Esther Gokhale teaches the inner corset which is a method of keeping space betwen your vertebrae while doing exercises that load your spine. I found that it has a similar effect to the loaded clean used in kettlebell lifting.
One part of the Gokhale Method of posture (Chapter 5 I think) is the “inner corset” where you protect your spine by using your stomach muscles. The “inner corset” is important when transmitting heavy or medium loads through your spine because it protects your vertebrae from carrying all of the weight. Your body does this automatically during activities such as jumping. The inner corset was one of the hardest concepts in the book for me to learn, but once I got it I realized that it did the same thing as the “loaded clean” which is taught by Pavel Tstatsouline.
In the loaded clean you swing the kettlebell between your legs and bring it up to the “rack” position where it is resting on your forearm (see the video above). While doing this process you take a big breath of air and this “preloads” all your muscles so that you can lift more weight. What I realized was that the loaded clean keeps the spine lengthened even though you are holding a heavy weight. The kettlebell is supported by your spinal and stomach muscles instead of your vertebrae.
The loaded clean cannot be replaced by the “inner corset” because the loaded clean prepares the entire body for the lift while the inner corset only preps your spine. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see the agreement between the concepts taught by two different and unrelated advisers.
The Icon and the Ax is subtitled an “interpretive history” of Russia. It tells the story of Russia from its origins as the Kievian Rus through the 1960s Soviet Union when the book was written. The author, James Billington, loves Russia and this comes through clearly when he laments the Soviet destruction of Russian culture. During early Russian history the focus of the story is on leaders and historical events. As the narrative draws closer to the present the emphasis shifts to philosophy, thought and the arts in Russia. If you are interested in Russia and willing to invest some effort, I strongly recommend reading this book.
Depending on your previous knowledge you will gain different insights from this book. If you already about the history of the arts (writing, plays, music, painting…) and philosophy in Europe, you will come to understand how Russian thought compares, draws, and influenced European thought. If you already know the facts and events in Russian history, you gain a better understanding of why these events happened and how they affected the Russian psyche. If you start without much knowledge of their of these topics (my case), you will learn the plot of Russian history and gain insights into how Russians think. Unfortunately, if you do not already have a lot of background information, the book will take some effort to follow. There are allusions to and discussion many different thinkers, politicians, czars, books, plays, paintings and historical events. It can be difficult to keep them all straight at times.
I started making kombucha around Thanksgiving and am now really starting to get the hang of it. Right now I make about a gallon of kombucha a week. I have learned some lessons the hard way and stumbled across a few surprises.
Kombucha also tastes a lot better when it has its natural carbonation. When the yeasts and bacteria grow and make your kombucha they release gas. Normally this would all leave the fluid, but if the kombucha is in a sealed container without much air, it will remain dissolved in the kombucha tea.To carbonate your kombucha, store it in a sealed bottle and let it ferment at room temperature after your first brewing process. I have found that screw on bottle tops don’t hold enough pressure to carbonate the kombucha. I am using the Grolsch beer bottles with the wire attached cap and they work great and are resealable. Read more »
Obesity is a serious issue facing men today. Learn why it is a problem for men, why it can affect your behavior, and why common solutions won’t work. After watching the video, read my interview with Richard Morris: http://completebody.wordpress.com/interviews/richardmorris/.
When you make lactofermented foods or need to leave edible foods out at room temperature for long periods of time, you will inevitably run into problems with fruit flies trying to eat your food. They are the most frequent problem I have had while lactofermenting food. The problem diminishes during the winter, but you still see an occastional fruit fly. I discovered a very easy way to get rid of fruit flies somewhere on the internet. I would cite the source, but I don’t remember where I heard of this method. Read more »
I saw this interview with Gary Taubes and a couple other people on Larry King Live posted at The Cellulite Investigation. I thought the interview was pretty good. I would have preferred if they hadn’t wasted time talking to the trainer from The Biggest Loser and had moderated Dr. Oz’s and Gary Taubes’ discussion a little better.
Last week I wrote about how tight psoas were not as harmful when standing, lying, or sitting the way Esther Gokhale advocates. I still stand by this claim, but I just finished the last lesson on glide walking which I had not read before writing the that article. In it she talks more about tight hip flexors or psoa muscles. One relevant passage is quoted below:
Glidewalking provides one of the few opportunities in daily activity to stretch the psoas muscle, which runs from the front of the lumbar spine to the upper inside of the thigh bone (femur). A tight psoas sways the low back and contributes to back pain. In glidewalking, the psoas gets a beneficial stretch at the moment of push-off.
The sway back is a different [bad] phenomena than an anteverted [good] pelvis and Esther gives many techniques throughout her book for dealing with a swayed back. From this passage we can see that she recognizes that most of the population has tight hip flexors and that this contributes to poor posture. In the book she offers glide walking as a method of lengthening tight psoas. It does not appear that tight psoas make it impossible to have good posture.
This post is a part of the Fight Back Friday blog carnival hosted by the Food Renegade.
Leila Denmarkwas born in 1898 and when she retired in 2001 at the age of 103 she was the oldest practicing pediatrician in the world. In what country does this doctor reside? In what country did she practice? Surprisingly, (I assumed it must be the country not state of Georgia at first) the USSA. While for the most part American medical professionals are corrupt and evil, there are some exceptions. Dr. Mercola is one (and is an outcast for it) and Leila Denmark appears to be another. Read more »
