Cobra Pose

How to Do Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) in Yoga

Cobra is most often done as part of a Sun Salutation. It's the alternative to Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana) in the Vinyasa sequence for beginners. But it is also a powerful backbend in its own right, so it's worth taking some time to work on this pose in isolation.

Cobra done with the arms bent is sometimes called Baby Cobra. If you straighten your arms, that's Full Cobra, but don't be in a hurry to graduate to this.

Benefits

Cobra Pose increases the mobility of the spine, strengthens spinal support muscles, and can help relieve back pain. It opens the chest and the front of the body.

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you're in the middle of a Sun Salutation, you'll be coming into Cobra from Knees, Chest, and Chin. If not, you can begin by lying down flat on your stomach.

1. Place your palms flat on the ground directly under your shoulders. Bend your elbows straight back and hug them into your sides.
2. Pause for a moment looking straight down at your mat with your neck in a neutral position. Anchor your pubic bone to the floor.
3. Inhale to lift your chest off the floor. Roll your shoulders back and keep your low ribs on the floor. Make sure your elbows continue hugging your sides. Don't let them wing out to either side.
4. Keep your neck neutral. Don’t crank it up. Your gaze should stay on the floor.

Exhale to release back to the floor (or push back to Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana, if you are doing a Sun Salutation).

Common Mistakes

Keeping your hands aligned underneath your shoulders is important. If your hands are too far away from your body, the resulting angle will bring your shoulders up by your ears.

Also be sure not to straighten your arms so much that your elbows are locked. Feel free to slightly bend the elbows or keep the arms at 90 degrees. Elbows should be pointed backward and not out to your sides. This is a move that relies on your back muscles, not your arm muscles.

The lower back is often more flexible than the upper back, so you might end up with more flex in that area. Aim to keep the curve even for the whole back.

Don't overextend your neck backward. While it will be arched, it should be in a natural extension of the upper spine.

Safety and Precautions

Cobra Pose should not be done if you have carpal tunnel syndrome or an injury to your back, arms, or shoulders. Also, avoid it if you recently had abdominal surgery or are pregnant.

If you feel any strain on your lower back, relax the pose to lower yourself a bit, or release down to rest on your forearms.

Warrior Pose yoga

                               Warrior Pose

How to do Warrior Pose (Veerabhadrasana)

Veerabhadrasana or Virabhadrasana is one of the most graceful yoga postures and it adds beauty and grace to one’s yoga practice.

• 1. Stand straight with your legs wide apart by a distance of
    at least 3-4 feet.
• 2. Turn your right foot out by 90 degrees and left foot in by
     about 15 degrees.
• 3. Checkpoint: Is the heel of the right foot aligned to the
      center of the left foot?
• 4. Lift both arms sideways to shoulder height with your
     palms facing upwards.
• 5. Checkpoint: Are your arms parallel to the ground?
•     Breathing out, bend your right knee.
• 6. Checkpoint: Are your right knee and right ankle forming
      a straight line? Ensure that your knee does not overshoot the ankle.
• 7. Turn your head and look to your right.
• 8. As you settle down in the yoga posture stretch your arms further.
• 9.  Make a gentle effort to push your pelvis down. Hold the yoga posture with the                 determination of a warrior. Smile like a happy smiling warrior. Keep breathing as you 
•   go down.
• 10. Breathing in, come up.
• 11. Breathing out, bring your hands down from the sides.
• 12. Repeat the yoga posture for the left side (turn your left foot out by 90 degrees and turn the right foot in by about 15 degrees).

 

Benefits of the Warrior Pose (Virabhadrasana)

• 1. Strengthens and tones the arms, legs and lower back.
• 2. Improves balance in the body, helps increase stamina.
• 3. Beneficial for those with sedentary or deskbound jobs.
• 4. Extremely beneficial in case of frozen shoulders.
• 5. Releases stress in the shoulders very effectively in a short span of time.
• 6. Brings auspiciousness, courage, grace and peace.
• 
  

Contraindications and Cautions

• High blood pressure
• Heart problems
• Students with shoulder problems should keep their raised arms parallel (or slightly wider than parallel) to each other.
• Students with neck problems should keep their head in a neutral position and not look up at the hands.

Bound Angle Pose

 

Bound Angle Pose

How to Do Bound Angle Pose in Yoga

Bound Angle Pose is a well-known seated yoga posture that opens the hips and groins. It is also sometimes called “Cobbler’s Pose,” after the way cobblers in India sit on the ground to work on footwear. The Sanskrit name for this pose — “Baddha Konasana (BAH-duh cone-AHS-uh-nuh)” — comes from three words:

• “Baddha” — meaning “bound”
• “Kona” — meaning “angle”
• “Asana” — meaning “pose”

Instructions

1. Begin seated in Staff Pose (Dandasana) with your spine straight and your legs extended in front of you on the mat. Rest your arms at your sides with your palms on the mat.
2. Bend your knees and draw your heels in toward your pelvis. Press the soles of your feet together and let your knees drop open to both sides. It’s important to allow your knees to drop open only as far as they will go — never press on your knees in this pose!
3. Clasp your big toes with your first two fingers. Press the outer edges of your feet firmly together, and also press them firmly into the floor.
4. Sit up straight. Extend through the length of your entire spine through the crown of your head.
5. Gaze softly straight ahead, or at the tip of your nose.
6. Hold the pose for up to five minutes. To release the pose, first release the clasp from your toes. Then, gently lift your knees and extend your legs once again along the floor in Staff Pose (Dandasana).

Tips

Practicing Bound Angle Pose can be a great way to counteract poor posture and tight hips after a long day of sitting or traveling. Keep the following information in mind when practicing this pose:

• Never press on your knees in this pose! Doing so can cause injury to your groin and knees. Instead, let the heads of your thigh bones (the part of the bone that connects in the hip socket) release toward the floor.
• Avoid jerking, pulling, pushing, or forcing any movement in this pose. Let your movements be slow and smooth.
• Do not “flutter” your knees like a butterfly.
• Keep your pelvis in a neutral position, balancing equally on both sit bones. To find this neutral position, rock forward and back and shift your hips side to side when you are in the pose. When you are neutral, your pubic bone and tailbone should both be the same distance from the floor, and both sit bones should have an even distribution of weight.
• If you are folding forward, imagine that you are drawing your chest toward your toes, instead of your forehead to your heels. The aim of the forward fold is to keep the front of the torso and the spine long — not rounded.

Cautions

Avoid practicing this pose if you have a groin or knee injury. If your hips are very tight, it might be difficult to open your thighs and/or to press your feet together. Never force the pose. Instead, practice a modified version until your flexibility increases (see Modifications & Variations, below). Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor before practicing yoga.