Do you suffer from recurring low back pain?  Do you often lack energy or find it hard to sit or stand up straight? Often times, such issues relate back to the strength of your midsection-and not just your abdominal muscles, but those that encircle your trunk and are found in your back, hips and pelvis-- your core.

The core matters not just physically, but symbolically. A weak or imbalanced core may correspond with a lack of empowerment or misalignment we're feeling in some area of our lives. Working on core tone helps form our shape and posture, which contribute to our body language and energetic presence.

But here's the good news: building a strong core is about so much more than how many sit-ups you can crank out in a given amount of time. There are a multitude of other exercises and yoga postures you can do to enliven this area, helping you to move with greater stability. Many of them involve comparatively subtle motion - which is even better news for those who cringe at the thought of performing sit-ups!

For more practical activities where a strong core body comes in handy, give The Real-World Benefits of Strengthening Your Core a read. You might be surprised at how many your core plays a role in.