The Cobra Pose (bhujangasana in Sanskrit) is a great and easy way to stretch the back. It can be astonishingly energizing!
(Warning: DO NOT perform the Cobra pose if you are pregnant, suffer from hernias, or have injured your back. Stay safe!)
Do this in easy stages:
1. Lie facedown on the ground, legs tightly together and stretched back unbent. Your forehead should be on the ground. Put your hands on the ground, palms down, and place them just under your shoulders.
2. Breathe in and raise your head, pressing your neck backwards. Now use your hands to push the trunk of your body up until you’re bending in a beautiful arc from your lower spine to the back of your neck.
You need go no further than this. However, if you’re supple enough, you can now straighten your arms completely, bend the legs at the knees and drop your head back to touch your feet.
3. Even if your head goes nowhere near your feet, drop it back as much as possible and hold the posture with deep breathing.
4. Come out of the posture very slowly, returning to the face prone posture. Relax with your head turned to one side and resting on the ground. Repeat.
(Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautions before following any of the asanas/poses from this article and this site. To avoid any problems while doing the asanas, it is advised that you consult both a doctor and a yoga instructor. The responsibility for performing the asanas correctly and protecting their health lies solely with the reader, and not with this site or this site’s writer!)
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Francesca De Souza
Yoga-Tips.Teauta.com
