A Personal Pet Peeve: Cueing to “drop the belly”

I’m not sure if this is because I have a tendency to take thing to literally, but this cue drives me absolutely nuts. I’m sure you’ve heard it. When a teacher is guiding you through cat/cow they might say, “lift the gaze, drop the belly”. UGH.

Why do I hate it so much? When I hear this, I think of literally letting go of all abdominal tone and letting that lead the back bend in cow pose. While this is unlikely to cause any immediate problems, its not a great long term practice and also doesn’t convey the benefits of the pose. Not to mention, Its a really good idea to keep our abdomen engaged in back bends.

I prefer, “Roll your shoulders down and back, lift your heart, lift your tailbone”. We can leave the belly out of it, and you engage your back muscles in order to accomplish the actions in that cue.

What do you think? When you hear cues are you someone who takes them literally? Do I need to get over it?