| 
The holiday season has arrived, and with it, the formidable holiday party. If, like most people, your back starts aching after an hour (or less!) at the hors d'ouevres table, consider this advice for your next yuletide function:
- Put your weight over your heels. When we balance the weight of our bodies towards our toes, it can disturb the alignment of our weight-bearing joints. The dense and sturdy heel bone is much better equipped to bear weight than the delicate bones of the forefoot.
On the left, Brian has parked his pelvis forward, which places excessive pressure on the delicate structures in the front of his feet--over time, this may result in bunions or other foot conditions. On the right, his pelvis is properly positioned posteriorly and his spine stacks well over his heels.
Soften your knees. It is a common habit to lock the knees and groin while standing. This can wreak havoc on the knee and hip joints and may inhibit circulation to your lower legs and feet. Conversely, if the knees are too bent, the quadriceps are obliged to work overtime, leading to fatigue and unnecessary tension.
This model's knees and groin are soft, which helps her to stand for long periods without fatigue, pain or damage. Standing with locked knees or a pelvis that is "parked" forward impinges the femoral arteries, veins and nerves, and can predispose people to knee, hip and leg pathologies.
Roll your shoulders back. Hunched shoulders are a common problem in modern society. Not only does this wreak havoc on your neck and upper back, it also emits an anti-social vibe. We suggest rolling back one shoulder at a time: a little forward, a little up, a lot back--and totally relax.
When standing, let your arms hang towards the back of your torso and your thumbs face forward.
Here's to a holiday season of connecting with your friends and family!
Cheers,
Esther
|
|
|
Although the directive to "stand up straight" often results in a swayed low back, notice the natural length and lack of curvature in this Brazilian boy's upper lumbar spine. His shoulders are positioned well back, which allows for healthy circulation to his arms, and his pelvis is tipped forward allowing his sacrum to angle backwards---this preserves a wedge-shaped space for his wedge-shaped L5-S1 disc and provides a healthy foundation for the remainder of his spine.
|
|
|
|
Palo Alto office remodeled
We have spent the last month renovating our Palo Alto office. We decided to focus our efforts on the Gokhale Method and rehoused our wonderful acupuncturist Colleen Burke at the Sports Medicine Institute (650-322-2809). We are initiating a program for our own staff with periodic posture "nudges" from our teachers, which includes five-minute Gokhale Dance and Gokhale Yoga breakouts, reminder images and messages through a growing number of "touch points."
Corporate launch
We begin the new year teaching Corporate GMF in a very cool local company. Esther is very excited about how to best help people in a corporate setting--to not only avoid aches and pains at work, but also to raise morale and productivity. The course will use primal posture and movement to create high energy and reduce stress. We are very excited about this new direction.
Celebrity requests
Increasingly we have been fielding requests from celebrities or people of means to send teachers to their locations for private instruction. We are well-equipped to do this with our expanding and fabulous staff. Of course, you don't have to be a celebrity to get us to come to your town. If you are willing to spread the word and find a threshold number of eight people to sign up for a course, we will be delighted to travel to your town (especially if it is in Tuscany, as in a request last week!).
The Stretchsit® Chair
It's coming! We are still troubleshooting for perfection, but the fixes are easy fixes. Stand by...
|
|
|
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
CBS-5 News - Focus On Posture May Ease Nagging Injuries
ABC-7 News - Method for Back Pain Requires No Surgery
|
|
Upcoming weekend intensive GMF courses:
|
Sacramento, CA | Jan 6-8, 2012 |
|
Austin, TX | Jan 13-15, 2012 |
|
Gainesville, FL |
Jan 16-21, 2012 |
|
Miami, FL | Jan 20-22, 2012 |
|
Durham, NC | Feb 3-5, 2012 |
|
Los Angeles, CA | Feb 10-12, 2012 |
|
New York, NY | Mar 12-17 and Mar 16-18, 2012 |
Cambridge, MA | Mar 23-25, 2012 |
|
Santa Rosa,
CA | Mar 30-Apr 1, 2012 |
|
Salt Lake City, UT | Apr 6-8, 2012 |
|
Chicago, IL | Apr 13-15,
2012 |
|
Ann Arbor,
MI | Apr 20-22, 2012 |
|
Tucson, AZ | Apr 27-29,
2012 |
|
Minneapolis, MN | May 11-13, 2012 |
|
Seattle, WA |
June 15-17, 2012 |
Upcoming six-week GMF courses:
|
Palo Alto, CA
|
Jan 3 - Feb 7, 2012
(Tuesdays at 6:00pm) |
|
Palo Alto, CA
|
Jan 4 - Dec 8, 2012 (Wednesdays at 9:00am) |
|
Palo Alto, CA
|
Jan 7 - Feb 11, 2012 (Saturdays at 9:00am) |
|
San Francisco, CA
|
Jan 31 - Mar 13, 2012 (Tuesdays at 12:00pm) |
|
San Francisco, CA
|
Jan 31- Mar 13, 2012 (Tuesdays at 6:00pm) |
More Palo Alto courses: click here
More San Francisco courses: click here
Have you taken the GMF course already? Click here for Alumni Workshops. |
|
|
I had been in pain from 3 herniated disks in my lower back for 15 months when I skeptically started the 6-week seminar with Charlene Hannibal. I was taking Oxycontin every 3 hours and neurontin several times a day. My pain management clinic had approved a neural stimulator for implantation in my spine and I was desperate to avoid this. Now, having just completed the course, I have thrown all of my pain pills away and cancelled the spinal zapper implantation. The course has returned my back to life and given me my life back.
-Mike R., San Francisco
|
FREE EVENT OF THE MONTH:
Troubleshooting Workshop
In this free workshop Esther Gokhale will help troubleshoot your postural and musculoskeletal issues and conditions. You can ask questions at the live event or pre-submit questions here.
What you will need: Loose, comfortable clothing
When: Saturday, January 21, 2012, 3:30pm PST
Where: Online. We will email you access codes to the event.
Register for this event
|
|
In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.
-Thomas Jefferson
The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts.
-Blaise Pascal |
|
|
Gokhale Method Institute
For Palo Alto locals: 650-324-3244
For all other locations: 1-888-557-6788
info@egwellness.com
2439 Birch Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (map)
|
|
|
|
