| Pose of the Month: Cat Pose - Bidalasana |
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| Clara Simper | |||
| Tuesday, 04 July 2006 | |||
For July, the middle of winter, I'm opting to make life easy by choosing Cat Pose. Everything seems harder at this time of year: getting up in the morning, putting on more layers, our commute, staying fit and going to yoga class. The only thing that isn't harder is hibernating. So I'm choosing a basic yoga pose that is often incorporated into a beginner sequence or as a warm up pose in a more advanced class. You only have to move off the couch to do this pose and if you like practice it right in front of the fireplace! So let's come into Cat pose, it's really very easy. You start on all fours on the earth, with your hands shoulder distance apart and underneath your shoulders, knees hip distance apart and underneath your hips. Press the palms down to the floor, let your middle finger point straight ahead and spread your other fingers outward. Lower your shoulders away from your ears, and stretch the back of your head and neck out of your shoulders as you look downward. Elongate your spine so you are in a table top position. As far as possible keep your elbows straight and your arms and legs stable during the pose. Become aware of the breath and on an exhalation slowly contract and hollow the abdominal muscles towards the spine, tuck the tailbone and crown of the head and move them towards each other and gaze to the floor between your knees. Press firmly downward through the hands so you stay lifted out of your shoulders and let your spine round towards the ceiling. Become aware of every vertebrae moving away from its neighbour creating freedom in the length of the spine. On an inhalation bring the spine back to a neutral table top position. Continue moving as many times as you feel comfortable between the two positions synchronising each movement with your breath. It may be beneficial to rest in child's pose after ending the sequence. Allowing your breath to be the cue to move your body is one of the most fundamental aspects of yoga. Cat Pose is an easy movement to practice and become comfortable with your breath being the fuel for movement. The pose loosens and increases suppleness of the spine as the back, neck and arm muscles elongate. Spinal fluid is stimulated and circulated. The digestive tract is compressed, cleansing and renewing the blood reservoirs in the abdominal region. My cat is a little silly as she's a bit of a scaredy-cat but I've learnt some wisdom from her about how she looks after her body and its flexibility. Do look after your body this winter, curl up and restore but remember to open and breathe life into your body when you can. Namaste
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