Esther Gokhale's method is gaining support for correcting and preventing back pain
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There's nothing like pain to motivate you," said Esther Gokhale of what prompted her to begin her life's work. "I had very serious back problems when I was pregnant with my first child. It was extremely painful. I was up every two hours at night."
Ms. Gokhale went to doctors. She had back surgery. It didn't help. So, she said, "I was very motivated to think outside the box and find another solution."
The solution she found has kept her free of back pain for 20 years. The Gokhale Method, she said, also can help you slim down and tighten up your butt and could make you as much as an inch taller.
With a backrest or cushion on the back of a chair, stretching the back as you sit down, place buttocks well back in the seat; place feet about hip-width apart and relax legs; lengthen spine, then lengthen it farther; attach your mid-back to the backrest or cushion, and release the tension in your arms.
Sit with straight spine on a well-positioned, forward-tilting pelvis. Check breathing. When back and pectoral muscles are relaxed and abdominal muscles have good tone, resting breathing action will be primarily in the back and chest.
When initiating a stride, relax the muscles around the hip joint of the moving leg and engage the lower buttock muscles of the back leg to propel the body forward. Toward the end of the stride, use the upper buttock muscles of the back leg to gently land the front foot on the ground. Avoid free-falling to the ground.
Standing is a resting position for most of the muscles of the body with the weight-bearing bones vertically stacked over the heels. Pelvis is not tucked in.
Lying down to sleep while stretching the spine ("decompressing") on back or side. When lying on the side, use a pillow or other item to keep shoulder from rolling forward. Shoulder roll exercises in the day will help shoulder become accustomed to staying back in place.
Source: https://egwellness.com/ gokhale-method
Ms. Gokhale is well qualified to study health therapies. She has a degree in biochemistry from Princeton and a degree in Chinese medicine from the San Francisco College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She's taken additional courses in anthropology, anatomy and physiology at Stanford University. She grew up in India, where she studied yoga.
First Published July 11, 2011 12:00 am
