Qigong’s Lower Core

Qigong’s Lower Core is a distinct region of the body that consists of all of the bones and muscles that attach to the Hip. The Lower Core is where the Lower Dantien and Perenial Dantien are located. (see Qigong and the Core)

The Lower Core encompass’ hip position and movement that provides us with stability and serves as the fulcrum of energy transfer between the upper and lower body.

Weak Core muscles can lead to an inability to stabilize the lower back resulting in low back pain, poor posture, inefficient use of the body resulting in general weakness.  Thus development of the lower core is a fundamental goal for the Qigong practitioner

Below is a basic breakdown of the major structures in the Lower Core, keep in mind that this is only a general overview of the anatomy to give you a better idea of what part of your body you are using

Lower Core Bones

In general there are four groups of bones that are found within the lower core: pelvis, spine, rib cage (thoracic cage) and femur.

Pelvis- The basis of the core is the pelvis because it provides a lever to upper and lower body respectively.  It is shaped like an ovoid basket and is composed of three parts: ilium, Ischium and sacrum, and two joints: pubic symphysis and sacroiliac joint.

Spine – or the backbone is composed of a series of small bones known as vertebrae.  The vertebrae are disk like bones with protrusions on its posterior and lateral sides.  The lateral protrusion is called transverse process and the posterior protrusion is called the spinous process.  Directly in front of the spinous process is a hollow canal where the spinal cord is.  In between the vertebrae is a cartilage like disk that provides an articulating surface for each joint.  Ligaments that greatly strengthen it further surround the spine.  The Spine is divided into 3 or 4 parts depending on how you look at it; the cervical spine, the thoracic spine, the lumbar spine and the Sacrum.

Thoracic Cage or Rib Cage forms the shape of the trunk (torso).  The ribs provide protection to the upper internal organs such as the Lungs and heart.  There are 12 ribs that connect directly to the thoracic vertebrae that are divided into three types: true ribs, false ribs and floating ribs.

Femur or the upper leg is a thick long shaped bone that connects the upper body to the lower body.  It connects directly to the lateral side of the pelvis at an concave ridge called the acetabulum.  From there the femur slightly protrudes outward to form the greater trochanter where it angles downward to meet the tibia (shin bone).  The femur freely moves in five directions: anterior (towards the front), posterior (towards the back), lateral (to the side), medial (towards the middle) and rotates.

Lower Core Muscles

The Lower Core muscles are all in some way connected to the pelvis.  They form the muscles of the lower torso or of the legs.

Torso to Hip Muscles are: rectus abdominus, obliques (internal and external), erector spinai and the quadratus lumborum.  They are more or less responsible for tilting the torso to the left and right, bending forward and backwards, rotating and holding the upper body erect.

Legs to Hip Muscles are: the gluteals (minimus, medius and maximus), the internal rotators, hamstrings, adductors, ileotibial band, Tensor Fascia Latae, Iliacus and the quadracepts.   They are responsible for the movements of flexing your leg to the center of the body, extending the leg to the back of your body, abducting your leg to the outside of your body and adduction it to the inside.  They are also responsible for holding the weight of your upper body.

Hip, Torso and Leg Muscle: The Psoas Muscle connects the Lower Trunk and pelvis to the femur.   This muscle generally provides stability between the upper and lower body.

Moving from the Lower Core

Weight is force in a specific direction, and force, for the Qigong practitioner is energy.  Thus the distribution of weight determines the direction of energy.

“Where the waist goes the weight goes, where the weight goes the energy flows”

Pelvic movement directly affects the position of the body, which in turn affects the potential energy that we can use.  Consider these four basic pelvic positions from a standing pose: forward tilt, backward tilt, side ward tilt and rotated

Forward Pelvic Tilt – bottom of the hip rolling upward to the head causes the low back to round out the knees to slightly bend and the shoulders to roll forward, and sinks the bodies weight into the floor

Backward Pelvic Tilt – bottom of the hip rolling backward causes the stomach to fall forward, the legs to straighten out and the chest to rise, it is a key point in elongating and stretching the body and pulls the bodies weight away from the floor

Sidewards Pelvic Tilt – will cause one sine of the hip to rise while the other side lowers.  This causes one leg to rise higher than the other and the back to bend towards the raised hip.

Rotation of the pelvis – naturally cause the legs and torso to twist as well

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Related posts:

1. Massage Points for lower back
2. Qigong and the Core
3. Qigong’s Upper Core
4. The Spine, Center Line and Qigong
5. The Transverse Line, 4 levels, and the Hips

Nov 24, 2009

• Posted by Matthew
• 4 comments
• Health, Postures, Qigong Physiology
• Abdominals, Qigong Tips, Strength

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