S-shaped spine | Gokhale Method Institute

How to Choose a Backrest

Esther Gokhale

January, 2022

It makes sense to be discerning about your backrests and to understand the ways in which they can help or hurt.

This blog post is about sitting with a backrest, which could be the back part of a chair, or something added to the chair for additional support and comfort. Support and relief Virtually any backrest will give relief that a tired back will appreciate. Support is certainly preferable when we sit for longer periods of time to enjoy reading, TV, a movie, or, if we are lucky, live theater. With the trunk slightly inclined against a backrest, there is less compressive force due to gravity acting on the spine. In addition, the trunk stabilizer muscles get a break. When we are driving or traveling by plane or train, a backrest also confers additional protection from vibration or any untoward impact. Read more

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The Virtues of a Hard Copy Book in Digital Times

Esther Gokhale

March, 2022

8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back is available in 12 languages

It has been 14 years since my book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back came out in hard copy. For years I had wished I had a book to send to those people who called me from the East Coast or Midwest. These were often relatives or friends of people I had worked with in California, who were suffering terrible back pain and needed help. And so I got writing. A book to solve back pain Although there was clearly a huge need for a book to solve back pain, I was still surprised to find I had written a bestseller. It reached number two on Amazon.com following our American Public Television program in 2011, and number three following the New York Times article (paywall) naming me “The Posture Guru of Silicon Valley” in 2013. It has now been published in 12 languages (Croatian later this year), and sold over 250,000 copies. Read more

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8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back

mechanism of a shoulder roll

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Comparing and Contrasting the Herman Miller Aeron Chair and the Gokhale Pain-Free™ Chair

Esther Gokhale

April, 2022

I frequently get questions about what makes a good office chair. Of course, some office chairs are primarily fashioned for style and aesthetic appeal. In general, I would say these may be easy on the eye, but over time are hard on the body! Ergonomic chairs People frequently ask my opinion on how various ergonomic chairs on the market might help them. This makes sense given the rising prevalence of back pain¹. “Ergonomic” means that something is designed primarily for the health, comfort, and protection of users. Among the specific chairs people ask me about, the Herman Miller Aeron Chair tops the list. To answer efficiently, I like to compare and contrast it with the chair I designed, the Gokhale Method Pain-Free™ chair, as this embodies the posture principles confirmed by my research and experience. Read more

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office chair

Herman Miller Aeron Chair

Gokhale Method Pain-Free Chair

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Getter Taller as You Age!

Esther Gokhale

March, 2024

Losing height in later life is characterized as inevitable in our society.

It is not uncommon for students to show up at our courses aware they have lost several inches of height since their youth. In our culture it is a widely held expectation that you grow up, and then, at some point in later life, start getting shorter again. We all see friends, neighbors, or family members who are on the downward run of this trajectory, and it is virtually common lore that you will “shrink” or stoop in later years. Read more

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