Live: Understanding Deep Core Muscles and Intrinsic Stability Workshop

Duration: 2 hours
Date: Saturday, 3rd of February 2024 
Time: 09:00 - 11:00
Location: 54 Regent Road, Studio 7, Sea Point 

The deep core of the body can be seen as a three-dimensional web of fascia beneath all the superficial layers of myofascia. Beneath the muscles that move our bodies are many of the more obscure supporting and stabilising muscles of our anatomy.

Thomas Myers describes the deep core as having an intimate relationship with the hip and pelvis and therefore linking the wave of breathing and the rhythm of walking to each other. In the neck the deep core provides a counterbalancing lift to stabilize the superficial muscles the neck.

The main role and movement function of the deep core is to provide stability and balance to the core of the body while the more superficial muscles and fascia work to move the body. This provides the body with a dynamic equilibrium i.e., balance within movement. The myofascia of the deep core is made up of endurance muscles and tonic stabilising muscles that constantly adjust and contract to postural and positional changes in the body.

As B3 practitioners, our ultimate aim is to release myofascial blockages at the deepest level. Most people don't realize that their pain patterns are linked to a deeper level of blockage but rather blame their symptoms on a more immediate response of the superficial muscle system e.g., sleeping in a bad position or getting out of the car awkwardly. We can understand that if the deep muscles are blocked and have lost function and contractility, it is more likely for the superficial muscles to overload and cause injury and joint degeneration over time. Many injuries are caused by underlying blockages in the deep core and are often disguised as acute injuries at a superficial
level.

When a "centrally" located muscle (deep or core muscle) becomes inhibited, the body fires into overdrive. Compensation patterns can activate anterior/posterior, core/inferior, and core/superior.

The game plan in this workshop is to learn how to test for inhibition/overactivity and to release the overcompensated structures and activate the inhibited pathways.

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR