Tune In, Tone Up

When it comes to shaping up and looking (and feeling) great, it all starts with the core.

- By Emily Kane, ND, LAC

Q: What is it with “core tone”? Do I really need it?

A: In a word, yes. Humans aren’t so far away from having been four-footed mammals with tails. Despite our enormously rapid social evolution, our bodies really haven’t evolved that much for hundreds of thousands of years.

Think about getting around on four legs with a tail. Sitting on a chair would be pretty weird, right? One of the trickiest elements of posture to figure out for modern humans is where to put their tails. So, if you still had a tail, would you tuck it under you to sit, or would you flick it out behind you and perch more on the front edges of your “sitting bones”?

There is no wrong answer. You just need to figure out what’s comfortable and stable for you. Sitting is the new smoking—we’ve all heard that. But we’re not going to quit sitting, so we need to find ways to offset the strain. Many modern humans have chronic low-back pain, and we also tend to have bowel issues— from chronic constipation to loose stools. These irritants are often related both to sitting and to inadequate core tone.

3 Steps to Finding the Best Upright Posture