The Cat-Cow stretch is one of those amazing yoga flows that everyone gets and everyone just loves. With lives that are often restrictive in movement and sedentary a spinal flex is the perfect antidote.

I recently learned as well that one of the reasons humans often have more digestive problems than animals is we are the only ones that are upright, meaning we have to move food against gravity. So in theory, any time spent in movement on all fours is supposed to be great for digestion too.

The only real contraindications are if you have joint injuries and during pregnancies, when you would tailor your individual needs according to your proficiency and a professionals advice.

Make sure you have a nice thick yoga mat (6mm+) or place a towel or blanket down: this should protect sensitive knees. Placing blocks or bean bags to grip underneath hands can be gentler on arthritic or painful wrists.

Other than that, this is an accessible flow with a myriad of benefits, and great for warming up the breath.

How to

• Come onto all fours. Make sure your hips are over your knees, and your shoulders slightly ahead of wrists
• Take a few moments to breath through the nose in this “tabletop” shape
• As you are breathing, let the ground receive your weight through the pathways of the arms and legs
• Once you firm your posture with a few rounds of breath, we bring in some movement
• As you inhale, tip the pelvis open and forward, mirroring with open shoulders and raise your gaze to the sky (this is the “cow” shape)
• Exhale to roll and round through the spine, pulling belly button inwards and gazing at your naval (this is the “cat” shape)
• Play with the length of the breath, and take your time to luxuriate through a few rounds, before coming to rest in childs pose or kneeling

_{Good for: mindful breath, stable joints, spinal flexibility, stress-reduction, digestion}

I hope you enjoy that tutorial. Keep checking back for more!

Love

Jaz @ You Seek Yoga

Launch Offer – Get The Look!

If you love cat-cow as much as we do, you can get our iconic shirt for nothing. To celebrate the launch of You Seek Yoga, when you outfit yourself with a whole look of YSY goodies, we’ll give you the t-shirt for free.

How to redeem:

Minimum spend of £250 required. Add at least £250 of products to your cart, then add your favourite customised Cat-Cow T-Shirt. At checkout, input the code GETTHELOOK for a £50 discount and free worldwide delivery!

Your YSY haul will be with you within three weeks, with free tracking.

_{Code valid for first 108 redemptions or until 31 August 2024, whichever is sooner. Not available with any other discount or offer.}