Baby Cobra with Hands Lifted

Bhujaṅgāsana (hands lifted)

Read what the gnome says

Baby Cobra with hands lifted! Lie on your belly, lift the chest low, and hover the hands just off the floor. Use the back muscles, legs strong, neck long. Don't crank the neck. Breathe, then lower. Little cobra gnome.

Works on Spinal extensors · Glutes · Upper back

How to do it

1. Lie face down, legs long, forehead on the floor, arms alongside the body.
2. Inhale and lift the chest a few inches, hands hovering off the floor.
3. Reach the fingers back, draw the shoulder blades together and hold; lower slowly.

Common mistakes

• Don’t crunch the back of the neck.
• Don’t clench the glutes.
• Don’t lift higher than the lower back is comfortable.

Benefits

• Opens the chest, front of the hips and shoulders.
• Strengthens the muscles along the back.
• Counters long hours of sitting and rounding forward.

Take care: Go easy or skip if you have lower-back, neck or wrist pain, or are pregnant. Stay in the comfortable range and never force depth.

Suggest a correction

Not medical advice. Ease off if anything feels sharp or wrong.

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