YOGA POSTURES ASANA YOGA POSES YOGA POSITIONS
Tadasana Downward Dog Cobra pose Headstand Shoulderstand Warrior 1 pose Warrior 2 pose Triangle pose Half Moon pose child pose Cat Pose

 

Cobra Pose – Bhujangasana

Translation: Cobra Pose

From a prone position place the hands down under the shoulders, or farther away from your body depending on your spines flexibility, and raise the upper body.

Push the legs together if you wish to engage the lower back and gluteuls.

Leave the legs slightly open if you want a deeper stretch.

Tips for Cobra Pose
It can be quite hard on the arms when this posture is held. Try different positions with the arms. Allow a slight bend, straighten or do a combination of both.

Holding Cobra can be a good way to open the smaller muscles in the spine before starting a sequence of Sun Salutations.

Benefits of Cobra Pose
This pose increases the flexibility of the spine. It can also strengthen the spine.

Healing effects
When done mildly the cobra pose can help relieve and even heal bulging discs in the lower back. However raising too high will aggravate the issue. So when performing this pose for healing remember to raise into mild discomfort and no further.

This pose is part of a Yoga for Back Pain sequence. Practice yoga at home with a printable Home yoga flow showing Cobra pose blended with other yoga poses.

Some easy yoga postures to transition from and to are shown below. You may be surprised to see lying spinal twists, arm balances and even standing postures below. It is actually quite easy to enter these yoga postures from Cobra pose.

Yoga Teacher Tips
Be slow to introduce a deep Cobra posture in class. The spine needs to warm up first. Recommend a light Cobra for the first few Sun Salutations and encourage a deeper posture when the spine is ready.