Stretch of the Week: Cobra

Stretch of the Week: Cobra Complete your yoga routine and stretch your back with this relaxing and safe yoga pose. 

Alright, Dr. Parson here again. This second pose is good for the back. It's a little more advanced and goes by Cobra,  upward dog, modified Cobra, however, you look at it. It's great for back extensions and is a little bit more than Sphinx– the next step up. So, if you've got Sphinx easy, then move on to this. Alright, so this one you're gonna lay face down. As usual, put the hand's underneath the shoulders – not the elbows. Push straight up and you can keep the elbows bent for a generally more modified Cobra. But, I want to use straight arms. Next, arch the back slightly and squeeze the glutes. The key thing is, and this is the hard part that nobody does- head up. Think like a turtle. You got to get long, 30-second holds. Do the best you can and one thing I'll show you that most people do is this...Point those! Stretch those calves, stretch the anterior part of the lower leg. Then there's other things to do this portion so you get everything from the back all the way down. So that would be Cobra/slightly upward dog. True upward dog would be to bring the knees off the table or off the floor like this. See, that's goo. Alright, thank you!