 minute children’s show and my voice felt strained throughout. Afterwards, I was vocally very fatigued.

This balcony concert with my husband Roland took place before I’d finished the Gokhale Elements class. You can see how I’m hunching my shoulders around my ukulele, with my neck straining toward the microphone. Image supplied.

The second show of about 45 minutes was much better, but still not what I’d hoped for. I made Roland do most of the songs, fearing my voice wouldn’t last.

Then we started planning the season finale. By the time of our performance on September 5, I had completed the course and looked like this while performing:

The air was a bit hazy from distant West Coast wildfires, but you can still see a noticeable change developing in my posture. Image supplied.

We put on a one-hour (!!!) program called Love and Dreams! Afterwards, I felt great. I’d sung lead or harmony in every song and afterwards my voice still resonated while speaking!

Just so you know, every muscle in my body (except my vocal chords) is a bit achy all the time right now. Maybe it’s having misused my muscles for 67 years, or maybe I want the results too quickly. I’m so new at this that I am always cautious to maintain my alignment lest the raspiness return. I keep telling my body that the challenge of re-learning movement is going to be worth it in the long run. I give my muscles sauna time, and lots of stretchlying or stretchsitting for relaxation. Every time I feel the power and resonance back in my voice, it’s totally worth it!

Thank you Esther and Sheelagh!

When I was 12 years old my mother took me to our family doctor for a check up. I remember him looking at me and saying “One of your shoulders slopes down more than the other. Isn’t that interesting!” What’s interesting to me is that the word scoliosis never came up in the conversation and that there wasn’t any further investigation of my sloping shoulder. As a 12-year old I had never heard of scoliosis, so I thought my sloping shoulder was just an oddity I would live with.

It was not until many years later when I returned to school to study massage therapy that I began to notice changes in my spine that manifested as chronic low back pain. I thought it was because of the sitting I was doing in classes or the crawling around on the floor for shiatsu practice sessions. The pain never really subsided, though I did find temporary relief through bodywork and the application of heat. Though the pain was not severe, it was bothersome because it was relentless.

When I was in my early 40’s, I worked with a chiropractor who took a standing X-ray of my complete spine. This was the first time I saw my scoliosis clearly. I also saw how my lumbar vertebrae compromised my discs. No measurements were taken so I don’t know about the progression of my scoliosis over time. But the pain that lived on the left side of my lower back and extended into my left sacroiliac joint was my motivator to do something.

I approached my back pain in a similar way to how I now approach my patients’ complaints as a licensed Acupuncturist and Bowen therapist. I work with a complaint, especially a longstanding one, as a puzzle and pay close attention as I observe changes, both positive and negative. Though there were days when my back felt OK, the exact same pain would inevitably return. I kept trying different things to make it better. Exercise became a big part of my life. Too little exercise resulted in more pain; too much exercise had the same effect.

In 2014, I came across a blog in the NYTimes about the Schroth Method (https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/hope-for-an-s-shaped-back/). Everything about it sounded promising and I was ready to explore this direction. I found a group of three therapists at Alta Physical therapy in Manhattan that were trained in Schroth and spent about a year working with them. The sessions gave me a deep understanding of what was happening in the curves, as well as the rotations that compensated for the curves. I began to understand what was weak in my back and how I needed to strengthen and stretch to relieve the pain.

The exercises were changing my upper spine more than the lower spine and I began to feel there were gaps between doing the exercises and how I moved in my day-to-day life. I went back to re-read the article in the Times and noticed the many comments on the posting. They included information about other methods, techniques, and braces that had helped other readers. I looked through these and clicked on every link.  This is where I first heard of the Gokhale Method®.

As readers on this blog know, the Gokhale Method teaches you how to sit, stand, bend, walk, lift, and lie in bed with what Esther Gokhale calls “primal posture”. You find the ideal way to stack your bones in relation to gravity so that there is less wear and tear on the structure and less impingement on the intervertebral discs.  For a scoliotic this can be difficult to feel but the method is taught in a way that benefits anyone. Having a clear picture of the twists and turns in my spine from my Schroth work helped me a great deal. I had always felt that posture was contributing to my pain; the Gokhale Method helped me learn, with clarity, the correct way to position my pelvis and my rib cage to optimize my posture no matter what activity I was doing.

I took the six-lesson Gokhale Foundations Class in December of 2014 - about six months into my Schroth sessions - and it made a big difference in how I was feeling and moving through my day. It gave me clarity on where my body should be in space and I felt almost immediate improvements in the frequency and intensity of my pain. The best part was that when I had pain I could ask myself “how am I using my body that could be causing the pain? What could I change that would make the pain go away?” With the Gokhale Method I had specific knowledge of what I needed to change.

The change of my pelvic position from tucked to anteverted took a lot of pressure off of my disc at L5-S1. A tucked position was my default and I had a lot of stiffness around that joint, but even the smallest change to an anteverted pelvis helped me a lot. You can see this in the before and after pictures taken at the class.

Cynthia Rose (after reading 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, but before taking the Gokhale Method Foundations course)

Cynthia Rose after taking the Gokhale Method Foundations course

Cynthia Rose bending (after reading 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, but before taking the Gokhale Method Foundations course)

Cynthia Rose bending after taking the Gokhale Method Foundations course

The Gokhale Method teaches how to elongate the spine in both passive positions (such as sitting or lying) and in active techniques like using the inner corset. This elongation changes the shape of the scoliotic curves in the spine and puts a positive stressor on the bones and muscles allowing them to change in a positive way. For me, this quickly translated to less pain and, over time, I can feel the changes in the muscles on either side of my spine. The pictures below show my back without and then with my inner corset engaged.

Gokhale Method teacher Cynthia Rose shows a view of her scoliosis with the inner corset (right) and without (left)

The Schroth exercises taught me what it felt like to have my curves evened out and my rotations untwisted. I continued doing the exercises for a while. They involved a lot of props (poles, cushions, multiple chairs) and eventually felt too complicated to continue wth them. The Gokhale Method taught me how to move with healthy posture to prevent wear and tear on my structure and reduce my pain. I was able to use what I learned throughout my day and night, withot taking time out to do so.

Not everyone who has scoliosis has pain - I didn’t until my late 30’s. Pain is now one of my reminders to check how I’m using my body; I also use mirrors and my reflection in store windows to take a glance at the shape of my spine. Often, I see the return of my old habit of tucking my pelvis or rounding of my shoulders; I can easily make corrections.

People-watching has become a hobby of mine. The primal posture we teach in the Gokhale Method can readily be seen in people who are from a non-industrialized environment. I live in NYC so there are many of these beautiful people for me to learn from.

The work has had such a profound effect on me, that in 2015 I trained to become a teacher of the Gokhale Method. It has been a valuable asset for many of my acupuncture patients who have chronic or recurrent pain. I am able to teach them posture using the Gokhale Method language I have trained in. It is exciting to be able to communicate with depth and clarity what I use for myself to someone else and to see the changes that can happen in their bodies.

I enjoy being a part of the network of over 50 Gokhale Method teachers around the world all trained by Esther Gokhale. Though her book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back is a good way to begin changing posture, Esther always recommends getting hands-on instruction from a qualified teacher. I, like many of my colleagues, am available to travel, as well as to answer questions you might have.