Deep core activation…

• When I say in class, draw the belly in/ or draw the navel to the spine:
• it’s usually on an exhalation
• when we’re on the mat on our backs and activating our exhaling breaths
• we want to be drawing in from the pubis to navel.
• we want to be lengthening the spine
• we don’t want to restrict our breaths
• on the inhales we soften the abdomen

I usually ask you to flatten the belly, usually on the exhalations and then we let the belly soften on the inhales, or lift and hold the belly during some exercises to maintain a lift to protect the lower back…

The Ache After Laughing Hard and The Focus in Kapalabhati

When you laugh until your belly aches, you are feeling your TA.

It is also the muscular focus on Kapalabhati breathing where the exhales are strong, short and sharp from the lower belly. We are pumping the belly inwards on the exhalations.

When properly toned, this muscle keeps our organs in place while giving support to the lumbar spine.

When habitually gripped, it compresses the organs and leads to abdominal hernias, urinary incontinence, and digestive problems.

Soure: Mark Stephens

HOW TO: Transverse activation:

Breathing exercises can help us gain awareness of our deeper abdominals. Such practices include focusing on the exhalation and Kapalabhati Pranayama.

• Lie on your back with feet on the floor.
• Palpate for the hip points.
• Then lengthen the spine to draw the hip points toward one another.
• If the belly sticks up and out, it may be a sign that you are engaging only the rectus abdominis (the more superficial abdominals).

Another exercise is to sit tall and, on the exhale, hug the waist in from the front, back and sides. Release on the inhale.

Another consideration are pelvic tilts (on your back or against wall) combined with activating the lower abdominal area.

Source: YOGA TEACHER CENTRAL

The BLOOM Method:

The Transverse Abdominis is the body’s innermost abdominal muscle or the body’s natural corset. The muscle attaches on either side of your spine and wraps the entire circumference of your torso. As it moves toward the front of your torso, the TA spans from the top of the pelvis to the bottom of your ribcage.
THINK: corset
but also a protective shield and internal column of support for our trunk.

Responsible:

• for protecting and stabilizing the low back and spine along with all of the internal organs.

The other “job” of the TA is to teach all of the more external abdominal muscles; the obliques and rectus abdominis to lay flat against the torso and spine.
It’s crucial for stability, and functional movements
THINK ABOUT: “wrapping” your TA to deeply connect with it.

The Bloom Method’s techniques can help your clients connect correctly with this muscle by using diaphragmatic breathing and conscious exhales so that the brain responds quickly to the new found connection.
Practice on yourself for a moment. Relax your torso by either lying supine or sitting comfortably in a flat-bottomed chair. If lying make sure to keep a natural curve in your spine as your emerging practice of using the TA may sometimes pull your low back to the floor. This is much different from “tucking” the pelvis to press the lower back into the floor. This “tucking” movement can often times shut off the TA or create a false understanding of using it during the exercise. If sitting, make sure that the ribcage stacks on top of the pelvis and the shoulders on top of rib cage.

Technique:

• Take a deep diaphragmatic inhale, filling your belly with a deep breath that expands your entire abdomen.
• Follow with a slow, yet deep exhale, making a powerful sssssss sound as you exhale and wrap the TA from either side of your spine around your entire torso.
• This may be a new sensation and way to connect to your deep core so here are a few unique ways to help you connect to this movement.
• As you exhale imagine drawing your hipbones in towards one another as if to kiss one another.
• You can also imagine that your exhale attempts to draw your obliques to the front of your torso, near your belly button.
• Knitting the bottom of your ribcage together is a super common cue that helps connect to the upper portion of the TA.
• Connecting with each of these cues over time will help you to connect to each section of the TA while ultimately helping the entire musculature fire together.
• Exhaling with this type of focus will more readily turn on your client’s rectus abdominis, obliques, pelvic floor and multifidus musculature in a functional manner.
• Correctly activating the TA isn’t about isolating the muscle at all, in the end it’s about correctly activating the entire core musculature.
• This simple technique creates a super easy and functional way to connect with the inner core unit and should be the first step to every core-related exercise.

Source: The BLOOM Method