Published: Feb 2, 2020 by Lucy Tennyson
Cats are amazingly flexible and agile and, try as we might, we humans never look quite the same when we come onto all-fours for the cat posture.
But there’s good reason for this - for one thing, cat shoulders are not attached to the spine by a joint, but rather by muscle; and their vertebrae have much thicker disks. We can learn from them nevertheless - notice how a cat will stretch after lying down, and never stay in the same position too long.
I’ve spared you all pictures of my kitten but can no longer resist, with this one of her lying in one of her favourite sleeping positions. Maybe we’ll try it in class this week ….
Below is a reminder of the variations on sun salutations we practised in class recently. No matter whether gentle, or strong, they are all based around the inhale/exhale, and taking the spine smoothly from extension to flexion. That’s why I always prefer to warm up thoroughly first with some knee hugs and cat stretches to warm up the back muscles and spine.