The powerhouse of the exercises

We move the body during our workouts, when the body is moved, the energy is expended from the body in the form of heat energy as well as mechanical energy. The energy is drawn from different sources such as the oxygen by respiration, stored fat and glycogen of the muscles depending on whether the workout is carried out aerobically/anaerobically.

Efficiency: The efficiency of the energy transfer is greater when core muscles are engaged. The core muscles consist of abdominal muscles around the centre of the body. These include muscles such as Rectus abdominus, Serratus,Transverse and Oblique.

Balance : The center of the mass for any object is the balance point for that object. If we pivot at the point of center of the mass, the object remains in place and get balanced. The center of mass for the human body is located just below the navel region. If we engage the muscles around this region, the energy transfer not only at the maximum but also helps in achieving the balance. As known to you, balance is one of the key aspects in any form of exercises.

Engage the core: Here are some simple steps to engage your core. Stand in the upright posture with neutral spine, chest opened up and shoulder dropped down. Keep the right palm on the lower abdominal muscle and left palm to support the base of the spine. Now try to level the pelvis by pressing the lower abdominal towards your spine as well as pulling upwards. Get to know the distinct feel of levelling the pelvis and isolation of the lower abdominal muscle. This engages your core and it is your powerhouse .Just perform all exercises by engaging the core for the maximum energy transfer from the core as well as to strike a balance during the workouts.

Deep Breathing: Deep breathing acts as a conduit that draws the energy from the core and supplies the energy to different part of the body. During the process of deep breathing, the diaphragm muscle acts as a piston that aids in the transference of the energy from the core. If one uses sallow breathing or chest breathing at the time of exercises then the conduit is not extended all the way to the core and hence the transference of energy from the core is not optimum.

Chakras: Out of seven chakras, four chakras namely the root, sacral, solar plexus & heart chakras are located in the core areas. By engaging the core, it indirectly activates the solar plexus and sacral chakras around the navel region. At the physical level, sacral chakra helps in balancing the sexual & reproductive system, urinary system, kidney &  lower spine. Solar plexus balances digestive system, liver and pancreas.

Leakage of energy: Without a good posture, the body leaks the energy. A slouching sitting posture without the proper engagement of the core leaks the energy to the ground.  Exercise produces movements and an act of dancing against the gravity. We tend to leak our energy when we do exercise without proper body posture alignment. The best way to maintain the posture during exercise is to consider the body as a single column joined by three points. The three points are our ankle joint, hip joint and shoulder joint. During all the standing exercises, make it as a point to keep all these three points in alignment as a single column.

Attention: Always imagine that the energy is drawn from the center of the mass and move towards the extremities as you move from one posture to another posture during your workouts. Shown below are some sketches with the direction of flow of energy for various movements during the workouts.