On an inhale move into cow pose by arching your back and allowing your belly to sink to the floor.
To get into cobra pose lie prone on the floor.
Lie prone on the floor stretch your legs back with the tops of the feet on the floor.
In bhujangasana your spine is extended as in all prone backward bending poses the elbows are slightly flexed and the forearms pronated.
Return to lying prone on your belly but with your chest propped up by your elbows.
By using the cobra pose in conjunction with other back related yoga poses a practitioner can develop the ability to maintain correct body posture and improve back strength.
How to perform the cobra pose.
Begin in prone position on the floor with legs together and feet pointed.
Lie prone on the floor.
Press the tops of the feet and thighs and the pubis firmly into the floor.
Set up a chair against a wall and have a bolster or a pillow on the mat for supporting the abdomen as you lift up in the backbend.
Its name comes from the sanskrit words bhujanga and asana meaning serpent and pose respectively.
See also using cobra pose for safe stretching.
Cobra pose bhujangasana.
They get stretched as you move into the backbend and contracted as you control the movement and return to your starting point.
Spread your hands on the floor under your shoulders.
Cobra is an essential element of sun salutations and is an alternative to practicing upward facing dog urdhva mukha svanasana in the sun.
Begin by lying prone on the floor with your big toes touching.
Hug the elbows back into your body.
Pull up the knee caps squeeze the thighs and buttocks engage mula bandha and press the pubic bone down into the floor.
But the pose is also a powerful way to tone the abdominal muscles.
Activate the backs of your legs and your spinal erectors.
On an exhale move into cat pose by rounding your spine and tucking your chin to your chest.
Place your forearms on the chair bend your elbows and press your palms together.
What is your body doing in cobra pose.
Cobra and upward dog semi prone backbends.
Stretch your legs back tops of the feet on the floor.
Lie on your belly with the chin on the floor palms flat on the floor under the shoulders and legs together.
Try to spread your shoulder blades to prevent winged scapulae.
The backbending action is powered by the muscles of the back of the body.
What are the joints doing.
In your lower limbs the sacroiliac joint moves into counternutation so that the top of the sacrum tips backward and bottom tips forward the hip is extended and adducted.
Strength and flexibility are important components of a healthy back.
Cobra will invigorate you energetically as well.