This pose represents a serpent when its hood is raised, hence the name Cobra asana or Bhujangasana. The name of this pose comes from a Sanskrit work bhujanga which means 'snake' or 'serpent'. It is very beneficial for spine, chest, shoulders and abdomen and can be done by all under the supervision of a professional.
Follow the steps to perform this asana -
Lie on the floor with your stomach and the toes flat and allow the forehead to rest on the ground.
Now bring your legs close together and allow your feet and heels to lightly touch each other.
Now place your hands, keeping your palm downwards, under your shoulder and then keep your elbows parallel and close to your torso.
Now pull your torso back and off the floor with the support of your hands.
While doing all this ensure that you are putting equal pressure on both your palms and not over stressing only one of them.
Keep breathing and be alert and aware. Curve your spine vertebra by vertebra. If possible straighten your arms by arching your back as much as possible and tilt your head back and look up.
While doing this ensure that your shoulders are away from your ears. Keep your shoulders relaxed even if you have to bend your elbows for it. As you practice regularly you will be able to deepen the stretch by straightening the elbows.
Keep your feet close together and keep breathing. Smile as it will increase the benefits.
Be careful not to overstretch yourself to put unnecessary strain on your body.
Now to end this, breathe out and gently bring your abdomen, chest and head back to the floor.
You can hold on to this pose for 15 seconds in the beginning and then slowly increase it upto 2 minutes later.
The main anatomical focus of this pose is for the upper back. It helps to relax and strengthen the muscles of this part of the body and frees it of any kind of ailments related to it.
The main therapeutic applications of this asana is to help one deal with stress. It helps to release stress and makes one tension free.
There are several benefits of this asana. Some of them are as follows -
It helps to strengthen the spines and makes it stronger.
It helps to stretch the chest and lungs, shoulders and abdomen and makes them healthy and strong.
It firms the buttocks and makes them stronger.
It stimulates the abdominal organs and helps in digestion.
It is also a great stress reliever and helps to overcome fatigue.
It helps to open up the heart and the lungs.
It is also helpful in soothing sciatica.
It has therapeutic effect for asthma.
It is also believed to have power to increase the body heat, destroying diseases and awakening the kundalini.
It makes the muscles of the upper back strong and flexible.
It helps to remove rounded shoulders.
For women it helps to relieve menstrual problems.
It helps to improve concentration.
This is a very beneficial pose but it also has certain negative aspects, especially if performed at the wrong time. One should avoid this pose if they have a back injury, carpal tunnel syndrome or headache. it is also not a very beneficial pose for pregnant women. Before performing any pose of yoga it is always advisable to consult a trained and experienced yoga trainer.
Initially for the beginners it is always best to avoid overdoing the backend. To avoid overstraining the back and ensure that you are comfortable with the pose, find a height that you can easily adjust to and take your hands off the floor for a moment, so that the height you find will be through extension.
Avoid doing this pose on the floor if you are very stiff. Use a metal folding chair against the wall and do the pose with your hands on the front edge of the seat, balls of the feet on the floor.
A partner can be quite helpful while doing this pose, especially they can help you learn about the corrent action of the pelvis in a backend. Have your partner straddle your legs once you are in the pose. Make them bend over and grip the sides of your pelvis, thumbs toward the sacrum and then spread the back of your pelvis, encouraging your outer hips to soften and push your hip points toward each other.
You can try out a few preparatory poses before trying out this pose like the Sety Bandha Sarvangasana and Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.
You can follow up this pose with simple backbends.
You can deepen this pose if you have flexibility in the armpits, chest and groins by moving into a deeper backbend. You can walk the hands a little farther forward and straighten your elbows, turning the arms outward. Lift the top of the sternum straight toward the ceiling.