Core yoga at home is a short sequence of slow poses that ask the middle of the body, the belly, the back and the hips, to hold you steady while you breathe. It is not crunches and it is not a heated power class. The six poses below take about ten minutes, need a patch of floor and nothing else, and every one has an easier version. The breath does half the work: a long, steady breath out is what lets the deep muscles switch on without the shoulders and the jaw joining in. CalmSpace.ai's own yoga is the gentle kind, so this is written for your floor, with the app as the voice that counts the breath.

What does "core" mean in yoga?

Not a six-pack. The core is the ring of muscle around the middle: the deep belly muscles, the muscles along the spine, the diaphragm above and the pelvic floor below. Its job is to hold the trunk steady so the arms and legs can move, and to protect the lower back when you lift or twist. Most people's core is weak in the way that sitting makes it weak: not thin, but asleep. Slow poses that ask you to hold still, with the breath moving through, are a kind way to wake it, which is why yoga teachers reach for them before they reach for sit-ups.

Before you start

A carpet, a mat or a folded blanket. Bare feet. About a minute of calm breathing, 4 in and 6 out, so you start low and slow. Then the rule for the whole sequence: breathe out through the effort, keep the breath in comfortable, and if a pose makes you hold your breath, make it smaller until you can breathe in it.

The six poses

1. Cat and cow, eight breaths. On hands and knees, wrists under shoulders, knees under hips. Breathe in and let the belly drop, the chest lift, the gaze come forward. Breathe out and round the back toward the ceiling, chin toward chest, drawing the belly in. This is the warm-up and the pattern for everything after: the out-breath is where the belly draws in.

2. Bird-dog, five breaths each side. From hands and knees, reach the right arm forward and the left leg back, slowly, on a breath out, until both are level with the body. Hold for five breaths, belly drawn gently in, hips level. Return and swap. Easier version: reach only the arm, or only the leg.

3. Forearm plank, three to five breaths. Forearms on the floor, elbows under shoulders, knees on the floor to begin. Draw the belly in and lengthen from the crown of the head to the tailbone, so the back is one line, not a sag or a hill. Breathe. When that is steady for five breaths, lift the knees. The breath is the test: if you cannot breathe slowly in the pose, lower the knees.

4. Boat, three to five breaths. Sit, knees bent, feet on the floor, hands behind the thighs. Lean back until the belly switches on, keeping the spine long rather than slumped. Easier version: stay there, feet on the floor. Harder: lift the feet so the shins are level with the floor. Breathe out slowly as you hold; let the breath in be small.

5. Bridge, five breaths, twice. Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width. Breathe out and press the feet down to lift the hips, one vertebra at a time, until the body is a slope from shoulders to knees. Hold for five breaths, then lower slowly on a breath out. This one asks the back of the body, which balances the front.

6. Reclined twist, five breaths each side. Lie on your back, hug the knees in, then let them fall to the right while the arms rest open. Breathe out and let the belly soften. Swap sides. It is the rest and the finish: the core has worked, and a twist with a long exhale lets it go.

End lying on your back for a minute of calm breathing. Notice the middle of the body compared with ten minutes ago. That is the session.

How often, and how do I progress?

Three times a week is enough for the core to wake up in a month; every day is fine if the poses stay slow. Progress by breaths, not by poses: hold the plank for six breaths instead of four, lift the boat's feet, add a second round. Adding harder poses is how people hurt their backs. Adding breaths is how they get steady.

A stronger middle makes the gentle sequences easier too. The gentle yoga page has a five-minute morning sequence and a seven-minute before-bed one that use several of these poses in their softer forms, and the breath patterns are at breathing exercises. If a heated studio class is what you had in mind when you searched, hot yoga: what it is and who it suits says plainly what the heat does and when a floor at home is enough.

When to stop

Stop on any sharp pain, especially in the lower back, and on dizziness or numbness. A pose should feel like work, not like a warning. If you are pregnant, have a hernia, have had abdominal or back surgery, or have a condition that affects your spine, heart or blood pressure, ask a doctor or physiotherapist before doing core work of any kind; boat and plank in particular load the belly wall and raise the pressure inside it. A professional who can see you move is the right person for anything that hurts.

Core yoga with Bliss

CalmSpace.ai is a calm app for iPhone, Apple Watch and the web with Bliss, a voice companion who remembers you. Its yoga is the gentle kind: short guided sessions in Bliss's voice, with a picture of each pose, for stiff mornings and restless nights, not a workout and not a class. The sequence above is for your own floor, and the part of it the app does is the breath: in Breathe together, which is free, Bliss counts a rhythm out loud, so you can hold a plank to five of her breaths with your eyes closed, or finish with two minutes of Calm (4 in, 6 out) lying down. On an iPhone with an Apple Watch, the Watch app paces your breathing by your heart rate. Afterwards you can tell Bliss how the body felt, and she remembers, so next week's session starts from there.

This is general information, not medical advice, and CalmSpace.ai is a calm app, not a medical service.

Questions people ask

Is yoga good for core strength?

Yes, for the deep, steadying kind. Slow holds like plank, boat and bird-dog ask the whole ring of muscle around the middle to work together, with the breath, which sit-ups do not.

How long should a core yoga session be?

About ten minutes for the six poses above, three times a week. Progress by holding each pose for more breaths rather than by adding harder poses.

Can I do core yoga if I have back pain?

Ask a doctor or physiotherapist first. Gentle versions of cat-cow, bridge and bird-dog are often used in back rehabilitation, but the right ones for you depend on the cause, and anything sharp is a reason to stop.

Does CalmSpace.ai have core yoga sessions?

Its yoga sessions are gentle, guided in Bliss's voice with pose pictures, for mornings and bedtimes. The core sequence here is for your own floor, with Bliss counting the breath in Breathe together.

CalmSpace.ai is a wellness app, not a medical service, and Bliss is not a therapist. If you are in crisis, contact the crisis line for your country; in the United States, call or text 988.