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This cue is ubiquitous. In gyms, dance studios, circus schools, PT offices, Pilates classes, and dojos across the world coaches have advised their charges to “engage your core.”

I’ve said it myself. And I’ve said it enough times to confirm that it is a useless cue. I’ve also been on the other end of that cue, cycling through all sorts of different sensations trying to find that elusive engaged core.

When I was a kid I had plenty of people attempt to stabilize my insane level of hyperlordosis to no avail. It took decades of training for me to even begin to get a handle on my own “core engagement” and even now my PTs grumble about how wiggly I am despite 20 years of Pilates. Certainly I blame my hypermobility, but it is also true that core engagement is far too complicated to be distilled down to three little words.

Where, exactly, is the core? In what manner should it be engaged and for what purpose? How do I breathe? How do I know if I’m doing it right?

If you have been told to engage your core and been befuddled, or if you are an instructor and you use this cue because you know that core engagement is important but perhaps would like to consider some alternative approaches, this post is for you.

The sentiment behind this cue is noble and worthy. Instructors are united in understanding the importance of stabilizing the axial skeleton—the ribcage, spine, and pelvis—during movement. And it is true that the core muscles are essential in providing that stability.

The problem is that the core is composed of many diverse muscles, some of which are difficult to feel. Most people think of the core as their abs, reduced down to the rectus abdominis (the six-pack muscle). Therefore, telling folks to “engage the core” mostly generates a strained, awkward grip of the front of the abdomen, which is like shoring up a foundation with a single plank nailed to one side of the house.

The “core” is actually a suite of muscles that form a soup can shape in the middle of your body. The top of the can is the diaphragm, the walls are the transverse abdominis and internal/external obliques, the back is the erector spinae, the front is that rectus abdominis, and the bottom of the can is made up of the many muscles of the pelvic floor.

I made a whole post to clarify called What is your Core Muscle Group and How Does it Work?

There are also additional important muscles that attach to the axial skeleton that provide vital stabilization like the psoas and the various gluteal muscles in the pelvis, and the entire shoulder girdle and those funny little neck muscles that attach to the ribcage.

All of these muscles have to work together, not just to stabilize the bones of your torso and provide support for your internal organs, but to help you breathe. They are never completely still, because breathing, so they all have to dance together in a complex choreography worthy of Busby Berkeley to keep you organized against gravity and properly ventilated.

To add to the mayhem, many of the muscles listed above are a bit esoteric and hard to find. It is not intuitive to engage your transverse abdominis or get anything to happen in the pelvic floor. How do you get the diaphragm to relax but the spinal muscles to work? Ask 10 of your friends if they can find their iliopsoas and see how many give you a confident yes!

This level of complexity and mystery all reduced to one generic cue is bound to cause confusion.

The end goal here is to provide what PTs call proximal stability. This means that the mover is able to control their ribs, spine, and/or pelvis while other body parts move around. This is super important because without proximal stability we compromise our ability to balance, train strength and flexibility, and protect our joints.

As I explained in my recent Psoas Above, Psoas Below post, without stabilizing the axial skeleton we can’t effectively strengthen or stretch the muscles that attach to it. If I’m trying to stretch my psoas, which attaches to my spine, but I can’t keep my spine from arching, I will have great difficulty actually getting the psoas to lengthen. If I want to strengthen my glutes by doing clamshells but every time I externally rotate my femur my whole pelvis goes along, I will be limited in my results.

We also need proximal stability to prevent chronic pain and tightness, as well as joint issues. Too much uncontrolled movement can put pressure on the delicate joints between the vertebrae or cause unfortunate biomechanics resulting in crappy outcomes like snapping hip syndrome or shoulder impingement.

Without proximal stability we have more difficulty with balance and fall prevention, potential breathing issues, even digestive problems due to insufficient support for the innards.

All this to say, it is worth investing in proximal stability, both for coaches and movement junkies. So what do we think about instead of “engage your core?”

There is no one cue that can accurately replace “engage your core”. With such a complex system it is much more useful to ask yourself:

We have all been told that you are supposed to keep your lower back on the floor while doing supine leg lifts and that the core muscles have something to do with that but it is still very common for people to struggle with lower back pain in this exercise.

Therefore I have to make sure that my meat corset is cinched up before I start waving my legs around. Here’s how I would usually cue that:

Generally this set of cues will have even my aerialists shaking with the glorious feeling of core engagement!

One of the most challenging organizational tasks in flexibility training is to figure out proximal stability for straddle and middle splits. In a recent post I talked about the importance of pelvic stability to support your joints in middle splits. It is also key to know how to control your spine.

For the sake of specificity, let’s look at a pancake stretch (straddle position with the torso leaning forward towards the floor). We know we want the toes facing the ceiling as the body goes forward... but it’s so easy for everything to go to hell in a handbasket.

Here’s how I would cue a pancake from a straddle:

This set of cues will help you feel the way that the pelvis and spine need to be anchored in order for the external rotators to move the legs into a nice, wide comfy straddle.

BTW, if you want me to actually talk you through this exact set of cues I’ll be doing that in Saturday’s livestream class!

In both of these examples I am cuing core engagement, but I’m thinking of the very specific type of core engagement that is needed for the task at hand and some concrete sensations that can help movers know if they are actually doing the thing.

That said, proximal stability is tricky, particularly for us hypermobile hotties. I’m still wrestling with my own wayward spine, and if you can relate please know that perfection is not required here.

The goal is not an axial skeleton like a granite obelisk, but gradual improvement and increased understanding about what’s going on under the hood of these exercises.

Happy Bendings,

Kristina

Want to go deeper?

Further reading:

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