Sue Ransom Yoga

The back bends in yoga are a delicious antidote to all the forward bending oriented actions we do all day long – driving, sitting at computers, household chores, looking after small children, scrolling…They can help us to balance this out and, over time, assist in halting that forward drift in our upper backs. When we do back bends they’re generally energising as we open up and look outwards.

Bhujangasana or cobra pose is a great strengthening pose for the back muscles. We want all our core muscles to be strong – they act as a muscular corset protecting the spine. Of course, we’re always looking for that balance between strength and flexibility, and having flexibility in the spine too makes us mobile and movement-capable.

Lying prone let your forehead rest on your mat and find a position for your hands. Try placing them palms down under your shoulders with the fingertips roughly level with the tops of your shoulders and your elbows off the floor. But work with what’s available. It may be more achievable to have your hands a little to the sides, or further forwards. A key part of this asana is to give yourself a solid base and grounding by having the tops of your feet, your knees, thighs and hip bones firmly glued to the mat throughout. I like to have a hip width distance between my feet.

I like to flow with the breath in and out of bhujangasana a few times before holding. I remember being directed to raise my head like a striking cobra on the inhale when I first began yoga 😊Think of any involvement of your hands in this pose to be minimal if you want to strengthen your back. They’re resting on the mat, but you’re not pushing into them. Feel the muscles in your back engaging as you use them to lift your upper trunk a little way from the earth. You don’t want to tip your neck back and look skywards with your eyes, involving a lot of movement in your cervical spine and perhaps not much else. Rather you’re looking to involve as much of the spine as possible. Feel the muscles in your upper and mid back working and the delicious chain reaction as the whole of the back of your body becomes included in this lift. Enjoy the energy of rising up, the curve in your spine. Your eyes will probably fall to a point on the earth in front of you.

When you’re holding in the pose feel the openness of your chest and where you’re breathing. The posture, with its pressure on the abdominal area, facilitates breathing higher in the lungs – energising breaths. Encourage the lower half of your body and your legs to be active rather than passive, pressing them firmly into the earth – remember that steady base.

When you come out of the pose its nice to let your spine be in neutral in advasana. And, when you’re ready, moving into child’s pose, down dog, or rolling onto your back and bringing knees in towards your chest are all nice follow-on options.

If you’d like a super-gentle version which nevertheless is strengthening for back muscles and helps to promote that flexibility, you could try placing your arms in a cactus position with elbows roughly level with your shoulders, palms on the earth, and let your head rest on the mat to one side. The tops of your feet and lower body need to be firmly anchored to the earth. On an in-breath engage your back muscles to rise up a little way without pushing into your arms, and on the out-breath let your body come back to the earth and your head rest on the mat turned to the other side. Flow with the breath side to side in a soothing cobra.

If you find that you can rise up using your back muscles to the point where there’s leeway to straighten your arms out, you could have a play with that. And your hand positioning may change over time. If you’re used to having hands in front of shoulders to come into cobra, you could try gradually nudging them back a little. Positioning them further down in relation to your ribs is another challenge to consider as you progress your practice.

Enjoy…

Best to check with your health care professional before practicing yoga. I share yoga in beautiful Tasman Bay near Nelson, New Zealand. Please contact me for more information about weekly group sessions, private sessions, workshops and to book.