Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana Bitilasana)
Marjari means cat, bitila means cow and asana means posture. The two shapes are practised as a pair: the cat arches its back up, and the cow lets its belly drop while its head lifts.
At a glance
- Sanskrit name
- Marjaryasana Bitilasana
- Pronunciation
- mar-jar-YAHS-uh-nuh bit-ee-LAHS-uh-nuh. Two names said together, each stressed on the long a just before sana.
- Family
- Seated and floor
- Practised in
- Yoga for beginners
- In pregnancy
- Adapt
- After birth
- Adapt
Cat-Cow is two poses done as one movement, and it often opens a practice because it wakes the spine up without asking much of anyone. It is also a simple way to learn to move with the breath.
It is a natural place to begin yoga lessons for complete beginners, because it asks for no flexibility at all, only attention to the breath. It is also the warm-up I would pair with the floor routine for lower back stiffness.
From hands and knees, walking the hands forward with the hips high turns it into Puppy Pose, a shoulder stretch on all fours.
How to do Cat-Cow
Come onto hands and knees with the wrists under the shoulders, the knees under the hips and the tops of the feet on the mat.
Spread the fingers and press the floor away so the shoulders do not sag. Begin with a neutral, flat back.
Inhale into Cow: tip the tailbone up, let the belly soften toward the floor, and lift the chest and gaze forward without throwing the head back.
Exhale into Cat: tuck the tailbone, press the hands into the floor and round the spine toward the ceiling, letting the head drop.
Move between the two with your breath, one shape per inhale and one per exhale, for five to ten rounds.
Finish in a neutral spine, then sit back into Child's Pose or come to standing.
My cues
- Start the movement from your tailbone and let it ripple up the spine, one vertebra after another, so the head moves last.
- Let the breath set the pace. If the movement finishes before the breath does, slow the movement down.
- In Cow, think of lengthening the front of the body rather than dropping the belly. The lower back should feel spacious, not squeezed.
Modifications
- Fold the mat or add a blanket under the knees if kneeling is sore.
- Make fists or use blocks under the hands if bending the wrists is uncomfortable.
- Do it seated on a chair: hands on the knees, rounding and arching the spine with the breath.
- Keep the range small if the lower back is sensitive.
In pregnancy. Adapt. Cat-Cow is commonly offered during pregnancy. Keep the Cow part gentle, letting the belly move only slightly toward the floor, and give more time to the rounding. Widen the knees for room. Check with your OB or midwife before you start.
After birth. Adapt. Once your doctor or midwife has cleared you to exercise, begin with a small range and slow breathing. After a caesarean birth, or if the belly still feels weak, keep the Cow shape shallow and stop if anything pulls across the abdomen.
Common mistakes
- Moving only the neck, nodding the head up and down while the spine stays still.
- Collapsing between the shoulder blades in Cat instead of pressing the floor away.
- Rushing, so the breath and the movement fall out of step.
- Crunching the lower back in Cow by pushing the belly down too far.
Pairs well with
- Child's PoseBalasana
- Downward-Facing DogAdho Mukha Svanasana
- Cobra PoseBhujangasana