Cobra Pose

How to do Cobra Pose

1. 1Lie flat on your belly with your legs extended straight behind you, tops of your feet pressing firmly into the mat.
2. 2Place your palms flat on the floor underneath your shoulders, hugging your elbows close into the sides of your ribcage.
3. 3Anchor your pubic bone, thighs, and all ten toenails into the ground to stabilize your lower body.
4. 4Inhale as you gently peel your chest, shoulders, and head off the mat, using your back muscles rather than pushing through your hands.
5. 5Roll your shoulder blades down your back and broaden across your collarbones while keeping a soft bend in your elbows.
6. 6Keep your gaze softly forward or slightly down to maintain a long, neutral back of the neck.
7. 7Hold for several steady breaths, feeling your breath expand through the front of your torso.
8. 8Exhale slowly to lower your chest and forehead back down to the floor.

Benefits

• Strengthens the spinal extensors and upper back musculature
• Stretches the chest, anterior shoulders, and abdomen
• Promotes healthy extension throughout the thoracic spine
• Tones the gluteal muscles and hamstrings
• Enhances postural awareness and opens the respiratory cavity

Common mistakes and cues

• Jamming the lower back

  Distribute the arch evenly throughout the entire spine by engaging the core and lifting from the upper back.

• Pushing excessively into hands

  Keep minimal weight in your palms to ensure your spinal muscles are actively doing the lifting.

• Shrugging shoulders into ears

  Actively draw your shoulder blades down and back to keep space around the neck.

• Cranking the neck upward

  Maintain the natural curve of your cervical spine by gazing just a few feet in front of your mat.

• Splaying the elbows outward

  Hug your elbows in toward your ribs to stabilize your shoulder joints.

Modifications and props

• Baby Cobra

  Lift your chest only a few inches off the floor with your hands hovering to focus entirely on back strength.

• Sphinx Pose

  Place your forearms flat on the floor under your shoulders to reduce load on the wrists and lower back.

• Wider leg stance

  Separate your feet to mat-width apart to create more space in the sacrum and lower back.

• Rolled blanket under hips

  Place a folded blanket beneath your pelvis to cushion sensitive hip bones against a firm floor.

Cautions

• Wrist sensitivity

  Avoid pressing heavily into your palms or switch to Sphinx Pose on your forearms.

• Acute lower back injury

  Skip deep back extension and stick to gentle, neutral core activation.

• Pregnancy

  Avoid prone postures on the belly after the first trimester, opting for seated or kneeling chest openers instead.

If you are working with an injury, pregnancy or a medical condition, check with a qualified professional before practising this pose.

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