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Step 1
Lie on your yoga mat or directly on the floor. Place your hands by your sides so that your fingertips point away from the elbows. Spread the fingertips evenly, and look at your arms to check each elbow is directly over its wrist.
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Step 2
Inhale. Lift the chest and the front of the shoulders off the floor. Point your chin towards the throat so that the back of the neck is long. The tendency is to look up or forward in low cobra and that would compress the neck.
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Step 3
Widen the collarbones and draw the muscles of the upper back down towards the waist.
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Step 4
Notice if your elbows are fanning out away from the sides of your ribs. Instead, as you move the shoulders down away from your ears, also move your elbows towards your waist. This action will expand the front of the chest (sternum) and widen the upper back (trapezius).
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Step 5
Lightly press the tops of the feet onto the floor so that all 10 toes are on the floor. Highlight the inner thighs and lift this area towards the ceiling to create a broadness in the low back (sacrum). Resist gripping the back of the hips (gluteus maximus) as this tends to compress and grip the low back. There is very little weight in the hands.
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Step 6
Place the hands on the floor below your face and lower your forehead to rest on top of the hands. An appropriate counter pose after a back bend such as low cobra is child's pose. Simply bring the legs together and place your hands under the shoulders and sit back on your heels, with the forehead resting on the floor and your chest resting on tops of the thighs. Hands are resting by the legs, with the back of the hands by the feet. Rest for several breaths before coming up to sit.
