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Old 04-01-20, 09:19 PM  
annette
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Cat-Cow Pose and Breathing

In most of the videos I have when doing cat/cow the instructor says to exhale going into cat and inhale into cow. I did Jessica Smith's Fusion Strength yesterday and she said the opposite. Are there different benefits to inhaling into cat and exhaling into cow?
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Old 04-01-20, 10:03 PM  
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I've seen some contradictory instructions too, and never really understood the differences. Looking forward to any replies you get.
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Old 04-01-20, 10:17 PM  
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Do it whatever way you want.

Seriously, as a yoga teacher, I encourage students to pay attention to how a pose feels in their individual bodies, not any notion of how the pose is "supposed" to be. I tend to cue it breathing in on cow, as it feels natural for me to release the belly towards the ground on the breath in, but doing the opposite is perfectly fine if that feels better for you. To me, any coordination between breath and movement is yoga.
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Old 04-01-20, 10:19 PM  
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Here is more on this type of approach to practicing yoga, from yin yoga instructor Bernie Clark:
Quote:
It is important to understand the intention of the yoga practice. If a student’s intention is to optimize health, a functional approach to her yoga practice is required. If the intention is to look good in a pose, an aesthetic approach is sufficient. From a functional perspective, how a student looks in a posture is irrelevant; what is important are the sensations being created. Alignment cues based on how a student looks in a posture is aesthetic yoga; cues based on generating sensation are functional.
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Old 04-01-20, 10:43 PM  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by toaster View Post
Do it whatever way you want.

Seriously, as a yoga teacher, I encourage students to pay attention to how a pose feels in their individual bodies, not any notion of how the pose is "supposed" to be. I tend to cue it breathing in on cow, as it feels natural for me to release the belly towards the ground on the breath in, but doing the opposite is perfectly fine if that feels better for you. To me, any coordination between breath and movement is yoga.
My thoughts too....just keep the breath flowing.
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Old 04-02-20, 07:40 AM  
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Originally Posted by yogapam View Post
My thoughts too....just keep the breath flowing.
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Old 04-02-20, 08:03 AM  
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Thanks ladies! It feels better to me to inhale on cow, exhale on cat so will keep doing it that way.
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Old 04-02-20, 11:41 AM  
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Thank you! I was doing cat cow the other day to release some mid back tension and wondered the same thing.
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Old 04-02-20, 12:14 PM  
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The other thing I tell my yoga students is that no one knows your body better than you do--YOU are the expert!
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Old 04-03-20, 08:53 AM  
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I remember Jessica explaining why she did her breath work that way for cat/cow, but I don't remember exactly what she said. But I think she also said that people should do what feels right for them--as Beth (Toaster) said. I can go either way, so I do whatever works for me at the time that I am doing the poses.

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