Cat camel exercise

What is cat camel exercise:

• The Cat Camel exercise is an excellent stretching and mobilization exercise for the trunk and also works on stretching and strengthening core muscles.
• It will help to reduce the pain in the lower and mid-back.
• The cat-camel exercise is a spinal mobilization exercise that helps to loosen the spine.
• It gets your lower back moving better.
• To do the cat-camel exercise, the person is on their arms and knees and bends the spine up (like a cat) and then curves it downward (so your abdomen hangs to the ground, looking like a camel).
• This exercise is also called the cat and cow exercise.
• The cat and camel exercise is a pose that can be part of your home workouts and, many variations are derived from this.

Health benefits of cat camel exercise:

The followings are some health benefits of cat camel exercise:

Health Benefits of Cat pose:

• Improve mobility of the spine.
• Stretches the back and neck.
• An excellent warm-up exercise before yoga practice paired with the camel pose.
• Improve circulation of spinal fluid.
• Strengthens the muscles of the hands and wrists.

Health Benefits of Camel Pose:

• Help to decrease fat on thighs.
• Opens up the hips, and aids in stretching deep hip flexors.
• Help to Stretch and strengthen the shoulders and back muscles.
• Increase your spine’s natural stability and mobility
• Expands the abdominal area, helping to improve digestion.
• Improves posture.
• Help to improve respiration.
• Loosens up the vertebrae.
• Relieve lower back pain.
• Help to reduce back pain in pregnancy.

How to perform the cat camel exercise:

Cat camel exercise in quadruped position:

• Begin on your hands and knees(quadruped position), place your wrists just below your shoulders and place your knees just below your hips.
• Try to straighten your shoulder, spine, and, hip in the same line.
• Maintain the spine in a neutral position.

Breath in for Cat pose

• Take a deep breath in try to take your back down towards the ground.
• Then you raise your neck towards the ceiling.
• Now sticking your tailbone out to make an arch with your spine.
• Take a breath out at the same time.

Breath out for Camel Pose

• Then you breathe out Tuck in your chin and tailbone in
• Try to move upward your spine towards the ceiling you have to look over the ground.
• Try to make a hump over your spine.
• Repeat the Cat-camel Stretch on each breath in and breath out, and coordinate the movement to your own breath.
• Perform this exercise ten times with both cat and camel pose. repeat three times a day.

Video of performing cat camel exercise in a quadruped position:

Cat camel exercise in sitting position:

• Begin by sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the ground and your hands on your knees.
• Take some breaths to initiate a position with your shoulders over your hips and a straight spine

Inhale

• Tilt your pelvis back, emphasizing your tail. Your belly will round forward.
• Pull your shoulders down and back.
• Look up towards the ceiling.

Exhale

• Tilt your pelvis back, tucking your tail under. Your spine will round.
• Pull your navel in.
• Curve your shoulders forward and take your stare toward your belly.
• Repeat these movements on each inhale and exhale for 8 to 10 breaths.

Common Mistakes while performing this exercise:

• To maintain the correct movement and prevent injury or strain, avoid these mistakes.
• Don’t Strain Your Neck
• When you lift your stare to the ceiling, do so with control and don’t overextend your neck. When you go into the Cat position, let your head drop naturally rather than forcing it down.
• Also, assure to keep your shoulders relaxed and not elevated.
• Keep the Movement in the Spine
• Keep your arms straight therefore the movement is with the spine and not your arms.

Safety and Precautions:

• This pose should always be pain-free.
• If you feel any pain, stop immediately.

• If you have a history of back pain, consult with your doctor before performing this exercise to make sure these movements are appropriate for your condition.

When you do not do this exercise:

• Injury to the shoulders
• Injury to the wrists
• Injury of the neck
• Injury of the hip
• Injury to the knee
• Injury of back
• Blood Pressure
• If exercise is Painful avoid exercise or tries to do it with low intensity
• If exercise will increase your pain or other symptoms avoid this exercise
• Migraine
• Disc Prolapse
• Spinal cord Injury
• Osteoarthritis of the knee

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