coordination

Signs of good sleep include taking less time to fall asleep and not waking up often or for long periods. And although the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) recommend adults sleep at least seven hours a night,¹ over one-quarter of us fall short of this recommendation.² There are many factors contributing to this lack of sleep, and back pain is certainly one of them. 

When I had herniated my disc, it was the most sleep-deprived time of my life. I recall regularly walking around the block during the night, just to ease my back spasms enough to catch a few more hours of sleep. That was long before I knew the measures the Gokhale Method® now teaches to reduce such pain, accelerate healing, and prevent recurrence. For anyone in that situation, techniques like stretchlying and inner corset are no-brainers! 

But the most common—and most under-recognized—reason for our tossing and turning and sleep deprivation is less dramatic than a herniation, or even pulling a muscle. The numerous microaggressions that our bodies suffer during the day due to poor posture, predispose you to a nighttime beset by jangled nerves, tense muscles, and areas of inflammation. This is disruptive to both mind and body, especially in the hours when you want to rest and rejuvenate.

Poor use of our body during the day can unwittingly store up nighttime aches and agitation. Image by Andrea Placquadlo, 2017

Will the right mattress help me sleep?

In much of the world people sleep on the floor, often on just a throw or thin bedroll. In hot countries the floor is often the coolest place to be, and if your culture generally enjoys healthy posture and a low prevalence of back pain, lying on the floor can be perfectly comfortable. Most people in industrialized and postindustrial societies, however, have not preserved natural length, shape, and health in their spines, and therefore require more support and cushioning from their bed. 

A lengthened, supple spine can tolerate even an unforgiving surface, such as this log.

The most important thing to avoid is a sagging mattress or bed springs that let your spine fall into a compressive curve. As a general rule, the greater the number of springs/coils a mattress has, or the better quality the memory foam (some mattresses have both springs and a foam topper), the better the support you get for your weight and contours. However, I have known many people pay handsomely for mattresses that promise a lot but deliver little, so I recommend taking advantage of “try before you buy” deals.

I have also heard from many of our students over the years that their existing mattresses have, to their joy, become comfortable. In other words, as their posture has improved, more naturally aligned bones, relaxed muscles, and appropriately spaced discs and nerves, are happy at last. Their body is now comfortable, and their brain is no longer waking them to tell them something is hurting—insomnia resolved. One student reported that having learned the Gokhale Method she even said goodbye to a lifelong recurring nightmare!

There are many delicate and vital structures within the spine, as shown here in the neck. They require healthy alignment and length, rather than compression, to be happy (front view). Wikipedia

What is the best sleeping position?

In addition to healthy posture and moving as you are meant to during your daily activities, there is a lot you can do at night to arrange yourself well, encouraging muscle relaxation and improved circulation for healing. Comfortable sleep is sometimes the first place that you can break a pain cycle and start to mend. 

The Gokhale Method offers two main techniques for transforming your sleep: stretchlying on the back, and stretchlying on the side. These are taught in detail in our in-person Foundations course, and online Elements course. You can also learn all the steps involved from my book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, or DVD, Back Pain: The Primal Posture Solution. You can get started with our free Gokhale® Moment video (below) for stretchlying on the back.  

No special equipment is required for stretchlying—just learn the principles and moves involved, and how to arrange your pillows accordingly.

One breakthrough for many people is to use a pillow under the knees when lying on their back. This accommodates a tight, shortened psoas muscle, rather than let it pull on the lumbar spine. Though this pulling sometimes goes unrecognized at night, it can result in a back so stiff the following morning, it can be hard to move or dress yourself. 

Placing a pillow under your knees when lying down accommodates tightness in the psoas and avoids pulling on the vertebrae and surrounding tissues to which it is attached.

Snoring and sleep apnea

Snoring elicits reactions ranging from hilarity to fury. It can be transitory, due to a cold, for example, but persistent snoring can be embarrassing for the snorer and disruptive for others. Snoring may also be a precursor to other breathing and health problems; if you snore, you might benefit from working with a health professional. 

From a postural viewpoint, some overly tight muscles, including the psoas and the erector spinae, will contribute to arching your lower back or pulling your head back. The resulting additional weight from your throat and tongue on your airways could give rise to mouth breathing, thus aggravating both snoring and sleep apnea. 

The gentle sloping arrangement of the pillows in stretchlying, combined with lengthening of the neck, helps to keep the airway clear and well aligned downward, reducing symptoms. This is helpful both when the condition is mild, and also when a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine is used. Our techniques can also be adapted with extra pillow elevation, and the side-lying position is of particular help with breathing difficulties.

Antique tomb sculpture shows how people positioned their pillows in earlier times—without sway in the back or neck. (Öhringen church, Germany.)

Best next action steps 

If you would like help with your sleeping positions, get started by booking a consultation, online or in person, with one of our teachers. Sweet dreams!

With the right help, we can all relax to sleep—like a baby!

References:

¹ Watson, Nathaniel F., M. Safwan Badr, Gregory Belenky, Donald L. Bliwise, Orfeu M. Buxton, Daniel Buysse, David F. Dinges, et al. 2015. “Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 11 (6). https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.4758.

² “QuickStats: Percentage* of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Sleep <7 Hours on Average in a 24-Hour Period,† by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey,§ United States, 2020.” 2022. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 71 (10): 393. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7110a6.‌

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We have long ago ditched any Victorian shyness around showing our ankles, thank goodness. In fact, they have become a fashionable part of the body to celebrate with short pants and an ornamental tattoo. But unfortunately for our ankles, the picture is often not so rosy as the years go by…

Healthy ankles can serve both fashion and function! Image from Pickpik.com

You might be surprised to learn that some of the fastest growing orthopedic surgeries are for ankle fusions, and partial and full ankle replacements. Though still less common than the 790,000 knee replacements and 544,000 hip replacements¹ done every year in the U.S., the number of total ankle replacement surgeries has grown to over 10,000² per year, and these are expected to overtake fusion surgeries.

Surgeries have pros and cons

When ankle damage is beyond the reach of physical therapy, ankle surgery is an option. Various procedures are used for treating post-traumatic, osteoarthritic, and inflammatory arthritic ankle conditions. While we recognize that continual improvement is being made in these surgeries, and welcome the mobility life-line they offer to many, ankle surgery can also leave patients with a relatively small range of motion in the joint, wound complications, and residual pain.

Maintaining quality of Life

Good ankle function is clearly important for enjoying life’s pleasures, such as dance, sports, and being in nature—but it is also about being pain-free, being able to keep a job, avoiding fall injuries, and maintaining independence. 

       
Being able to walk with ease and pain free ankles (left) makes life more doable and enjoyable. Image from Pexels(left img, right img)

What causes ankle pain and degeneration?

Ankles become problematic for a number of reasons. Some of our students trace their issues back to old injuries, such as broken bones or “rolling the ankle” and tearing ligaments. And it is true that less than optimal healing or poor rehab can have ongoing consequences, or issues that surface in later years. 

The muscle spindles within and the bands of ligamentous tissue that bind the ankle are especially rich in sensory organs called proprioceptors. These are important for sensing our balance and how we perceive the location and movement of our body parts. Thus, incomplete recovery from ankle injuries can leave us more prone to poor coordination and falls.  The long tendons running from the various lower leg muscles through the ankle to move the bones of the feet want to be strong, as do the connective tissues, giving our legs power and stability. 

The tendons of long muscles such as the tibialis anterior (shown in red) cross the ankle, inserting to work the toes and forefoot. The ankle is bound by strong ligaments. Wikimedia

People sometimes tell me that they have inherently weak ankles, like one of their parents. While our DNA clearly shapes our structural inheritance, a more likely cause for the actual manifestation of ankle problems is poor use of the joint due to problematic posture. A poor gait pattern is often learned from our parents, or role models, influencers, or well-intentioned but misguided coaches. 

Motion is lotion—plus strength and flexibility

From a Gokhale Method® perspective, the root cause of ankle problems in our society is varying combinations of poor posture and insufficient use. Even on flat terrain, walking as we were designed to involves a considerable range of motion—the back of the ankle and Achilles tendon gets stretched as the back heel stays toward the ground, and then the front of the ankle is opened wide as we push off using the toes.  

As we came to work ever more sedentary jobs, walking shorter distances along flatter surfaces in our offices and malls, our ankles do less and less. In centuries past our feet would work hard to grab the textured surfaces of rough earth or cobblestoned streets on which we walked barefoot, or in lighter-soled shoes. Going uphill and downhill makes even more demands on our ankle structure, as do naturally challenging surfaces such as tussock grasses and scree-covered hills. 

Traditional dance forms as diverse as the Indian Bharata Natyam, classical ballet, Irish dancing, and Samburu tribal dance from Kenya, all employ considerable ankle strength and flexibility. Image from Pixabay and Wikimedia

Let’s strengthen our ankles 

Consider your starting point. Don’t go straight into a new or strenuous activity if your ankles have been used to taking things easy! At best you could feel very sore, at worst you risk an injury—the very opposite of what you want. If you are recovering from injury or surgery, we advise you to check with your preferred health practitioner.

If we are lucky, we will gain healthy ankle strength and flexibility as we grow, and maintain it throughout life. But many of us in our society need help to do that. Image from Pexels

Rather than rotating your ankles, which is a commonly given exercise, we recommend you take a look at our free Inchworm and Toe Tap videos (below). Start each exercise gently with a minute’s work on each foot daily, and build up from there.

These are highly functional exercises that can immediately benefit your walking. Although you focus on moving your feet, you will feel your ankles and lower leg muscles working hard as well.

In time, these movements, and others we teach on our in-person Foundations course, one-day Pop-up course, online Elements course, and Gokhale Exercise program, will help to make your walking more balanced, smooth, and powerful. After all, walking well is nature’s way of maintaining your foot and ankle health, giving you the thousands of reps per day that your feet were designed for. 

For our Alumni, we are pleased to announce the return of our popular Advanced Glidewalking course, starting Monday, October 7, 12 p.m. (PST).  You can book your place here.

Best next action steps 

If you would like to improve your ankle function and comfort, 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…

References:

¹ “Joint Replacement Surgery.” n.d. Rheumatology.org. https://rheumatology.org/patients/joint-replacement-surgery#.

² Penner, Murray J., Gregory C. Berlet, Ricardo Calvo, Eric Molina, David Reynolds, Paul Stemniski, and W. Hodges Davis. 2020. “The Demographics of Total Ankle Replacement the USA: A Study of 21,222 Cases Undergoing Pre- Operative CT Scan-Based Planning.” Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics 5 (4): 2473011420S0038. https://doi.org/10.1177/2473011420s00381.

Today, those of us in the U.S. celebrate our nationhood. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence announced colonial freedom from Great Britain; our history has included the winning of many more freedoms since. In various and sometimes contradictory ways, our society continues to defend much cherished freedoms, and also to aspire to new levels of freedom.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered for preserving the union of the U.S.. This 1864 photograph of Lincoln with his son, Tad, shows the upright posture characteristic of our ancestors. You can find it alongside many such examples in my book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back.

One freedom that everyone wishes for is to live and move free from aches and pains. I feel privileged that all day, every day, I get to support people in this basic endeavor. Our team of teachers is delighted to pass on to others how best to be in our bodies. We all want our bodies to be a source of true support, good health, and enjoyment for us, rather than a source of misery and a hindrance.

For too many of us, freedom in our body and delight in our physicality was left behind in childhood. We want to regain that pleasure! Image from Pexels

Your body is your primary instrument for existing in the world; it either supports or undermines each of your endeavors. Our intellectual, emotional, and physical selves can be severely challenged by musculoskeletal pain. A body that works well for us is more useful, more productive, gives us more scope to interact positively with others, and brings us more joy.

Enjoyable physical activity should be with us through all stages of life. Image from Pexels

Yet sadly there continue to be many ways in which our natural joyful physicality is undermined by our thinking, and the dominant paradigms around it. We are almost always born into this world highly functional, yet we get molded by misguided conventions and ill-conceived furniture into structures that systematically wear us down. A second whammy comes from not recognizing the red flags, and instead, normalizing them and lowering our expectations. Examples include “It’s normal to have disc degeneration by middle age”, or “We haven’t yet fully evolved to be upright”. The interventions we are offered to relieve pain symptoms, such as anti-inflammatory shots, while having a role to play, do not tackle the underlying causes of musculoskeletal pain, or offer solutions. We need freedom from this complex and catastrophic construction.

Poorly designed chairs such as these are a root cause of unhealthy posture and “ordinary” mechanical back pain. Learning to position our pelvis and spines well, in chairs that encourage healthy sitting, is an important part of the solution.

Could we use this Independence Day to awaken to the fact that we are actually very well designed? To realize that what is actually normal for us is to move and live mostly pain-free, and that our pain signals are an understandably unwelcome yet helpful nudge to move us in the right direction. To whatever extent you may need help in interpreting discomfort and understanding your particular posture puzzle, we are here to support you.

While the Gokhale Method® is sometimes thought to be about static posture, our method is equally about how to move well. Healthy posture is one frame in a motion picture. Collectively, these frames give you better balance, coordination, and flow. Everyday movements like bending and walking are a pleasure and are liberating, instead of being painful and restrictive..

Alumna Anissa Morgan tells the story of freeing herself from her “decade of darkness”. Anissa continues to enjoy improvement and to recommend the Gokhale Method.

The techniques and principles that restore our bodies’ freedom are taught in logical sequence and detail in our in-person Foundations course, one-day Pop-up course, our online Elements course, plus our Gokhale Exercise program. These offerings enable you to “move like you are meant to.”

Join us for a special online free workshop, Move Like You are Meant To, on Sunday July 7, 11 a.m. PST, where you can ask questions about how the Gokhale Method can help you to find and enjoy greater body freedom.

Best next action steps 

If you would like to find greater freedom in your posture and movement, 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…

Regular readers and our students will know that I am a great fan of dance—it is a fun, social, and mood-elevating way to get fitter and master healthy posture. 

Dance and the importance of length in the spine

The Gokhale Method® focuses on restoring the spine to its natural length, strength, and shape in all positions and activities. In vigorous activities like dance, with higher impact and distortions like twists, side bends, flexions, and extensions, the inner corset technique becomes especially important.

Vigorous dance requires and maintains a strong inner corset of muscle that keeps the spine lengthened and the trunk stable. The creators of this Indian figurine knew this well.

About Bachata 

Bachata is a sensual Latin American-style dance that is generally a little slower than Salsa. It originated in the Dominican Republic, continuing to evolve as it spread across the globe. The style is characterized by fluid and playful movements which require a great deal of coordination. 

These Bachata dancers embody many of the healthy postural elements that we teach in our in-person Foundations course, one-day Pop-up course, our online Elements course, and our Gokhale Exercise program. Wikipedia

One characteristic ingredient of Bachata that is worthy of closer examination is the sideways “shear” of the ribcage. For those who seek an expanded palette of healthy movement, a shear opens up a whole new realm of possibility. Shearing happens naturally in the neck when balancing a load on the head, and in reaching out sideways or off-center. The shear appears in numerous traditional dance forms including African, Arabic, Indian, and Latin American.

The shearing movement is accessed safely by first lengthening and then adding the inner corset action. The shear is not held, it is a series of positions you visit in transit. The rib mobility involved benefits the thoracic spine and upper lumbar spine, mobilizing an area that can become tense, stuck, and achy. It is also visually compelling!

Here is Gokhale Fitness teacher Eric Fernandez incorporating the rib shear movement in Bachata dance.

Enjoying the positives that Bachata offers

With this modern concoction of traditional ingredients, Bachata dancers can develop a unique view of self. Bachata dance allows for a wholesome expression of sensuality that leads to an increase in empowerment and confidence—as well as a beneficial foray into one’s natural architecture. 

In medical terms shear may be used to refer to a sideways displacement, injury, or degeneration of a spinal vertebra. However, we are talking about a healthy, distributed shear through the lumbar and thoracic spine using well-controlled muscular contraction. This is a tried and tested workout for all the trunk movers and stabilizers, including the deepest intrinsic spinal muscles, the obliques, and quadratus lumborum. 

Quadratus lumborum (left, in red) and the internal obliques (right, in red) are just two of the important muscles that both move and stabilize the trunk. When this is done well, the spine is mobilized—and protected. Wikimedia, Wikimedia

Our new alumni-exclusive course, “Gokhale Dance: Bachata”

If you already enjoy our daily 1-2-3 Move dance parties, you’ll love our upcoming Bachata course that can take your dancing to a new level. Or if dancing has been off the menu since COVID started, and you want to channel your inner dancer, read on. . .

Our new alumni-exclusive, six-lesson course “Gokhale Dance: Bachata” starts Monday, June 12, at 10 a.m. PST. Over the course you will develop the movement skills you need for the basics of Bachata dancing. The course is for a maximum of 20 participants, which allows for plenty of individual feedback.

Every Bachata lesson is followed by a home practice video so that participants can drill down into the moves between classes. Here is a taster of the rib shear movement from the Lesson 2 home practice, taught by Gokhale Fitness teacher Eric Fernandez.

Who can learn Bachata

You don’t have to be an accomplished dancer to learn Bachata. There are no dance prerequisites* for this Alumni course—we expect this to be of value for complete beginners and professional dancers alike since the emphasis is on healthy postural form while learning the basics. You don’t need a partner, or even a sense of rhythm. This class is for any alumnus who wants to enhance their coordination and posture awareness, learn to dance, or just for “shear fun”! We look forward to seeing you there. . .

*Bachata moves do include some controlled swaying, tucking and rounding of the spine. If you have acute back pain, disc herniation, significant degeneration in your spine, or are not yet out of the woods from recent injury or surgery, an in-person Follow-Up or  online Follow-up is recommended.

Best next action steps for newcomers

If you would like insight on your posture, consider scheduling an Initial Consultation, online, or in person.

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