Yoga For Mind and Body
part 17

Part of an ongoing series offering yoga postures for men, women, and children to practice at home, school, on the road or in the office. With special thanks to Ross Pottinger of Wink Photo Design in Brisbane, Australia for the photos and the support in this project. And many thanks to Louisa Dick for taking part in the project. Do check with your health care practitioner before beginning a yoga practice. Many postures are not suitable for pregnant women, people with joint replacements, those with hypertension or other medical conditions. If you have a posture that you would like to see in this column, I welcome your suggestions. Namaste, H

Bhujangasana-The Cobra

To Begin: Lie on your belly with legs stretched flat on the ground, engaging the inner lines of your legs to bring feet and knees together. Place your hands under your lower ribs with middle finger facing forward

The Pose: Slowly inhale and lift up through your chin and chest to create a sweeping arc through your back without putting weight in your hands. Your legs and feet should remain grounded as you gently arch your back, expand your chest and lift up through breastbone and the tops of your ears. Be sure to keep your abdominal muscles drawing into your spine to support. To release slowly roll back down onto the ground and follow with the child pose.

To Intensify: Separate the legs to parallel for Raja Bhujangasana, follow the same movements as above, but when you reach your maximal stretch, you may then press into your hands to lift up until just the hip bones remain on the ground. For even more intensity, you may bring your toes in to touch your head. Throughout this pose you must breath deeply into side and back ribs, and maintain a supportive belly.

Breathing: Hold the pose for 5 deep breaths. Try to encourage the breath into the back ribs instead of the belly so that you can maintain the strength of your belly as a support.

Focus: Focus your gaze on the tip of your nose, or on the point between the eyebrows.

Cautions: Keep your shoulders moving down into the back and elbows close to sides. To reduce compression or hyper-extension in the lower back and fully engage the posture, imagine that you are lifting up from the front, back and sides of the body, like a cobra would.

Benefits: Strengthens spine, improves spinal flexibility, reduces low back pain, boosts immune system, promotes alertness of the mind.

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