By JACQUELINE HARGREAVES
The earliest known description of 'Cat' pose (to date) is called Mārjārottānāsana (Upturned Cat Pose), which is described in the yoga text called the Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati (17th - 18th century). The image seen here is an artistic representation from the 19th-century royal digest named the Śrītattvanidhi.
Unlike the version of 'Cat' pose commonly practised in Modern Postural Yoga (i.e. flexing the spine while in a kneeling position), this particular āsana is practised in the supine position and requires quite a bit of muscular effort in the abdomen to achieve the movement of knees to ears. When practised repetitively, it becomes an abdominal oblique strengthening posture.
Mārjārottānāsana
"Having positioned [himself] like an up-turned dog, [the yogin] should touch both knees with his ears in turn. [This is] the up-turned cat [pose]."
Translation by Jason Birch (2015)
As the text links one āsana to the next, the Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati is the only pre-modern yoga text known today to provide what appears to be a sequenced practice as well as āsana that involve repetitive movement rather than just the static seated postures described in earlier Haṭhayoga texts.
