Core Strength

Building foundational strength is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
This class guides you through a series of dynamic and static poses designed to activate, strengthen, and help you effectively use your core muscles — going beyond just your abs to engage your deep stabilizers, back body, and obliques.
You'll learn how to properly engage your core in yoga poses, use your breath to deepen your connection with your abdominals, and practice both dynamic movements to build heat and static holds to cultivate strength and endurance. The focus is on strengthening the muscles that protect your spine and prevent strain during movement.

Transcript

Hi, My name is Shalaka. Today's short flow will be focused on your core, Which means we'll be activating the core, Working on strengthening it and ultimately learning to use your core as you practice movement. So join me on the mat. Start by laying down on the mat. Keep your knees bent, Feet on the mat. Let's take a deep breath in. Deep breath out. It's taking a moment to reset, Drawing your awareness inwards. You can place one or two hands on your belly. And notice your breath, Expanding your belly as you inhale. Then restoring it right back as you exhale. And as you deepen your inhale, Deepen your exhale, You can start hollowing your belly out as you exhale completely. Letting every drop of air out and fill up your belly. Inhale. You might even start noticing your abdominal muscles engage as you hollow your belly out and pause just for a moment there. One more breath. And gently open your eyes. Hug both knees into your chest and then bring them over to your left side. Extend your right arm to the right, Gaze to the right. Feel that stretch across your belly, Your chest, Hips, Come back to center, Inhale, Exhale over to the right. Hug both knees back into your chest and then align your knees right over your hips, Shins parallel to the mat. You can flex or point your feet depending on what feels more natural to you here. Take a moment to feel your abdominal muscles. If you can, You may or may not at this point, Still pretty early, Reach your arms up towards the ceiling. Inhale here. With your exhale, Extend your right leg and left arm away. Inhale back to center. Exhale, Switch legs, Switch arms. Inhale to center. Exhale, Extend. Inhale to center. Exhale, Switch. Inhale back. Exhale, Find that length, Hold for a moment. Bring it back to center. Exhale, Extend, Lengthen, Hold. Back to center, Inhale. Exhale and pause for a breath. Take a moment to notice what your mid back is doing. If you feel like it started arching up and you started compensating with your low back, Try to ground your mid back down. Deep breath in, Exhale, Right leg, Left arm. Inhale to center, Exhale, Switch. Inhale back center, Exhale, Switch. Inhale center, Exhale, Switch. Pause for another breath and release your feet down to the mat. Release your arms down to the mat. Deep breath in, Plant your feet firmly, Lift your hips up, Come into bridge. Focus on your feet, Firmly plant your toes into the mat. Squeeze your glutes together. You may or may not feel your abdominal muscles engage. One more breath in, Lift up higher. Exhale all the way down. Hug both knees back into your chest and reach your feet up towards the ceiling. Flex your feet this time. Try to keep your low back planted, Mid back planted onto the mat. Deep breath in, Exhale, Slowly lower your heels down towards the mat. Inhale back up, Exhale, Slowly lower. Deep breath in, Exhale, Slowly lower. Keep hollowing your belly out. Inhale back in, Reach up, Lengthen, Exhale down. Just continue on your own. You can go as fast as you like, As slow as you like. One last one. Reach up, Draw your heels down towards the mat. Hug both knees back into your chest. This time, Rock forwards and back onto your mat. Just gently massaging your lower back. And then sit up. Lift your chest up slightly, Hug your knees into your chest. Pause for a breath. And start leaning back, Reaching your arms towards the front. Spread your fingers wide. Deep breath in, Notice if your core engages. With your exhale, Lift your feet up. Hold, Keep your gaze steady, Keep your neck neutral. Exhale, If you feel like your legs are working more than your abdomen, You can lower your heels down to the mat. If you feel like you want to take it up a notch, You can straighten both legs. Try to feel what you feel. Breathe and release down, Hug both knees back in, Lift your chest up. Pause for a breath. Cross your ankles, Plant your hands, Step back to your downward-facing dog. Adho Mukha Svanasana. Your first down dog in class, Feel that stretch in your hamstrings. If you do, Press your mat away actively. You can keep a micro-bend in your elbows to feel your arms activate. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Slowly start walking your feet towards the front of your mat. And find your forward fold. Let your head hang heavy, Let the back of your neck release. Inhale, Rise all the way up. Exhale, Bring your hands to heart. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Fold forward. Inhale, Halfway up. Exhale, Fold forward. Inhale to rise. Exhale, Hands to heart. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Fold forward. Bend your knees, Release your head. Inhale, Halfway up. Exhale, Step back to plank. So first plank in the class, Spread your fingers as wide as you can, And grip your mat with your fingertips. Press your mat away, Slight bend at your elbows. Hold your plank. Exhale, Hollow your belly out. Full breath in. Exhale to lower your knees, Chest, Chin down to the mat. Hug your elbows in. Inhale, Lift your chest up, Find your cobra. Exhale, Back down. Inhale up. Exhale down. Inhale up. Exhale down. Deep breath in, Lift your chest up. And then tuck your toes, Hips up and back. Find your down dog. Walk your feet all the way to the front of your mat. Find your forward fold. Release your head, The back of your neck. Press your feet into the ground, Rise to stand. Reach your arms up, Maybe a slight arch in your back. Exhale, Bring your hands to heart. How are you doing so far? Deep breath in, Inhale. Exhale, Fold. Lift up halfway, Inhale. Exhale, Find your plank. This time, We hold the plank. So if you wanna modify, You can bring your knees down to the mat. Spread your fingers wide, Grip your mat. Really keep everything active. Think about your breath. Your neck is soft and neutral. You're gazing right down. Hollow your belly out with your exhale. Fill up your belly with your inhale. Next, Exhale, Take your shoulders past your wrists. Lower down halfway with controlled chaturanga. Inhale to find your up dog. Exhale, Find your down dog. Deepen your down dog by pressing the mat away actively. You can keep your knees bent. Or you can straighten your legs. You can gaze side to side. Release any tension from your neck. Next, Inhale, Reach your right foot up. Bring your knee to chest, Shoulders over wrists. Exhale. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Knee to chest. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Knee to chest. This time, Step through. Reach your arms up. Find your crescent lunge. Pause here. Find your breath. With your exhale, Reach your arms back. Lean forward. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Reach back. Inhale, Reach up. Find length through your fingertips. Exhale, Reach back. Feel your legs, Your core, Your torso engage. Breathe here. Deep breath in. With your exhale, Shift your weight forward. Lift your back foot up. Hold your warrior three. Remember to focus on your core. Lengthen your spine. Feel that hollow belly, If you will, Just for a moment. Breathe in fully. Slowly exhale, Lower your back foot down with control. Find your crescent lunge. Nice job. Release your hands down. Step back. Find your plank. Deep breath in. Exhale, Chaturanga. Inhale, Find your up dog. Exhale, Down dog. Soften your breath. Reach your left foot up. Inhale. Knee to chest, Exhale. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Reach forward. Inhale, Reach up. Knee to chest, Exhale. Step through. Find support from your front foot. Reach up. Find your crescent lunge. And spread your toes wide. Deep breath in here. Exhale, Lean forward. Reach back with your arms. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Lean forward. Inhale up. Exhale, Reach back. Hold for a breath. Trust your front foot. Shift your weight forward. Lift your back foot up. Find your warrior three. Imagine trying to press the back wall away. Lengthen through your spine. Find your breath. You're using your core right now to balance. Slowly lower that back foot down. Reach your arms up. Inhale. Exhale, Release your hands down. Step back to your plank. We're working on holding that plank. Think strength. Think breath. One more breath. Slowly lower all the way down to your belly. Lift your chest up. And walk your hands forward. Coming into sphinx pose. Resting on your forearms. Spread your fingers as wide as you can. Find some support from your forearms and fingers. You can keep your neck neutral, Gaze soft. One more breath. This time interlace your fingers together. Feel strong in your forearms. Press your mat away. Tuck your toes. Press back up into forearm plank. Actively press your mat away. Notice what your hips are doing. If you feel like they're hiking up, Lower them down. Align them. Use support from your hips. Support from your knees if you need. You're still working your core. One more breath. And then press your mat away. Walk your feet in closer. Coming into dolphin. Actively press your mat away with your forearms. Feel that length in your hamstrings. Reach your hips up towards the sky. Release, Exhale, Lower your knees down to the mat. Take a child's pose. Collect your breath. Soften your neck. Rest your arms. Shift your weight forward. Press your mat away. Find your downward facing dog. And then slowly walk your hands back towards your feet to find your forward fold. Release your head. Inhale, Rise all the way up. Exhale, Bring your hands to heart. Inhale, Reach up. Exhale, Sit back in a chair. Lower down into your chair. Imagine you're trying to squeeze a block in between your inner thighs. Deep breath in. With your exhale, Twist to the right. Think about using your abdominal muscles to twist. It doesn't have to be a deep twist. Breathe here. Come back to center. Deep breath in. Exhale, Twist to the left. Soften your jaw. Come back to center. Inhale, Reach up. Find an arch in your back. Exhale, Fold forward. Hug your chest in towards your thighs. Inhale, Halfway up. Exhale, Walk it forward. Find your down dog. Inhale, Reach your right foot up. Exhale, Right knee comes to left elbow. Pause for a breath. Press your mat away. Extend your right leg. Spin your back heel down. Reach your left arm up. Press your mat away actively. Breathe. And then slowly lower your hips down. Coming into a wide straddle. You can hold up here or you can lean forward. Collecting your breath. Noticing where you feel the stretch. Then plant your right hand back on the mat. Press yourself back up. Plant both hands. Find your three leg down dog. Reach your right foot up again. And then bend your knee. Stack your hips. Right knee comes back to right elbow. And slide your knee down. Lower down into pigeon. You can take a moment here to lift your chest up. Settle your hips. And then lean forward. Plant both hands. Step back to your down dog. Opposite side. Inhale, Reach your left foot up. Exhale, Knee to right elbow. Hold for a breath. Extend your leg. Right arm reaches up. Press your mat away actively. Notice if your obliques engage. And then slowly lower down. Find your wide straddle. Hold up here or lean forward. Plant your left hand back on the mat. Press yourself up. Hold for a breath. Release down. Downward facing dog. Left leg reaches up. Bend your knee. Stack your hips. Open through your left hip. Left knee to left elbow. Slide it down. Settle back into your pigeon. Release down. Release. Fold forward. Plant both hands. Find your down dog. Lower both knees down to the mat. Then sit back on your mat. Swing your feet forward. You're gonna lay back onto your mat again. Bring your knees back over your hips. Reach your arms up towards the ceiling. Deep breath in. As you exhale, Knees away from your arms. Arms away from your knees. Inhale here. Exhale. Shift them away. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Extend your legs. Extend your arms back. Hold for a breath. Come back to center. I'm ready for your challenge this time. You're gonna take a deep breath in. As you exhale, You're gonna extend your arms. Extend your legs. Maybe your shoulders come off the mat. Deep breath in. Exhale to extend all the way. Shoulders lift up. You can gaze at your feet. Keep your neck neutral. Use your core, Not your neck. Breathe. Hollow your body. And release. Nice job. Give yourself a hug. Bring your knees back in. And all the way to your left side. Feel that twist this time. Back to center. Switch sides. Come all the way back to center. Then extend your legs onto the mat. Arms by your side. You can place them back on your belly. For a breath in. Softly restore back. Soften your breath. There's no more work to be done. Soften your shoulders. Your hips. Your arms and legs. Just listen to the sound of your breath. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to. Or end this practice here. Thank you.