"core strength"

Yesterday in class we were talking for a while about muscles in the core and "sucking the belly in and up" and how a complimentary action might be to tilt the pelvis towards the lower ribs and how this might be a more specific action, especially since it seems that in this culture we tend to overemphasize flat abs and core strength.

I couldn't help but think back to my indian art history book in which there was a picture of a beautiful Harappan (Indus Valley) torso from Mohenjodaro (circa 2500-1500 BCE), with no legs, no arms, and no head, but such a nice, soft belly...because it was so realistic some scholars initially thought it might have been from Greece or Rome, especially because it wasn't very far underground, and so realistic (so it couldn't possibly be from India, right?!!?). But at the same time, this belly, so soft, so unlike those muscular torsos from Greek and Roman traditions, might be an artistic expression of yogic prana.

Although this argument is somewhat controversial, and I can't pretend to have been following it, I really like the sculpture because it makes me think a little more highly of a "one pack" in a culture obsessed with "six-packs." anyhow, see for yourself!

(images from http://www.stolaf.edu/courses/2002sem2/Art_and_Art_History/265/images1.html )