Core Reality Check
Should I walk around with my core engaged all the time?
I subbed a yoga core class this week, and afterward, a student asked me this.
Her question took me by surprise. Had I overdone it on cueing core awareness? I found myself reflecting on what I’d said — things like, “Move your belly button toward your spine as you exhale.” Good cue, but maybe a little too open to interpretation.
I thanked her for the question and replied with a hearty “no.” Then, I began to explain what I knew about this — not just as a teacher, but as someone who came to core work out of necessity.
I was drawn to core classes because of my spinal dysfunction. Learning that activating my core stabilizers could help support my spine — and keep the pain at bay — changed the way I moved and thought about strength. For a long time, I believed more engagement was better. I tried to stay "on" all the time. But I eventually learned that real support doesn’t come from gripping. It comes from awareness, alignment, and trust.
What Core Engagement Really Means
If you’ve ever taken a core class or scrolled through fitness content, you’ve heard it: “Engage your core!” It’s well-meaning, but also confusing — especially when you try to apply it in everyday life. Are we supposed to brace like we’re about to be punched all day? That can’t be right.
Something I learned early on in my Yoga Medicine spine training: engaging your core isn’t about flattening your stomach or bracing 24/7. That’s not functional or sustainable.
Your core is a team of deep stabilizers (think transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, diaphragm, multifidus). When they’re working well, you feel supported without needing to grip or squeeze. It’s a quiet kind of strength — the kind you don’t have to constantly chase.
In therapeutic yoga, we seek support, not stiffness.
So, Should You Be Engaged All Day?
No. Your body already knows how to engage — and just as importantly, how to release — when it’s healthy and well-informed.
I used to brace my glutes, suck in my stomach, and walk around locked up — all in the name of “stability.” But truthfully, it was fear. Fear of my herniated disc flaring up again. Eventually, I learned this: chronic bracing isn’t protection. It’s tension.
What Helps Instead? Better Awareness.
What many people actually need isn’t constant core engagement, but better awareness of their core. Things like:
Ribs gently stacked over the pelvis
Pelvis balanced, not tucked
Shoulders relaxed, jaw soft
Breath that moves freely through your whole body
With that kind of foundation, your core will know when to step in.
Trust Your Body
One of the most powerful shifts in therapeutic movement is trusting that your body wants to support you. Support doesn’t come from clenching. It comes from connection.
If you’ve been walking around with everything tight, trying to do it “right” —
You’re allowed to soften.
You’re allowed to trust your body.
You’re allowed to move with ease.
Build strength, yes. Cultivate awareness, always. But let it all be rooted in a sense of calm, not control.
