Cat Pose

How to do cat yoga pose

The cat cow yoga pose, is a stretching pose whish is practiced to improve the balance of the body. With the help of this pose, you can initiate movement right from the center of your body. The entire pose is based on breathing rhythms. Each of the movements that you practice in this pose is coordinated with the breathing rhythms. This pose can help increase the flexibility of the spine and can be extremely useful in the treatment of disorders like spondylitis and other conditions that cause back pain. The stretching pose can also help stretch and strengthen the abdominal muscles, improving the abdominal strength.
To practice this pose, come on all fours. While in this position, bring both your wrists directly below your shoulders and your knees right under your hips. Your forearms and knees should be completely perpendicular to the floor that you are practicing on.
While performing this pose, you can think of your spine as a straight line that runs through your shoulders to the hips, connecting the two points. It will be also helpful to visualize this imaginary line to be running through the crown of the head and then running through your tail bone as well. Try to stretch your spine as much as possible.
Keep your neck in a straight line too, aligning it along the direction of the spine. Take a deep breath and curl your toes. Relax your belly so that it drops. Position your face in a manner so that your gaze rests towards the ceiling. Hold your breath and slightly stretch, allowing the movement of the spine to begin from the point where your tailbone begins. Continue the movement in waves along the spine so that the neck is the last part of your extension that moves.
Now exhale deeply and relax both the feet so that the top of the feet are released to the floor. Contract your spine so that it is rounded and drop your head, shifting your gaze from the ceiling to the navel.
You can repeat these movements several times. The focus, however, should be on the breathing rhythms as well as the stretching of the spine. This is a beginner’s pose and therefore can be performed by anyone. With practice, both the breathing rhythms and the concentration can be perfected. However, it is best if the pose is first learnt in the presence of a trained yoga practitioner.

Submitted by A on July 2, 2010 at 07:25

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