The muscles in the body are similar to elastic bands stretched throughout the body. Some muscles are stretched across one joint; other muscles stretch across two joints and other muscles stretch across three or more joints. Though there are other supportive tissues involved in movement; tendons, ligaments, fascia tissue, we will keep it simple and just consider the muscles.
Now imagine for a moment that the muscles are like bungee chords that start from the top of the head and the ends of the finger tips and inner lace down through the body across the chest and back down the torso into the pelvis and the bungee chord end point attaches to the base of the pelvis, specifically at the level of the pubic bone. Then consider the same type of bungee chords, beginning at the ends of the toes and again inner lacing up through the legs in through the pelvis and continuing through the pelvic region to the base of the circumference of the rib cage. Notice in this image we have created that there is an area of the body where the cords from above cross over the chords from below. This intersection of chords exists in our image from the base of the rib cage down to the pubic bone, but in reality the inner lacing and crossing over of the musculature exists throughout the entire body. When the chords from above engage in a downward direction and the chords from below engage in an upward direction the intersecting regions create oppositional forces acting upon one another that create the basic power of balance and stability, very much like north and south, up and down, ying and yang, and positive and negative. Notice the mid-section has the largest concentration of activity of opposition in it but it is not the location of the mid-section that creates stability, it is the active engagement of opposing forces running up and down through the body that defines stability, core stability.
Core stability is only present when the opposing forces are acting upon one another. Only when both ends engage upon each other. If the lower body is lifting up past center but the upper body is lacking in effort, than core stability is weak and the same is true of the opposite. Therefore the action of core stability is the process by which an individual develops the knowledge and coordinating skills to access the necessary powers to create the greatest amount of opposing activity across every joint connection within every movement their body can do.
Now imagine for a moment that the muscles are like bungee chords that start from the top of the head and the ends of the finger tips and inner lace down through the body across the chest and back down the torso into the pelvis and the bungee chord end point attaches to the base of the pelvis, specifically at the level of the pubic bone. Then consider the same type of bungee chords, beginning at the ends of the toes and again inner lacing up through the legs in through the pelvis and continuing through the pelvic region to the base of the circumference of the rib cage. Notice in this image we have created that there is an area of the body where the cords from above cross over the chords from below. This intersection of chords exists in our image from the base of the rib cage down to the pubic bone, but in reality the inner lacing and crossing over of the musculature exists throughout the entire body. When the chords from above engage in a downward direction and the chords from below engage in an upward direction the intersecting regions create oppositional forces acting upon one another that create the basic power of balance and stability, very much like north and south, up and down, ying and yang, and positive and negative. Notice the mid-section has the largest concentration of activity of opposition in it but it is not the location of the mid-section that creates stability, it is the active engagement of opposing forces running up and down through the body that defines stability, core stability.
Core stability is only present when the opposing forces are acting upon one another. Only when both ends engage upon each other. If the lower body is lifting up past center but the upper body is lacking in effort, than core stability is weak and the same is true of the opposite. Therefore the action of core stability is the process by which an individual develops the knowledge and coordinating skills to access the necessary powers to create the greatest amount of opposing activity across every joint connection within every movement their body can do.
