By now it’s become an article of faith that core stability is a key element in a healthy asana practice and crucial to a happy lower back. But what is the core and how do we strengthen it? Too often classes with a core emphasis focus on the superficial musculature of the front body and end up creating imbalances that actually inhibit true stability.

In this course Natasha Rizopoulos explore the myriad muscles that make up the core. We’ll then look at how strength and intelligence in these muscles can translate into greater ease throughout the practice and especially with arm balances, the bête noire of so many students and even teachers, who are not sure how to translate their own experience in these poses for their students.

We’ll begin with a review of the key muscles that create steadiness at the center. Next we’ll explore the essential postures and transitions that tone these muscles. Many of these poses are not commonly thought of as core strengtheners and you may be pleasantly surprised to discover that a well-rounded and correctly aligned practice of familiar poses will give you greater strength than endless abdominal work.

We’ll discuss short home practices that will develop and maintain the strength (core and otherwise) needed for healthy arm balances, as well as how to design sequences that build toward specific poses. The homework poses function as a kind of daily vitamin regimen that, combined with intelligent sequencing and clarity of intention, will make arm balancing accessible and fun.

Take a Sneak Peek at Natasha's Slides:

How Your Genes Affect the Vagus Nerve and Nervous System Resilience

You Are Not Your Genes: New Insights into Genetic Empowerment

Why Genetics Don't Matter: The Role of Super Habits