62 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
Figure 4.1d Cobra pose
Cat-cow poses also provide an excellent opportunity for face-to-
face interaction, responsiveness, and lexical stimulation. In these
poses the caregiver begins by kneeling on all fours in a neutral
spine position forming a tabletop with hands directly under the
shoulders and knees directly below the hips. The infant lies supine
on a blanket facing up toward the caregiver. As the caregiver
moves into an arched spinal posture for cow, she can make a
mooing sound mimicking a cow. As she moves into a rounded
spinal posture for cat, she can make the meowing sound of a cat
or provide some other appropriate speech input (Figure 4.1e). In
addition, the caregiver can smile and shake her head from side to
side, letting her hair fly, which the baby will enjoy (Larson and
Howard 2002). In the same beginning neutral posture on all fours
as in cat-cow, the caregiver can “wag the tail.” In this variation the
caregiver looks over each shoulder moving her head from side to
side. When the head crosses midline, she can smile, vocalize, or
otherwise engage the baby who is lying supine face up.
Figure 4.1e Cat pose