Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

Cat-Cow is two poses joined into one smooth movement. On your hands and knees, you curve your spine down and then up in time with your breath: Cow as you breathe in, Cat as you breathe out. It is a common way to start a practice because it moves your whole spine gently, from your tailbone to your neck, before bigger poses.

The names describe the shapes. In Cat, your back arches up like a stretching cat. In Cow, your back dips while your chest and tailbone lift. In physical therapy and exercise research, a similar movement goes by the name cat-camel. This guide covers both halves, how to pace them with your breath, and chair and standing versions if kneeling isn’t for you. It is part of our pose library. New to yoga? Start with yoga for beginners.

In this guide

1. How to do Cat-Cow
2. Alignment cues
3. Common mistakes
4. Make it easier (props)
5. Variations
6. Poses to do before and after
7. Who should skip it or ask a doctor first
8. What the research says
9. Frequently asked questions
10. Sources

How to do Cat-Cow

Cat-Cow has a starting position and two halves. Learn each half on its own first, then link them with your breath.

Set up in tabletop

1. Come onto your hands and knees on a yoga mat. Stack your shoulders over your wrists, or set your hands a little ahead of them, and line up your knees under your hips.
2. Rest the tops of your feet on the mat.
3. Open your hands wide and let your fingertips and the knuckles at the base of your fingers share the weight with your palms.
4. Start with a flat, long back. Keep your neck long and look at the floor just ahead of your hands.

Cow: breathe in

1. As you breathe in, let your belly sink toward the floor.
2. Lift your tailbone and your chest at the same time, so your back curves gently down.
3. Widen across your collarbones and draw your shoulders away from your ears.
4. Lift your gaze forward or slightly up, keeping the back of your neck soft.

Cat: breathe out

1. As you breathe out, draw your belly in toward your spine.
2. Press the floor away and round your back up toward the ceiling.
3. Tuck your tailbone under and let your head drop toward the floor, chin moving toward your chest.

Put the two halves together

1. Flow from Cow to Cat and back again, letting each breath set the pace.
2. Move slowly enough that your whole spine takes part, not just your lower back.
3. Do 5 to 10 rounds. Then return to a flat back and sit back into Child’s Pose to rest.

Alignment cues

• Spread the curve. In Cow, aim for a long, even curve from your tailbone to your neck instead of a sharp bend in your lower back.
• Soft neck. Let your head follow your spine. In Cow, lift your chin only a little. In Cat, let your head hang.
• Steady arms. Keep your arms straight but not locked, and don’t let your shoulders creep up toward your ears.
• Lead with your pelvis. Let each half begin as a small tilt of your pelvis, then let the curve spread up your back until your head follows last.
• Let the breath lead. Start moving when the breath starts and finish when it finishes. If you run out of breath, slow down or make the movement smaller.
• Stay in your range. Move only as far as feels comfortable. Cat-Cow should feel easy, not forced.

Common mistakes

• Bending only in the lower back. If Cow happens mostly in your lower back, your upper back gets left out. Lift your chest forward as much as you lift your tailbone.
• Throwing your head back. Cranking your head up in Cow squeezes the back of your neck. Lift your gaze, not your whole head.
• Rushing. Fast, jerky rounds lose the link with your breath. One slow breath for each half is plenty.
• Shoulders up by your ears. Keep pushing the floor away in both halves.
• Breathing in reverse. The usual pairing is Cow on the in-breath and Cat on the out-breath. If you mix them up, pause and restart with a slow breath in.
• Locked elbows. If your elbows bend backward when straight, keep a soft bend in them.

Watch out for: sharp or pinching pain in your back, neck, wrists or knees. Stop, rest in Child’s Pose and try a smaller movement or the chair version.

Make it easier (props)

• Blanket under your knees. Fold a blanket, or fold over the end of your mat, to cushion your knees.
• Fists or forearms for your wrists. Make soft fists and rest on your knuckles, or lower onto your forearms resting on two yoga blocks at their lowest height. A rolled mat edge under the heels of your hands is another option.
• Chair Cat-Cow. Sit near the front of a sturdy chair with your feet flat and your hands on your knees. Breathe in to lift your chest (Cow). Breathe out to round your back (Cat). There are more ideas in our chair yoga guide.
• Standing Cat-Cow. With soft knees, lean forward a little and brace your hands just above your knees. Breathing in, lift your breastbone and let your back hollow; breathing out, curl your back and look toward your belly. It makes a handy break during a long day at a desk; see yoga for desk workers.
• A smaller movement. You don’t need the full range. A gentle tilt of your pelvis and a small change in the curve of your back still counts.

Variations

• Opposite arm and leg. Breathing in, float your right arm and left leg out level with your back. Breathing out, round your back and bring that elbow and knee toward each other under your belly. Switch sides after a few rounds. This adds balance and core work.
• Side bends. Between rounds, look over your right shoulder toward your right hip so your body curves into a C. Then switch sides.

Poses to do before and after

• First thing: Cat-Cow makes a gentle opening move. All it needs before it is a few calm breaths on your hands and knees.
• After: move into Downward-Facing Dog from the same tabletop position, or rest in Child’s Pose.
• Later in a session: it pairs well with backbends such as Cobra Pose and Bridge Pose.
• In a routine: it fits easily into a short morning yoga routine.

Frequently asked questions

When do you breathe in Cat-Cow?

Breathe in as you move into Cow (belly down, chest up). Breathe out as you move into Cat (back rounded, belly drawn in). Drawing your belly in goes naturally with breathing out, which makes the pairing easy to remember.

How many rounds of Cat-Cow should you do?

Five to 10 slow rounds make a good warm-up, with one full breath for each half. You can do more on a stiff morning or as a desk break, as long as it stays comfortable.

Is Cat-Cow good for lower back pain?

It may be a comfortable way to move, but it hasn’t been tested on its own. It has been part of yoga programs studied for chronic low back pain, and those programs helped a little (see the research box above). The NCCIH describes the overall evidence for yoga and low back pain as “a slight benefit.” Don’t use yoga to put off seeing a health care provider about back pain.

Is Cat-Cow safe during pregnancy?

Ask your doctor or midwife first; the NCCIH advises getting checked before you exercise in pregnancy. If you get the OK, put a folded blanket under your knees, move slowly, and keep Cow gentle so your lower back doesn’t sag.

Is Cat-Cow safe if you have osteoporosis?

Check with your doctor or physical therapist first. Cat rounds your spine forward, and doctors have reported spine fractures after forward-bending yoga poses, mostly in people with low bone mass. Your care team can tell you how much rounding, if any, suits your bones.

What is the difference between Cat-Cow and cat-camel?

They are very similar. Cat-camel is a name used in physical therapy and exercise research for rounding and arching your back on all fours. Yoga classes call it Cat-Cow and link each half to the breath.