This month in my classes, we’ve been focusing on both intention setting as a way to connect with our core values, as well as movement practices that awaken our core muscles.

When we think of our core, we usually think about our abdominals, and more specifically we think about those 6-pack abs – our rectus abdominis muscles.  But guess what?  Our “core” is MORE than the abdominal muscles. 

Anatomically speaking, the core constitutes the space between the respiratory diaphragm (toward the bottom of the ribcage) and the pelvic floor, wrapping around the whole torso (aka the mid-section and the abdomino-pelvic cavity). 

While our core muscles include the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, which enable us to round or flex the trunk forward), they also include other muscles along the front and side of the body (internal and external obliques, which enable us to twist and side bend the trunk, the transversus abdominis, which acts like a corset or belt, supporting the low back and pelvis, holding in the contents of the abdomen) and the back of the body (multifidus, which stabilize the spine,  erector spinae, which enable us to extend or bend the spine backwards, quadratus lumborum, and distal latissimus dorsi). That’s a lot of muscles!

And given that the gluteus maximus muscles (your bum muscles) connect to the fascia, or connective tissue of the lower and mid-back, we might include them as part of the core as well. 

So, you can see how our core musculature envelopes the body in 360 degrees.

Core muscles assist with posture, they help stabilize the spine, they create movement and help to make our movements more easeful, and they transfer force during dynamic movements.  Their ability to activate and their strength are valuable assets us to us as moving beings.

Here is a video I made for one of my classes that awakens us to the core in 360 degrees – I hope you enjoy practicing with it.

Check out my classes here and let's move together!