June is marching on, the weather is warming up and the kids are out of school. For many families, that means a road trip is just around the corner. Vacations are excellent family bonding experiences, but they can wreak havoc on your back! Sitting for hours in a concave car or airplane seat can cause stiffness and pain. Fortunately, we have some solutions to help keep you pain-free on your next trip.
Stretchsitting. Car and airplane seats are not designed to promote healthy posture. Their curved shape forces you to slump and may push your head forward unnaturally. The Gokhale Method technique of stretchsitting counteracts the negative impact of sitting in a car by elongating your low back, giving you the natural, healthy posture shared by children and people in traditional societies. On a plane or in the car use the Stretchsit™ cushion or a towel to put your back into gentle traction. This allows you to stretch your back muscles and increase the space for your spinal discs and nerves. No more compression means no more pain. Sit your way to a pain-free vacation…bon voyage!
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Folded fabric can modify a car seat for healthy posture. A simple towel allows your bottom to be farther back which allows your spine to be upright and relaxed in its natural J-shape.
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Use a Stretchsit™ cushion to transform your roadtrip into a nice stretch for your back. |
The Shoulder Roll. Another powerful technique is the shoulder roll, which increases circulation in the arms, opens the chest for increased breathing capacity and prevents your upper back from hunching forward. Detailed instructions for doing a shoulder roll can be found on page 42 of the book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. Help a family member do a proper shoulder roll with these steps:
1. Place the base of one hand on the shoulder blade and the other where the arm meets the chest. Face your thumbs outward.
2. Tell the person you are working on to relax, then gently use the thumb of your back hand and the base of your front hand to lift their arm forward a little bit, then up a little bit and then back much further. It feels like you are ratcheting the soft tissue into a notch in the shoulder joint. You can ask them to notice how much further back their shoulder is compared to the one you have not yet moved.
3. You should feel the shoulder blade move backwards and the whole arm should settle behind the midline of the body. Repeat on the other side.
Click here for the shoulder roll white paper. |
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Inner Corset. Engaging the inner corset is another effective way to avoid pain on vacation. Lifting a heavy suitcase can put instant strain on the spine. By engaging the deep muscles in the abdomen and back that compose the inner corset, you protect your spine while lifting a heavy load. (Free chapter on engaging the inner corset here).
These three techniques can prevent much of the disc degeneration our culture has come to regard as normal. So when someone asks you what you did on your summer vacation, you can answer, “I gave myself a healthier back!”
Cheers,
Esther
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 Learn handy techniques to protect your back during your summer vacation. Get your questions answered regarding sitting in airplanes, posture while driving your car, carrying your luggage, picking up your children and more.
When: Wed, July 27, 6:15pm – 7pm Pacific Time
Where: Online. We will email you the access codes 48 hours prior to the workshop.
Click here to register
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Best of Palo Alto
Palo Alto Weekly has nominated us as a candidate for their Palo Alto Best of 2011. Please vote for us here.
September 2011 Teacher Training
This month, we hosted a wonderful group of new, aspiring teachers for a week-long training immersion. It was fantastic getting to know them and watching them demonstrate a thorough understanding of the Method and desire to help others live pain-free lives. The next Teacher Training Immersion session is from Thursday, September 8 through Wednesday, September 14. Click here for more information.
Gokhale Method Foundations course in Palo Alto
The intensive course from June 23-30 will be one of the last few courses taught by Esther Gokhale in Palo Alto. Only a few spots remain. Click here for details.
Back Pain: The Primal Posture Solution DVD
The DVD is now shipping and has been receiving excellent reviews. Click here for a preview of the DVD.
KPFA 94.1 FM Radio Interview in Berkeley
On July 1 at 7pm, Esther will have a live radio interview on KPFA 94.1 along with Galen Cranz, author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design. The interview will focus on posture, health and what their research has uncovered about those subjects.
Collaboration with Relax the Back in Santa Rosa
In collaboration with Relax the Back, Esther Gokhale will be giving a free class and teaching two Gokhale Method Foundations courses in their Santa Rosa location from July 8-10. Click here for the flyer.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements with Esther Gokhale
Breast Cancer Connections Complementary Therapies Fair, 6/25/11
Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, 7/19/11
NYC Barefoot Run, 9/24/11
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"Thank you, thank you and thank you again. I have lived with back pain for so long that I had come to believe that it was and would be the one constant in my life.
Yesterday I had the most comfortable flight from San Francisco to Washington DC that I have ever experienced. I sat in economy class with little leg room and minimal space and got off the plane feeling rested. I had learned how to sit!
I cannot thank you enough. I am toting around your book re-learning how to be in my body. It is a glorious thing! Thank you and bless you."
-Mpho Tutu, who had a posture lesson with her father Archbishop Desmond Tutu in March 2010 from Esther Gokhale and Maya White
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If you’re bringing an infant on your family vacation, be sure to watch how he or she sits! This baby naturally and effortlessly supports her spine with an anteverted pelvis.
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Upcoming Gokhale Method Foundations courses:
Click here to enter your location and find the offerings nearest you!
- July 8-10, 2011, Santa Rosa, CA
- July 22-24, 2011, Santa Cruz, CA
- August 5-7, 2011, San Jose, CA
- August 26-28, 2011, Cambridge, MA
- September 9-11, 2011, Oakland, CA
- September 16-18, 2011, Ann Arbor, MI
- September 19-27, 2011, New York City
- September 30-Oct 2, 2011, Washington DC
- October 14-16, 2011, Santa Cruz, CA
- October 21-23, 2011, Minneapolis, MN
- November 4-6, 2011, Salt Lake City, UT
- November 11-13, 2011, Berkeley, CA
- December 2-4, 2011, San Diego, CA
- December 9-11, 2011, Seattle, WA
- December 12-18, 2011, Portland, OR
- January 6-8, 2012, Sacramento, CA
- January 13-15, 2012, Austin, TX
- January 20-22, 2012, Miami, FL
- January 27-29, 2012, Las Vegas, NV
- February 3-5, 2012, Denver, CO
- February 3-5, 2012, Durham, NC
- February 10-12, 2012, Los Angeles, CA
- February 17-19, 2012, Pittsburgh, PA
- February 24-26, 2012, Norfolk, VA
- March 2-4, 2012, Columbus, OH
- March 9-11, 2012, Milwaukee, WI
- March 16-18, 2012, Wichita, KS
- March 23-25, 2012, Charleston, SC
- Ongoing courses, San Francisco, CA
- Ongoing courses, Palo Alto, CA
- Want to see your city on this list? Request classes in your town
Click here to enter your location and find the offerings nearest you!
Click here for GMF Alumni classes
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“A vacation is like love: anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia.” |
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Evan Esar |
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“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” |
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Elbert Hubbard |
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Esther Gokhale Institute
For Palo Alto locals: 650-324-3244
For all other locations: 1-888-557-6788
info@egwellness.com
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