Bhujaṅgāsana, the cobra pose

Sanskrit

भुजङ्गासनBhujaṅgāsana

Meaning of the name

Cobra pose: bhujaṅga, serpent (literally the one that moves in curves), and āsana, posture

Level

Beginner

Family

Backbend

In the texts

Gheranda Samhita 2.42-43 (Vasu, 1914-1915)

The word bhujaṅga paints its own picture: bhuja, a curve or bend, and ga, going. The serpent is the one that moves in curves. In the cobra pose you become that raised hood, the lower body heavy on the earth, the chest rising. It is the gentlest classical door into backbends, and it appears in almost every beginner session and in the sun salutation.

Steps

1. Lie on the belly, legs together or hip-width apart, the tops of the feet on the floor, forehead resting on the mat.
2. Place the palms flat under the shoulders, fingers pointing forward, elbows bent and drawn in close to the ribs.
3. Press the pubic bone and the tops of the feet gently into the floor.
4. Inhaling, lift the forehead, then the chin, then the chest, using mostly the muscles of the back. The hands help only a little.
5. Keep the lower ribs and the navel close to the floor, as the text specifies. The elbows stay bent.
6. Draw the shoulders down and back, away from the ears. Look forward or slightly up, without crunching the neck.
7. Hold three to five breaths. Exhaling, lower the chest and forehead, turn the head to one side and rest. Repeat two or three times.

Alignment

• The curve is spread along the whole spine, mostly in the upper back, not concentrated in the lower back.
• The buttocks are not clenched; the legs are active but calm.
• The neck continues the curve of the spine instead of folding back.

Variations

• Sphinx (gentle version): forearms on the floor, elbows under the shoulders, chest lifted. Hold up to a minute. This is the best start for stiff backs.
• Baby cobra: lift the chest only a few centimetres, hands hovering off the floor for a moment, to feel the back muscles do the work.
• Legs apart: hip-width legs give more room to the lower back.
• Full cobra (intermediate): arms straighter, pelvis still on the floor. Only if there is no discomfort at all in the lower back.

Contraindications

• Pregnancy: lying on the belly is not appropriate; ask your midwife or doctor for an alternative such as cat-cow.
• Spondylolisthesis, acute low-back pain, or pain that spreads into a leg: avoid, or keep to a very low sphinx with your therapist's agreement.
• Recent abdominal surgery, hernia: avoid until cleared by your doctor.
• Wrist or shoulder pain: prefer the sphinx.

In the texts

The cobra is classical: the Gheranda Samhita describes it near the end of its thirty-two postures, the second to last, in two verses.

अङ्गुष्ठनाभिपर्यन्तमधो भूमौ च विन्यसेत् । करतलाभ्यां धरां धृत्वा ऊर्ध्वं शीर्षं फणीव हि । देहाग्निर्वर्धते नित्यं सर्वरोगविनाशनम् । जागर्ति भुजगी देवी साधनाद्भुजंगासनम् ॥

aṅguṣṭha-nābhi-paryantam adho bhūmau ca vinyaset | kara-talābhyāṃ dharāṃ dhṛtvā ūrdhvaṃ śīrṣaṃ phaṇīva hi | dehāgnir vardhate nityaṃ sarva-roga-vināśanam | jāgarti bhujagī devī sādhanād bhujaṃgāsanam ||

From the toes to the navel, let the body rest on the ground below; holding the ground with the palms, raise the head like a hooded serpent. The fire of the body always grows, it destroys all disease, and the serpent goddess awakens through the practice of bhujaṅgāsana.

Two details deserve attention. First, the instruction keeps the body on the floor up to the navel, which is exactly the safe form taught to beginners today. Second, the "serpent goddess" (bhujagī devī) is kuṇḍalinī, the power the hatha texts picture coiled at the base of the spine. The promise that the pose "destroys all disease" belongs to the text; it is not a medical fact, and no study supports it. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika does not include the cobra.

Related postures

The cobra prepares the bow and the locust, and is often followed by downward-facing dog or child's pose as a counter-pose. In the sun salutation it comes after the eight-point prostration. For a seated rest afterwards, sit in vajrāsana. If your back is sensitive, read yoga for back pain first. All the cards: the asanas chapter.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. The Gheranda Samhita, translated by Srisa Chandra Vasu (Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. XV, Panini Office, 1914-1915), Internet Archive checked October 16, 2026
2. Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā, Sanskrit text, chapter 2 (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026
3. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), entry bhujaṃga, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries checked October 16, 2026

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