1 Start on all fours with shoulders over wrists and hips over knees. (Toes can be tucked or untucked.) Position knees and ankles parallel to each other, hip-width apart. Form an L-shape with your index fingers and thumbs.
This slow movement from an arched to rounded spine is one of the best exercises you can do for your back, whether you are an athlete warming up or a non-athlete recovering from a back injury. Use this exercise to mobilize your spine, release kinks or stiffness in your back, and prepare for exercise.
TARGET AREAS
• spine • back • chest
BENEFITS
• Relieves spinal stiffness and pain • Prevents spinal injury • Improves spinal mobility • Stretches shoulders and back
1 Start on all fours with shoulders over wrists and hips over knees. (Toes can be tucked or untucked.) Position knees and ankles parallel to each other, hip-width apart. Form an L-shape with your index fingers and thumbs.
2 Cow: Inhale as you arch your spine, pulling your chest forward and lifting your tailbone toward the ceiling. Lengthen the front side of your torso, and maintain length in your mid- and upper spine.
3 Cat: Exhale as you round your spine, pulling your forehead toward your hips. Press down through your hands to lift the upper back toward the ceiling. Tuck your chin to your chest. This is one rep. Continue to alternate slowly from Cat to Cow, inhaling as you move into the full extension of Cow, and exhaling as you move into the full flexion of Cat. Lengthen each breath as much as possible.
YOU SHOULD FEEL
• Stretch through chest and abs
• Relief of stiffness in spine
YOU SHOULDN’T FEEL
• Craning or pain in neck; if you do, focus on lengthening mid- and upper back
• Spine pain; if you do, decrease depth of arch, and use core more
PRO TIP
Lightly squeeze legs toward one another to keep your core engaged and protect the spine.