The cobra pose is superb for enhancing the flexibility of the spine
Above, my business associate, E.G., performs a more common variation of the cobra
The September 2013 issue of the Yoga Journal includes an article that explains 21 ways that yoga can improve your health. Of those 21 ways, I have especially noticed and enjoyed increased flexibility in my spine. On occasion when I have slept in an odd position or have sat in an airplane for hours and become stiff in my spine and lower back, the cobra pose has come to my rescue.
The Yoga Journal article shares the research results of a group of Taiwanese researchers who "scanned the vertebral disks of a group of yoga teachers and compare them with scans of healthy, similar-aged volunteers." The researchers found that the yoga teachers' disks seemed to have less degeneration in their disks than is typical for their age.
Furthermore, the researchers speculated that the yoga instructors' spinal disks were in better shape because of the way the spinal disks are nourished and yoga's impact on them. Apparently, "nutrients migrate from blood vessels through the tough outer layer of the disk; bending and flexing may help push more nutrients through this outer layer and into the disks, keeping them healthier."
Fascinating!
The cobra pose is one of my favorites for keeping my spine flexible. When I have become stiff and done the cobra pose very gently and carefully, I have felt and heard my vertebrae "pop" back into their proper place.
Instructions for the cobra follow below.
Cobra (Sanskrit name is Bhujangasana—boo-jang-GAHS-anna, bhujanga means serpent)
Type of yoga pose: Active, prone backbend
Body parts targeted: Upper back, neck, shoulders, upper arms, spine, buttocks
How to do the pose:
- Lie on your stomach with your face and forehead down on your mat with your hands at your sides, palms up, and your head resting on one cheek. Allow your body to relax. Your legs and feet should be together.
- Gently raise your head so your chin is resting on the mat.
3. Slowly raise your eyes to the top of their sockets. Inhale as you raise your head and back.
4. When you can raise your head no further, continue raising your truck up off the mat with the top of your chest leaving the floor first until you can lift your trunk no further using your back muscles alone.
5. Bring your arms slowly forward and place your hands, with your fingers pointing toward each other about six inches apart, under your chin.
6. Aided only slightly by your arms, continue to lift your trunk (breathing in and out deeply as feels natural to you), bending your spine upward and back like a snake, vertebra by vertebra, until you can go no further without straining.
7. When you have reached your farthest point of flexibility (keeping the lower half of you body on the mat from navel downward), hold the pose motionless for 5- 10 seconds (whatever length of time is comfortable for you). Keep inhaling and exhaling in a smooth, even rhythm.
8. Come down out of the pose by bending your arms slowly at the elbows and allowing your trunk to descend one inch at a time. In succession, return your abdomen, middle chest, and finally, upper chest to the mat. Keep your head up until your entire chest has returned to the mat.
9. When you can support your upper body without your arms, bring your arms back to their original position at your sides.
10. Lower your head and then your eyes until your forehead is once again face down on the mat.
11. Turn your face onto your cheek and let your body become limp. Breathe easily and rest a few moments before repeating the pose or going on to another pose.
Practice time: Start with 5-10 seconds and increase by a few seconds each week until you feel comfortable holding the pose for 25-45 seconds.
Number of repetitions: 1-2
Key benefits from this pose:
- Removes tension from your back, spine, and shoulders.
- Stretches and adjusts every vertebra of the spine from the neck to the base of the spine and restores youthful flexibility.
- Strengthens and increases flexibility in the upper back and shoulders.
- Develops the muscles of the chest and bust.
- Firms and streamlines buttocks.
- Revitalizes and awakens entire body.
- Enhances libido by massaging the sex, thymus, and thyroid glands.
My special hints for this pose:
The cobra is not a pushup and therefore your groin does not leave the ground (at least the way I do it!). Do this pose in slow motion. Take at least 10-15 seconds to raise your head and trunk off the mat to enter the pose and do this sequence just as slowly in reverse to exit the pose.
Keep your heels together while holding the pose for maximum effectiveness. Go up only as far as is comfortable. Be patient—it may take you some time to master this pose. But, no worries, you will still benefit whether you can stretch a little or much more.
Your heart may pound for a few moments after completing this pose. That’s because you are lifting a bit of your body weight while engaged in it. I also often do the lion pose (facial stretch) or eye movements while doing the cobra.
Yours for keeping a flexible spine with yoga and especially the cobra pose,
Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach
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