How to Do Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Hey yogi.! Tempted to learn cobra pose in yoga? In this blog post, I will walk you through step by step guide, benefits, and contradictions of the Cobra pose.

After reading this guide you will be able to perform the cobra pose.

What is Cobra Pose?

Cobra pose is a posture that replicates the nature of King Cobra Snake. It is a back-bending posture, introduced to increase the strength of the arms, back, and neck. This pose is also known as ‘Bhujangasana’. The Sanskrit word ‘Bhujangasana’ is formed by the combination of the words ‘Bhujang’, meaning snake, and ‘asana’ meaning posture.

You are required to master this pose to learn sun salutations.

Name of the pose	Cobra Pose (Bhu-jan-ga-sana)
Difficulty Level	Beginner
Prerequisites	None

Step-by-Step Guide to Cobra Pose

Cobra pose should be performed under the mentorship of a yoga instructor or you can follow the youtube video aid provided under this guide.

1. Lie down on your belly on a yoga mat, and spread your legs to have some distance in between them.
2. Put the right-hand palm and left-hand palm above one another facing downward on the ground just below your head.
3. Now rest your forehead on a stack of palms formed. Calm your body and clear your mind of any thoughts.
4. Now bring your spread legs together with toes touching the ground and sole facing upwards. Make sure the inner parts of the legs are touching each other.
5. Stretch your arms in front of you, with your palms touching the ground. Hands should be parallel to each other.
6. Rest your forehead on the ground.
7. Place your palms close to the chest ribs, with elbows raising upwards
8. Now take a deep breath in, and lift your upper body up to the naval area with help of hands placed near the chest. Try to look at the sky by raising your head from the neck, just like a cobra snake. Make sure elbows are in line with your body and all weight of your upper body is evenly distributed on the shoulder and abdominal muscles.
9. Make sure the body parts below the naval should be touching the ground. Toes, and knees should also be grounded.
10. Now hold this position and continue normal breathing. Focus on the flow of breath through the body.
11. Continue holding this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute. While exhaling lower your body to the ground, the forehead should also be touching the ground.
12. Repeat this asana for 5 to 10 sets.

Benefits of Cobra Pose

• Helps to relieve back pain – Try out this pose when your back hurts due to office seating or travel
• Helpful in weight loss – By stretching abdominal muscles and waist area, this pose helps in burning body fat around the tummy.
• Relieves neck Pain – Neck pain caused by sitting long on the chair is relieved by this pose.
• Brings strength to muscles – Lower back muscles and upper body muscles are stretched in this pose, hence providing strength to them.
• Helps in relieving stress from work.

Saftey and Precautions

While performing cobra pose if you feel immense pressure on waist or back try to lower upper body by a bit.

If you have suffered any back injury or undergone hernia, knee surgery, do this pose only under instructions of yoga teacher. Pregenant woman should avoid performing cobra pose.

Conclusion

I always include cobra pose in my morning yoga routine. It helps me feel rejuveneted. This pose is considered as best remedial pose for back and neck pain. Performing it regularly can help you overcome problem of obesity, migraine and helps in reducing stress. Whenver you feel bit low on energy after office work, give it a try. You will see it’s effect immediately.

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