Hello, my name is Pia and I have been a Pilates instructor for more than 16 years.

One of the things I find that when people have been told to do core muscle  exercises is that they flatten their backs. Now this can cause problems, especially if they have disk bulges or back issues. Loading the spine by flattening your back could harm your back further.

Some people tell you to push you back onto the floor when you are doing core exercises and I am going to suggest that you don't want to do that.  And the reason is - it's about how we made.

Our spine has a natural curve in the lower back. If you are doing core exercises to strengthen your spine, it doesn't make any sense to flatten the back. The disks are designed to hold our backs upright with a curve ... why would you do exercises to push your back flat into the ground if this distorts your spine? Yes, you can feel your stomach muscles when you do this but it would be better to train your stomach muscles to hold your spine in its ideal alignment.

It is recommended that you keep your spine in it's natural alignment- often called neutral spine - when you do your core exercises and avoid pushing your spine into the floor.