Guru-Mooch IV, Downward Dog

The Downward Facing Dog is one of the most well-known yoga poses. It is also one of the most popular, and for good reason. It provides a beautiful stretch that lengthens the spine, improves your circulation, strengthens not only the upper body muscles, but also the abdominal muscles. It will also leave most people feeling invigorated.
During a yoga session, the Downward Dog (as it is called for short) can give the practitioner some time to assess the body. Assessing your body does not mean that you judge it; it simply means that you are aware. Your breath might be shallow, your hamstrings tight, your shoulders may be sore but this does not need to make you feel inadequate or frustrated. If it does, just notice that too....
The Downward Dog is also a transitional pose, which means it will be revisited a few times during a session in which the practitioner moves from one pose to another. At the end of a session you might be pleasantly surprised to feel that your body has eased a bit more into the pose.

For Guru-Mooch however, this pose comes as easily as eating, sleeping and purring. For him, it is sometimes hard to distinguish where yoga begins and the mundane ends. There is most definitely a great sense of well-being, and no feelings of frustration or inadequacy. To be fair, feeling inadequate is not something our feline counterparts suffer from. It is us humans who seem to be very good at that. 
Nevertheless, Mooch has a bone to pick. From his 'humble' opinion, it should have been called the 'Downward Cat'. He is very quick to disregard the fact that dogs love this pose too, and excel at it. His human female, Ivette, tried to reason with him and pointed out that there actually is a 'Cat Pose'. Guru-Mooch was equally quick to point out it is not as well known as the Downward Dog, so he is holding on to his indignation. Ivette simply assessed the situation as 'too-hard', and Guru-Mooch still feels he is 'right', which only fuels his anger! Obviously, at this point yoga has 'ended' for him and he is indulging in something very mundane: a grudge!