8/13/2019 23 Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana.doc

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23 Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana

This pose is one of the classics.

1 Lie facedown on the floor with your hands alongside the chest in a push-up position.

2 There are three standard hand placements for Cobra. The first placement, and most

difficult, is with your hands by your lower ribs so your forearms are vertical and the

wrists form a right angle with the floor. The second placement (shown in photo 128) is

with your hands farther forward, fingertips in line with the top of the shoulders. ost

people start the pose here. The third standard hand placement is with your hands even

farther forward so that both forearms are flat on the floor. The farther forward your

hands are, the easier the pose will be! the farther bac" they are, the deeper the stretch.

Try each of these, sense the differences, and determine which is right for you. #n each of

these variations, spread your fingers fully and have the middle fingers pointing straight

ahead.

$ %lign your center first& 'ull the abdominal muscles inward, contract the buttoc"s, and

press your hips and pubis into the floor. o this firmly, but not ecessively. This initial

action lengthens your lower bac" and aligns your pelvis in cat tilt. Then create a line of

energy down the legs line pressing the tops of your feet firmly into the floor, tightening

the thighs, and stretching straight bac"ward through your legs and feet. *oll the

shoulders up, away from the floor, and be on your forehead. +cept for the hand

placement, this initial alignment is similar to the starting position for halabhasana,

-ocust 'ose.

The tendency here is for the shoulders to roll down toward the floor and the elbows tosplay outward. #nstead, move the elbows inward toward one another so the shoulders

roll up away from the floor, and shrug the shoulders bac"ward, away from the ears,

toward the elbows. This action will open your chest, lengthen the bac" of your nec", and

ma"e your upper arms parallel with one another. /ou0ll feel the s"in on the bac" of your

upper arms moving toward the elbows. ustain this action throughout the pose and

continue hugging inward with the elbows. nuggle your palms into the floor.

+stablish a smooth flowing breath and wait for the inner cue to begin before proceeding.

hen you are ready, ehale.

T%3+ 45+

6 As you inhale, raise your torso away from the floor. As you exhale, come down. 3o

up and down slowly, coordinating the movement with your breathing. o this at least

five times.

7 %syou go up and down, do not use your arm strength. This will force your bac" to wor"

and thereby develop tremendous spinal strength, one of the main benefits of this pose.

*etain the alignment of your shoulders and arms, however. ug inward with your

elbows and continue shrugging the shoulders away from your ears. This will protect

your nec" and spine and help "eep your chest epanded.

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8 9e especially attentive to slide your shoulder blades downyour bac" and to contract your

upper bac" muscles as your torso leaves the floor. oing this will help bring the curve

into your upper bac", out of the lumbar, thereby evenly spreading the curve through your

entire spine. 9e aware also to "eep the bac" of your nec" long and your ga:e toward the

floor. o not retract your head bac"ward into the nec" by loo"ing forward. -and lightly

on your forehead when you come down.

!A"# !$%; &nhale and come up as far as you comfortably can without using your hands. Chec"

your alignment. 9reathe smoothly.

1< Cur'e deeper into the pose. -ift your torso farther away from the floor by gently

pressing your palms down. /ou are now using your arm strength, and this is fine, =ust

minimi:e it. +ercise your bac".

11 Come up slowly, a little at a time. o not rush to your deepest etension, and do not

press your arms fully straight yet. 'roceed slowly. ait for your body to let you in.

%nd as a general rule, until you become more s"illed, do not let your navel leave the

floor. This restriction will help insure correct alignment, safe performance of the pose,

and ma"e your bac" strong and fleible.

12 'ress gently into your edges and tight areas. 9ecome rounder and rounder. o this by

again snuggling your palms into the floor and then gently, firmlypullingwith your

hands. 'ull as though you were attempting to slide the floor bac"ward underneath you,

but do not actually move your hands. 'ull with your hands, curve your head and loo"

upward, and press your chestforwardthrough the shoulders. oing this will not cause

you to come farther up into the pose, but it will tighten the curve where you already are.ove the thoracic spine, behind your heart, deep into your bac".

1$ 5otice how the ape of the curve moves down your bac" as you move deeper into the

pose& upper bac", middle bac", lumbar. %llow this to happen. #t0s natural. 9ut once

you0re in the pose, and especially when you are pulling with your hands, try to bring the

ape of the curveupyour bac" again. pread the curve evenly throughout the full length

of your spine by epanding your chest forward through the shoulders.

1 +perience yourself as a strong arc of curving energy. Climb into the curve, etend and

tighten the curve, and follow the energy flow deeper into the pose. 3et round. %lso be

as effortless and strain>free as possible. avor the stretch.

1 +ventually you can go ahead and press your arms fully straight, if you can "eep the

shoulders down while doing so! otherwise, "eep them bent. #f you cannot "eep your

shoulders down as you straighten the arms, then you0ve gone too far?in which case,

bend your arms and bac" out of the pose a little. The idea here is not to @straighten the

arms.A The idea is to strengthen your bac" and curve the spine evenly.

16 9ring your head to normal alignment at any time.

17 ometimes breathe deeply, other times softly, and always generate the perfect degree of

intensity and current throughout the pose?not too much, not too little. #t0s sub=ective.tay with your now> eperience to "now what0s right.

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18 #f you choose too have your eyes open, turn them upward and ga:e through your

eyebrows so the energy through your eyes pulls you deeper into the stretch. #t you have

your eyes closed, stretch mentally in that direction.

1; tay as long or as little as you want, somewhere between fifteen seconds and two or threeminutes. ome of the time curve your head bac"ward, and some of the time bring it too

normal alignment. Then you sense its nearly time to come out of the pose, curve your

head bac"ward (or not) and accelerate your energy or a few seconds. 3o faster. This

feels fabulous. Then release the pose.

2< Come down slowly. Beep your elbows inward toward your body and land lightly on

your forehead. +ven here, though, come down slowly, incrementally, not all at once. o

not be in a rush to get out of the pose. Come down a little, stop, and thenpullwith your

hands for a few seconds to intensify the curve. Then roll down a little father, stop, and

again pull with your hands to intensify the curve. The ape of the curve is moving up

your bac" as you approach the floor. Ta"e your time. 'ress into as many different areasas you can to eercise the full length of your spine.

21 *epeat the posed two or three times, then turned your head to the side and rela. +n=oy

the way you feel.

(enefits) Cobra pose or (hu*angasana

Tremendous chest opener. #ncreases strength and fleibility of spine, arms, bac". 9rea"s up

tension in bac", shoulders, nec". timulates thyroid, "idneys, adrenals. #mproves digestion,

elimination, reproduction, lung capacity. afe precursor to other, more strenuous bac"bends.