The Gokhale Method

Posted Mon, 07/26/2010 - 19:39 by Melissa

What if I told you there was something relative simple that could possibly make your taller, better looking, and less likely to suffer from sports injuries or joint pain? You probably wouldn't believe me, but there is and when I heard about it I couldn't believe I didn't think of it before.

When you look at pictures of hunter-gatherers and others living a traditional lifestyle, what you see depends on what you are looking for. To most Americans they just seem vaguely fit, but there is something more going on here. Physical therapist Esther Gokhale was looking for why so many modern humans suffer from back pain, but traditional cultures don't despite the fact that they often perform very laborious work. Esther noticed that they carried themselves differently and also noticed from old Western pictures that this used to be the norm. Now we are a nation of sloucher and it not only affects our back and our look, but internal organs as well.

This was a wake up call for me. As a former gymnast, I once had what I thought was decent posture, but over the years I've definitely developed the dreaded slouch by hunching at the computer. Last winter I suffered from awful upper back pain, which required a visit to a chiropractor. Thankfully it hasn't returned, but I've been on the lookout for something that could prevent an issue like that. Chris from Modern Paleo and Nick from Paleo DC raved about Esther, so I bought her book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back. I've only completed one of the steps and already my physical wellness after a day of computer work is much improved. Another thing I noticed is that my mood is better. A day of hunching= a night of fatigue for me.

What's really cool about the book are the pictures of hunter-gatherers and agrarian peoples like the man above. It's interesting because she posits a theory that humans need to learn correct posture from parents and other elders. While that might seem counter-intuitive, it makes sense to me since I've read about ape populations losing important survival skills like this with domestication, especially if a zoo population is built out of orphans. 

So I'm definitely excited about this book and look forward to posting about my results. At the tech conf this weekend I started noticing how bad the posture problem is. Food is an issue, but disease of civilization are multi-factorial.

 

Comments

Looking forward to reading

by Douglas Robb (not verified) - 07/28/2010 - 10:41

Looking forward to reading the "after" post

Great post and comments! You

by Boston Leo (not verified) - 07/27/2010 - 05:32

Great post and comments! You all inspired me to order the book. No back problems for me, but if I can prevent injuries or bad habits in the future, I'm all for it. :-)

Excellent book. Her Google

by bftony (not verified) - 07/26/2010 - 22:04

Excellent book. Her Google talk is well worth watching as an intro also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yYJ4hEYudE

i adore this book and Esther.

by matt (not verified) - 07/26/2010 - 22:00

i adore this book and Esther. I learned so much from the weekend course with her.

She's coming back in January.

Esther's stuff is great. I

by Dan B. (not verified) - 07/26/2010 - 21:58

Esther's stuff is great. I highly recommend this video, which Mark Sisson linked to a while back, as an introduction to her material: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yYJ4hEYudE It's just an hour, and it totally changed my life for the better.

Earlier this month I went to a free class she gave here in SF that was very similar to the content of the video. Esther is really sweet in person, but I felt a little silly there because I don't have severe back pain, I just used to be a bad sloucher and I still have some lordosis that I'm working on. There were people in the class with serious complaints: a woman about my age (29) who had already had back surgery twice, and an older woman with really limited mobility who had a question-mark shaped spine.

My friend asked Esther what she thought of chiropractors. In so many words: not much. She did say that if someone has had an accident, a chiropractor can help with the healing process and sort of put someone back together after a shock to the skeletal system. But she also said that weekly visits to make minor adjustments shouldn't be necessary if you're using your body correctly, and told my friend that twice-yearly appointments should be enough.

Great post. I think for men

by David Lemus (not verified) - 07/26/2010 - 21:12

Great post. I think for men it is natural to stick your chest out and try to appear as someone who is willing to hold their own, say, in a bad situation. I don't think is so much trying to intimate other hunters, but to make sure that other don't get any fishy ideas. Also posture can be improve by just walking, but the modern age is not made for Paleo man and women, unfortunately.