Core strengthening has long been a buzzword in the fitness world, and there is great emphasis particularly on abdominal strengthening in fitness programs. Why is this considered to be so important?
Core strengthening has to do with building proper support for the pelvis and the spine. When most people do core strengthening they focus on crunches in their abdominal work. This focus can bring imbalances to the body. This is counterproductive, when you strengthen the front, you also need to strengthen the back. If you only focus on working the front of the body, the abdominals and the chest get shorter and shorter, and at the same time the back muscles get weak and overstretched.
The action of the abdominals is to flex the spine or bend the spine forward, and if the abdominals get overly short and tight, this in turn can create neck and back pain. We might start to experience headaches because we slump forward not only in mid spine but in the neck. I remember many years going to a spinning class 3-4 times per week, after the spin there was an “All ABS” class, for a short 15 minutes! I began to get headaches and thought it was the spinning but only to discover it was about the abs class! It was that rounding and pulling on the neck and my jaw was also affected by becoming tight!
In yoga we strengthen the core in a variety of ways. The strengthening comes from supporting the weight of our body parts in various orientations to gravity. Standing poses are good examples of core strength. Try extended side angle or balancing half-moon without core engagement and see what happens….. your torso muscles including the oblique’s and the transversus abdominis are contracting to hold up the weight of your torso, which is parallel to the floor. Here we are working more than the front part of our bodies.
I love the fact that in yoga we are training muscle patterns and functional patterns, creating balance from within. How is your core strength these days?
Core strengthening has to do with building proper support for the pelvis and the spine. When most people do core strengthening they focus on crunches in their abdominal work. This focus can bring imbalances to the body. This is counterproductive, when you strengthen the front, you also need to strengthen the back. If you only focus on working the front of the body, the abdominals and the chest get shorter and shorter, and at the same time the back muscles get weak and overstretched.
The action of the abdominals is to flex the spine or bend the spine forward, and if the abdominals get overly short and tight, this in turn can create neck and back pain. We might start to experience headaches because we slump forward not only in mid spine but in the neck. I remember many years going to a spinning class 3-4 times per week, after the spin there was an “All ABS” class, for a short 15 minutes! I began to get headaches and thought it was the spinning but only to discover it was about the abs class! It was that rounding and pulling on the neck and my jaw was also affected by becoming tight!
In yoga we strengthen the core in a variety of ways. The strengthening comes from supporting the weight of our body parts in various orientations to gravity. Standing poses are good examples of core strength. Try extended side angle or balancing half-moon without core engagement and see what happens….. your torso muscles including the oblique’s and the transversus abdominis are contracting to hold up the weight of your torso, which is parallel to the floor. Here we are working more than the front part of our bodies.
I love the fact that in yoga we are training muscle patterns and functional patterns, creating balance from within. How is your core strength these days?