I took Gokhale Method http://www.gokhalemethod.com. It is not geared towards athletes but it was excellent. It is missing some essential elements but there were some really good things i learned too. There may be someone teaching in LA.

Foundation Training http://www.foundationtraining.com/ has some good stuff. I did not take their class though.

Craig Liebensen at LA Sports and Spine is very good: http://www.craigliebenson.com/lasportsspine/. I am sure his staff is also excellent.

Dr. Jeffrey Tucker is also good: http://drjeffreytucker.com/. 

it turns out that proper lumbar spine is less than most people think, even clinicians. We’ve now resorted to hanging on our spinal bones and thinking that is good posture. It’s not. You’ll wear down the spinal joints over time if you do a lot of athletic stuff.  Yes at first, you’ll feel like you’re bending over at the ribs. This is because you’ve been used to another position for the ribs bent further back.  So bend down slightly at the ribs and brace; but now you have to make sure your head/neck is still upright. Often when you bend over at the ribs, the head/neck can’t get back up. Watch for that and work on t-spine mobility with a Gemini or double taped lacrosse balls.

If you feel tight in the low back, work the QLs with a larger ball like Supernova or Yoga Tune Up Alpha ball. not sure if you’re a MWOD PRO member, but check these out:

definitely worth paying 7.99/mo to get a PRO account. lots of great tidbits every day in DailyRx.

Yes you are right. the one problem with the pole is that you can still touch 3 points and be overextended and while standing. however i do not think you can touch overextended while you bend over though…

it took me about 4 months after taking Gokhale to burn in 24/7 good posture. It took 24/7 attention all day long. I also had to add in proper abdominal breathing and bracing while breathing.  It also took a lot of mobility work on the spine as well as hips to get good posture mechanics. I also had to work on the shoulders because they had drifted forward in typical 21st century lifestyle fashion. I still put my attention on all these things whenever I workout and especially out of the gym. So yes it can take a long time but the results are worth it.