You CAN find your abs again, even if you haven't  felt them show up in years!  (Part 1/2)

After having kids it can be crazy difficult to feel like you have much in the way of abs. No matter how many ab workouts you do, it may still feel like THEY ARE NOT SHOWING UP.  I often imagine them off on vacation sipping margaritas on a tropical beach completely oblivious to the fact that they are needed back at home ;)

If that is the case for you, or only some of your abs are showing up leaving you with a bulging belly there are two key skills that are absolutely essential for connecting with your abs and asking them to show up.  If you aren't working with these skills it's gonna be  impossible to train your abs. If you are working with these two skills, you can make any workout an ab workout!  And let me tell you, it feels amazing when you first feel them fire again after their long vacation. 

In this post I'm going to introduce the first skill. 

It's related to the photo at the top of this post.  So what does blowing dandelion seeds around have to do with finding those elusive abs?

EVERYTHING

You need to work with your breath when you are connecting to your deeper abs and core system.  Especially your exhalation or out breath.  The part of your breath the makes those dandilion seeds fly.

Join me for an experiment.

Grab yourself: 

 ❄️ a dandelion gone to seed, 

 🌼 a pinwheel, 

🎂 a cake full of candles, 

💨 a bubble wand and solution 

🥳  just imagine any of these.

What does it take to:

• Blow out a cake full of candles, so that you get all of them and don't spit on the cake.
• Blow all the dandelion seeds off in one go so there isn't any one seed left
• Keep the pinwheel spinning as long and steadily as you can 
• Blow as many bubbles as you can in one breathe

It takes a long controlled exhale.

Try it again a few times.  What do you need to do to get that nice exhale?  How do you prepare to do any of those tasks above?

To get that exhale you need to get a good inhale. You are probably gonna need to take your time with that inhale to get enough air, a short sharp inhale is often less useful than a slower softer one.

Now try again.  Blow out those candles or liberate those dandelion seeds. Keep blowing out until ALL THE AIR IS GONE.

Your abs probably turned on at the end of your exhale. Ideally you could FEEL them and they drew in a bit instead of pushed out.

If so, AWESOME! That is a first step in getting your abs to show up. Use your exhale in the hard part of a movement to encourage your abs to show up. Of course that means you need to breathe as you move. That might not be something that you usually do :) Focus on breathing as you move, it is sooooo different and has a huge impact. 

No abs for you?  First, try a few more times.  Sometimes you need to practice a bit.

Second, stay tuned, I'll be talking more about breath, where people get stuck and the 2nd absolutely essential skill you need to practice to find your abs again.

Any guesses as to what that thing is? 

Tell me in the comments below!

Working with your breath and finding your abs is a major focus of my Mothership course.  It also revolves around that second essential skill you can practice to bring your  abs back home even if  they are sipping margaritas on the beach right now.

Want to get regular inspiration and information about how to find your abs and butt and defunkify your hips so your body can feel good again? Drop your email below and get on my Ease Your Body insiders mailing list.