How to Perform These Essential Yoga Positions


The Cobra

Follow these steps gradually. Start by lying face down on your stomach with your forehead touching the ground and legs firmly beside each other. Place your arms at your sides with your palms facing down touching the floor. Breathe in and lift your head up, arching your neck back. Then push yourself up with your torso upward until you achieve a nice bent position, starting from your lower back up to your nape. Cling to this position for a few moments.

If you are able, you can even let your arms straighten out while your knees are bent. Then let your head bend forward to reach your feet. Following proper breathing techniques, you can proceed with bending your head as far forward as possible whether you can reach your feet or not.

Cobra Yoga Positions

Release yourself from this position gradually until you arrive at the same base position with the face and forehead facing the ground. Relax and cool yourself down by resting your head on one side. Repeat these steps once more to complete the routine.

The Bow

More intense than the simple bow, it might be surprising to learn that most children can do this stance with virtually no trouble at all. Again, remember to follow these steps slowly.

Start by lying with your face down on the floor. Make sure you have a thick woolen mat to support you on this stance. Take a deep breath and then bend your knees upward while raising your arms backward to grab hold of your ankles. Expel the air and double check if your fingers and thumbs appear together right on the soles of the feet.

Take another deep breath, and this time lift your head and chest simultaneously while tugging your ankles to raise your knees and thighs way off the ground. Follow normal breathing exercises while keeping both your legs and head up. This position is similar to the bow, with the balance of your body weight on your tummy. This would suffice for novices, who might want to stop after this.

If you want, however, you can pursue a bit more by stretching further, making your hands glide downward to your legs while you elevate your legs more with your knees still together. Stay in this position for several deep breaths, then go back to the base position with your head resting on one side.

The Shooting Bow

Referred to in Sanskrit as Akarna Dhanurasana, this particular position has just a single leg elevated upward to mimic a shooting bow. To do this position, start seated with your legs extended out forward and your back in a straight line. Then bend forward and touch your feet with two hands, but with the right hand grasping the left foot or vice versa.

Bow Yoga Positions

Breathe in, then bend your left knee and tug your left foot toward the body near your chest with your elbow pointed upward and your body slightly twisted to your right side. Ensure that your left hand is solidly clutching the right foot while in this position. Now hold this stance with regular breathing techniques and then let go gradually and relax.

Complete the same steps with the other leg. At the start it is sufficient to clasp just the bent left leg with your right hand. And then afterwards, bend forward further to grab the left foot with the right hand. Do not stop tugging on the left foot; on the contrary, proceed with trying to elevate it higher per breath.

Filed Under: Health & Personal Care

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About the Author: Andrew Reinert is a health care professional who loves to share different tips on health and personal care. He is a regular contributor to MegaHowTo and lives in Canada.

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