“Engage your core!”  I hear it on repeat in every class I attend whether it’s yoga, barre, or even cycling. I sometimes feel this is almost an impossible task when other parts of my body are already aching and exhausted. However, what I have learned is that engaging your core actually often leads to less dependence on other parts of your body, relieving the stress and aching in that particular area. We often associate certain movements and exercises with one part of the body as opposed to viewing the movement in its entirety. For example, we often solely focus on our gluts when we do squats or lunges, and we end up dumping our front body and core fully on to our legs during the process. This not only compromises the integrity of the pose, but we also lose the opportunity to build strength in the deeper muscles in our core. These deep stabilizing muscles are essential to protecting our lower back from injuries. Since the lower back is where many of your nerve endings lie, misalignment and pinches can cause severe pain and interfere with your range of motion.

It is not easy to engage the core, but it can be done with some mindfulness and control. One way I engage my core is to think about zipping up a very tight pair of jeans and envisioning my muscles squeezing to the midline of my body. This helps me engage the deep pectoral muscles without pushing all of the air out of my lungs, leaving me gasping and out of breath. This has made a tremendous difference in all the postures I do in every class. I feel more stable, strong and powerful as a result. I also feel that I am reaping the full benefits in every class, almost as if I am secretly achieving more results just by doing one small act through it all, engaging my core!

This week I attended a new class at Core studio with Kim Lum Danson.  I was very impressed with her alignment cues and how effective they were in helping you activate certain weaker parts of your body. I highly recommend trying out an all levels class to begin your journey to awaken your mid-section!