Back Pain: The Primal Posture Solution DVD

I have lived with a herniated disc in the L5/S1 vertebrae for the last two and half years. It causes moderate low back pain on the left side in the sacrum and hip, and CONSTANT neuropathic pain in the left foot (pins and needles, cramping, throbbing, biting sensations). I have tried everything available that is covered by my insurance including physical therapy (three courses with different therapists), acupuncture (over a hundred treatments by seven different practitioners), chiropractic (briefly), steroid injections (twice), all without positive results (apart from very temporary pain relief with acupuncture which has relieved pain which immediately returns when I resume upright posture, whether sitting or standing or walking). Medications have provided mild relief by sedating and muffling my emotional reactivity to the pain, along with unpleasant side effects. I am refusing surgery at this point because I have heard no long term success stories from back surgery patients (typical reports recount repeated surgeries with no permanent improvement and sometimes additional harm). My injury appears on paper to be identical to the injury the author herself experienced before developing her method.I have tried to teach myself the postural retraining approaches detailed in the book, and I've purchased the expensive DVD (fortunately I found a used copy at a third of the OUTRAGEOUS price they're asking for a new copy), and I bought the stretchsit cushion through the website. The teachings are extremely difficult to learn on my own. I do not have a good somatic, kinesthetic or proprioceptive awareness in my body. I am someone who is not athletically inclined and I tend to live in my head, so subtle awareness of very specific anatomical regions and structures is not something I can easily attune to. It's frustrating and overwhelming to try to ascertain if I'm following the written or onscreen guidance correctly, and I am guessing that I'm "not doing it right" because I've felt zero pain relief from any of the methods in this book. Stretchsitting seems like a joke because the only stretch I get is in the soft skin of my back, with no elongation of the spine which still bears the weight of my torso as it would without practicing the technique. Sitting for prolonged periods or standing result in increased foot pain, and I've had to cut back on many activities as a result. I will say that the instructions for the stretchsitting method have helped me be a bit more conscious of my posture, but it has not done what it claims to do in my case. Stretchlying on my back is a good thing, more easy to learn, but still it offers no pain relief whatsoever. The inner corset technique is difficult and I must not be doing it right because I can't hold it for any length of time and it's hard to breathe. Tallstanding is unbelievably complicated; I can't maintain awareness of areas of my feet, knees, pelvis, chest, shoulders, and neck simultaneously, it's hard enough to get one part right.I would really like to learn these methods with a qualified instructor but I believe it would require dozens of hours of instruction costing thousands of dollars, and I cannot find an instructor where I live in San Francisco, I don't have a car so I would have to ride a bus or train for hours to get to someone, moreover I live on disability benefits at the poverty level and cannot afford more than one or two individual consultations with one of their teachers at the rates they are charging. I contacted them and they offer no sliding scale fees, plus the lack of local teachers makes this an impractical option for me. They try to sell people on signing up for online consultations and classes but I do not believe a somatic discipline such as this can be effectively taught using a webcam and microphone, without the close observation and hands on instruction that a massage therapist or other bodyworker would employ. They seem to be heavily invested in marketing, with glowing testimonials from people who claim miraculous improvements and an office and website geared to getting the desperate suffering client to sign up for an online series of group classes costing upwards of a thousand dollars (individual instruction is even more costly).I'm giving this three stars because I believe the teachings are sound and I trust that many have benefited by these techniques, but based on my own experience I'd give it one star. Highly disappointing and a waste of money on my part. Sigh...

Many people have chronic back problems. It makes sense for any person at all to investigate correct body mechanics, whether to prevent future problems or to correct existing problems. In our society, correct teaching about lower back problems is very important. The benefit of this work is that anyone could do it. I tried some "Foundation" exercises and found that I didn't have the flexibility to take the exercise positions correctly. If you can't do it, it isn't any good---for you. These motions are ones anyone can actually do. It appears that Ms. Gokhale has put a lot of research and thought into this system and that it should be correct and useful. It should help, and anyone should be able to do it. Some of the positions that she desires seem to me a little subtle, and the way she obtains the positions for several of her clients seems to be unclear in her presentation. Yes, get the feeling that you're reaching over a chest-high bar. That will tilt your rib cage a little. However, the position is slightly subtle and the presentation is one that leaves me wondering whether or not I have really got it right. I consider the presentation unnecessarily muddied when it need not be. There are more efficient and precise ways to explain this. Why not present those?

I discovered the Gokhale Method on You Tube. After watching her YouTube video several times, I started to practice what I learned and began to get some relief. I decided to become a devotee to this teaching and immersed myself into this basic technique due to simple logic. I bought the book, DVD, cushion, chair, and head cushion. (Some of these items were purchased from the Gohkale Method website). I have participated in her classes which have been most helpful. My problem is once I started to feel better I became complacent and did not keep up with the fundamentals. Once the pain returned I returned to the practice with greater focus. I have watched the DVD many times on the airplane and the elliptical.

If this dvd was reasonably priced, it would be helpful. But it is way overpriced for what it contains. The book is excellent and has much more information in it. The exercises are simple ones and the book does a great job explaining them with great photos. This would be helpful somewhat to see them in action, but in truth to do them correctly, one has to be sensitive to what one's body is doing. so the dvd has limited help that way. If seriously injured, her methods are very safe, but one would benefit from one on one sessions with her or attend her class, esp. if you do not have sensitivity to your body. The dvd covers the different exercises and testimonials, which I felt made it feel more like tv show. took away from it rather than helped it. I would have preferred to have the testimonials at the end of the dvd where one could choose to listen to them or not. Myself appreciate the intellectual info, knowledge that she shares, but find the exercises not that helpful. I have found yoga, somatic type exercises more beneficial. and again am somewhat shocked at the price of this dvd.

This DVD is easy to follow and was a great supplement to the book. It really helped me fine-tune what I read in the book 8-steps to a pain free back.When I fractured my back - I played this over and over and it did help me. I recently took the Gokhale Method class in Chicago with Aurelia who is a great teacher and really clarified everything. Gokhale teaches you how to sit, stand, sleep, walk all to enhance posture and spinal health. I now use this DVD to refer back to for a good reivew. I am so glad I have it -

I do feel the DVD could have been priced better. However, I feel Esther's approach to posture solutions makes sense. I have begun to practice her techniques in conjunction with yoga practice. Slowly, my posture is improving. No overnight cure here, which isn't meant as a bad thing. Totally worth it. Interested in attended one of her weekend workshops.

some great advice on how to get back to proper alignment. We don’t realize how harmful are movements have become. All that stiffness neck shoulder etc.., is because of our alignment. People like Mrs Gonkhale will help fix these pains and relax over stretched muscles. Wish I would of found this first before I spent thousands on chiropractic massage and physio which were bandages not a fix. Thanks Esther 💯🌈