Cobra Pose

Where is the primary focus? Lower back

Where does the posture provide maximum benefits? Low back, glutes, and legs.

When and where could I feel the stretch? Lower back

Why should I do this posture?
As the first posture of the four-part Spine Strengthening Series, Cobra works the low back, the other three round out, addressing your entire spine.

How can I improve?
I love Cobra pose. I love it intellectually and physically;I also like what it does and how it feels. I might be lucky about all of that. 

The mental part of the posture for me, past the heat and the challenge of all the postures, is the balance of spine strength and arm strength, and staying focused on whether I’m favoring one over the other. Beyond the idea that there is no such thing as cheating in yoga (since this isn’t a competition and sometimes we have to make trade-offs to make things work), using your arm strength in Cobra is part of the posture. It’s  not a compromise, it’s not cheating…it is the posture. Even if you can get your upper body in the air from your belly button to your head, using your arm strength is part of the posture. The first goal of your arms is to keep you stable, then it’s elbows at 90 degrees. From that point, you can drag your elbows back without letting your hands move to help open up your back more. 

For most of us, lifting our chest up to the right height is impossible; thankfully, we get to use our arms to help. Yet maybe more important than using your arms is using your legs, especially your glutes. Cobra is a back bend; engaging your glutes helps keep you stable. If you focus on your glutes by squeezing your butt muscles, I think you’ll be surprised at how much higher you can lift or how it’s a little bit easier. It’s relatively easy to let your legs separate or not focus on them, but trying to press your legs down as you squeeze them together will help solidify your posture.