Stop, Drop & Fire Up Your Core
How often do you hear the words “engage your core” and not know what that means? Before I describe today’s Movement Monday exercise, I’d like to demystify that term a bit…
So first, let’s try a “birthday candle breath.” Sit up tall, and breathe in through your nose. Then, with pursed lips, slowly exhale out your mouth as though you’re blowing out a birthday candle. Feel what’s happening to your midsection? That’s core engagement at its most basic. The deepest layer of abdominal muscles wraps around your torso like a corset. As you exhale in birthday candle breath, imagine a gentle wrapping action from your back to your abdomen.
Pro tip: You can practice birthday candle breath throughout the day for dual calming and strengthening benefit.
For me, after a severe case of diastasis recti, building deep core strength has been key to releasing low back pain. If you have a big diastasis (unnatural separation between the two halves of the most superficial abdominal muscles, most common in postpartum women), reclined core work with the head on the ground is safest.
For everyone else, the exercise in this video is a fabulous way to feel your core switch on, and (depending on your fitness level), you can get strengthening benefits in just a few seconds. You should feel a sensation similar to birthday candle breath, only more intense. I’m showing it with a block for a little extra fun (helping to ensure your hips stay level), but a prop is not needed.
Some pointers:
- Align the knees under the hips, wrists below shoulders.
- Claw the floor with your fingernail pads to avoid excessive pressure on your wrists.
- Draw the belly button toward the spine gently, not more than an inch. If the abdomen bulges out, then back off and hold for less time or message me for an easier exercise.
- Be sure the ribs aren’t flaring out.
- The movement of lifting the knees up is small, just enough to slide a credit card underneath.
- In the video I suggest holding for 15 seconds, but it could be as little as 5 or up to a minute. Make sure you can breathe throughout without bulging the abdomen.
If you have another few seconds once your core has been activated, it’s a great time to release the low back in the bent-knee down dog variation I detailed last week.
If you tried this, I’d love to know how it felt to you. Whether you experienced confusion or an ah-ha moment, I’m always eager for your feedback. 💕