Cat StretchSave PDF
Marjariasana
mar-jar-ee-AH-sah-nah
Stretches neck, shoulders and spine
Massages abdominal and reproductive organs
Relieves stress and balances emotions
How to perform Cat Stretch
- Begin on all fours. Bring your wrists directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Bring your head to a neutral position.
- With an inhale, arch your spine, reaching your head and tailbone toward the sky. Let your belly drop toward the floor.
- With an exhale, round your spine, drawing your head and tailbone toward the floor.
- Repeat this movement.
Alignment cues
- Align wrists under shoulders
- Align knees under hips
- Broaden shoulders
- Inhale and arch
- Exhale and round
Modification: Place a folded blanket under your knees for cushion.
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More yoga poses to discover
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Cat Stretch (Marjariasana in Sanskrit) is beginner yoga pose that belongs to the back bends and forward bends and warm-ups categories. This asana targets lower back, middle back / lats, spine and upper back & lower traps, and also involves neck & upper traps, shoulders and wrists muscles. Cat stretch massages abdominal and reproductive organs; stretches neck, shoulders and spine and also relieves stress and balances emotions. Refer to the illustration and instructions above for how to perform this posture correctly. Discover more yoga asanas and yogic breathing exercises in our free yoga pose directory – a visual resource for yoga teacher training students as well as practitioners of all levels. Finally, shop our best-selling Yoga Cards on Amazon!
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Discover our best-selling Yoga Cards – professional study, class sequencing and practice guide for beginners and beyond.
Studying to be a yoga teacher? Learn the essential yoga poses the easy way with Yoga Stacks app!
Coach or trainer? Build illustrated workout plans for your clients in minutes – then share them as branded PDFs or interactive workouts.
