Pose of the Month

Cat-Cow: A Moving Meditation

This is the ideal remedy for that stiff back we sometimes get from sitting too long or holding ourselves too rigidly. Begin on your hands and knees with your hands in line with your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. You may want to place one or more blankets under your knees to make them comfortable. Look up as you lift your head and reach your tailbone to the sky. Your spine will curve towards the floor like a sway-backed cow. Slowly tuck your chin towards your chest and point your tailbone towards the earth as your spine curves towards the sky. Lift your belly towards your spine and visualize an arching cat.

Continue moving back and forth between the two, gently increasing your range of motion as you go. Notice when it feels natural to inhale and exhale. See if you can connect the movement with your breath and get to the end of your inhalation as you reach your maximum cow. Arrive at the very end of your exhalation when you spine is at its highest arching cat.

This takes focus and concentration. As you inhale feel your lungs fill with air and your chest open, as you exhale feel the breath move up and out of your body and your shoulder blades move away from each other. Can you become aware of each individual vertebra as your spine, back muscles, and hips begin to feel limber and warm?

Notice how the slow, conscious breathing has calmed your mind and soothed your nervous system. Return to this practice any time you feel tense or need to relax. Cat/cow is known to strengthen abdominal and back muscles, improve breathing and digestion, increase flexibility in the spine and help prevent incontinence. But you may find yourself doing it simply because it feels so good.