Finding Your Inner Core

If you are new or returning to the blog, I hope you find the information in this post useful in your routine and workouts. Inner core work helps many bodies including those pre and postnatal, after a surgery or after a long period without extraneous movement.

What is the core?

The musculature of the core (aka abdominal muscles) include your Internal and external obliques, transverse abdominal and your rectus abdominus.

These are the main movers within the body during any and all movements regardless if it fitness related or not. However, there are also other aspects involving deep connective tissue and supporting muscles such as your pelvic floor.

Deep Dive

Think of your obliques as the side of your body that moves inwards and outwards as your breathe. Your transverse abdominus being the wide corset like abdominal muscle that moves forward and back as you deep breathe. Finally your rectus the front abdominal muscles that make you think of your six packs. They are easy felt during forward bending and abdominal bracing.

Supporting Structures

Deep connective tissues like your fascia, pelvic floor muscles and deep inner ligaments help support your intra-abdominal pressure during extraneous movement. Including when we are lifting, twisting or turning around, etc. Essentially the functional movements we do day to day.

Each time we breathe the mechanics involved internally is a lifting and opening as we inhale, then a centering and compressing as we exhale.

Practice

There are a few ways you can practice breathing to feel the motions. One of the more useful ways is by wrapping an elastic band around the mid section from the belly button to the back at a slight tension as to keep it firm on the body. With your hands on your pelvis, on top of your pubic bone or lower stomach (whichever is more accessible for you), let the hands lay in a small diamond shape. Index fingers and thumbs touching one another.

Starting with your regular breathing.

Then add in sections as you deeply exhale. Feel your ribs move down and back. Feel your abdomen shallow and the spine feel lengthened. While the pelvic muscles feel lifted towards the belly button.

If you have difficulty feeling all this happening, I encourage you to gently press your fingertips into each area of your body to physically feel the internal body move.

I hope this helps you in one form or another. Let me know if you have any questions & I hope to see you in studio soon.