Travel is part of our Gokhale Method® DNA—the method arose and developed through study of foreign cultures (including ancestral cultures), and remains informed by images, videos, statistics, and other data from pain-free and remarkably functional human beings.
I have learned firsthand what healthy human posture looks like alongside the Sami reindeer herders in Scandinavia, tribal people in Odisha, India, villagers in Burkina Faso, and people with African roots in Brazil. When I travel teach, I make it a point to visit the local museums and also check for local cultural events, ethnic restaurants, and areas that might bring to life the kind of insights and body wisdom the Gokhale Method is based on.
These Arnhem Land and Torres Strait Indigenous dancers incorporate both external rotation of their legs and hip-hinging in their movement vocabulary—an example we do well to follow. Image from Wikimedia
In my experience, travel makes the mind especially receptive to new ideas and impressions—we are away from our usual routines and responsibilities and free to take in new sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and thoughts.
Travel with a purpose
If you suffer with back pain, I would like to encourage you to consider traveling to a location to take our Gokhale Foundations course. These courses are often taught intensively in a weekend or a week, and our teachers are spread in many wonderful corners of the globe. You might think of this as a “destination Gokhale Foundations course” that combines wellness, learning, and transformation alongside the local attractions that the destination has to offer.
Combine a city break with your passions, be they history, engineering, science, or the arts, alongside your Gokhale Foundations course. Image from Wikimedia
The Clifton Suspension Bridge and Observatory, Bristol, England.
Our teachers can not only offer you instruction and hands-on guidance in how to move like you are meant to, but also information on the posture-relevant sites in their towns. They can offer you tips on museum exhibits, restaurants where the servers have great posture, localities that are home to recent immigrants, and other supplemental suggestions on how to immerse yourself in your wellness vacation. This kind of journey makes you a pioneer in the new field of posture tourism!
Posture tourism also insures you against losing all the benefits of your vacation soon after it ends. Posture learning and transformation will improve the course of your life, even if your life is busy and has tensions in it.
Choose your destination
Geographically speaking, where might your Foundations adventure take you? We have teachers offering both group and private courses all over, so here are some suggestions:
- City breaks, US: Atlanta GA, Berkeley CA, Cambridge Boston MA, Chicago IL, Cotati CA, Hingham MA, Madison WI, Memphis TN, New York NY, Palo Alto CA, Philadelphia PA, San Diego CA, Westchester IL
- Town and country breaks, US: Brooklyn WI, Edmonds Seattle WA, Elmwood IL, Greeley CO, McCormick SC, Whitefish MT
- Ancestor trail and abroad: Basel Switzerland, Besançon France, Braunschweig Germany, Bristol UK, Canberra Australia, Dittisham UK, Edmonton Canada, Erfurt Germany, Ingolstadt Germany, Kilkenny Ireland, Ljubljana Slovenia, Öhringen Hannover Germany, Ottawa Canada, Stuttgart Germany
- Sea and coastal locations: Cat Island The Bahamas, Celebrity Cruising (Fort Lauderdale visiting Aruba, Bonair, and Curacao in the Southern Caribbean), Hawi Hawaii, Sydney Australia
- You can find all our course location details here.
Make “destination Gokhale Foundations course” your own “retreat,” or go with your partner, a good friend, or family member, to share and remember your discoveries. (Aruba, southwest Caribbean). Image from Unsplash
Vacation time away can be an ideal time to improve your posture. Getting away from familiar home and work routines is conducive to being open to new experiences and possibilities. There is space for reflection and relaxation as you explore changing the ways you inhabit your body.
You can easily search for Gokhale Foundations courses and other offerings here.
And staying away from home doesn’t have to be expensive. Many of our students stay with family members, or catch up with friends who live in a Foundations destination. A weekend course can also be a well-earned, self-care extension to a work trip.
I knew I wanted a hands-on experience but was hesitant to make the commitment—an intensive weekend class would require a three-hour drive from my home plus a two-night hotel stay… My in-person with Doreen was a transformative experience… Plus, she helped me correctly set up my stretchsit cushion in my car. Thanks to this, my back and legs were blissfully comfortable on my three-hour return trip home.
Amy Alpine, Gokhale Foundations course student.
The river Dart in the Devon village of Dittisham, England, a Gokhale Foundations course destination.
Can’t come to us? We can come to you!
Many of our teachers enjoy travel teaching, and have visited Northern Ireland and Dublin Ireland, Edinburgh Scotland, Berlin and Freiburg Germany, and Werkhoven Holland. This year I am looking forward to travel teaching Gokhale Foundations in Sydney, Australia alongside teacher training.
The church on the market square in Öhringen. This October will be my third visit to this delightful German town.
If you have a group of friends, colleagues or clients, who would like a course in your town, please let us know—we would love to make this happen! If you own or know of a venue, a provisional course can be listed publicly on our website.
Whichever destination you choose for your Gokhale Foundations course, you’ll be on your way to healthier posture and breaking away from back and other body pains.
Sunset at Kapa’a Beach Park, Hawaii, a Gokhale Foundations course destination.
Best next action steps
If you are new to the Gokhale Method, get started by booking a consultation, online, or in person with one of our teachers.
You can sign up below to join any one of our upcoming FREE Online Workshops…
Comments
I recently traveled back to
I recently traveled back to south africa, and the beautiful market ladies could bend from their hips with perfectly straight legs and flat back and neck while they moved and picked items from the ground, some were even 80+ years old. It made me kind of jelous at first, but overall gave me greater eagerness to continue stretching and using my body in productive and mindful ways.