Sun Salutation
Here is Kelly demonstrating how to balance on a windowsill that’s a little too narrow for really relaxing, though the sun and the breeze make the effort worth it.
A cat’s flexibility and ability to conform to any surface, even one that’s probably not very comfortable, never ceases to amaze me. Kelly hooks her outside front paw on the end of the windowsill, then transfers her balance to her inside hind paw, completely stretched flat while the outside paw holds her balance on the edge. Even at 16, Kelly is as light and flexible as a ballerina.
After fifteen years of yoga I’m pretty flexible, but Kelly is always the one who helpfully strolls in and moves through upward-downward cat and a full sun salutation—”Is this what you’re trying to do?”— while I’m struggling on my mat. Thanks, Kelly, a little instruction from a natural practitioner is always appreciated.
Mine aren’t so concerned–sometimes if I’m there long enough they’ll start to settle in around me. My little Moses, who was a little handicapped in her hips and hind legs, would quietly settle on the top edge of my mat when I laid it out, curl in her little comma shape and purr, tapping the tip of her tail in contentment. She couldn’t jump or balance well, so when I got down on the floor, on her level, she was in heaven. I did my practice around her. Having a purring cat on your mat is a good thing.
HA! It makes me wonder if they think we need help. Pie does the same thing with tail and or butt in my face. She gets the most concerned when I’m flat on the floor in Savasana. She licks the side of my face, furiously trying to revive me from the Corpse Pose with her sand papery tongue!
Ohhh….that’s so amazing! Kelly is demonstrating one of the “hip openers” we do in yoga! I’m so amazed to see cats and dogs naturally doing so many of the poses we have to be taught while struggling on a mat. My three do the upward and downward cat but I’ve never seen them do anything like Kelly’s window sill pose. I’m so glad you caught that on camera. Thanks so much for sharing. Can’t wait to share this with my yoga teacher!
Susan, what I really like is when I’m holding downward cat for five long breaths and Kelly comes in and does her little routine on my mat beneath me, then does a few figure eights around my arms and dusts my nose with the tip of her tail, purring all the while, all in the space of those five breaths. No other cat in the house is quite like her!
Well done Kelly. Cats really can fit themselves into any space that they feel like they need to be in. Great picture. Love how she hooks her front paw to stay put.
Have a great week end.
Marg, in this little house, with my business and all my art materials, they have lots of opportunities to show off their abilities!