Bhújaungásana (Cobra Posture)

Primary Objective of the Ásana

With Yoga Mudrá and Diirgha Pranám, Bhújaungásana is recommended for women to be practiced everyday to balance the reproductive system and overall women’s health. Bhújaungásana nurtures the resiliency of the spine and abdomen. Massages organs in the abdomen. It stimulates the immune system of the human body by producing or increasing the White Blood Cells.

Number of Repetitions (standard): 8

Length of Breath Hold (ideal): 8 seconds

Breath: inhalation kumbhaka

Steps of practice	Further details & rationale
1. – Lie on your stomach with your legs together. Place your hands at shoulder level around two palms width away with the elbows pointing back and (slightly) towards the body. Spread the fingers to lessen the weight on the wrist. – Keep your big toes together and stretch them back away from you. – Keep your abdominal muscles toned to extend the abdominal cavity and increase pressure on the floor and help keep Inhalation kumbhaka. Anchor your pubic bone into the floor. – Rest the forehead on the mat and roll the shoulders away from the ears, gently squeezing the shoulder blades together before you rise from the floor.	– You will have to experiment to find the hand position that suits you the best. When the hands are slightly wider than the shoulders, the chest has more space to expand. – Legs can be together, but it might be easier to have feet hip apart or even a little bit wider to make it easier to rise. – This action of the toes provides more ease of movement for the lower back. – When we tone (press) the abdominal muscles into the floor, we help to stabilize the back. – Exhaling in the above process to give that stability.
2. – On an inhalation, moving the sternum away from the navel, lift the chest into the pose, opening the rib cage, going only to a height that is comfortable for the lower back. Keep the pubic bone anchored on the floor. Rise with the chin tucked into the throat. – Keep your elbows drawn into your sides, to expand your chest and keep the shoulders down away from the ears. – If it feels comfortable for your neck, you should tilt your head back. – When in the pose, hold the Inhalation Kumbhaka for 8 seconds, keeping the body still and calm. Direct the gaze towards a point in front or above according to the tilt of the head.	– As you lift the chest, feel a lengthening of each vertebrae from the pubic bone to the navel, from the navel to lower ribs, and from the lower ribs to the upper chest. -When lifting, try to engage all the muscles around the spine WITHOUT STRAINING to a comfortable elevation, then gently grounding the hands/forearms into the floor. – As we lift into the pose, there is a tendency for the elbows to fall out to the sides and the shoulders to hunch up. Keeping the elbows close to the body engages the muscles around the shoulder blades, which also helps to keep the shoulders down. Keep the elbows close to the body and the inner fold of the elbows facing forward. Elbows are slightly bent. – Before tilting (extending) the head back, lower the chin a little to engage the deep neck flexors in front of the cervical spine. Then slowly extend the head back to a comfortable position. – You can direct your eyes toward the top of the eye socket. Otherwise, simply lengthen the neck towards the ceiling with the chin parallel to the floor.
3. – After 8 seconds, while exhaling slowly, vertebrae by vertebrae, slightly tightening the muscles below the navel, lower the chest to the floor. Keep the chin tucked into the throat slightly. The pose can be repeated up to eight rounds.

Preparatory Steps

Cat-Cow to loosen the spine.
Setu Bandhá’sana (Bridge) to open the chest.
Surya Namaskar and Padahastásana (Arm and Leg pose) to stretch shoulders and arms.
Setu Bandha and twists to stretch and loosen the thoracic spine.
Twist in prone position

Considerations

Safety essentials and modifications

Push the big toes away from the head before lifting the body to free the movement of the lower back.
Open and lift the chest into the pose first before following with the head to avoid compressing the neck.
Do not force the body into the pose with your arms, but lift the chest to a height that is comfortable for the back.
The pubic bone grounded on the mat.
Keep the shoulders rolled back and away from the ears before rising.
Move the shoulder blades towards each other.
Keep the chin tucked the entire posture until you want to elevate it a bit.
The chin does not need to be elevated until the pose is fully engaged.

The position of the hands can be adjusted so that, when coming into the pose, the shoulders can be comfortably pushed down away from the ears, creating space for the chest to open and the spine and the neck to lengthen. The most effective way is to move the hands forwards and apart as much as needed.

Try placing your hands next to your ears.
You can turn your palms up leaving the side with the little fingers pressing to the floor.

Common misalignments

Shoulders crunching and lifting towards the ears. Make an effort to push the shoulders away from the ears, keeping the collar bones wide.
Sickling of the feet. The toes turning inward towards each other a lot in this pose. Consciously try to point the toes towards the back of the mat.

Variations

Sphinx – If one has limited strength and mobility, the Sphinx pose can be used whereby the forearms are kept on the floor for support.
Baby Cobra – According to the student’s capacity, a combination of the previous two modifications can be applied with a very slight elbow lift. (Illustrated in the beginning).
Flying Star Cobra – Lifting the arms and legs up like a star.

Benefits