tai chi

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.

Gokhale Method teacher Kathleen O’Donohue worked for many years as a Physician Assistant and headed an organization helping seniors age in place.

Who knew that learning to walk well could change the course of one’s life — even in one’s 60s? I was inspired to teach the Gokhale Method after experiencing welcome relief from chronic hip pain by learning how to glidewalk. 

"The Gokhale Method: No More Aches and Pains" was the title of the flyer that I grabbed as I exited my mother’s appointment with a Neurologist M.D. “Why have I never heard of this?” I asked as I explored the website later that day. After a deep review of online material, I purchased Esther Gokhale’s book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, and a Stretchsit® Cushion. I did not have back pain at that point, but I had a lifelong habit of learning about health and well-being.

What led me to learn the Gokhale Method for myself
My hip had bothered me since a miles-long walk in my late 20s, after a car break-down, though it wasn’t severe until later on. While in my early 30s, I had experienced severe back pain after doing new workouts on machines at the gym. I had horrid back spasms requiring bed rest, with spasms and back pain for at least 6 weeks. Standing was the best posture to avoid this pain, or sitting upright on the edge of a chair (at the time, I didn't know why this worked or that it approximated stacksitting).

Fast forward to the day I picked up that fateful Gokhale Method flyer in my mom’s doctor’s office, when I was in my 60s. My new chief complaint was an increase in frequency and level of pain in my left upper leg/hip/groin area during and after walking. Walking daily was my practice, and the discomfort impeded this. A couple of times each year, my left knee would start “clicking” while I walked. And then there were the times that my back would “go out”…

I guessed that Esther’s book would educate me as well as the folks I worked with, but I had no idea that the Gokhale Method would change my life.

Trained as a primary care Physician Assistant (PA), I have studied and practiced health and wellness for decades. Much of my healing arts practice focused on women’s healthcare, elder care, LGBTQ matters, and community health education. I’m a longtime practitioner and teacher of Tai Chi and Qigong and a certified instructor of the Tai Chi For Health Institute, with multiple specialty accreditations.

Kathleen teaches Tai Chi to 4th graders in rural Grundy County, Tennessee.

Starting down the path of pain-free living
The Stretchsit Cushion went directly into my car and made a big difference on my 17- to 70-mile commutes. A light round of cedar wood was my first head weight in my attempt at head alignment and neck strengthening the Gokhale way. This was followed by a light bag of beans, before I bought the Gokhale™ Head Cushion. I appreciated hearing Esther say that she created her products to fill a need, and she always offered home-made substitutes…hence my bag of beans.

Glidewalking is the focus of Chapter 8 of 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, and I jumped right in. The pain in my left upper leg/hip/groin area lessened, but I did not really understand why. I wanted to know what I was doing and why it was successful. In the past when my hip was “acting up” and the chain reaction seemed to include my left knee getting “wonky”, I’d go to a practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method® and have positive results. But neither they nor I knew what was causing my problems. I was discouraged and dreading that this repeated misalignment would lead to hip surgery.

I signed up for every Free Online Workshop that Esther offered, and became a “frequent flyer” as I absorbed her teachings like a sponge. Esther is extremely generous with her teaching and the many and multiple modes of educational resources that are available. This impressed me, and I appreciated the cultural richness and factual basis of her material.

Teaching the Gokhale Method as a way to give back
Six months later, I completed the Gokhale Method Foundations Course and told Esther that I knew I wanted to become a teacher. I wanted to empower people in the way that I’d become empowered. At this time, my job was as the founding Executive Director of Folks at Home, a local nonprofit that coordinated services in the village-model of aging in community. I gave two (2) years’ notice and started preparing to transfer my knowledge to my successors. At the same time, I was on the teacher path, enthusiastically studying and practicing the Gokhale Method.

In October 2019, Esther invited me to join her for a year of teaching in Palo Alto / Stanford. We traveled around the Bay Area and the southwestern states, teaching Pop-up Courses, a 1-day immersion with two qualified Gokhale Method teachers in a group setting, using the newly-developed SpineTracker™ wearable technology. In addition, I taught individual and group Foundation Courses, Alumni Continuing Education, Free Workshops, and online follow-up lessons.

When the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were initiated in March 2020, the Gokhale Method Team went into super high productivity mode to create a new online curriculum, online alumni offerings, and online workshops. I transitioned to being a completely online teacher of the Gokhale Elements Course, Online Consultations, and online Follow-ups from the Premium Online Workshops, which are deep-dives into specific topics.

Teaching the Gokhale Method is extremely satisfying. Students usually get some level of immediate relief from their pain, discomfort, and/or tension, as well as valuable insights into and realizations about their habitual postures. They notice the changes, feel better, and gain hope that their chronic problem will have a resolution. Crowd-sourced data supports this.

I appreciate the clarity and effectiveness of the Gokhale Method, which blends intellectual, visual, kinesthetic, and hands-on learning methods. Each student is empowered to integrate and apply this training into all aspects of daily life. The worldwide team of Gokhale Method teachers and workers are smart, passionate, and collaborative. The new-in-2020 live daily programs of Gokhale Exercise allow for the worldwide community of spirited students and teachers to have fun, to connect, and to learn, strengthen, lengthen, reshape and move together in new ways.

A great journey begins with a single (glidewalked) step.