1. Health

Video:Tips for Cat-Cow Pose

with Derrick

The cat-cow yoga pose is an effective back stretch. Starting with proper alignment, the cat-cow pose helps relieve back pain and warms up the spine for yoga.See Transcript

Transcript:Tips for Cat-Cow Pose

Hi I’m Derek, we’re here at the Massage Center in Lexington, Kentucky for About.com. We’re going to show you some of the basics of the Cat-Cow pose today.

Begin the Cat-Cow Pose With Proper Alignment

Start on all fours, check your alignment. Hands are under your shoulders. Middle fingers are pointed straight ahead. Walk the knees a little further back than the hips. You can tuck your toes or you can rest on top of your toes.

Cat starts by tucking in your pelvis, roll your back, gaze at the navel. Press into the floor and lift your spine towards the ceiling. Gaze back at the floor and come back into neutral position. Prepare for the Cow. You are going to tilt with the opposite motion. Un-tucking your pelvis, bringing your chest through your arms, shoulders back and down, and gaze forward, tucking your pelvis deeply in the opposite direction. You’ll start to move with the breath, so you’ll inhale, come into the cat, and exhale, work your way back into cow. Aligning your spine, breath and your pelvis. Inhale and exhale.

The Cat-Cow Pose is a Spine Warm-Up in Yoga

Cat-Cow is often a warm up routine in a yoga class. It’s used to start to warm the spine, loosen the spine, start to synchronize your breath with the Asana, and is very common in yoga class. Thanks for watching, to learn more visit About.com
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