{"id":634,"date":"2015-05-03T14:06:35","date_gmt":"2015-05-03T21:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yogaphysics.com\/?p=634"},"modified":"2018-09-17T09:43:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T16:43:00","slug":"alignment-cues-decoded-engage-your-core-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogaphysics.com\/yp\/2015\/05\/alignment-cues-decoded-engage-your-core-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Alignment Cues Decoded: \u201cEngage Your Core\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"042815AlexCrowBakasana\"<\/h4>\n

\"~YJLogoBlack_highres-2\"<\/p>\n

Yoga teacher Alexandria Crow delves into what your teacher really wants you to do when you hear this cue\u2014and it\u2019s \u201cnot navel to spine.\u201d<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

In our culture, a strong core<\/a> is something mostly associated with a beautiful bikini or swimsuit body, washboard abs, etc. I see the term on the cover of almost every fitness and health\/wellness magazine each month when I\u2019m waiting on line at the grocery store, \u201c8 Moves to Strengthen Your Core,\u201d \u201cTone Your Core\u201d they scream. But the core is actually much more complicated than that.<\/p>\n

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The Anatomy Behind the Confusing Cue<\/h2>\n

When I ask students what they would identify as their core, 9 times out of 10 they point to their abdomen. While they\u2019re not wrong (there are key muscles of the core in their abdominal region), there are far more muscles involved than that\u2014depending on the discipline. Some disciplines do only include the abdominal muscles, while others add muscles around the hip area, which support the pelvis and impact the spine\u2019s position. Others still add muscles that wrap around the hip and the midsection, including some leg, hip, and back muscles. I like to think of \u201ccore\u201d as global, something wrapping all the way around the body.<\/p>\n

See also\u00a0<\/i>Alignment Cues Decoded: \u201cRoot to Rise\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

What Your Teacher Doesn\u2019t Want You to Do<\/h2>\n

When I press my students further and ask what the instruction \u201cEngage your core\u201d means, they always answer back with, \u201cpull my navel back,\u201d or \u201cdraw my navel in,\u201d or \u201cnavel to spine,\u201d and that is where the instruction falls very short of what really needs to happen. Let me explain.<\/p>\n

In yoga asana, we are trying to do two things with our spines: We are either trying to hold it stable in its well-aligned, neutral position (think Warrior II<\/a> or Mountain Pose<\/a>) or we are intentionally trying to manipulate it (think: Wheel Pose<\/a>, Upward-Facing Dog<\/a>, or Crow Pose<\/a>). In those three poses, we are using the core in the same way as in Warrior II or Tadasana but also asking one or more of the core muscles that moves the spine to intentionally manipulate it from its neutral position to another one required for the posture.<\/p>\n

If most students think \u201cengage your core\u201d means to pull their belly back, then that cue is really only fully helpful in something like Crow Pose where you are intentionally trying to round your lumbar and thoracic region. That\u2019s because the muscle that pulls the navel back (rectus abdominus) is only responsible for lumbar flexion and helps to further flex the thoracic region and doesn\u2019t provide any stability for the spine. And even then, \u201cengage your core\u201d is too ambiguous to really tell students what must happen. In Crow Pose, the instruction of drawing the belly straight back, or navel to spine will really help a student to position their spine in such a way that Crow becomes more approachable.<\/p>\n

See also\u00a0<\/i>Patanjali Never Said Anything About Alignment<\/a><\/p>\n

\"042815AlexandriaCrowHandstand\"<\/p>\n

What Your Teacher Does Want You To Do<\/h2>\n

In short, engage your core to stabilize and support your spine. The primary target: the highly mobile lumbar region of the spine and the abdominal cavity. It takes tons of effort to do and is much more complex than one cue can convey, but the result is a spine that is well-supported. Using your core-stabilizing muscles to hold your spine and hips in a strong and solid, well-aligned position can make or break your journey to Handstand<\/a>, for example. Generally speaking, in asana, unless you are intentionally trying to round or arch the entire spine into a backbend or something like Crow Pose, you are trying to hold the integrity and structure of your spine in a solid way like you do when you come into a well-aligned Tadasana, so let\u2019s look at just how<\/i> you \u201cengage your core\u201d in Mountain Pose.<\/p>\n

To keep reading visit: YogaJournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \n YES! I WANT TO LEARN.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n