In Rhythms Yoga: Monday Morning Yoga Pose

Happy Monday! Elevate your spirit, expand through your heart and chest. Start the week feeling confident and strong! Rise up into Cobra Pose. Benefits of Cobra Pose are to build strength in the back, spine and abdominals, stimulate digestion, create opening in the chest and heart area.

Cobra Pose

Important: If you have a back or spine injury or condition for which you are seeing a physician, please check with your doctor to get consent to practice yoga. Honor your body and do what feels good. If a pose hurts, gently come back out.  

Cobra Pose: If you are a kid, or kid at heart, hisss.... like a snake and sway side-to-side across the desert dunes! Maybe next you will run into a camel or a sphinx! A yoga mat is ideal, but not necessary for this posture. Lay on the carpet, a rug, or a towel. 

To Do the Posture: Lay on the floor on your belly. Bring your feet together behind you, or keep them apart, hip-width distance if more comfortable. Bring your palms underneath your shoulders, and bring your elbows nearer to each other as if your elbows were grasshopper’s legs. Bring your gaze, your eyes, to meet the ground, do not look up in order protect your neck. Press your feet down into the earth and engage your legs, quadriceps. Now press your tailbone/pelvic area down towards the ground and exhale your air out to
prepare. On an inhale lift the chest and palms off of the mat. Keep the gaze towards the ground. Continue to use the strength of your low back and abdominals to lift and lengthen out the crown of your head. Little to no weight in your palms. It is okay to leave palms touching the ground, but be light. Hold for 3 full breaths, inhales and exhales or as long as you can hold it. Inhale to lift and exhale to settle into the posture.

Aw.... this is my favorite part of this posture, letting go........ To Come Out: Slowly lower on your belly bring your gaze to the right, lay your left ear on the ground. Allow your heels to fall open, allow your arms to come to your sides, allow your breath to be calm, enjoy the relaxation. Allow your breathe to “massage” your back as it moves up and down the spine. You can do a second set if you’d like. Make sure to turn your head the opposite direction to the left, laying right ear on the ground as you come out of the posture.

Cobra pose will leave you feeling strong and confident. Heart and chest openers allow us to feel open/vulnerable in the chest area. Over time, practicing cobra and physically opening the heart space will allow us to be more open in our relationships, cultivating more happiness, creativity, and expression! It also reminds us that after we work hard and give 100%, we can equally reward ourselves and relax 100%!!

Thank yourself for devoting time to nurture your body, mind, and spirit!
Namaste,
In Rhythms Yoga, Christi Iacono
www.inrhythmsyoga.com