Cat-Cow

Cat-Cow is a slow floor mobility drill that moves your spine through flexion and extension. It trains control of your erector spinae, abdominals, and the small muscles along your spine, and it gently frees up your thoracic area and lower back.

Start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Keep your head in a neutral position and a soft bend in your elbows, with your back starting relatively flat like a tabletop.

As you exhale, round your spine up toward the ceiling one vertebra at a time, tucking your tailbone and chin (Cat). Then, as you inhale, reverse the motion: arch your back, lift your tailbone and chest, and let your belly drop (Cow). Move slowly and try to make the wave travel through each part of your spine rather than bending everything at once.

Match the movement to your breath - round on the exhale and arch on the inhale. Keep the range gentle and do not force an end position. If you have diagnosed osteoporosis, keep the movement small and avoid forced end-range flexion. To make it easier, do Cat-Cow seated with your hands on your thighs; to make it harder, slow the tempo down and pause briefly at each end.

Fault: Rushing through the movement and bending the whole spine at once. Fix: Move slowly and imagine each vertebra stacking or peeling away one at a time, from your tailbone up to your neck.

Fault: Forcing a big arch or round at the end of the range. Fix: Stay in a gentle, pain-free range and let your breath guide the motion rather than pushing for a deeper stretch.

Fault: Holding your breath or breathing against the movement. Fix: Exhale as you round into Cat and inhale as you arch into Cow, so your breath and spine move together.