Do you struggle to understand “the core”? Have you read Diastasis Recti but want to see the moves broken down on video? For starters, we at Nutritious Movement define the core not as the abdominals, but everything the arms and legs attach to—which is why, if you’re working to sort out your middle, you need to be digging in to your shoulders and hips as much as you do the belly. (The book I wrote on the core is Diastasis Recti; it pairs well with the class content below and comes with an exercise bookmark if you order from this website.)
Last month I taught a week long, 5-class series at the Nutritious Movement Center Northwest called 'Your Core Classes' and I believe it was the best class series I’ve ever taught. Rarely do I get the opportunity to work with a group for five days in a row, where there’s time to integrate daily information not only in the mind, but into the physiology. The improvement of everyone’s movement was visible in this short time and thus I wanted to make the content available to more than the 25 students that came every day.
We’ve created a clip of a move from each class as well as the most helpful principle of that class so you can start playing with these moves and ideas at home. If you’re a Virtual Studio Member, you’ll find all five of these classes are now loaded to the 60 minute class section as well as all together in the CHALLENGE section. P.S. Anyone can join VSM for just one month (it’s $30) and take this series of five classes (plus whatever other classes you can fit into a month's time)!
If you’re local to the PNW, check the center schedule to see what else I'm teaching and feel free to drop into class.
Here are bits from the FIVE classes from my recent core series!
Class one: USE THE TOP TWO INCHES OF YOUR ABDOMEN
Takeaway idea: A necessary skill when it comes to strengthening your middle (and mobilizing your shoulders) is to learn to stabilize your ribcage, i.e. can you keep the top two inches of your rectus abdominis working when it needs to.
Class two: YOUR PELVIS AND RIBCAGE DON'T HAVE TO GO EVERYWHERE TOGETHER
Takeaway idea: Your ribcage doesn’t have to go everywhere your pelvis does—you need to be able to put your pelvis and ribcage where you want them.
Class three: HOW TO STABILIZE YOUR TORSO WHILE USING YOUR ARMS AND LEGS
Takeaway idea: Once you can put your ribs and pelvis where you want them when you’re still, you need to add bigger arm and leg motion to increase your ability to stabilize various loads.
Class four: KEEPING A STABLE MIDDLE WHEN YOU PICK UP THINGS (STARTING WITH YOUR BODY)
Takeaway idea: Picking up stuff that's not your own body starts with being able to pick up parts of your torso—your ribcage and pelvis—with your core.
Class five: CARRYING HEAVIER LOADS WHILE KEEPING YOUR TORSO STABLE
Takeaway idea: If you can't twist, i.e. your pelvis and ribcage can't be at different degrees of rotation, then you can't control your motion in this move. #workonyourtwist
Again, you can find the entire series in both the classes and CHALLENGES section of our Virtual Studio. If you want to take it, just sign up for one month (this video shows you how the membership works and how to cancel when you're done with the series). If you want to start with something less involved, you can start by reading Diastasis Recti or if you want a small handful of moves, our Nutritious Movement for a Healthy Pelvis DVD or download is also helpful.
SEE YOU IN CLASS, PEEPS!