Cat Pose – Yoga Dynamic Back Exercise
The cat pose is a great way to get your back warmed up and relaxed. It’s a great addition to your back exercises. It directly targets muscles all along the spine, giving them a good stretch. It also helps lubricate the spine and bring the vertebrae through their full range of motion. The dynamic cat pose (alternating between cat and cow) is a good way to pump spinal fluid all over the spinal cord. It is incredibly relaxing and good for your posture.
Imagine a cat who is scared out of his wits. He’s on all fours, and his back is rounded up. That’s the pose you’re going to strive for. You don’t have to be scared, but you want your back to arch up. Imagine the middle of your back is being pulled up, and your head and sore tailbone are being lengthened toward the ground. This stretch is great for getting all of the muscles along the spine to relax and stretch out. See if you can relax even more and really dig deep into the stretch. Remember, this is a relaxing pose and should not be done with any strain.
The second pose we’ll work on is the cow pose. The cow pose is the opposite of the cat pose. It this pose, your back is sinking down and your head and tailbone are stretching upward. This stretches the tissue around the tailbone and articulates the spine in the other direction. Remember, no strain. This is a stretching posture exercise.
The dynamic movement is to switch between them. Exhale as you round the back up into cat, and inhale as you come down smoothly and gently with the breath into cow. Try to feel a continual pull to lengthen your spine. That means that the head and tailbone are moving away from each other. Continue to move between the poses, with the breath, and try to deepen the relaxation of the entire spine with each movement. Make sure to work on body awareness during the entire thing and it should feel really good.
This exercise, along with strengthening exercises can form a complete posture exercise routine.
Tag: cat pose yoga
Category: Posture Exercises