One of the most commonly used phrases in exercise and yoga is “engage your core.” But what does that even mean? What muscles are being asked to work and is it really helpful or healthy to have an engaged core?
In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with pelvic floor yoga specialist Shannon Crow. Shannon dispels some commonly believed myths about what the core is and how it should be used. She also discusses how the understanding of diastisis recti has shifted over the years and how that relates to healing and rehabbing core muscles. This episode is valuable for both new and expectant parents as well as yoga teachers. Enjoy!
In this episode:
Shannon’s path to teaching yoga and how she became interested in yoga for pelvic health.
Breaking down what many yoga students and teachers are referring to when they say “engage the core.”
Is the common understanding of “engage the core” misinterpreted and even detrimental?
What muscles are “the core”?
Appreciating the movement of the ribcage in easeful breathing.
Does contracting your abs cause anxiety and ignite the sympathy nervous system?
Mula bandha and uddiyana bandha: how they may also be misinterpreted and may encourage someone to become a paradoxical breather.
Working with a paradoxical breather.
Diastasis recti- what is it? What it looks like and poses may need some rethinking if you have it.
Asana and intentions promote pelvic health.
Issues Shannon as a pelvic health yoga teacher often sees among her clients.
The shift from understanding diastisis from just a gap between the rectus abdominals to more about the integrity of the linea alba.
One tip or piece of advice Shannon would offer new or expectant parents or yoga teachers.
Where you can find Shannon’s work!
About Shannon:
Shannon Crow has been a yoga teacher for over 12 years. She has over 1000 hours of yoga teacher training, including specialized pelvic health training.
She has her certification in the Hypopressive Method and is passionate about helping women who are dealing with pelvic health issues.
Shannon teaches group and private yoga classes focused on pelvic health at Tone Yoga Studio and Proactive Physio Plus in Owen Sound, Ontario.
Shannon Crow is the host of The Connected Yoga Teacher podcast and a consultant for yoga teachers. She shares what she has learned (and continues to learn) as a yoga entrepreneur.
Shannon is passionate about this work so that yoga teachers have more time and energy to share the yoga that lights them up. She became a yoga teacher in 2006 and continues to teach weekly group and private classes in Owen Sound, Ontario, with a specialty in Yoga for Pelvic Health.
Shannon is dedicated to helping yoga teachers define their niche and thrive at marketing. She thrives in a community that is playful, diverse, and supportive. This is what inspired her to create The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook group.
Shannon offers in person and online teacher training. She is the co-founder of the MamaNurture Prenatal Yoga School and developed the Yoga for Pelvic Health Teacher Training.
In her spare time, Shannon can be found hiking or skiing on the Bruce Peninsula with her partner, Shawn and her three children. She enjoys time outside in the vegetable garden in the summer or skiing in the winter.
Shannon loves the quiet of morning with her tea, yoga mat and journal. She likes to laugh, visit with friends and family and ask a lot of questions.
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Additional Resources:
Pelvic Liberation with Leslie Howard
Additional resources and article from Shannon on pelvic health.
What’s Going On With My Core? An Intimate Discussion with Pelvic Floor Therapist Lindsey Vestal
