Today’s Poses – Cobra Pose and Extended Triangle Pose

Cobra Pose and Extended Triangle

Cobra Pose

This asana resembles a serpent with its hood raised.

Steps

• Lie on your stomach with your toes flat on the floor and forehead resting on the ground.
• Keep your legs close together, with your feet and heels lightly touching each other.
• Place your hands (palms downwards) under your shoulders, keeping your elbows parallel and close to your torso.
• Taking a deep breath in, slowly lift your head, chest, and abdomen while keeping your navel on the floor.
• Pull your torso back and off the floor with the support of your hands.
• Checkpoint: Are you putting equal pressure on both the palms?
• Keep breathing with awareness, as you curve your spine vertebra by vertebra. If possible, straighten your arms by arching your back as much as possible; tilt your head back and lookup.
• Checkpoint: Are your shoulders away from your ears? Keep your shoulders relaxed, even if it means bending your elbows. With regular practice, you will be able to deepen the stretch by straightening the elbows.
• Ensure that your feet are still close together. Keep smiling and breathing. Smiling Cobras!
• Don’t overdo the stretch or overstrain yourself.
• Breathing out, gently bring your abdomen, chest, and head back to the floor.

Benefits of the Cobra Pose

• Opens up the shoulders and neck.
• Tones the abdomen.
• Strengthens the entire back and shoulders.
• Improves flexibility of the upper and middle back.
• Expands the chest.
• Improves blood circulation.
• Reduces fatigue and stress.
• Useful for people with respiratory disorders such as asthma. (Do not practice this yoga pose during the attack though).

Extended Triangle pose

Extended Triangle pose stretches the legs, groins, hips, shoulders, chest, and spine, and strengthens the feet, ankles, and legs. Practicing an Extended Triangle pose can stimulate the abdominal organs, aiding with digestion, and may help to alleviate stress and anxiety.

Steps

• Stand facing the long side of your mat with your feet about a leg distance apart.
• Turn your right foot out so your toes are pointing to the short edge of the mat and turn your left toes in, about 45 degrees. You are looking for stability through both legs.
• Engage your legs and roll the right thigh out so the right knee is in line with the first two toes.
• Lengthen through both sides of the waist, draw your lower belly in and up and lift your arms parallel to the floor.
• Inhale as you reach to the right extending your body over your right leg, shifting your hips towards the back of the mat. Exhale as you bring your right arm down, placing your hand either on the leg, the floor or a block. Rotate your ribs towards the ceiling.
• Point the left arm straight up to the ceiling, hand in line with your shoulder, palm facing forwards
• Lengthen through the sides of the neck, keeping your neck in line with your spine. Look straight ahead, or tuck the chin slightly and turn to look up towards your left hand.
• Keep your face relaxed and breathe gently as you keep pressing through the feet, extending through fingertips and crown of the head, and rotating your ribcage.
• To come out press your feet firmly into the floor, inhale and reach your left arm up to the ceiling as you come back to standing straight.
• Pivot your heels and repeat on the other side.

Benefits

• Strengthens the legs and back.
• Stretches inner thighs, hamstrings, calves, spine, shoulders, chest, and opens hips.
• Energizes, balances, and improves focus.
• Stimulates abdominal organs.

Cobra Pose and Extended Triangle Posstretches the legs, groins, hips, shoulders, chest, and spine, and strengthens the feet, ankles, and legs