Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana Bitilasana)

Pronunciation and meaning

Marjaryasana Bitilasana: mar-jar-YAHS-uh-nuh bit-ee-LAHS-uh-nuh. Two names said together, each stressed on the long a just before sana.

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.

How to do Cat-Cow

1. 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.
2. Spread the fingers and press the floor away so the shoulders do not sag. Begin with a neutral, flat back.
3. 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.
4. Exhale into Cat: tuck the tailbone, press the hands into the floor and round the spine toward the ceiling, letting the head drop.
5. Move between the two with your breath, one shape per inhale and one per exhale, for five to ten rounds.
6. Finish in a neutral spine, then sit back into Child's Pose or come to standing.

Make it easier

• 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.

Pregnancy and after birth

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.

For more on practising through pregnancy, see Joahnna Lee Yoga.

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.

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 for complete beginners, because it asks for no flexibility at all, only attention to the breath. It also makes a good warm-up before 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.

Cat-Cow begins and ends in Table Top Pose, the flat-backed hands and knees position.

Can you practise Cat Pose and Cow Pose on their own?

Yes. Cat Pose (Marjaryasana) and Cow Pose (Bitilasana) are taught as a pair, but each is a pose in its own right, and some classes hold one for a few breaths before moving on.

Cat Pose on its own is the rounded shape: hands and knees, the tailbone tucking, the spine lifting toward the ceiling and the head hanging. Held for three to five breaths, many people feel it as a stretch across the upper back and between the shoulder blades. Keep pressing the floor away so the chest does not sink.

Cow Pose on its own is the gentle arch: the tailbone lifts, the belly softens and the chest moves forward and up, with the gaze slightly ahead rather than thrown back. Held still, it asks you to keep the lower back long and the shoulders away from the ears, which is harder than it sounds.

Practised separately, the two shapes are also useful checks. If Cat feels easy and Cow pinches, keep Cow small. If either is uncomfortable for the wrists or knees, the same modifications apply to both.

What variations of Cat-Cow can you try?

Which muscles move in Cat-Cow?

Rounding into Cat asks the abdominal muscles to draw in while the long muscles along the back lengthen. Arching into Cow reverses that: the back muscles shorten and the front of the trunk opens. The hands and knees press steadily throughout, so the shoulders and hips work to hold you, too.

A two-minute morning routine

On a weekday when there is no time for a full practice, try this on the mat or a rug before getting ready for work:

1. Table top, three slow breaths to settle.
2. Cat-Cow, eight rounds with the breath.
3. Table top circles, four each direction.
4. Thread the needle, three breaths each side.
5. Child’s Pose, five breaths.

The two-minute version of Child’s Pose is a good way to end it.

How long until Cat-Cow makes a difference?

The spine usually feels warmer and easier to move within a minute or two of rounds, which is why classes start with it. A more lasting change, such as getting out of bed feeling less stiff, tends to come from moving the spine most days over several weeks, often with Cat-Cow as one part of a wider routine.