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Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Benefits and alignment tips of Cobra Pose
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) Handout

Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana, is a posture with many benefits for the whole body. I have found no other pose that assists me more in opening my posture and balancing the stiffness in my back. If you sit all day and have stiffness/soreness in your upper or lower back, this a great posture to include in a daily practice as it stretches the entire front body and mobilizes the spine in the often neglected motion of extension.

This pose is also energizing and uplifting. It can be used to stimulate circulation, increase energy levels, and sometimes even elevate your mood. Also, because it stretches and opens the areas of the chest and abdomen it has the potential for increasing lung volume and easing digestion or menstrual discomforts.

I love that this backbend can be subtle or dramatic depending on the depth to which you take it (depending on the needs of your day or the specifics of your body and practice level). It works nicely to warm it up by moving in and out of the posture with the breath, for example inhale and lift up, exhale and lower down. Once warmed up, find your way into the posture again and pause for a hold (e.g. 3-5 breaths). Once completed, rest back down and notice how you feel. Give this a try and feel free to print this free handout highlighting the alignment tips and benefits.
|Cobra Pose Handout

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Bhramari Breath (bee breath)

In Yoga we use many different tools to steady the mind and body. Often in my classes I teach pranayama (breathing exercises) for this purpose and I recently revisited a simple but effective one know as Bhramari Breathing. If you are like me and sometimes have a really hard time settling the mind into a meditation practice, consider this pranayama technique.

The basic Bhramari breath is easy and simple, making it great for the beginner student. You breathe in and out through the nose, and on the exhales you make a low pitched hum sound (from the throat), extending your breath out as long as feels comfortable. Often equated to the sound of a buzzing of a bee, it is sometimes known as bee breath.

What makes this breathing technique so special is how the hum noise effortlessly secures your attention. In addition to the sound, the sensation of the sound vibrations in the body also latch your focus, making it less likely for the mind to dart about in thought. This makes it a very easy meditation technique for people with anxious/busy minds.

In addition the extended exhales activate the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for resting, digesting, and relaxing – essentially it has a calming effect on the nervous system. For more detail on this process have a look at a previous blog I wrote which gets into the physiology of breathing and the nervous system in Learning to Take a Deep Breath.

Here’s some step by step instructions on how to do Bhramari Breath:

  • Sit in a comfortable position and preferably with eyes closed
  • Inhale and exhale through the nose, and for the entire length of your exhalation, make a low to medium-pitched humming sound in the throat
  • Attempt to prolong the buzzing sound on the exhalation as long as you comfortably can
  • Keep the face, jaw, neck and shoulders relaxed as you practice
  • Do 6 – 10 rounds of this breathing and pay attention to the sound and the feeling of the vibrations in your body
  • Once completed, return to normal breathing and notice how you feel

For more information on this technique, have a look at a really good article by Timothy McCall, 5 Ways to Practice Bhramari, which explains variations off the basic Bhramari breath.

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