The Cobra Pose stretches the spine and opens the chest. It helps improve flexibility and posture.

  1. Lie face down on the mat with your legs extended and feet hip-width apart.
  2. Place your hands under your shoulders, elbows close to your body.
  3. Inhale and gently lift your chest off the ground, using your back muscles.
  4. Keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears.
  5. Hold the position for a few breaths, then lower back down.

How to perform the Cobra Yoga Pose

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Cobra Yoga Pose using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your abdominals.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your abdominals rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.