How to Activate Your Core the Right Way (Hint: It’s Not Sucking In)

Boat Pose

Allow me to let you in on a little secret: Functional core activation is not ‘sucking your stomach in’ or ‘pulling your bellybutton towards your spine’. And that type of contraction will certainly not help your spine?

This is a rather complicated topic that I’m going to overly simplify for the sake of brevity.  When we laugh, cough or sneeze (any kind of forceful exhale), our body creates a stability contraction so that we don’t do things like: pee on ourselves or blow a disc.  This is a functional core contraction. It’s a contraction that envelopes the entire torso from front to back.  When we are doing just about anything in our day, this is the type of contraction that should be happening in our bodies to create stability for our spines. It should happen (ideally naturally) with just about any movement that we make. And it's on a "dimmer switch", as I like to say. Meaning, when we're bending down to pick up a pencil, it should be on but very low vs. when we're moving a couch and it should be on much higher.

What to try instead: Poke your thumbs in your sides just behind where your shirt seam is (or should be); just above your hip bone.  For most of us, this area is relatively soft (aka the 'muffin top area').  Cough or clear your throat.  Doing this should elicit a contraction that pushes your thumbs outward.  It is a literal movement that should be fairly strong.  Now, can you push your thumbs out without coughing and hold that contraction while you breathe?  That’s the ticket!

Pelvic floor activation should also happen here. We'll chat about that in the next post.

Want a stronger, more stable core that actually supports your back?

At Union Yoga & Physical Therapy in Annandale, VA, we teach true core engagement through hands-on movement therapy and functional training.

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