Core article

The NeuroCore vs Musculoskeletal Core

The concept of core stability sets forth a powerful image. How is it that we have defined the purpose of the core in traditional fitness and exercise? We have only defined it through a network of muscles and how they contract to create movement. But what is it that stabilizes us so that muscles are able to move in a coordinated way?

Traditional schools of thought would say deep muscles that are defined as stabilizing muscles. What we now know is that there is another system of the body innervated by its own system, its own network of cells and receptors that respond to anticipate movement so the proper motor programs are chosen to execute an efficient, coordinated action.It functions on a much deeper level of efficiency than our muscles do and because this system is so complex, it has taken longer to define both its form and its function.

What we must understand is that the “core system” is the Neurofascial system. The all encompassing network that defines all other systems and shapes in the body and how it operates to both monitor and react or respond to stress, has a central system that works in an unconscious, involuntary, autonomic way.

I call this system the NeuroCore. It is a dual-neurological stabilizing system that supports, protects, responds, and grounds us without our conscious control. It enables us to maintain whole-body balance while ensuring our organs are protected. The neurocore system is equally governed by the efficiency and functions of the autonomic nervous system, and the connective tissue.

These two components of the neurocore comprise the primary network that envelops the organs and grounds us from head to toe. It envelops a dynamic, interconnected, interrelated network of muscles, nerves, connective tissue, organs, and most importantly, the diaphragm.

At the very heart of the body’s dynamic stabilizing system is the breath. How the diaphragm moves and rests is a critical element in achieving an integrated breath. The neurocore is the epicenter of a great deal of my work. It’s the common thread I see in my hands-on practice that is faulty or functioning inefficiently when dysfunction, pain, or imbalance is present.

When I work with one-on-one clients, I frequently notice that the diaphragm isn’t functioning in a way where its movement and the vibration it sends through the body is transferring it’s rhythm in a vibrant way. Much like the cranial rhythm, I believe diaphragmatic motion is a critical epicenter of whole-body balance.

Regardless of a person’s symptom I always check for neurocore balance, beginning with an assessment and self-treatment of the primary domes and arches of the body; the most central is the diaphragm.

This month’s MELT Map is the basic Reconnect Technique of the MELT Core Treatment. This simple element of the Core treatment will immediately improve your body sense, and connection with your diaphragm and your ability to help your autopilot system function more efficiently.

You can perform this quick treatment everyday and should only take 5-10 minutes. Once you try it, please feel free to comment on this blog and tell me how this one very simple technique is helping you!

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