![]() ![]() The real-world role of your core isn’t related to static strength. (Photo: Photo by Andrew Clark Clothing by Calia) Balance poses and transitions Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) also requires this kind of abdominal engagement to maintain a tight plumb line but with a different relationship to gravity. Maintaining this alignment requires some contribution from the rectus abdominis, which you may or may not notice, along with subtle support from the deeper transversus abdominis to cinch in the waist.Ĭonsider Plank, Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limb Staff Pose), Virabhadrasana III (Warrior 3 Pose), and the kneeling balance pose known as Bird Dog or Superman. Unopposed, gravity would act on our abdomen and hips and cause us to sag into a backbend. This type of strengthening asks you to engage different core muscles so you can maintain the neutral spine that you experience in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). There’s a more subtle kind of anterior abdominal engagement that takes place in certain poses. (Photo: Andrew Clark) Poses that help your spine resist gravity You need this kind of strength to help you get up from the floor after lying down, to help you stay upright when kayaking or canoeing, and, to a lesser extent, when you’re doing everyday tasks such as mopping the floor or raking the yard. This effort can be felt primarily in the rectus abdominis and often leads to the satisfying burn or even shaking that many of us love to hate. In “gentle” poses such as Cat, the contraction is automatic, but if you are looking for more core work you can be more deliberate about drawing your belly in or scooping your belly. Even coming into Marjaryasana (Cat Pose) requires a similar abdominal contraction. H olding Bakasana (Crane or Crow Pose) uses the same muscle group. We tend to think of these as core-focused poses because the scooped belly requires a strong ab contraction that you can feel.īut any rounded spine shape requires you to contract, and therefore shorten, your anterior abdominal muscles. Imagine yourself lying on your back and lifting your head and shoulders in a crunch or coming into Ardha Navasana (Half Boat Pose), in which your back and legs are lower and closer to the floor than in Navasana. (Photo: Andrew Clark Clothing: Calia) Rounded spine core work Once you start to notice the stealth strengthening and stretching taking place, you’ll understand how your practice can help stabilize all aspects of your core. The following breakdown of common yoga poses, while not comprehensive, explains many of the less-obvious ways that yoga supports core work. This creates a 360-degree cooperative tensioning system that supports you as you negotiate the many movements required by your practice as well as your everyday life. This balance of strength and flexibility is how yoga postures prepare the muscles surrounding your core to work together without one region dominating the others. (Photo: Eraxion)Ĭomprehensive core work also allows your midsection to become flexible enough, through stretching and mobility exercises, to accommodate an array of body positions as well as the give and take of full, unrestrained breathing. Your core also includes your external obliques (left), internal obliques (center), and muscles along your back body (right). But true core work means working all of the muscles that surround your midsection, including the external and internal oblique abdominals, deep transversus abdominis (TVA), quadratus lumborum (QL), erector spinae, the psoas, even the pelvic diaphragm. There’s nothing wrong with practicing poses that are obvious core strengtheners, such as Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose). There’s no single approach to building your core that is complete. We simply fail to recognize this as core work. Sometimes the work is intense, other times it is subtle. These movements engage the muscles that surround your core in different ways: some will shorten, whether actively or passively, while others will lengthen. ![]() Each time you bend or twist or squat or otherwise shift your body weight, you rely on your core to create and maintain stability around your spine. What many of us don’t understand is that it’s almost impossible to create a yoga sequence that doesn’t work the core in some way. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth yoga, fitness, & nutrition courses, when youĪsk any yoga student what they’d like to focus on in class and there’s a reasonable chance that they’ll request-or perhaps demand-“core work.” ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |