All exercisesYoga·Chest 
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
ChestLower BackCore
Step 1 / 2
At a glance
- Equipment
- Yoga mat
- Suggested hold
- Hold 3–5 breaths
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Common mistakes
You push to maximum height with the arms so the back muscles do nothing.
You let the elbows wing out to the sides as you lift.
You tip the head back and crunch the neck to fake more height.
You clench the glutes so hard the lower back jams.
What to focus on
Let the back muscles lift you — the hands should feel light enough that you could almost hover them off the mat.
Keep the pubic bone pressing down so the bend stays gentle and evenly spread through the spine.
Roll the shoulders back and down to feel the opening across the collarbones, not in the neck.
Related yoga moves
Sources & further reading
- 1.Cobra is a yoga form of the McKenzie prone press-up; extension exercises have moderate-to-high-quality evidence for extension-responsive low-back pain — StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf (NIH), 2024