How to Do Cat-Cow Pose in Yoga
- Focus: spine
- Level: Beginning
- Total Time: 60 seconds
- Indications: intervertebral disks, abdominal organs, menstrual discomfort; stimulates adrenals, kidneys
- Contraindications: modification for neck injury
To perform the cow-cat:
- Begin on all fours, with your spine neutral (straight) and your neck long. If you have a neck injury, you will keep your head and neck in this neutral position throughout the exercise. Your knees will be hip width apart, directly under your hips.
- Your hands will be placed directly beneath your shoulders, with your fingers pointing forward. Do NOT lock your elbows. If you have a wrist injury, slightly flexing your arms at the elbow will provide additional support. If your injury doesn’t allow you to bear weight on your wrists, rest your forearms on a chair or another slightly raised surface.
The Cow :-
- Breathe in, (optional: curl your toes up on the ground) as you relax your abdomen and let it sag downward.
- As your middle back sags, lift your head and look up. Pull your shoulders away from your ears.
The Cat : –
- Breathe out slowly as you change from the cow to the cat position. (optional: relax your toes).
- Allow your head to lower until it hangs relaxed. At the same time, press your belly button up toward your spine, pushing your back into a hump, like a cat arching its back.
- This will tuck in your tailbone and tilt the bottom of your pelvis forward.
- Repeat the cow-cat stretch five times, returning to the neutral spine position we started. Over time, you can increase your repetitions up to 20 in a single setting.
- From the neutral back position, you can easily transition into a leg stretch.
Warming Up For Yoga
- Everybody knows the importance of stretching before running or working out, but what kind of warm-up does yoga require? While traditional stretching is helpful before performing yoga, since most yoga poses are advanced stretches in and of themselves, there are a number of yoga positions you can use to warm up before you delve into the more involved practice.
- The unique aspect of warming up for yoga is the process of centering oneself, at the same time you wake up your muscles. A yoga physical warm-up is also a mental warm-up that allows you to move away from your other preoccupations and reach a calm mental stance that will assist you in further yoga work.
- An ideal yoga warm-up will include poses that involve both your upper and lower body. It should incorporate stretches that attend to your wrists, your neck, and your spine, key parts of your body that receive the most work when you’re doing yoga. In this chapter, you will discover some great poses you can use as part of your personal warm-up routine.
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TOP YOGA MCQs Questions and Answers
1 Who is believed to be the father of Yoga?
A Krishnamacharya
B Gautam Buddha
C Maharshi PatanjaliAdi
D Shankaracharya
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2 Yoga has eight components, also known as the eight fold path of life — Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Dhyana, Samadhi are five of them. Which are the other three?
A Savichar, Santosa, Tapas
B Asteya, Aparigraha, Brahmacharya
C Ananda, Asmita, Aachaar
D Yama, Dharana, Pratyahara
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3 The word “Yoga” comes for Sanskrit. What is the literal meaning of this word?
A Hindu system of philosophy & meditation
B Inner peace & tranquility
C Joining together
D Controlled breathing
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4 Over time, many new postures have been added to the original compendium of Asanas that yoga started with to incorporate modern day fitness requirements. How many classic Asanas were enlisted in the initial texts?
A 84
B 108
C 33
D 195
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5 Surya Namaskar is considered to be a complete exercise for the body and has often been cited as a combination of Asanas that helps in stretching almost all the major muscles. How many different Asanas does Surya Namaskar comprise of?
A 12
B 7
C 10
D 8
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6 Yoga has many practitioners in the West and several Hollywood celebrities such as Adam Levine and Julia Roberts have endorsed it. Indra Devi is credited with introducing Yoga to the West. Which country did she belong to?
A Nepal
B Russian
C India
D USA
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7 An Indian youth organisation entered the Limca Book of Records for simultaneously performing Yoga for the longest duration. Which organisation was this?
A NSS
B Girl Scouts
C LTS
D NCC
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8 Bharat Thakur is an internationally renowned name in the field of yoga instructors and a celebrity in his own right. Which new field of yoga did he lay the foundation for?
A Ashtang Yoga
B Hatha Yoga
C Sahaja Yoga
D Artistic Yoga
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9 Now to some yoga-related fun questions! Recently, a photo of the very hot, very happening Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doing Mayurasana went viral. Around 40 years back another world leader struck a similar pose, alas there was no social media he could go viral on. Who was he?
A Richard Nixon
B Pierre Trudeau
B Harold Wilson
B Georges Pompidou
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10 In the popular TV series Friends, one of the main characters is seen talking to Mr. Treeger, the superintendent of Monica’s building, about attending Yoga classes. Which character is this?
A Ross
B Phoebe
C Monica
D Mike
Answer ⇒ ????