An Easy Guide to Easy guide to Cow Pose, or Bitilasana
Cow Pose, or Bitilasana, isn’t just a great stretch for the back and neck, it also stretches the front torso and chest. This yoga pose is great for practicing breathing exercises, which help to reduce anxiety, insomnia and stress.
Partner Cow Pose with Cat Pose for a soothing back, chest and neck stretch. Great when you're all stressed out or overly tired. This yoga pose is also a great belly massage.
Watch a clip for this yoga pose
How to do Easy guide to Cow Pose, or Bitilasana, in easy steps
Step 1:
Come to your hands and knees with a straight back.
Step 2:
Your knees should be directly under your hips, your hands and wrists in line with your shoulders and your head an extension of your spine, eyes down.
Step 3:
Inhaling, drop your belly, raise your sitting bones, chest, neck and head and look ahead without straining your neck.
Step 4:
Drop your shoulderblades away from your ears to prevent scrunching, elongate your spine, lift your heart, open your throat.
Step 5:
Exhale and return to neutral, then repeat eight to ten times. This pose is usually done in combination with Cat Pose for a gentle spinal warm up.
Yoga pose category: Kneeling
Level: 1
Although this is an easy yoga pose, built for beginners, it’s always important to practice it safely. Remember to pull the shoulders down and stretch the shoulders so that they are broad. This will help to avoid any injuries to the neck.
Sanskrit words meaning:
Bitil - cow
Asana - pose
Yoga pose health benefits:
Like all yoga poses, Cow Pose has many health benefits. Use it to help with the following health conditions:
Insomnia
Back pain
Stress
Fatigue
Anxiety
Yoga pose contraindications:
Don’t practice Cow Pose if you have any of the following health conditions:
Neck injury
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Lucy Edge
is a yoga advocate and writer with three yoga books to her name, including the beloved travel memoir Yoga School Dropout. She writes regularly for the national press, has authored over 150 guides to types of yoga and yoga poses, discovered nearly 250 proven health benefits of yoga through her painstaking classification of 300 clinical studies, and collected more than 500 personal testimonials to the real life benefits of yoga. She is also the creator of our yoga shop – YogaClicks.Store – handpicking yoga brands that are beautifully made by yogis committed to environmental and social sustainability.
