| The Hatha Yoga pose detailed in this article is | | | | you find comfortable, moving between cow pose and |
| excellent for both beginners as well as advanced | | | | cat pose. |
| yogis. It is a very important yoga pose and one that | | | | B. Duration for Cat-Cow: |
| should be practiced every day if possible because of | | | | * 1 minute - 11 minutes. |
| the important benefits it bestows. It is a simple, but | | | | * Start slowly and build up your time steadily from |
| very useful technique. | | | | there. |
| This exercise is called cat-cow and it is a part of | | | | C. Benefits of Cat-Cow: |
| many different schools of yoga. The most important | | | | * Clears emotional debris, thus promoting good |
| benefit of cat-cow is that it helps cleanse emotional | | | | emotional health and balance. |
| debris that we end up accumulating in our stomach | | | | * Clears blockages in the energy pathways caused by |
| region. This debris is what creates blockages in the | | | | unresolved emotions, thus helping energy flow to take |
| flow of energy throughout our system and is | | | | place between the higher and lower chakras. |
| responsible for emotional and mental disturbances. | | | | * Excellent exercise for your entire back and spine. |
| Cat-Cow yoga exercise helps to dissolve these | | | | Massages all 72,000 nerve junctions that lie along the |
| blockages in our energy pathways, and thus helps, to | | | | spinal cord. |
| not only resolve remnants of old emotional traumas, | | | | * Helps cure whip-lash. |
| but also helps restore balance to the entire system. | | | | * Great for the optical nerve and eyes. Gives you |
| Below you will find details of how to practice this | | | | sparkly eyes. |
| exercise safely and correctly. In addition, all the benefits | | | | * Good to regulate and balance the thyroid gland. |
| of this exercise as well as practice tips and durations | | | | * Good for your arms and shoulders. |
| are also provided. | | | | * Good for your digestive system. |
| Cat-Cow Practice Details: | | | | D. Practice Tips for Cat-Cow: |
| A. Step-by-Step Instructions for Hatha Yoga Cat-Cow | | | | * You can do this exercise, by either holding each |
| Pose: | | | | position for a comfortable duration of time as you |
| * Come onto the floor on all fours. Make sure your | | | | move between the poses, or doing the exercise by |
| hands are directly under your shoulders, about shoulder | | | | rapidly moving between the poses. |
| width apart and knees are directly under your hips, | | | | * Cat-Cow is a terrific exercise to start off your yoga |
| about hip distance apart. | | | | session with. It warms up the cerebrospinal fluid which |
| * Now come into cow pose by bringing your head up, | | | | is absolutely essential to charge in order to get the |
| while at the same time pushing your stomach down. | | | | most out of your yoga workout. |
| Your eyes should be open and you should be looking | | | | * The biggest mistake that yogis make, is that they |
| upwards, thus giving your optical nerve and eye | | | | rock back and forth. You should simply by arching your |
| muscles a toning massage. Inhale deeply as you come | | | | back and moving you head as indicated. |
| into this posture. | | | | * All the breathing should be done through the nose. |
| * Next bring your head down and your chin towards | | | | Summary: |
| your chest as you arch your back up like a cat. Exhale | | | | So as you can see from the above, this yoga pose is |
| fully as you come into this pose. | | | | truly simple to do, but at the same time has a long list |
| * Start off at a slow pace, holding each position for a | | | | of important benefits . This combination should more |
| few seconds or more, and then begin to move faster | | | | certainly encourage you in making Cat-Cow a regular |
| as you feel yourself warming up. Only go as fast as | | | | part of your daily yoga practice. |