Kids Yoga Pose of the Week! Cobra.

Hisssss hiiiissssss Mr. Snake, ssslip sssliiiding through the grasssses ssssneaking into hiding. Every child LOVES the action and fun in snake pose, it is easy to incorporate into your yoga adventures as it brings the story to life with ssssssiiiily interactive sounds. 

Cobra Pose

Aka: Snake, Garden Snake, Emerald Tree Boa, Anaconda, Snake looking for frogs, Pirates dodging cannon balls, Gophers looking for predators, etc. etc. etc. use your imagination to fit your theme!

Dear www.afterschool.ae: YOU ROCK! Thank you so much for sharing these lovely kids yoga pose illustrations with us. We've had a lot of fun bringing this series to our audience, and it's all thanks to you! Sending lots of love and gratitude your way.

How to:

1. Start by laying on your tummy, legs glued together.
2. Sssssslide your hands back so that your palms rest directly under your chest, fingers spread nice and wide, elbows hugging in towards your back.
3. Press the tops of your feet & thighs down into the floor.
4. On an inhale, begin to press the ground away from you, straightening your arms.
5. Draw the shoulder blades in towards each other to shine your heart open & begin to look up to the sky.
6. Hold for 3-5 breaths, inhaling deep to fill the belly, exhaling with your best snake hiss!
7. Some snakes even like to wiggle around ;)

Fun Variations:
There aren't too many variations in terms of ways to physically change this pose without it becoming a completely different posture, but use some of the "also known as" names above to fit it into your theme!

1. Snake looking for frogs: Sometimes, hungry snakes need to look behind them for frogs to eat. Begin to bend your knees, and drop your head back to see your toes behind your! (This one is also called Swan Pose).
2. Pirates dodging cannon balls: I often teach a "pirate salutation" when we do Neverland yoga, or other pirate themed classes. As part of it, we look up and around for any cannon balls, then someone will usually shout "AHHH LOOK OUT!" and we all duck back down to the starting position to dodge the cannon ball.  
3. Gophers looking for predators: Same idea as dodging the cannon balls! Peek out of your hole to look around, and hide when you see someone coming.
   
   

Benefits:

• Strengthens the spine
• Stretches the chest and lungs, shoulders, and abdomen
• Stimulates the abdominal organs
• Helps relieve stress and fatigue
• Opens the heart and lungs
• Therapeutic for children with asthma

Connections:

• Snake Wave: Have everyone come together in a circle and lie on their tummies to face towards the center. One person will start the Snake Wave, coming into the pose with a deep inhale and hissssss as they exhale. The person to their left will then come into snake as soon as they hear the person before them begin hissing. Once you are done hissing (exhaling), you can slowly lower back down! This looks super cool, and as I am sure you are already concocting in your mind - there are TONS of ways to vary this game... Everyone can stay in cobra holding the pose until it comes back to them, then everyone lowers for a second round of the wave. If you are playing this as pirates dodging cannon balls, then maybe it becomes a bit of a faster wave! Try passing the wave in different directions, adding different sounds, or pass a name to make it a fun name game. Have fun! AND Please please please send us your snake wave variations and how/what it developed into in your class. 

Well friends, it's been fun! Thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoy incorporating these new fun ways to cobra as much as our Glow Yoga Kids do! Stay tuned for one last pose of the week posting to close out the summer, in the meantime if you're hungry for more check out our other postings in this series: Warrior 1, Warrior 2, Locust Pose, Boat Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Seated Forward Fold, & Chair Pose. 


Stay true! Be bright, be bold, be you.


Love, 

Vanessa