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How to Strengthen Your Feet

Esther Gokhale

March, 2016

Spring is in the air! As the temperature rises, we go for lighter footwear, exchanging our shoes for sandals, or going barefoot. It may have been a while since our feet had so much exposure - what can we do to benefit our feet and put a little spring into them? Read more

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How to Sit on the Floor, Part 2: Squatting

Esther Gokhale

June, 2019

This is the second post in our multi-part series on floor sitting. For Part 1 on floor sitting, click here.

Why squat? Squatting isn’t something we do much in industrialized societies beyond childhood, but if you can do it healthfully, it is an eminently practical posture for resting the body while keeping the backside elevated off the ground and the clothing clean, as this woman from Orissa demonstrates.

This woman from Orissa demonstrates a healthy, full squat with foot arches intact and a long, straight spine.

It is also the posture used for toilet activities in places with floor toilets, a trend which has recently made its way to the industrialized realm in the... Read more

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Are Muscle Imbalances and Asymmetry Causing My Back Pain?

Esther Gokhale

March, 2021

Anna Wintour of Vogue magazine sporting a symmetrical bob haircut. Wikimedia

Many of the questions I hear from students are about concerns they have due to left/right asymmetry in their bodies. People will often see a clearly visible asymmetry as the root cause of any dysfunction and pain. This strikes me as a natural and understandable assumption—but my experience as a posture educator leads me to think there is more to consider here than meets the eye. Read more

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Feet Out or Straight Ahead?

Esther Gokhale

September, 2022

These Scottish soldiers from the mid 20th century show degrees of foot turnout that would be uncommon today. Pinterest

When it comes to foot position, feet parallel is often regarded as the ideal in our present-day culture. Standing with the feet apart, pointing straight ahead, is also seen as the starting point of a normal and healthy gait. Walking then proceeds along two parallel lines, like being on railway tracks. From a Gokhale Method® perspective, a healthy baseline position for the feet is angled outward 5–15°, or “externally rotated.” Why is there such divergence of opinion—and angle? Most people learn and then teach feet straight ahead Feet straight ahead is the model learned and perpetuated by most professionals who are trained in anatomy, whether they are fitness coaches, yoga teachers, Pilates instructors, physical therapists, podiatrists, family physicians, or surgeons. Training regimens, gait analysis, shoe design, and equipment such as elliptical trainers and step machines are also based on this belief. Read more

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Running: Part 2: Meet Your Feet

Michelle Ball, Gokhale Method Teacher

February, 2022

Running on sand trains my feet to grab the ground and push it behind me.

Welcome to the second blog post in our series on running. This series is designed to be useful to beginners and would-be beginners, as well as seasoned runners and everyone in between. If you missed Part 1, you can catch up here.

Reactivate your feet

When it comes to advice about running, the feet often get overlooked as the subject immediately turns to shoes. While shoes are an important subject (spoiler alert! Part 3 is about shoes), I prefer to start with that miracle of bioengineering that actually does the work—your feet.

Our feet become very passive from walking on flat, featureless surfaces rather than natural, more undulating terrain. They are also constrained, misshapen and deconditioned by less-than-ideal footwear, which, sadly, includes many running shoes on the market. Read more

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How to choose running shoes. Running: Part 3

Author: Michelle Ball, Gokhale Method teacher

March, 2022

A lightweight barefoot-style shoe gives my feet sufficient protection and lets them be active on a soft, forgiving surface like this sandy coastal trail.

Welcome to the third blog post in our series on running. My name is Michelle Ball, and I am a Gokhale Method® teacher in Tasmania. I am a lifelong runner and am passionate about sharing my experience with beginners as well as seasoned runners and everyone in between. Even if you don’t run, but do wear shoes, this blog post is for you! Active feet come first When it comes to advice about running, our feet often get sidelined by the subject of shoes. If you missed Part 2, which is about how to build healthy, active feet, we recommend you catch up here. Read more

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The Best Way to Strengthen a Muscle

Esther Gokhale

August, 2022

Gokhale Method Fitness teacher Eric Fernandez demonstrates eccentric muscle contraction as he slowly lowers a kettlebell.

Using the word “eccentric” might sound like I’m about to write about muscles behaving in weird ways that are different from usual muscle behavior! But what I’m referring to, eccentric muscle contraction, is often pronounced ee-sen-trik, not ek-sen-trik. How muscles contract Eccentric muscle contraction is the reverse of the concentric contraction that we typically associate with muscle training. For example, the dumbbell curl that makespops up the bicep prominent as you lift the weight towards your shoulder is a concentric contraction. The muscle contracts and shortens. But lowering the dumbbell back down again, which requires the muscle to lengthen, also takes Read more

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The New Year 3 x 3 Fitness Challenge: Strength without Strain

Esther Gokhale

January, 2023

This deadlift demonstrates healthy form.

We’re here to help with your New Year’s fitness resolution. Join us for a FREE 10-day New Year 3 x 3 Fitness Challenge, which is offered as part of the Gokhale Exercise program. It will be fun, safe, and effective, enabling you to build your strength without strain and injury, because, all the while, you are also training for healthy posture! Read more

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How To Go Down Stairs (Part 2)

Esther Gokhale

February, 2023

The feet can land well when the legs and body also have healthy posture.

Welcome to our second post on navigating steps and stairs. Our first post looked at how to power yourself up stairs—however, we often hear from our students that their most pressing concern is how to come down stairs. Are you starting to worry that you may need to set up your bedroom downstairs, or find yourself compromised when visiting places with stairs? Perhaps you have a friend or older relative in this position? Is it possible to maintain or even improve your fitness and mobility in the years ahead? “Life exercises” such as descending stairs, done skilfully, can be transformative and can give many benefits beyond getting you where you want to go. Read more

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Fixing Plantar Fasciitis

Esther Gokhale

May, 2023

We pay a lot of attention to the feet in all our courses. Here I am showing a student how to kidney-bean shape their foot.

Why is it not a routine practice for podiatrists to observe their plantar fasciitis patients’ stance and gait? Let’s consider how a broader approach that considers the way people stand and walk could improve treatment outcomes for plantar fasciitis patients—and also help prevent recurrences. Read more

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