Are Yoga and Pilates Safe for Your Core and Pelvic Floor?
Part One: The 3 Biggest Mistakes Women Make When Exercising Their Core
Part Two: Are Yoga and Pilates Safe for Your Core and Pelvic Floor?
Part Three:
Part Four: Safe Strength Training for Women at Any Age
One of the most common questions I hear is: "Are yoga and Pilates safe for your core?" The short answer? It depends — not so much on the exercises themselves, but on how you breathe, how you move, and how you hold your spine during the practice. It’s often the cues and techniques we’re taught that can either support healing or unknowingly contribute to dysfunction. So let’s dive deeper into what makes these popular workouts either helpful or harmful for your core recovery.
Did you know that many of the standard cues used in yoga and Pilates classes can actually harm your core and pelvic floor? I've seen countless women develop or worsen core dysfunction because of well-meaning but misguided instruction they received in their favorite classes.
However, you don't have to give up these practices. Yoga and Pilates can both be wonderful, restorative forms of movement that support your overall health. IF you are breathing well and have good spinal posture throughout. When your breathing and posture is poor during some of the more intense and strenuous poses and exercises, they can do more harm than good.
The problem lies in specific cues that are commonly taught. You just need to know how to modify those harmful cues and adapt the movements to support your core health instead of undermining it.
Common Yoga and Pilates Cues That Harm Your Core
"Suck Your Belly Button to Your Spine"
This is probably the most frequently used cue in both yoga and Pilates classes. Nearly every instructor gives this direction, thinking it activates the core. In reality, it's creating dysfunction.
You'll hear this cue during poses like plank, boat pose, warrior III, and throughout entire Pilates sequences. While it might make your core feel tighter, you're only targeting 20% of the core muscle fibers- the voluntary ones. The essential involuntary muscle fibers that make up 80% of your core and control things like waistline, continence, and digestion are being ignored, and actually inhibited by this cue.
When you constantly suck your belly button to your spine during your yoga or Pilates practice, you're training your core to work in a dysfunctional pattern. This can lead to back pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis, digestive issues, and breathing problems - the opposite of what you're hoping to achieve through these practices.
Your core muscles are designed to constantly adjust their length in response to your movements and breathing needs. But when you tense these muscles and hold them rigid throughout an entire exercise or class, they lose the ability to respond with the control and finesse needed for healthy movement. This constant bracing not only limits proper core function, but also restricts your breathing and reduces oxygen delivery to your tissues — right when your body needs it most!
"Knit Your Ribs Together" or "Zip Up Through Your Core"
This cue is especially common in Pilates classes during exercises like the hundred, roll-ups, and any ab-focused sequences. You'll also hear variations like "draw your front ribs down" or "close your ribs" in yoga classes during poses like chaturanga or boat pose.
Closing your ribs restricts your breathing, creates diaphragm spasms and weakness, and prevents your core muscles from coordinating properly — all of which increase your risk for various injuries. When your ribs are “knitted together,” you can’t expand your rib cage enough to take the deep breaths your body needs during exercise. As a result, your core muscles can’t engage properly to support your organs and spine. This leads to increased abdominal pressure, downward displacement of the pelvic organs, stretching and weakening of the core fascia, and the development of that stubborn low belly pooch.
We need the rib cage to stay flexible and expand 360 degrees with each breath — especially during exercise, especially strenuous exercise. This ensures optimal oxygen delivery to your tissues and reflexively activates your core muscles in a way that lifts your organs and stabilizes your spine. When your lower ribs are relaxed and able to expand fully with each breath, your diaphragm becomes stronger and more effective, improving cardiovascular capacity and endurance.
"Press Your Lower Back Into the Floor"
This instruction appears constantly in both practices. In yoga, you'll hear it during poses like bridge prep, supine twists, or any floor-based core work. In Pilates, it's standard during exercises like single-leg stretch, double-leg stretch, and the hundred.
Flattening your back eliminates the natural curve in your spine, which actually turns off your deep core muscles instead of strengthening them. This positioning also lowers your pelvic organs, compresses your pelvic floor, and can increase your risk of disc herniation.
When the spine is in it's natural "S shape", the nerves fire better and reflexive activation is triggered in the deep involuntary muscle fibers of your core in a way that lifts the organs and properly aligns the spine. Moving the spine through its full range of motion a wonderful aspect of yoga and Pilates, but when you are holding a posture or supporting your body weight a neutral spine will always be the safest.
How These Cues Show Up in Specific Poses and Exercises
Yoga Examples:
- In plank pose: "Suck your belly button up and in" while tucking your tail
- During boat pose: "Draw your navel to your spine" and "knit your ribs together"
- In warrior III: "Engage your core by pulling everything inward"
- During chaturanga: "Press your front ribs down" and "tighten your belly"
Pilates Examples:
- The hundred: "Imprint your spine" while "scooping your abs deeply"
- Roll-ups: "Press your back down" as you "pull your belly button to your spine"
- Single-leg stretch: "Glue your back to the mat" while "zipping up through your core"
- Teaser: "Round your spine" and "pull your abs in tight"
How to Practice Yoga and Pilates Safely
You can absolutely continue practicing yoga and Pilates while protecting your core health. Whether you're in a yoga class or Pilates session, modify the most common poses and exercises by focusing on these three principles:
Maintain Your Natural Spinal Curve: Your spine is strongest in its natural S-shape. Keep the gentle curve in your lower back during all exercises and poses.
Lengthen Your Waist: Think about creating as much space as possible between your rib cage and pelvis. This lifts your organs, reduces waist circumference, and allows your core muscles to function properly.
Practice 360-Degree Rib Breathing: Breathe into your entire rib cage, allowing it to expand in all directions. Fill from bottom to top and empty from top to bottom. This activates your core muscles reflexively and lifts your organs.
The Key to A Safe Yoga or Pilates Practice: Decompression Breathing
The most important technique you can use in any yoga or Pilates class is decompression breathing. This breathing pattern is will keep your organs and spine supported in the best possible way. Breathing is the gateway to your involuntary nervous system - it will either turn your core muscles on or off. So how you breathe during your yoga and Pilates practices is absolutely critical.
Here's how to practice decompression breathing during your yoga or Pilates session:
Inhale: Breathe in through your nose, directing your breath into your rib cage only. Allow 360-degree expansion of your ribs - front, back, and sides. Fill your rib cage from bottom to top. Avoid breathing into your belly, as this keeps abdominal pressure low and your organs lifted.
Exhale: Exhale slowly and gently while focusing on elongating your spine. Maintain length and space between your rib cage and pelvis. Keep your rib cage lifted and expanded even during the exhale phase to keep pressure low.
This breathing pattern achieves two essential goals during your practice: it creates reflexive activation of your core muscles in a way that supports your organs and spine, and it facilitates proper pressure management in your abdomen. A bonus is that it tightens the abdominal fascia and reduces waist circumference.
When you use decompression breathing instead of the breath patterns typically taught in these classes, you'll notice your poses feel more stable, your core feels genuinely stronger, and you can practice without the strain or discomfort that often comes from improper cuing. Decompression breathing during yoga and Pilates will allow you to get the most benefit from these practices.
How The Core Recovery Method® guides you safely back into the Movement you love.
Everything I've shared about safe yoga and Pilates practice is exactly what I teach inside The Core Recovery Method®. This is a proven system that helps women heal their core dysfunction and return to the movement practices they love.
Inside The Core Recovery Method®, you'll learn the specific breathing techniques, postural cues, and movement modifications that make exercise safe for your core and pelvic floor. Whether you want to get back to your favorite yoga studio, return to Pilates classes, or simply move through life without worry, these techniques form the foundation of everything you do.
Don't let harmful cues keep you from the practices that bring you joy!
The Core Recovery Method® teaches you exactly how to engage your core properly so you can participate in any activity without compromising your core or pelvic health. You'll understand why certain cues are harmful, which exercises to avoid, and, most importantly, you'll master the techniques that actually strengthen your core with every breath you take.
