CAT STRETCH

Cats sleep a lot. They also stretch a lot. Once a cat wakes up the stretching begins.

They stretch to get their muscles moving again after long periods of sitting, sleeping or general inactivity. In this respect we could learn a lot from cats. Although we probably shouldn’t be as inherently lazy, and sleep quite as much as cats do, but you get the idea.

The cat stretch is one of the easiest yoga poses and stretches that you can possibly do. It’s a gentle back bend that mobilises and stretches the spine. It’s a great little exercise that can also help to increase the flexibility in your lower back , and in some cases it can also be used as a rehabilitation exercise for people who have experienced injury to their lower back.

You can use the cat stretch in your training routine by including it as part of your warm-up or cool-down, or even both. It’s an awesome stretch on its own, but you’ll really get the most out of it if you pair it with the cow pose. The cow pose basically counteracts the cat stretch’s spinal flexion with spinal extension.

Give the cat stretch a try first thing in the morning when you wake up. Spend 30 secs just stretching your spine out. Try and tell me it doesn’t feel great afterwards!