Traditional
Cat Cow Stretch
Marjaryasana-Bitilasana
From tabletop, alternate between rounding the spine and lifting the chest and tailbone.
- Benefits
- Builds strength, mobility, and breathing awareness with steady alignment. Particularly helpful for loosening stiffness and mental heaviness.
- Props
- No-props
- Hold Time
- 5 to 8 rounds
- Cautions and Contraindications
- Practice within a pain-free range. Reduce depth or use props for knee, low back, neck, wrist, or shoulder sensitivity.
- Entering Cat Cow Stretch
- Come onto hands and knees with the wrists under the shoulders and knees under the hips. Inhale as you lift the chest and tailbone for Cow. Exhale as you round the spine and draw the chin in for Cat, moving back and forth with the breath. Take a steady inhale to create length, then use the exhale to settle into the final shape.
- Exiting Cat Cow Stretch
- Finish in a neutral tabletop. Sit back to Childs Pose or come off the hands and knees when you are done. Pause in a neutral position for a moment before continuing.