Article - NESHealth Practitioners

AIR | Cat Pose - Marjaryasana


  • This pose provides a gentle massage to the spine and belly organs.


    Step-By-Step:

    1. Start with a stack of two folded blankets. Come into Plow Pose with your back and shoulders on the blankets and your head on the floor.

    2. From Plow Pose, bend your elbows and bring your hands onto your back with your fingertips facing upward. The hands should come about mid-back.

    3. Keep your elbows shoulder-width apart. Do not allow them to splay out to either side.

    4. Lift your feet up off the floor toward the ceiling, either one at a time or together, if the abdominals are strong enough.

    5. Once you raise the legs, don't turn your head to the side to look around the room, since you can injure your neck. Keep your gaze upward and your neck straight.

    6. Lift up through the balls of your feet.

    7. Move your hips toward the front of the room and your feet toward the back of the room to straighten the body. The correct alignment is with the hips over the shoulders and feet over the hips. Ask your teacher or a friend to help you determine if your legs are perpendicular to the floor.

    8. Stay in the pose for up to 10 breaths.

    9. To come out, bring your feet back over your head to come through Plow Pose.

    10. Roll out from Plow slowly.


    Info:

    If you have difficulty rounding the very top of the upper back, ask a friend to lay a hand just above and between the shoulder blades to help you activate this area.