The cow stretch (Cow Pose or Bitilasana) is a yoga warm-up performed on hands and knees where you arch your back, drop your belly, and lift your head and tailbone toward the ceiling. It mobilizes the spine into extension and is the counterpart to the cat stretch. Together they form the cat-cow flow — one of the best spinal warm-ups.
Muscle Group
Back, Yoga
Equipment Required
Bodyweight
Type
Flexibility
Equipment
Band
Difficulty
Intermediate
Key Benefits
- Mobilizes the spine into extension
- Warms up the entire back gently
- Combined with cat pose, creates spinal flexion-extension flow
- Calming and meditative
- No equipment needed
- Foundational yoga warm-up
How to perform
- Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Hands under shoulders, knees under hips, spine neutral.
- Inhale and drop your belly toward the floor while lifting your tailbone and head toward the ceiling.
- Arch your back gently. Open your chest forward.
- Look up slightly without crunching your neck.
- Feel the stretch across your front body and the gentle compression in your lower back.
- Hold for one breath, then exhale and round your back into Cat Pose.
- Continue alternating between cow and cat for 8 to 12 cycles.
- Move with your breath — inhale into cow, exhale into cat.
FRONT VIEW
BACK VIEW
Abs
Primary
Chest
Primary
Lower Back
Primary