My New Approach to the Cobra Pose

Many years ago, when I was first learnt the Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), I received a set of instructions very similar to those given by the "Yoga Journal" website: “Straighten the arms to lift the chest off the floor, going only to the height at which you can maintain a connection through your pubis to your legs”. I was quite flexible at the time and I thought I was doing this posture quite well,  following my yoga teacher's instructions to the letter.

Fast forward twenty years and three yoga teachers later. One important thing I have learned in all this time is that  approaches to yoga vary hugely from teacher to teacher, even staying within the Hatha Yoga domain. After relocating and becoming unable to attend the classes of my very first yoga teacher, I found it difficult to warm up to different teachers and different styles. But at some point I realised that listening to different points of view was useful. And that comparing approaches and making up my own mind about the best or most useful way to execute a posture was after all a good thing.

The Cobra pose is a good example of questioning and re-learning. The first piece of information that made me question my Cobra execution is in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga" by Joan Budilovsky and Eve Adamson. They make the point that a snake doesn't have arms, so “you shouldn’t rely on your arms for this pose”. The following image is the illustration of Bhujangasana featured in this book:




Compare this with the Yoga Journal photo, and you will notice straight away that the arms are bent and the arching of the back is nowhere as impressive. And no, this is definitely not because we are looking at a beginners' book. One of the instructions given by Joan Budilovsky says: “your heels and toes are together”. If you try the posture this way, you will find  that keeping the feet and legs together seriously limits the arching of your back. Maybe this is not the pose you want to show in the photo that could prove to the world what an accomplished yogi you are. But the point is this: Joan Budilovsky's version of the posture is the one that really works the back muscles. As the authors point out, Bhujagasana is about “allowing the strength of the spine to move you”.

Joan Budilovsky is not the only one to take this view. Check out this website - Advaita Yoga Ashrama written by Swami Atma and you will find a very similar approach to this asana.

My own conclusion about the Cobra is that the version described by the "Yoga Journal" is about spine flexibility - the arms carry the weight and the back lets itself be bent as much as the flexibility of your spine will allow it. But if you want to strengthen your back muscles through Cobra, then you should follow the advice of Joan Budilovsky and Swami Atma.

Breathing Through Bending Poses – A Very Useful Tip

This is gem I picked up from one of my yoga teachers over the years. I've not heard it talked of anywhere else. Even this one teacher mentioned it just once, in passing. I think it is a brilliant idea and it  deservers to be better known and put to use.

I find it useful for developing all bending poses, backwards or forwards, seated or standing. And it is wonderfully simple:

1. Elongate the spine on the in-breath
2. Deepen the bend on the out-breadth

These are a few advantages of this technique:

• It helps me keep my body relaxed and fluid while working though poses.
• It keeps the breathing deep and easy – holding the pose no longer risks to strain the breathing. Instead, the breading becomes a tool for developing the pose.
• It focuses the mind on one point – the breathing, and really helps me fend off  stray thought about work deadlines and everything else I really don't need to think about during my yoga practice.
• I don't need to worry about how far I'm able to bend when I get into a pose. Instead, the initiation of a posture is more about achieving the correct alignment of the body and remembering all those do's and don't. Deepening the pose is something to work on while executing it.

All in all, a very useful simple technique. Have I convinced you yet?

Standing on My Own Two Feet - The Mountain Pose

If you have practised this pose, you know there is more to standing than meets the eye – toes spread, firm thigh muscles drawn inwards, kneecaps lifted, tail bone lengthened, pubis tilted towards navel, shoulder blades pressed together, then widened, sternum lifted, chest open, neck lengthened, chin parallel to the floor, tongue relaxed and  remember to take deep breaths. Rather more complicated than the head stand when you come to look at it!

I have known this posture for years – one of many asanas on the list, easily outranked by more interestingly looking ones. A week ago I have decided to give it a chance. I found out I prefer the feet apart version for its stability and feeling of strength.

Some of my thigh muscles felt a little stiff for a couple of days. Having got past that, I started to notice my core is feeling a little stronger - it seems a little easier to maintain a good posture while standing, walking and sitting. I found myself pulling my shoulders back and downwards when walking - the memory of tadasana echoing outside my yoga sessions. Which could help me a little with my sitting posture too - that bad habit of slouching and tensing my shoulders when sitting at my desk that I've been battling for years. Big hopes! Tadasana has joined my list of must-do poses and I will be back with an update on the sitting posture problem in a couple of months time.