Is that cobra or upward facing dog?

by Diane Ambrosini

Two important back-bending poses practiced in yoga are cobra (bhujangasana) and upward-facing-dog (urdhva mukha shvanasana). Both asanas, when practiced with proper attention to breathing and body alignment, strengthen the back, and stretch the chest and shoulders. While both of these poses can be practiced separately, they are most often part of a vinyasa sequence, or in relation to a sun salutation (surya namaskara).

Unfortunately, especially in faster moving practices such as Ashtanga, or due to inexperience in either the student or instructor, the degree of spinal hyperextension can cause more harm than good. Students without sufficient strength, flexibility and/or awareness oftentimes situate their bodies into something that’s not quite cobra and not quite updog - a sort of backbreaking abomination, if you will.

So does it really matter if it’s an upward-facing-snakey-hybrid pose? Absolutely! Improper alignment and excessive hyperextension, especially over time, place people with certain spinal conditions at risk of serious injury. In addition to the obvious lumbar jamming, tension is created in the arms, chest and neck. When these areas are placed in stressful positions, the supporting joints become unstable and overworked. This situation makes it difficult to breathe properly and almost impossible to find any sort of ease in the pose, which defeats the “goal” of practicing yoga in the first place.

Because anatomy differs slightly from one person to the next, everyone’s asanas look and feel a bit different. Also, one pose does not fit everyone all of the time. One day you may feel perfectly supple and ecstatic in upward-facing-dog, and the next about as flexible as a pencil. Thankfully, almost all asanas can be modified to work appropriately for just about everyone. Use the figures below as a guide to your most appropriate back-bend for any given practice.

Low Cobra: This variation is generally appropriate for anyone recovering from back issues - if they have been cleared by their healthcare provider. Keeping the thighs and most of the torso on the ground gives the spine stability as the muscles are strengthened. Applying a small amount of pressure into the arms can help to lengthening the spine as well. It is important not to clinch the gluteal and thigh muscles because this can cause pain in the lower spine.

Medium Cobra: This pose is the one most often seen in classes and is for those without back pain and who can comfortably lift the upper torso off the ground. The thighs and the lower torso remain on the ground to help with stability. If the shoulders begin to lift toward the ears it generally indicates that it's time to come out of the pose, or to readjust. As in low cobra, you can firm the "fanny", but don't clinch it!

High Cobra: This pose actually is closest to B.K.S. Iyengar's instructions to “…lift the body up from the trunk until the pubis is in contact with the floor and stay in this position with the weight on the legs and palms.” He also suggests arching the head back to resemble a snake ready to strike, and if your spine is up to it, strike away!

Upward-Facing-Dog: Mr. Iyengar's instructions for Updog are to “Keep the legs straight and tightened at the knees, but do not rest the knees on the floor. The weight of the body rests on the palms and toes only.” It's really important to keep length in the torso and arms in this position to maintain as much space as possible between the vertebrae. Because this is somewhat more strenuous than any of the cobra variations, arm and leg strength is key. So if you get tired, modify your body down to the ground for support.