BELOW: NEW “Shift / Lift” Self Test Picks Up Even The Most Subtle Cases Of Deep Core Amnesia
The ability to BREATHE correctly and the ability to “anchor” your body for efficient, strain free movement is crucial for protecting your joints from degeneration.
In addition, this core awareness will allow you to “recycle” gravity and use it for energy and spring instead of letting it drag you into a submissive, unattrative, forward drawn, downward spiral!
PLUS…keeping your spine and other joints “centrated” (meaning they are perfectly aligned with maximum congruence to be able to bear the most load) is also a “trick” for creating a sense of relaxation and calm in the central nervous system.
This calm is what I consider the ultimate goal…What I call “Peace Physiology” where your cells feel the bliss and go into “renewal” mode as opposed to “Stress Physiology” where your cells are in “breakdown” mode!!
So check yourself out with this breathing test and TAKE SPECIAL NOTE to do the “Baby Back” in SUPER DUPER SLOW MOTION, especially take notice what happens in your core before your foot even leaves the floor!
If you struggled with these tests you have been overloading your joints and creating unecessary stress in your central nervous system!
But no worries!
Your “Reverse CPS Now!” Fundamental Posture Transformation Exercises will get you back on the road to strain free, pain free posture and movement!
i seem to breathe well and could keep back down with l & r knee raises and stretch’s
try with both feet and see how you do, Colleen http://www.gettoyourcore.com/shift-lift-test/
I can keep ribs connected to floor but cannot keep the chin tucked and neck flat at the same time. Also if I try to raise knee (s) I feel the stress all go into neck flexors.
Sounds like you could possible have a stiff or rounded upper back, Debbie…or your deep core system has become deconditioned…or both.
Start with the fundamentals series and if it makes sense, consider the full course at http://www.reversecpsnow.com
Deep Core Amnesia – My breathing is good and I can raise left & right legs and keep back on floor.
Lift & Shift – can’t do. Back comes of the floor and it stresses my neck.
You’re like most people who have dealt with stress and trauma that has accumulated throughout your journey.
This can very easily “disconnect” you from your “organic” deep core system.
Training you’re brain to reconnect and hold this connection is one of the most important things you’ll ever do.
Breathing exercise ok, but trouble getting the pelvis to keep still in the 2nd exercise. Perhaps I should have turned the music off.
Breathing exercise ok. Good pressure.
The next one not so good.
Gave me some pain radiating down my legs.
I have to press the hips down to connect…fail. With towel under core I was able to breath and connect but still felt hips tilt.
Hi there! I certainly have deep core amnesia. There is no way I can keep my ribs to the floor without tilting my pelvis. AND I need to push into my feet as well.
It’s in there Renee, keep re-awakening it 🙂
Breathing was good and no torque of the pelvis.
I do see a chiropractor monthly or more if needed.
At present I have SI joint pain. I have been following your youtube videos and already felt relief in one day. You are a God send to me. Thank you!
Great to hear, Janice. Sometimes the piriformis stretch is a slam dunk for true SI pain. Search piriformis stretch in here on the blog and you’ll find it.
I am a diagrammatic breather, full and rounded .
no shift on raising knee, but big shift on way down
Un able to extend leg away from my body without tilt
I can connect my lumbar thoracic region but only via pelvic tilt, no shoulder compensation
If I lift my feet at any speed , my pelvis immediately kicks in. With a lumbar thoracic roll or shoe it is still not possible
I am a chest breather, but I can feel the expansion in my lower back. No problems raising or lowering the knees. The last test I performed right but I needed to concentrate.
Doing this test inflames my lower back. I cannot comfortably lift my feet without shoulders coming up and weight shifting to the pelvis. Looking forward to solutions. Thank you for posting.
I definitely need HELP! !
OK, I can see that my core is in great need of help. Aside from the fact that I can not even raise both knees up at the same time and my right leg/knee will not raise to a 90 degree angle I am feeling lots of pain in that entire right leg from hip to ankle. Also the core amnesia is pretty set. I can lay there and breath correctly but unable to move my feet off the floor at all without lower back raising. Looks like lots of work to do. At least I am thankful I have found your website. I had a roll over accident 5-6 years ago and have been having increasing pain problems in the right leg. I have started a round of prolozone therapy but know if I don’t do something to loosen up and/or strengthen my core/muscles the chance for pain relief will be limited. I am hopeful you info will be helpful. Thanks
I know I am a chest breather what with kyphosis and much emotional stress all my life. I cannot get a deep breath. I thought when I was doing diaphragm breathing as in yoga I was being observant and doing it the right way. Then this! Wow I didn’t know I could expand the back like that. I have been breathing wrong my whole life. I get dizzy if I do it too much. Will it get easier with practice? Even with chronic myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyalgia?
Had no problem keeping back on floor, my problem is getting shoulder and head flat on floor.
Watching you on the second video I guess I failed cannot get shoulders to touch floor.
I’m breathe diaphragmatically. I can keep the ribs down to move one leg up or out. I can do both legs slowly if I concentrate but it takes some serious concentration.
Hi Dr Hoffman
Wao, what a revelation. For the deep core amnesia test i was able to raise one leg after the other without shifting my pelvis but i had to really use my stomach muscles to achieve this. Also raised both legs up and was able to lower but had to relly use my stomach muscles and my neck was very tense.
Found out am a chest breather although i could feel the breath in my back.
I was able to anchor my back support zone to the ground without tucking my tail under but my shoulders came off the floor and my neck was very tense. I managed to lift my legs off the floor without my back support zone disconnecting but with alot of tension in my neck and shoulders. It felt like my body was confused.
Guess i really need to work on myself.
This test was surprising. My back stayed in contact with floor. The knee lift was fine. Extended leg challenge was more difficult to maintain back on floor. I also do breathe from the diaphragm.
I feel like a bag of rags. nothing in me is strong.
I believe you have strength in you, Bonnie. I’ll believe in you until you do.
My husband recently found your website and passed the information on to me. How I wish we had found it 6 months ago! Because of scoliosis and several other issues (including a bulging disc), last month I had surgery to straighten out my spine and fix all the issues going on. The result is, I am fused now from my coccyx through T10. As a result, I can’t do these tests and I suspect I never will. I haven’t looked at the exercises yet but am wondering if I’ll be able to do them. Any comments would be greatly appreciated – thank you!
There’s always a way to modify movements to reverse cps if you have specific limitations and challenges, Debbie. If you can get up and down off the floor you can do the foam roll work and attempt to find your back and front support zones to reactivate your core.
And the push away lunges will help keep your hips mobile.
I can offer individualize help for you inside the Core Wellness Institute coaching program. You can enroll at http://www.reversecpsnow.com
Well I passed both the test lying flat and lifting my legs. But I am DEFINITELY NOT breathing correctly!!!
I usually breathe from the diaphragm.
2nd exercise — Can’t raise both legs without putting weight on the pelvis.
1st exercise — Can raise right and left leg with rib cage connected. *Once both legs are up* I can extend each one with rib cage connected..
The breath was not hard for me, as I have always started my breath lower (singing thing).
Breathing test seems OK. Able to lift each leg up OK. But, failed miserably on the last one where lifting both legs. Unable to do without pulling on neck and keeping back in proper position.
Hi Dr Steve,
1st exercise my right wrist would curve and not touch floor.
2nd exercise was alright.
3 exercise my pelvis lifted off floor. will have to take more time working on my core.
Practise makes perfect.
Great work thanks Dr Steve.
Had to really concentrate to do these but was able to do them with effort
Rib cage area does not feel like it is touching the ground. So I guess this is another positive test 🙂 on to the exercises!
Use a folded towel or blanket under your back support zone as training wheels to help you make the connection, Lisa.
It takes a lot of concentration, but I can do these..
Using the new test – I got into position OK but attempting to lift both feet slowly I had an automatic move down to the pelvis. On trying again by concentrating I couldn’t think how to begin! So a fail.
I am 76, I have moderate arthritis in my left knee and my right knee twinges from time to time. I am doing Pilate exercises with a tutor so my core muscles are improving. I want to improve and maintain a good posture and I agree with everything you are saying. Thank you.
Failed on the breathing. My lower back is not on the floor, but I can do all the leg movements OK
Hi Carrie, glad you’re going through these. The shift lift test is one of the most important here. If you can’t make the connection with your back support zone to activate true core stability, all other exercise you do will be inefficient. Start with the training wheels I talked about during the test.
My breathing was normal with good diaphragm expansion. I did vocal training for several years so that makes sense. The first baby back test was fine for me – with both legs up, I could extend one straight out close to the ground with no pelvic shift at all. However, the second test was a total fail. Even raising both legs at once was difficult, and lowering them caused a strong weight shift from mid-back to pelvis when the feet were 6 inches off the ground. Strong, strong and then suddenly weak at a specific point. I have tight, weak hamstrings and hip flexors. Weak glutes and weak lower abdominals despite Pilates 3 times weekly. Many years of various mind-body exercise methods have not helped. Since I passed all the tests except the last one, would your course be sufficiently advanced to help me, or do I need specific coaching?
If you have never worked with neurodevelopmental exercises the training course will re-awaken your core in a completely different way. It also specifically addresses tight hip flexors and hamstrings.
I did fair with the first one and I had trouble with second one. Feeling the strain in my low back.
For the brething exercise I was breathing predominantly from my chest. The exercise laying on my back I couldn’t get a sense of how I was doing, felt ok, but I definitely have tight hip flexors and psoas.
Hi Dr Hoffman, I’m working at it, breathing in general or to the core is challenging, I have it for meditation, I drag my mind into my posture, so am studying a course in miricals, food be thy medicine, starting to let go of habits of stress, not conquering my posture, just relieving, so Now or soon I’ll have your cps training, also will be starting an energy soup recipe in a juice brine of cabbage, celery, Weatherford, arameth, qionia, sunflower seeds,veggies then blend with more fresh veggies & fresh herbs from Markus news, go all the way to Wigmore & Hoffman, Mercola, Blaylock, Bowen, Cousin’s, Furman, Hippocrates etc…. 30 years plus the last 10 years not completely grabbing the bull by the horns, afraid of the very thing I want, I think not, even if that means dropping by and being taught like I was a 3 month old child by you, lol, thanks for listening, Jeremy Michael Tobias
That’s wheatberries, not Waterford, lol
I’m a chest breather. I tuck my tail in trying to do motion.
I’m a nurse and work in maternity….those babies will be my teachers now😉
Hi Sharon, congrats on taking action on the self tests. The tail tuck is a common reaction but it can be rewired. Yes…watch the babies. But as a newborn, they will still have more of a “belly breath”. It’s not until they start to develop some support with intention to raise their head on their bellies that they will start to shift their breath into their sides and back for stability.
The goal is to become more like a baby starting at 6 weeks to 5 months. That’s what CWI is all about. Taking you, your body, and your nervous system back in time to “reboot” and start moving more like a child again.
I mostly breathe through my chest. I feel like I did OK with keeping my back and ribs connected to the floor but my neck and shoulders don’t even come close to the floor.
I have discovered that I’m a chest breather? who knew. A fail I guess.
My left side moves down a couple of inches when I lift my legs, my right side seems more stable. Also while doing the series of tests my wife noticed that my left shoulder is lower than my right by 2 inches.
I am breathing right.but cant keep my back pressed to the floor.
I keep learning new things from you all the time, that seem to be correct in re-wiring your body.
Mostly chest breathing, some diaphragm expansion. First part of leg test – not much pelvic movement, but ribs not truly anchored. 2nd part – almost no extension before ribs lift.
I just looked in on the self test and i gave a question, what does it mean if you can’t breath at all when your abs are being pressed e.g. sitting in a chair and tying shoelaces
Failed miserably! Will have to practise how to breathe with my core!!
I have been trying to do self tests, but the only support that I have is a soft bed. Also, I do not think I have sciatica because there is no tingling or radiating pain throughout my thighs or legs. I have been in constant pain for the past 3 days and have tried to keep the core supported. I am wearing a lumbar/back bace (basically a velcro weightlifting belt)
with no straps. It has also been very difficult to sleep. I was lying on my back last night and tried the “floor angel”, and was able to move my arms from outstretched to the sides almost all the way to my head with no pain.
Getting out of bed has also been very painful. Not only does my bed lack support (it sinks in the middle), but I have been trying to keep my lumbar straight and supported. I do not have a lumbar roll, so one night I used a rolled up sweater and tied it around my waist – that was a HUGE mistake. The main problem that I am having is not being able to lean forward without pain. I am doing everything I can to avoid flexion.
Also, I noticed that there is pain on my left side at times, so I tried the wall exercise you suggested, but I am still in pain.
Being recently laid off, I have very little funds, so I am not able to purchase any equipment at the present moment, and
am probably going to have to postpone a job interview for Monday morning.
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.
Struggled to get my ribs to meet the floor ,need to flatten the arch of my back to do so. Feel uncomfortable in the neck head area . I think I am able to breathe in the stomach area not the chest but can’t maintain it once the exercise is finished.