Health & Wellness

BHUJANGASANA - YOGA (The Cobra Pose)

Most of the Hatha Yoga postures have been imitated from the positions of birds & animals & this Bhujang Asana seems to be an imitation of Cobra, hence the name Cobra pose.

TECHNIQUE:-
Lie down on your stomach, with the legs straight, feet together and the soles of the feet facing the sky. The patients of sway back, lordosis, severe backache or sciatica must avoid keeping their feet together while performing this asana, lest that should aggravate their pain. Such patients should keep their feet apart.

Now place the palms of your hands on the floor almost under your shoulders. Inhaling start raising your head, chest and stomach up to the navel centre off the floor, very slowly and without any jerk, while the elbows remain slightly bent.

The emphasis should be on stretching your back muscles with the help of your arms and shoulders on the floor and not straining them.

In the final position, the pelvic bones remain close to the floor (in case of back pain one can lift one’s thighs off the ground to avoid undesirable pressure on the back to be on the safer side).

Exhaling bring your stomach, chest, shoulders & the chin or forehead on the ground.

Initially one should not stay in the final position for more than a few seconds, instead one should just move up & down 3-5 times in the first week, later on however one should try to stay on in the final position for a few seconds at least, breathing deeply up to one’s abdomen, to derive the best results.

However, staying in the final position should only be done once the practitioner has achieved quite a strong & flexible back- to avoid any injury.

BENEFITS:-

Generally, most of the Yog Gurus as well as the Physiotherapists often recommend this Asana to the back pain & sciatica patients.

Though it may help many patients with such complaints yet this should not be taken as a thumb rule to treat the back patients, because in the past several decades of my interaction with the patients I have found that Cobra pose has been found to have aggravated the existing back pain of quite a large number of patients. Therefore one should be extra cautious before taking to this Asana for curing one’s back pain.

Needless to say that our spine is the main pillar of our body with which all the organs of the body and mind are connected intricately, and our health & well being is consequently governed to a large extent by the condition of our vertebral column. Therefore we need to keep this most important organ quite flexible & strong. Bhujang Asana can play quite an important role in helping this vital organ to stay in good shape.

By arching the spine, not only do we improve the circulation of blood in our vertebral column but we also improve better communication between the brain and body. This Asana tones the ovaries and the uterus to alleviate various gynecological disorders.

It stimulates the digestive system, alleviates constipation & is also beneficial for all abdominal organs, especially the liver and the kidneys. The adrenal glands, situated on top of the kidneys, are also massaged & stimulated to work more efficiently. Even the patients of diabetes can find it useful.

PRECAUTION:-
Though generally this asana is useful for the back patients, yet the patients of sciatica, hernia, slip-disc, and ulcerative colitis are advised to be extra cautious in adopting this asana.

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By: Yogiraj Swami Lal Ji Maharaj,
Yogiraj ji Maharaj is a world-renowned Yoga guru around 50 years of experience. He is 4th generation Yog Guru in the lineage is the only living Yog Guru in India In the year 1970.