Cat Stretch Pilates Exercise Benefits

The Cat stretch Pilates exercise offers you many benefits for a limber and healthy spine.

Joseph Pilates states that the age of our spine is in direct proportion to the age of our bodies.  What he's trying to say is that if you have a stiff and sore back with poor posture you will look older and more hunched over.

Joe spent years studying how animals move and stretch and named many of his exercise forms after animals.   The Pilates Cat stretch is just one of those exercises that helps to show us how we can more agile and limber like a cat if we do the same things a cat does right after his nap. 

Of course we can do it before, during, or after our nap.

Just check out the visual and instructions I created below for you to do your own cat stretch Pilates exercise right at home. 

Benefits of doing the Pilates Cat Stretch

Follow the instructions in the visual above and then achieve some of these benefits from doing this Pilates exercise related to the cat regularly.

1. Stronger abdominal or core musculature
2. More mobility/flexibility in the spine
3. Less stiffness and soreness in the back from everyday activities.
4. Better body awareness
5. Decreased back spasms by articulating and creating space between the vertebrae.
   
6. Improved breathing capacity
7. Improves bone density in the wrists, hips, and spine, for those with osteoporosis.
8. Helps open the spinal canal for those with stenosis in the spine.
   
9. Improved posture
10. Less neck and shoulder pain and tension
    
11. Look and move like a cat!

To get the most benefit out of doing this exercise make sure your body is lined up properly as shown. 

Breath in and out of the rocking movements not holding for more than a couple of seconds at either end.  Really draw your belly button up and into the lower back to achieve that deeper hollowing of the pelvis floor and abdominal muscles as you arc your back up. 

When coming in to extension keep a gem pulled into your belly button so you don't lose your core support.

This is just one of many different Pilates back and joint exercises that can help with your back and joint pain.  Doing Pilates regularly can not only help you achieve more body awareness and less pain, but also can help improve your quality of life in so many ways. 

Find this exercise and more in my Pilates Ebook for healthy back and joints here.

Check out more of the tons of free exercises, videos, and information on my site to find out more ways Pilates can help you achieve a healthy and physically appealing body that looks like a sleek cat.

Find out more details and description on how to do the cat stretch Pilates exercise from this page.

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