How muscle strength prevents early aging

Did you know that muscle loss is one of the key drivers of aging?

Pioneering research positions our skeletal muscle system as an organ that directly influences aging, naming it ‘the organ of longevity’.

Studies have revealed muscular strength as a key factor in lengthening our health span (the period of our life we spend in good health), as it directly influences a key driver of health as we age - metabolism.

From as early as age 30, depending on lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, humans start to lose muscle mass, and in the case of obesity, adipose tissue (fat marbling) can start developing in the muscles. These changes in muscle composition are more likely to happen the more sedentary we are and the less we move, and they directly impact our metabolic function.

Impaired metabolic function is one of the primary drivers of aging, leading to chronic and serious disease, obesity and fatigue, to name a handful. In the short term, it also contributes to that low-level, stiff, achy, tired, irritable feeling that many of us accept as a normal part of aging.

Most people don’t link muscle weakness to how they feel on a daily basis, or even to any condition they may develop, because we're simply not taught about its importance. Weight loss is far more central to the conversation than muscle mass, but research shows that muscle loss is more detrimental to our health than weight gain.

As we lose muscle strength throughout life, we tend to lose sight of how strong we could be, and how straightforward it is to build muscle, no matter your age (it's much easier than losing a bunch of weight). We tend to accept muscle weakness as an inevitable part of aging, without realising its impact on our health and quality of life as we age.

The question then becomes, if we don't prioritise muscle strength, and don’t do the work to invigorate and strengthen our bodies, how can we ever expect to live the full, active life we want, for years and years to come?

Let me ask you a question. If you could wake up in a strong, happy body every day, what would you do? Take up a new hobby or sport? Start a business? Travel more? Spend more time playing with the little people in your life? Get your garden going again? Take a moment to think about it - write it down!

The importance of the core

In my work as a yoga teacher, I've been been sharing strengthening techniques for the past 9 years, helping clients from age 15 to 95 build strength, stamina and agility.

In this time, I've seen repeatedly how transformative core strengthening is for the individual. This is universal in people no matter their age (I have clients in their 80s and 90s who rock abs work - age is not a limiting factor here)!

The core is more than just the superficial abs or 'six pack muscles'. It's a multi-layered muscular sheath (front, sides and back - superficial and deep)  that connects the upper body to the lower body. It houses several essential organs, and the digestive, reproductive and nervous systems. Its roof is the life-giving respiratory diaphragm and its floor is the pelvic diaphragm.

In recent years, a new understanding has emerged in anatomical science, of the body's muscles and connective tissues (myofascia) as one continuous system, rather than as component parts that are independent of one another.

We now know that invigorating (stretching and strengthening) one set of tissues directly influences its neighbouring tissues, and has a ripple effect throughout the body. So as we work to invigorate the core, this has an effect on the body beyond the core - that is, the whole body.

This is why in my vinyasa flow classes, after warming up the joints (joint prehab), we begin our practice by invigorating the core. I love this part of the class, because I get to witness my students step into the experience of their own profound strength. By working the core, we stoke our internal fire and power our energy up for the rest of the practice.

Interestingly, the core also houses the solar plexus, which in Chinese medicine is called ‘The Golden Stovepipe’, and is directly linked to metabolic function as well as, on an energetic level, our personal power. Core strengthening invigorates the solar plexus, firing us up energetically as well as physically.

The problem with core strengthening 'as we know it'

Without muscular strengthening, and particularly core strengthening, we set ourselves up for health complications as we age.

But the traditional core strengthening exercises, such as sit ups, crunches and lifting weights, are flawed in that they tend to omit what makes core strengthening safe - conscious, controlled breathing.

Without using the breath to bring mindful awareness to the body during strengthening exercises, we risk causing ourselves pain or injury, and we force ourselves to push through struggle, creating stress and tension in the body. This then becomes an unsafe and unsustainable way to build strength.

Traditional core strengthening lacks the integration of mindful core strengthening. Typically, weight lifters focus solely on the superficial abdominals - the rectus abdominis or 'six pack muscles' - without paying attention to the integration of the whole core structure. This over-loads the front body and puts more strain on the lower spine and muscles surrounding it, rather than doing the important job of supporting it.

Mindful Core Strengthening

The good news is that through a tailored yoga practice, you can build core strength in an integrated, mindful, safe and sustainable way. Mindful Core Strengthening, which is a yoga-based system for optimising core health, pays attention to the whole core and gives the spine and upper body the support it needs to help you move through life with agility and without pain.

Yoga is a system of movement and breath techniques that allow us to build strength and agility at any age, in a way that heals and nourishes the body, and combats stress.

Yoga core strengthening is different from traditional methods, because it utilises specialised breathing techniques to allow us to cultivate a deep awareness of the body. This awareness assists us in activating the necessary core muscles to harness the body's innate strength. The breath is a powerful energy source that fuels movement. By using the breath as a tool in our practice, core strengthening poses that may have felt off limits, become easier and more enjoyable.

Each breath brings new possibilities, opening us to the idea that building muscle can feel good, no matter our age or circumstances.

If you'd like to learn techniques to build your own core strength, in a way that's accessible, safe, and rooted in a felt awareness of your own core anatomy, check out my workshop series 'Mindful Core Strengthening', starting on September 21st.

So, how do we compassionately, safely and mindfully build core strength? Here's the step by step process I teach to my clients aged 15 to 95, to help them achieve integrated, long-lasting core strength.

1. Awareness

Change starts with awareness. First we need to gain a basic understanding of the parts that make up our core - there's the diaphragm, the pelvic floor, the deep and superficial abdominals, the psoas muscles, the back muscles, and the side muscles. Each muscle has a different function and behaves differently under stress, yet each part influences the whole. We use specific practices to connect in feeling to the different parts of the core.

2. Alignment

Before starting any strengthening routine, we do an alignment check. Our habitual postural patterns tend to compromise our core structure and can often inhibit the free movement of our muscles and joints. This puts us at risk of injury, can inhibit our breathing, and can get in the way of building true strength. A neutral posture puts the body at ease, eases any joint pain or strain and opens up our breathing (to aid our healing).

3. Joint prehab

Warming up & lubricating the joints daily, and as a pre-cursor to any yoga practice, builds long-lasting mobility into your routine and reduces the risk of joint strain and pain.

4. Activation

Tailored yoga poses are used to activate the individual core muscles. This is not possible without the first two steps - awareness and alignment. Muscle activation builds muscle strength over time. As little as 10 minutes a day of muscle activation can add up to significant strength gains over time.

5. Release

In a strengthening practice, knowing how to release a muscle activation is as important as the activation itself. Without releasing the muscle, it soon becomes fatigued and overworked, leading to muscle weakness and atrophy.

6. Breath

Breath is central to any yoga practice, and it enhances every part of the practice. Conscious breath allows us to connect in feeling to the body. The breath is a tool to open the lines of communication between the mind and the body. Focused breathing into the tissues can bring us out of numbness and aid the process of activation and release.

I teach all of these steps, and show you how to bring it all together into an actionable daily practice, in my workshop series 'Mindful Core Strengthening', starting on September 21st.

I hope to see you there!

Namaste,

Amy x