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Cobra pose is a beginner-level back-bending yoga asana that can be quite transformational for those who practice it regularly.
This asana is widely practiced across many styles and levels of yoga, and is known for its ability to keep the spine flexible and healthy. It is a great yoga pose for those suffering from postural and upper body issues.
What is the Cobra Pose?
Cobra pose is also known as Bhujangasana in Sanskrit. The word originates from two roots, "bhujang", meaning serpent, and "asana", meaning pose. The cobra pose is one of the best back-bending asanas in yoga that is accessible to everyone.
The cobra pose is quite popular for its ability to rejuvenate the mind, relieve stress in your spine, and for increasing flexibility in your upper body. This is a great pose for opening up your Kundalini chakra that is located at the base of your spine. It raises the heat in your body, and can help you reduce the chances of common diseases.
How to do the Cobra Pose?
Follow the below given instructions accurately to perform Bhujangasana correctly:
- Lay flat on your stomach to begin.
- Put your hands under your shoulders and point your toes backward.
- Maintain a close elbow position to the ribs.
- Take a deep breath in and lift your chest off the ground while pressing your palms into the floor.
- Hug your elbows into your sides while bending them slightly.
- Roll your shoulders back and down while pulling in your belly.
- Maintain a neutral neck position, and don't hyperextend your neck or else you may injure it.
- Breathe out and start over.
Health Benefits of the Cobra Pose
Check out the many health benefits that this yoga pose offers:
1) Reduces Lower Back Pain
People who sit or stand for long hours owing to their work, with not much exercise or stretching, can end up with chronic lower back pain later in their lives. This is because the muscles supporting the lower back gradually become weaker with time and are unable to take stress off the spine.
Bhujangasana is the best solution for people who are suffering from this problem. This asana proves to be a great source of relief for people suffering from lower back pain. It stretches and strengthens the muscles of the back, improves blood circulation to the area and makes the spine flexible. All these can help to significantly reduce lower back pain.
Research has also shown that the cobra pose reduces lower back pain significantly. A study has shown that practicing yoga for 12 weeks, while including the cobra pose in the routine, significantly reduced lower back pain and anxiety among people.
2) Improves Digestion and Reduces Menstrual Irregularities
Since Bhujangasana is an excellent pose for working out your back and core muscles, it is a very important pose for those looking to improve their digestive and reproductive health.
If you have ever performed the Cobra pose before, you will know how it stretches your entire core. This releases gas trapped in your intestines, massages the organs of your digestive system and improves overall digestion. It stimulates the entire gastrointestinal system, helping in better secretion of digestive enzymes and improving absorption of food.
Since the backbend goes all the way to your lower back and abdomen, it also helps to stimulate your reproductive organs and hormones, helping to regularize your period cycle. This pose will also help relieve cramps and pain during periods.
3) Enhances Flexibility and Posture
Nowadays, everybody seems to have postural problems. With increasing overdependence on smart phones, people have become prone to sitting in a hunched posture all day, while looking at their phones. Even while working on a computer, backs tend to slouch, leading to issues like hunchback and lower back pain.
Cobra pose is a surefire way to combat all these issues. It is almost magical, the way in which this pose is able to open up your chest and shoulders. This pose will improve your spine health, relieve muscles from the stress of sitting in poor posture all day, and help improve your current bad posture. You can also check out these yoga poses to help improve your posture.
It also enhances the flexibility of your shoulder and neck muscles, relieves pain in the upper body and enhances spinal flexibility.
4) Rejuvenates the Mind
Bhujangasana is an excellent yoga pose for relieving stress and calming the mind. It is a great pose for relieving mental fatigue and depression, and it can help calm and clear your mind.
Bhujangasana is commonly associated with a feeling of upliftment because of the back lengthening and rising up involved in the asana. Studies have found that yoga can improve symptoms of mild to moderate depression, especially when it includes this particular asana.
5) Reduction in Inflammation
Yoga, especially the cobra pose, can help reduce bodily inflammation. When untreated, inflammation can lead to chronic conditions like cancer and arthritis.
Studies have found that performing this yoga pose regularly can help combat inflammation and reduce the incidence of such diseases.
6) Improves Sleep
Bhujangasana is considered an energizing yoga asana. However, doing this asana before sleep can enhance your sleep quality, especially for those who are suffering from back pain, shoulder stiffness or posture issues.
Studies have shown that people experience improved sleep after performing the cobra pose. It is especially beneficial for people with type-2 diabetes and menopausal women.
Takeaway
Performing the cobra pose regularly offers many health benefits, both for the body and the mind. It is an excellent yoga asana that can safely be done every day. For more such backbending poses, check out these yoga backbends for beginners.
