Red Mountain Spa (Utah)
Learning to place your spine in its neutral position and keep it there with muscular control will allow you to grow older with grace, length, and stability. We all look in the mirror and see our abdominal muscles and look for external definition, but often times we are creating an imbalance in our skeleton because we focus on what we see, rather than the muscles that integrate to make our spine strong and supple. By learning how to stabilize our spine before we perform any exercise, be it a crunch, bicep curl, or a leg extension, we can make any exercise a "core" exercise.
Listed below are the five areas in the body you want to consciously engage before you begin any exercise. Start by lying on your back with your knees comfortably bent. Find your neutral spine. If you place the tip of your fingers on your pubic bone and the palm of your hands on your hipbones, they should align in the same plane as the floor. You should sense a small arch in your lower back where a line of ants could crawl underneath; you should not have enough room to make a house for a mouse.
1.Inner thigh muscles create a kinetic chain of stability all the way up your spine. Whether you knees are together or hip width distance imagine you are holding a ball between your knees and sense a hugging of your inner thigh muscles toward center line. Repeat the sensation and notice how you begin to engage your pelvic floor.
2.Pelvic floor muscles are a sling of muscles from you pubic bone, tail bone, and two sit bones. For women these are your Kegel muscles, and for men these are the muscles you engage when you stop the flow of urination. Contracting the pelvic floor muscles assist in stabilization of the pelvis, which is the seat of the spine.
3.The Transversus Abdominus or TA is an assisting muscle group of the pelvic floor and chances are that if you engage one you are connecting with the other. The TA is the inner most abdominal muscle and assists with exhaling and compression of the abdominal wall (your suck in, so you can zip up your pants, muscle). This muscle wraps around you like a girdle and helps support the lower back. Place your hands two inches below your navel and begin by engaging your pelvic floor, now imagine making your abdominal as wide and long as possible while moving them down into your back as you exhale, without changing the shape of your spine. You should feel your abdominals pull away from your fingertips and move toward your spine.
4.The Intercostals (muscles between your ribs) are muscles that are stretched when you inhale and contract when you exhale. These muscles in conjunction with your Latissimus Dorsi and your Serratus Anterior (muscles that assist in bringing your shoulders down toward your hips and your shoulder blades against your back) are your bracing muscles and will assist in stabilizing the thoracic (middle) spine. Place your hands around the side of your ribcage and exhale a slow steady breath, as you do so, allow your ribcage to close and descend toward your pelvis. This is called bracing and will allow the center of your spine to remain stable as you perform an exercise.
5.Breath connects the above muscle groups together. When you breathe imagine you have two balloons in the back of your lungs that you are trying to inflate. Try to keep your front core muscles engaged while you perform your inhale and breathe into the balloons in your back and as you exhale consciously connect to your inner thighs hugging mid-line, your pelvic floor lifting, your TA compressing toward your back, and your ribcage closing and descending toward your pelvis. With most exercises you perform you should exhale on exertion. Notice how that is when your stabilization muscles are giving you the most support. When you are inhaling resist the temptation to let go of the support you have created.
In the beginning, it will be a challenge to engage all the muscles simultaneously. Like any other muscle, when you learn where it is and how the use it, it will become stronger. Choose just one of the above to focus on in the beginning and once you have mastered it add on a new one into your routine. Notice how you will begin to feel a sensation of being centered. Notice how your core muscles will give the sense of stability in any activity you engage in. Remember that if you engage your stabilization muscles before you perform any movement, whether you are changing a tire, doing a push-up, or picking up a heavy box, you will reduce your risk of injury by 80%.
