An article in last week's Times, Body & Soul, threatens to throw a giant spanner in the works of any fitness professionals teaching awareness of core strength.
In last Tuesday's Body & Soul, we
ll known health journalist Peta Bee quoted several experts arguing that the benefits of core strength have been significantly over-stated.
Worse, the feature argued that the commonly given instruction of 'drawing in the naval towards the spine', to activate the core muscles, could even cause more harm than good.
This debate is as almost as relevant to the yoga industry as it is to pilates - though it's the latter that works specifically with strengthening the core, just about every yoga pose can indirectly strengthen this area of the body.
Moreover, in yoga terms, the area around the deep muscles of the lumbar spine, pelvis and abdominal region have a huge energetic and spiritual significance (to read more about core strength and yoga, click here).
We will be publishing a full response to Peta Bee's piece shortly. In the meantime, do you have any views on the importance, or otherwise, of core strength? (Please do log in and leave a comment).
Lucia Cockcroft, editor
_0.jpg "Dancer Pose: Nataraja")
