Cat-Cow Pose (Bitilasana-Marjaryasana)

The Cat-Cow Pose (Bitilasana-Marjaryasana) is a gentle, flowing yoga sequence that combines two poses to warm up the spine. In Cow Pose (Bitilasana), the back arches as the chest lifts and the gaze looks upward.

In Cat Pose (Marjaryasana), the spine rounds as the chin tucks toward the chest. This movement improves spinal flexibility, relieves tension in the back and neck, and enhances coordination with breath.

The Cat and Cow Pose provides an improving experience for the body and mind, regardless of your goals—whether they are to enhance posture, reduce tension, or condition your body for deeper stretches.

Cow Yoga Pose: What Is It?

The cow position, also called bitilasana (Sanskrit for “cow pose”), received its name because it is like a cow stretching. The convex posture of the cow poses stretches your hips, neck, and spine. It belongs to the back-bending family of yoga poses and strengthens your core.

Which Muscles Are Used in Cow Yoga Pose?

• Hip flexors
• Trapezius muscle
• Erector spinae

Benefits of cow pose:

• improves mobility by providing the spine with a light massage.
• Stretches for the back and neck
• Combining cow pose with an awesome pre-yoga warm-up
• increases the circulation of spinal fluid and strengthens the muscles in the palms and wrists to get them ready for a downward dog.

Which positions are necessary to prepare for cow pose?

Here are some possible positions to get ready for:

• Tabletop
• Sphinx Position
• Salabhasana (Locust Position)
• Bhuganjasana (Cobra Position)

How to Perform Cow Pose?

• Your knees should be under your hips, and your hands should be shoulder-distance apart just forward of your shoulders.
• Press deeply with your hands.
• As you inhale, extend your chest, get your abdomen to arch your back, and stretch your chin and chest.
• Focus on lengthening the back of your neck while keeping your abdominal muscles active to extend your upper back.
• Take several deep breaths.
• Maintain your spine in the beginning position when you’re ready to release the pose.

Cat Cow Pose Video:

What are cow posture follow-up poses?

Start with your legs up the wall when you get into the cow pose. To allow the energy to flow, alternate between the cow and cat poses as you expire.

• Marjaryasana (Cat Position)
• Balasana (Child’s Position)
• Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)

Which Cow Pose Tips Are Best for Novices?

• Ask someone you know to place their hands on your upper back to increase awareness in that area.
• Try beginning the action from your tailbone and working your way up your spine to extend the duration of your head drops. This can be used to study the curvature in different areas of the back.

What is the Cow Pose Variation?

• As you encourage, extend the opposing arm and leg toward a balancing position.
• If you want to affect your breathing, change sides and come back to the center.
• Seated version: Just cross your legs or sit in a chair. Place your hands on your knees and open your chest as you take a breath. Include the Cat Position in the exhale.
• Standing version: Bend back with your knees bent and your legs wide apart. Include the Cat Position in the exhale.
• To create a wave-like movement while on all fours, try moving your tailbone first, followed by your spine.
• In the Cow position, extend your opposing arm and leg; in the Cat position, circle your back and draw your abdomen in; and in the Cow position, drag your elbow back and knee to your nose. A Cat-Cow series will become a core-raising exercise as a result.

The basic position is the Cat-Cow Position (Marjaryasana Bitilasana), however below are a few popular modifications of the yoga practice Cow Position.

• Cat-Cow Position
• Cat-Cow Child Position Flow
• Cow Position
• Kneeling Cat Swan Flow
• Cat Position
• Cat-Cow Position Forearms
• Cat-Cow Position With Leg To Side
• Cat-Cow Position Rib Cage Circles
• Hovering Cat Position
• Cat-Cow Position Variation Wide-Legged
• Cat Position Variation Knee

What Kinds of Cow Pose Are There?

• Seated Cat-Cow Position

Seated Cat Cow Position

What is the Seated Cat-Cow Pose?

The “cat” and “cow” positions are basic yoga poses. Derived from Marjay, the Sanskrit word for the Cat Position is Marjaryasana, indicating “cat.” The Sanskrit phrase for the Cow Position is Bitilasana, referring to “cow” in Bitil. Upavistha Bitilasana Marjaryasana is done while seated, as opposed to Upavistha, which in Sanskrit defines seated. Chakravakasana is the Sanskrit term for the Cat-Cow yoga position. Your spine moves from a rounded (flexed) to an arched (extended) position during the pose.

Sitting cat-cow Bit-ee-LAH-sah-Nah or mar-jar-YAH-sah-Nah are the proper pronunciations. Backbends, forward bends, chest openers, and seated poses fall into this category.

The rules and instructions for this position are similar to those for the Cat-Cow Position (Bitilasana to Marjaryasana). Because it gives the full-back a lot of relief after challenging yoga postures, this pose is designed to be restorative. Given that Malasana requires the stability of the abdominal muscles, the Seated Cat-Cow Position is a great approach to getting ready for it.

The Seated Cat-Cow posture, which helps move fluid from the neck to the hips, is beneficial for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting down or who finds it difficult to reach the ground to do the Cat-Cow position.

The setup for Seated Cat-Cow involves placing your back on the backrest of a chair. Your spine should be in a normal position when you sit with your head over your heart, shoulders over your hips, and feet flat on the floor with your knees over your heels. Props or blankets under your feet may be necessary if you are short-legged; if you are long-legged, place them on the chair’s seat. to help you tilt your hips slightly so that the sit bones rise and the pubis bone falls. Your spine will be normal as a result, with a curved neck and lower back and a convex middle back.

Start by using your hands to provide pressure to your thighs to stretch your spine. In the cat posture, extend your tummy to your spine and your back to the back of the chair. Tilt the hips downwards at the same moment so that the head drops, the shoulders roll forward, and the sit bones move toward the front of the seat. Then, with the spine in a back twist, do the Cow position by pushing and pulling the belly forward, the shoulders returning, the head rising as high and back as it felt comfortable, and the sternum and chest lifting forward and up. At the same time remove the sit bones.

Tips: The skin and some of the muscles stay fixed on the chair while the sit bones move a few inches in either direction, charging the hips either anteriorly or posteriorly. In the case of neck pain or injury, do not allow the head to rise and fall; alternatively, enable it to stay an extension of the spine.

Sitting in front of a computer, television, sporting event, car, or several other things can all be done in this position. In addition to improving sitting posture, the Seated Cat-Cow position expands the neck and spine, massages the spine and internal organs, and opens the chest to allow for more air to enter. The breath-based movement of the cat-cow promotes mental calm and eases tension and stress.

The Seated Cat-Cow posture, which represents a restorative posture, can be utilized to relax the spine and lower back after performing the difficult positions mentioned above:

• Camel Position (Ustrasana)
• Upavistha Konasana (Seated Straddle Position)
• One-Legged King Pigeon Position (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
• Wheel Position (Urdhva Dhanurasana)
• The sitting Cat-Cow Position is frequently used as a warm-up to prepare the body for more challenging yoga positions or flows.

How to Perform Seated Cat-Cow Pose?

• Sit on the floor, cross your legs in Sukhasana, lift your body upward, stretch your spine, and take a few deep breaths.
• Above your knees, your hands should be loose. Let your shoulder blades split and circle as you return to the Seated Cow Position. Have a rest. Concentrate on pulling the abdomen in deeply and upward. Use your hands on your knees for strength and lock your chin firmly to your chest to pull yourself deep within and make your shoulders and chest disappear.
• To alter the movement, take control. Examine the climbing, the back arching, and the chest puffing out. Grab it here and return to the Standing Cow Hold. Feel for any stiffness in the neck as it is taken deep upward after fully extending the spine inwards and pushing the chest forward.
• Because you are not using your core to support your entire body weight, this exercise is better for your core when you are seated than the Cat-Cow Position (Bitilasana Marjaryasana).
• When you’re ready, deepen the pose by extending the full-back and pushing your belly into the spine. This should be done very slowly and carefully since forcing the navel inward too quickly can produce pain or stiffness in the stomach.
• If you maintain this position for more than six rounds, you will be able to benefit from it. Try to breathe rhythmically.
• Extend your legs in front of you, let your body and legs gently relax, and then fully adjust.

What modifications Happen to Cow Pose?

• Alternatives: Chair Cow position
• Modifications: You can either tuck your feet under something or lay the tops of your feet on the floor, depending on how relaxed you are.

If your knees feel painful, cover them with a bent blanket.

Which poses are not suitable for the cow pose?

To avoid more injuries, follow these guidelines when performing Bitilasana, additionally referred to as the Cow Position.

• Back, hip, knee, wrist, neck, and shoulder injuries.
• Back pain or injury that is recent or continuous
• Blood Pressure
• Spondylitis with Migraines
• arthritis in the wrists and knees
• Women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy should avoid this position.

What Common Mistakes Occur in Cow Pose?

• There is little chance of injury because cat-cow is a basic, beginner yoga pose.
• Building a strong basis is even more crucial if you would like to follow your newly discovered love of yoga.
• If you are recovering from a neck or spine injury, speak with your doctor before starting yoga. You may enhance the Cat-Cow and stay away of some common yoga mistakes by keeping two important things in mind.
• Avoid putting too much strain on your neck.
• Move your back rather than your arms.
• A simple yoga position that doesn’t require any movements.

Conclusion

A basic but effective yoga pose that encourages spinal flexibility, mobility, and relaxation is a cat-cow pose. It’s a great warm-up that gets the body ready for more intense stretches and movements. It improves posture, lowers stress, and increases mind-body awareness by coordinating movement and breathing.

Adding Cat-Cow to your yoga practice can improve spine health, reduce stress, and improve general well-being, regardless of your level of experience. Pregnant women, the elderly, and people with low back pain can all safely practice it with the right modifications.

FAQs

References:

• Cat Cow Pose Yoga  (Bitilasana Marjaryasana) | Yoga Sequences, Benefits, Variations, and Sanskrit Pronunciation | Tummee.com. (2017, November 20). Tummee.com. https://www.tummee.com/yoga-poses/cat-cow-pose
• Ryt, A. P. (2024a, June 2). How to Do Cat-Cow Stretch in Yoga. Verywell Fit. https://www.verywellfit.com/cat-cow-stretch-chakravakasana-3567178
• EkhartYoga. (2023, June 29). Cat Pose benefits, tips, and variations – Ekhart Yoga. Ekhart Yoga. https://www.ekhartyoga.com/resources/yoga-poses/cat-pose
• Jordan, C. (2024, August 13). How To Do Cow Yoga Pose. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/how-to-do-cow-yoga-poseCopy
• Sorathiya, D. (2024, October 3). Bitilasana Yoga Pose: Health Benefits, How to do? Mobile Physiotherapy Clinic. https://mobilephysiotherapyclinic.in/bitilasana-yoga-pose/#Seated_Cat_Cow_Position