Location of the psoas The psoas muscle is buried deep in the front core of our body. It’s traditionally been considered a hip flexor muscle due to it’s powerful ability to flex the leg towards the trunk. However, many of it’s attachments are anchored to the vertebrae and vertebral discs, so now more anatomists and […]
Spinal Stability Exercises
By Ann West This is part 3 of 3 part a series on Spinal Stabilization. Creating spinal stability The key to this approach is to improve the nervous system’s ability to activate the pelvic floor (PF), transversus abdominus (TrA) and multifidus (MF) correctly. This is achieved by learning to voluntarily activate these muscles in near […]
Spinal Stabilization part 2
By Ann West This is part 2 of a 3 part series on Spinal Stabilization. Core training In cases of core muscular impairment the bottom line is that you cannot strengthen a muscle your nervous system cannot activate. You can practice all the core poses you want, but if you haven’t retrained the nervous system’s […]
Spinal Stabilization part 1
By Ann West This is part 1 of 3 part a series on Spinal Stabilization. Many people who suffer from back pain know that developing a strong, awake core is essential for spine health. But did you know that there are two layers of core muscles – an inner layer of stabilizing muscles that connect […]
Yoga & the Sacrum
The sacrum is a large, wedge shaped bone that sits at the base of our spine. It forms a strong foundation for the vertebrae above and is central to the structural bearing of our entire body. Sacrum anatomy Sacrum nerves How to locate your sacrum Sacrum pathology How yoga can help the sacrum Sacrum spiritual […]
Yoga for Core Strength and a Healthy Back
By Ann West Core facts & functions Our physical core is the collection of muscles, bones, fascia and organs located between the pelvic floor at the base of the trunk, and the diaphragm at the base of the ribcage. The term “core” usually refers to our core muscles, which wrap around the middle of the […]