The cobra pose
Question:
“I have a question about a pose: the Cobra, I thought until now, through my modest practice of yoga here and there, that it had to be done with the arms straight, by lifting the whole back and chest. In your videos, only the chest goes up, and the arms are bent. Which one is correct? Is the first a deepening of the second pose?
Thank you for your reply.”
Answer:
There are many variations of the Cobra Pose. There is also a pose, that looks like the cobra pose, but is actually another pose called The Upward Facing Dog.
When practising the cobra pose, it is really important that your legs and core are strong. When they are active it is easier to concentrate on the spine. You want to lengthen the spine forward, bring the thoracic spine in, push the sternum forward and roll the shoulders back. If you can do this with the back muscles while keeping the core strong, you can start to straighten your arms. The main concern is that you don’t just push yourself up with the strength of the arms, because this causes too much strain for the lower back.
So, in the cobra pose, you want to activate the legs and the core, you want to lengthen the spine forward and keep the shoulders back, and with the strength from the legs and the core you lift your torso upwards, like a cobra, keeping the lower back free. Of course you also use your arms, but just to help the legs and the core a little. In the beginning it is actually better not to lift the upper body so high, but to concentrate on the legs, core and the spine.
The cobra pose
The difference between the cobra pose and the upward facing dog, is, that in the updog, your thighs and pelvis are not touching the floor anymore and your arms are fully straightened. Otherwise the same principles apply here as in the cobra pose.
We hope, we could help you. If you have any other questions, please, free feel to contact us. We are happy to help as much as we can!
Thank you for practicing with Gotta Joga!
The Gotta Joga team