Level 5, Moderate Level of Difficulty. The Cobra is a classic yoga pose that energizes! It loosens your spine and strengthens your core. It's closely related to the Upward Dog, which loosens the spine, abs and shoulders while strengthening the arms and which is a standard movement in the Sun Salutation. This posture page gives instruction on the Cobra and some of the differences between this pose and the Upward Dog. |
| | | | Start - Setting Up Correct Allignment | | Lying face down. Arms by your sides. Ideally your forehead is on the floor. Or, rest your chin on the floor instead, if that is you only way to get comfortable. |  | | Tip Don't twist your head to the side. That twists your spine. You won't get the benefits of the pose, won't get as far, and are more likely to injure yourself. | Making It Easier You might breathe better and might be more comfortable if you put a folded towel under your forehead and take off your glasses |
| | Elongate Your Spine | See our Clever Yoga Tricks on the Elongation of the Spine for more details on this concept. | | Once you are lying down with your arms by your sides: Stretch your heels away from your hips. Then let them drop and relax. |  |  | Lift your head and chest off the floor and move them slightly away from your hips. Feel your stomach stretching. Then lower your upper body back down to the floor. | | These two movements lengthen your spine. (They help the vertebrae separate a little from each other.) They will make your spine more flexible and will keep pressure off your lower back. You'll get farther into the cobra before your spine and back stop you. |
| Saftey Tip:
Now, swivel your lower groin in toward the floor, as if you're doing a Pelvic Tilt. This will take strain off your lower back as you do the cobra and give you better extension. |  | Step 1
Sweep your hands along the floor, over head, like you're making a snow angel. |  | | Then slowly sweep your hands down to rest under your collar bones. Hands point toward each other but not touching. |  | | (Having your hands point toward each other separates your shoulder blades and makes your spine even more flexible.) | | After you settle into this starting position, take a few breaths to feel your body sinking into the floor. Especially feel your head and shoulders letting go as you breathe out. |
| | Going into the Pose | | The lift starts from your head and spreads down your spine. It's all done with the body and is not assisted by hands or arms. Your hands and arms are simply there to steady you. Don't push with them. |  | - Look up.
- Lift your head and chin upward. (Stretch your chin wayyyy up.)
| | Safety Tip Don't lift your head and neck so much that you feel pain in your neck. |  | Start lifting your body up off the floor. Shoulders come up first | | Stop before you feel pressure in your lower back. |  | - Keep lifting upward using your abdominals and back muscles. The movement is one vertebrae at a time.
- Hips stay on the floor.
| Tips for Excellence
Think of the movement this way: | - You are stretching your upper body forward, up and back.
- Feel your stomach stretching up and back, more and more, as you lift your body up.
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| Final Detail
If Your Back is Strong | | Arch your spine even more by stretching you belly more into the floor, even while it is stretching forward. This counter-action produces more of the bowing in the spine. |  | When you do this, don't lose the height you've reached. |
| Tip
Let the pose go before your muscles begin to shake!
Don't hold the pose so long that your muscles begin to hurt or so long that you can't let it go smoothly and slowly. The benefits of this pose come from moving into and out of the pose with slow control. The Difference between the Cobra and the Upward Dog is in how much you use your arms and how much of your body lifts into the arching movement. In the Upward Dog, you can rely in your arms to stretch you up and back. In the Cobra, your arms are simply there to steady you, there is practically no weight on them - it's all done using the abs and back. So, you'll get more spine flexing and get higher with the Upward Dog, and the Cobra will give you a stronger ab. work out. The Cobra is harder on your lower back, so it's good to use the Upward Dog to build up strength and flexibility there until you're ready for a more demanding workout. However, the Upward Dog gives you more extension and more of a spine stretch. It also engages the lower body and legs. See our Upward Dog pages for detailed instructions on that pose. | | Breathing |  |  | | Breathe in as you go into the pose. | Breathe out as you release the pose. | | Finish breathing out as you feel your weight sink into the floor. |
| Suggested Breathing Themes
To Build Shoulder Strength: Use Breathing Theme 4 - Exploring the Edge.
To Loosen Your Spine: Use Breathing Theme 11 - Moving with the Breath | | Making it Easier | If you have lower back pain or your shoulders or neck resist the pose.
Do a light lift of your neck and shoulders. |  |
| | Common Errors | The key to the Cobra is keeping your spine fully elongated throughout the entire pose, including during the twists. Slouching makes it harder to stretch up and back, it makes it harder to twist and puts a feeling of pressure on your lower back. | | Slouching during the basic Cobra puts pressure on your lower back and shoulders. | 
Slouching during the basic Cobra | If you are in the basic Cobra and you are feeling pressure in your lower back, try stretching your body up, away from your hips, as if your tummy is stretching. | 
Elongating by stretching up & forward |
| The Cobra as part of the Sun Salutation
Click here if you'd like to see details on how to properly include the Cobra in your Sun Salutation. | | | | Do this posture at: | | Red Level | Do the steps and enjoy a good stretch | | Orange Level | Do each pose using the Orange Level procedure.
OR for a simpler Orange Level routine:
Pay close attention to breathing in and out at the right time when doing each posture. | | Yellow Level | Match movements with the breath
For each step of going into and out of the pose:
Start the movement and the breath at the same time
Pace them together
End the movement and breath at the same time |
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