Yesterday,
I visited someone for rehabilitation,
and I found myself thinking—
maybe the issue lies in the core not engaging well.
Stiffness in the neck and shoulders.
Pain in the knees when squatting.
As I watched their movements,
it felt like the center of the body wasn’t quite working.
The difference between when the core is working
and when it isn’t—
it often shows up in surprisingly simple ways.
In everyday life,
in the most familiar,
most natural movement.
For me,
that movement is standing up from a chair.
When standing up,
you might hear yourself say, “Here we go,”
or feel, “Oh, that hits my knees,”
or “My hips feel heavy.”
In those small moments,
I sometimes wonder
if the core switch is simply turned off.
Before thinking,
“Maybe my strength has decreased,”
or “I should exercise more,”
it might be interesting
to first look at how the body is being used.
When I observe someone’s movement,
I tend to first notice how they are sitting.
What angle the pelvis has
in relation to the seat.
How the hip joints—formed by the thigh bones and pelvis—
are folding.
Even when a posture looks “good” at first glance,
it’s quite common for the pelvis
to be slightly tilted backward relative to the thighs.
With the pelvis tilted back,
the spine and chest are often arched to compensate.
When I see a body like that,
it’s easy to imagine
why the lower back or shoulders might feel strained.
The position of the pelvis
is surprisingly easy to sense through touch.
Place your hands
around the pubic bone and the tailbone.
Then gently move the pelvis
forward and backward,
like a small pendulum.
When it tilts forward,
the pubic bone feels like it drops slightly.
When it tilts backward,
the tailbone seems to move downward.
As you sway between those two,
there comes a moment where you think—
“Ah, maybe here.”
A place where the pelvis naturally settles upright.
For me,
this is the position where the pelvis is aligned.
It feels as if the surface connecting
the pubic bone and tailbone
is facing the seat directly.
When I settle into that position,
it feels like the body is ready
before standing up.
From there,
I tilt the pelvis just a little forward.
Like a pendulum being gently drawn back,
the pubic bone lowers slightly,
and the tailbone lifts slightly.
And then,
the back of the hips suddenly feels lighter.
A small space appears—
as if you could slip your hand
between the back of your hips and the seat.
When this feeling is there,
the hip joints fold properly,
and the body is ready to move forward.
From the side,
the pelvis, spine, and head
naturally align into a straight line.
Like when you tilt a reclining seat forward.
As I write this,
I realize—
this isn’t about keeping the pelvis perfectly vertical at all times.
Rather,
it feels like the body has
a “position where the switch turns on” more easily.
Without consciously tightening the abdomen,
when the body’s alignment is right,
the center begins to work naturally.
And perhaps after that,
the deeper core muscles—
like the pelvic floor and transverse abdominis—
can engage more easily.
In a way,
taking care of the body
feels a bit like cleaning.
When you clean regularly,
dirt doesn’t build up as much.
And maybe the body is the same—
when small habits of posture are in place,
strain is less likely to accumulate.
These were the thoughts
drifting through my mind
as I watched someone stand up.