Bhujangasana

Overview

Bhujangasana, commonly rendered in English as the Cobra Pose, is a posture associated with the broader tradition of yoga as practised within the Indian subcontinent and now studied and taught widely across the world. The name is generally understood to be derived from Sanskrit roots, with bhujanga referring to a serpent or cobra and asana referring to a seat or posture, together evoking the image of a cobra raising its hood. The posture is typically described in popular and instructional literature as a prone backbend in which the practitioner lies face down and lifts the upper torso while the lower body remains in contact with the ground.

Significance

Beyond religious and philosophical framings, Bhujangasana is also discussed in the context of contemporary physical practice, fitness routines, and therapeutic yoga. Public health bodies and yoga institutions in India and elsewhere have published instructional material featuring the posture. The Significance section in the final article could usefully outline the cultural, devotional and practical dimensions in distinct paragraphs, making clear which framings are religious, which are pedagogical, and which are claims about physical effects requiring medical or scientific substantiation.

References

To be supplied by editors. Suggested categories of sources include: critical editions and translations of classical hatha-yoga texts; peer-reviewed scholarship on the history of yoga and modern postural practice; instructional manuals published by recognised yoga institutions; and medically or institutionally reviewed guidance on practice considerations. Each citation should include author, title, publisher, edition or year, and page or section reference where applicable.