Okay, here’s a blog post about that, written in the style you requested:
So, I saw this thing in the New York Times Mini Crossword today. It was a clue, “Cat or cow, in yoga.” I thought, “What the heck is that?” I’m not really a yoga guy, you know? But I do love a good puzzle. So I started messing around with it, trying to figure it out.
First, I tried putting in different yoga poses I actually knew. Like, uh, DOWNWARD DOG? Nope, that didn’t fit. Then I thought maybe LOTUS? Nah, too short. I was stumped.
So then I did what any normal person would do: I Googled it. I typed in “Cat or cow, in yoga” and boom! A bunch of stuff popped up. Turns out, this “Cat-Cow” thing is like, a two-part pose or something. It’s where you get on all fours and arch your back like a cat, then drop your belly like a cow. I had to see the steps so I can do it in practice.
Cat-Cow Pose
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I started to get on all fours, like I was gonna crawl or something. Made sure my hands were right under my shoulders and my knees under my hips.
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Then, I took a deep breath in, and as I breathed out, I arched my back up towards the ceiling, just like a scaredy-cat. Tucked my chin in towards my chest, too.
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Next, on the inhale, I dropped my belly down, letting my back curve the other way, and lifted my head and chest up. Like, I was trying to look forward and up, but not straining my neck, you know?
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I kept going like that, arching and dropping, breathing in and out with each move. Felt pretty good, actually, stretching out my back and stuff.
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I did that for about five or ten breaths, just flowing back and forth between “cat” and “cow.”
The answer that crossword was looking for was just POSE. Four letters. And there you have it, It’s that simple, huh? The whole time I’m thinking it’s some fancy yoga term, and it’s just “pose”. I mean I did not expect to learn and practice a new pose today, but it was a great experience.
