Raising kids takes a village. I’m so blessed to have a few key partners in my mom village. We take care of each other and help whenever we can!
Well, one of my key mom friends was in pain this past weekend, and I didn’t find out until it was too late to help.
When she told me the story, I almost died. I had joked about this last week in my post! It’s a very common experience and it happened. She literally threw out her back when she picked up her laundry basket.
So this is dedicated to the “village”. To the moms and dads who are too darn busy to get real workouts in. To any person who needs to learn how to engage their core before they pick up that laundry basket, or 68 pound child, or rock heavy backpack on the trek to school.
This exercise takes practice, as it involves engaging the “deep core” musculature. These are the pelvic floor muscles at the base of your spine. They help stabilize your pelvis and strengthen your inner corset. With practice, they can learn to fire easier and help you when lifting and picking up things.
In the picture above you see the pelvic floor muscles connect at the tailbone and the pubic bone, and that they help to control a bunch of organs in between. They are powerful, and simple to work and activate. These muscles are critical to preventing your lower back muscles to take over (and seize up) when your core should be doing the heavy lifting (literally).
Other bonuses? They assist with incontinence issues, as well as sexual health.
You can do this exercise BEFORE you even get out of bed in the morning. Five repetitions will take less than 5 minutes.
If you are struggling to understand where your pelvic floor muscles are, imagine going to the restroom, and suddenly someone walking into the bathroom while you are “mid stream”. The muscles you use to stop yourself, are part of your pelvic floor. Yes, these are often also called the “bathroom” muscles. (Don’t tell my 10 year old daughter, potty jokes are HUGE these days!)
Give it a view here:
Ok, so the big question I have for you is: Can you feel yourself activate your pelvic floor? Is it something you’re “clued” into, or are you struggling to know what I’m talking about? It’s fascinating to learn how people feel about this particular exercise. I give it as a warm up for EVERY client.
This exercise is the most important step to building a strong inner corset so you don’t go throwing out your back while lifting a feather pillow.
Originally published at verticalign.com