rib anchor | Gokhale Method Institute

Water Workout

The butterfly stroke provides an intense workout for the "rib anchor" muscles.

Esther Gokhale

July, 2014

One of the many benefits of having excellent posture is the ability to enjoy an active lifestyle without injury. Conversely, an active lifestyle can help cultivate good posture. While you are still honing your posture, water is a perfect medium to train in since your buoyancy will reduce impact on your joints. In this forgiving medium, you can safely increase your muscle strength, stamina and flexibility while exploring the nuances of natural posture. You can reset movement patterns and connect the dots that make up the Gokhale Method while enjoying the soothing effect of the water on your body and mind. No matter which stroke you choose, you will have occasion to summon up and strengthen your deep abdominal muscles. These muscles are especially important for the health and safety of your spine. Read more

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How to Not Sway Your Back in the Shower

This backbend is more dramatic than the average shower backbend, but his form is impeccable (see the even groove on the midline of his back)

May, 2016

As your mother always said, practice makes perfect. Luckily, every day you are presented with countless opportunities to perfect your posture while sitting, walking, sleeping and...showering. Yes, that’s right. You can, and should, be aware of your posture even while performing the most mundane of tasks. So before your next shower, take a few meditative minutes to enjoy the healing properties of warm water...and then pause before you grab your shampoo bottle. Why? Because the half-minute you spend lathering your hair is probably the most vulnerable shower-time for your back. Read more

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Fredrik Prost's Journey to Tuva: Posture, Shamanism, and Traditional Life Far Away and Close to Home

Esther Gokhale

August, 2017

Esther's note: Fredrik Prost, the Saami craftsman and posture student I wrote about in these past blogs: Fredrik's Journey to a Pain-Free Back, Sleeping on Birch Branches in Samiland, Beauty, Art, and Posture, and Better Posture, Better Sleep, recently journeyed to Tuva. Here is an account he wrote for us about Tuvan posture, culture, and shamanism, including photos he took. It is a rare treat to hear about indigenous people from an indigenous person - one who speaks English well and knows our posture language too!

Tuva is an autonomous republic of Russia that lies northwest of Mongolia in the south of Siberia.

This... Read more

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Holiday Poem

Lori Szalay

December, 2017

Written by Lori Szalay, Gokhale Method Teacher

Here’s a little story I’d like to tell,

Some of you may know it well…..

Twas the day of the Foundations Course and all through the room,

Backs, necks, shoulders and much more were aching and there was a feeling of doom.

The stretchsit cushions were attached on the chairs with care,

A Posture Poised Teacher was there with knowledge to share.

The students knew they would learn to stretchlie to be comfortable in their beds,

As visions of a pain-free life continued to dance in their heads!

With compressed spines, slouchy shoulders and many with rounded backs,

Each had their own concern yet all eager to learn the posture modification facts.

When they lengthened their spines and used the stretchsit cushion for traction,

They sighed with... Read more

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What is the Best Ab Exercise?

Esther Gokhale

December, 2019

The abdominal crunch, though ubiquitous, is actually quite detrimental to the spinal discs and nerves. Better to find an abdominal exercise which respects and protects the spine! Image courtesy Jonathan Borba on Unsplash.

Happy Holidays! The dawning of a new year is a time when many people make efforts to establish new habits, many of them body-related. With the desire to improve ourselves often comes a (sometimes unhealthy) heightened awareness of how our bodies and their shapes appear to others. This is particularly true of abdominal muscles. Photoshopped, unrealistic images of... Read more

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Gokhale Exercise Challenge

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Opening Your Heart Space

Esther Gokhale

February, 2020

This bronze figure shows an open chest and “heart space;” his shoulders are well back and his ribcage is anchored. He is part of a fountain in Piccadilly Circus, London, sculpted by Sir Alfred Gilbert in 1893. Referred to (erroneously) as “Eros,” the figure is in fact Anteros, Eros’ brother, who represents a more mature, less capricious love. Original image courtesy Gareth Williams under CC BY 2.0.

“Heart space” is a term used in yoga to describe the upper part of the chest where the heart is located. Valentine’s Day is an ideal time to give some special attention to this region, and explore its relation to your posture and wellbeing.... Read more

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My Favorite Exercises for When You Can't Visit the Gym, Part 1: Chair Pose

Esther Gokhale

July, 2020

Making the most of shelter-in by practicing chair pose Gokhale-style in my backyard garden.

Whether you are on the road, in a campground, or just stuck at home during quarantine, you can always exercise. I’ve been dancing since I was a young child, so I have a very strong bias for dance as a way of exercising, but I also like to change it up with other types of exercise. It turns out that we have a lot of options, even when we can’t access the gym. Chair Pose (Utkatasana in Sanskrit) is a great example of an at-home, equipment-free exercise which can strengthen a variety of muscles in very little time. You don’t have to spend forever and a day in Chair Pose to reap its benefits. This makes it a perfect fit for our busy lives. Read more

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Gokhale Moving Meditation

Clare Chapman

May, 2021

Moving Meditation is beautifully compatible with the healthy posture and movements taught in the Gokhale Method.

In this blog post Gokhale Method teacher Clare Chapman interviews Roberta Cooks and Kathleen O’Donohue to find out more about their Gokhale Moving Meditation classes. Roberta and Kathleen have been Gokhale Method teachers for 11 and 5 years respectively—and longtime practitioners of Tai Chi Chih (Roberta), and Tai Chi Qigong (Kathleen).* Read more

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Home Exercises Part 2: Crunches

Esther Gokhale

July, 2021

This is our second blog post in the series where we put popular exercises under scrutiny to examine how they stack up—or not—against the principles of healthy posture. Here we are looking at crunches, a common abdominal exercise.

Crunches are often seen as a better targeted and safer
abdominal exercise than sit-ups—but there is still a downside.

Crunches are done lying down on the floor, face up, knees bent with feet on the floor, and with the hands placed behind or to the side of the head. They involve using... Read more

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Home Exercises Part 5: Squats

Esther Gokhale

January, 2022

Partial squats are an excellent exercise for practicing healthy posture.

In this blog post, the fifth in our series scrutinizing popular home exercises, we are looking at squats. Is it a beneficial exercise, and how does it stack up—or not—against the principles of healthy posture?

Squats are a popular and effective exercise designed primarily to strengthen the front of thigh muscles (quadriceps), stabilize the knee joint, tone the butt (gluteus maximus), and also work the back muscles. Read more

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