Our Cat and Cow asana gently warms our spine, opens our heart, and helps our breath flow through our bodies.
Cat/Cow is usually practiced on all fours on the floor. We may want to roll our yoga mat to provide more protection for our knees if needed. We can also use fists for wrists in this pose if we need more support for our wrists.
Cat/Cow may also be practiced seated in a chair.
On All Fours on Our Mat
We start our asana on all fours on our mat. Our head and neck is in line with our spine, our gaze is toward the floor. Our shoulders are directly over our wrists. Our hips are directly over our knees. The tops of our feet may be flat on the ground or we may curl our toes under.
On the inhale, we slowly raise our heads, our gaze and our sit bones (tail bone) upward as we drop our tummy toward the ground. We press firmly through our arms and hands into the ground, spreading our fingers and pressing through our palms. We also press through our legs into the ground. (Kind of like a cow bellowing . . . therefore . . . Cow!)
On the exhale, we slowly and with intention, drop our head, tucking our chin in, arching our backs (like a Cat!), tucking our tail bone, . . . spreading our fingers and pressing through our palms, feeling the stretch through our shoulders.
Inhale Cow, dropping our tummy . . . exhale Cat, arching our back. Move slowly and with intention, feeling the stretch.
Sitting in a Chair
When practicing Cat and Cow in a chair, we begin by sitting straight and tall with our hands placed on the seat of the chair, pressing downward, our shoulders back and down.
On the inhale, we begin by lifting our chest and our gaze to the sky, pushing downward with our arms. Feel the lift through our chest and spine. Rolling our shoulders back.
On the exhale, gently lower our chin to our chest, pulling our tummy to our spine and rolling our shoulders forward, feeling the stretch through your shoulders.
On the inhale, once again, gently raise our chest and gaze to the sky, opening our chest, rolling our shoulders back and down as the air flows in.
Repeat 5 to 10 times.