Awaken the hips and shoulders with this week’s Pose of The Week: Cow Face Pose! This seated posture deeply stretches the hips and offers a shoulder stretch that we all know that we need. After sitting for a longer period of time, this pose will surely balance you back out!
Benefits:
Opens the shoulders, chest and deep rotator muscles of the hip. Stretches the intercostal muscles. Massages the digestive and reproductive organs. Massages and purifies the lymphatic system.
How to:
- Begin in a seated position with your legs extended long down your mat.
- Bend your right knee in towards the chest.
- Step that right foot over the left leg, to land the sole of the foot to Earth on the outside of the left thigh.
- Lean towards the left and bend the left knee, placing the left heel to the outside of your right hip.
- Slide the right foot back as close as you can or until the foot is beside the left hip and the knees are stacked and aligned on top of each other.
- Flexing at the feet, root the outer ankles down towards the Earth.
- Stack the shoulders over the hips, draw the belly in and lengthen up through the crown of the head.
- Reach the left arm to the sky, bend the elbow, then reach the hand behind the back.
- Bend your right elbow, right the arm behind the back and up towards the left hand.
- Keep the hands reaching towards each other, or clasping the peach fingers together.
- If there is a large arch in the back, draw the rib cage in and down, while pulling the elbows back.
- Remember to breathe.
- Continue rooting down evenly through the sitting bones and lengthening up through the spine.
- When you are ready to come out, first release the arms.
- Lean the left and untuck the left leg, extending it long down your mat.
- Uncross the right leg and also extend it long down your mat.
- Shake out the legs and prepare for the other side!
Modify it:
If there is rounding in the low back you can place a folded blanket under your seat to help you lengthen the back. If the hips, knees or ankles feel uncomfortable or overworked, keep the left leg long down the mat and work on the top leg. When the left leg stays long down your mat you can either keep the right foot planted flat, or work on reaching that right foot back further to stack the leg on top of the leg, aligning the knees. Another option to adjust this pose is to change the arms. Feel free to use a strap to hold between the hands, allowing for a gap, rather than holding the hands together. If the arms feel intense to do at the same time as the legs, practice the hip stretch and shoulder stretch separately.