தொடக்கநிலை Backbends

Twisting Cobra Poseतिर्यक भुजंगासन

Tiryaka Bhujaṅgāsana — a beginner backbend that works the spinal erectors, obliques, chest.

5–8ROUNDS HELD · EACH SIDE

One line on the timetable. Twisting Cobra Pose is held 5–8 slow rounds each side, breathing as follows: exhale into the turn, inhale back to centre — and no set practice here is built around it — it is held on its own.

ஆதாரம்·YogaPath sequence data — stay times as taught·one breath ≈ 5 s at an even pace·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

The arc draws over 25 seconds — the short end of the hold, at 1:1 in time. One tick per breath at ≈ 5 s.

Sanskritतिर्यक भुजंगासनTiryaka Bhujaṅgāsana

ஆங்கிலம்Twisting Cobra Pose

இந்திतिर्यक भुजंगासनHindi uses the Sanskrit name

Difficultyதொடக்கநிலைbackbend

Hold for5–8 slow rounds each sideper side where the pose has sides

Energy, 30 min92 kcal2.5 MET, 70 kg adult

Worksமுதுகுத்தண்டு நிமிர்த்தும் தசைகள்plus 5 more muscle groups

Backbends · 04 / 43

How to do Twisting Cobra Pose

Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.

Set up in Cobra with the hands under the shoulders and the feet about hip-width apart.
Lift the chest to a comfortable height and hold it there.
Exhale and turn the head and upper ribs to the right, looking back towards the left heel.
Keep both hips pressed evenly into the mat so the turn happens in the ribs, not the pelvis.
Inhale back to centre, then repeat to the left, alternating slowly.

Hold: 5–8 slow rounds each side. Breath: Exhale into the turn, inhale back to centre.

Muscles worked

Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.

முதுகுத்தண்டு நிமிர்த்தும் தசைகள்முதன்மை

ஒப்லீக்ஸ்முதன்மை

chestமுதன்மை

தோள்கள்இரண்டாம் நிலை

குளூட்ஸ்இரண்டாம் நிலை

abdominalsஇரண்டாம் நிலை

What Twisting Cobra Pose does

Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.

Combines spinal extension with rotation, loading the obliques while the back is already lengthened.
Mobilises the thoracic spine in two planes at once.
Keeps the spinal erectors working continuously through the turns.

Twisting Cobra Pose is one of 43 backbends in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Poses that extend the spine and open the front of the body — chest, hip flexors and abdomen.

Who should skip Twisting Cobra Pose, or change it

Pregnancy — a prone pose with a twist is unsuitable from the second trimester onward.
Disc injury: extension plus rotation is the least forgiving combination for the lumbar spine, so leave this one out.
Sacroiliac irritation, which the hip lifting on one side quickly aggravates.
Neck injury — turn the ribs only and keep the head facing forward.
Recent abdominal surgery.

General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.

Common mistakes in Twisting Cobra Pose

What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".

MistakeOne hip peeling off the mat so the twist comes from the pelvis rather than the ribcage.

FixWeight both hip bones down evenly and accept a smaller turn.

MistakeWhipping the head round while the spine stays still.

FixLead with the sternum and let the head arrive last.

How the energy figure on a yoga timetable is reached

Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart, so no per-pose figure is published here — not by this site and not by anyone.
The pose is matched to the nearest style of practice in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Twisting Cobra Pose sits at code 02150, யோகா, ஹத, 2.5 MET.
That MET value is put through the standard ACSM relationship for a stated reference adult of 70 kg.
The result is the cost of a practice of that kind for as long as you practise — not the cost of holding this one shape.
Scale it to yourself: the relationship is linear in body mass, so multiply by your own weight in kilograms and divide by 70.

kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200
         = 2.5 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200
         = 3.06 kcal per minute

The whole method, including what it cannot tell you →

The same practice, hour by hour

Read it the way you would read a timetable: pick the length of session you actually sit down for, and that is the figure.

70 கி.கி எடையுள்ள ஒரு பெரியவருக்கு, 2.5 MET இல் ஹத யோகா பயிற்சியின் ஆற்றல் செலவு. Compendium 02150 · JUL 2026
Time practising	10 நிமிடம்	20 நிமிடம்	30 நிமிடம்	45 நிமிடம்	60 நிமிடம்
கலோரிகள்	31	61	92	138	184

ஆதாரம்·2024 பெரியவர்களுக்கான உடற்செயல்பாடுகளின் தொகுப்பு·code 02150 · 2.5 MET · 70 kg reference adult·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

The whole activity dataset, including everything that is not yoga, is at BurnLab.

Asked before class

How do you do Twisting Cobra Pose?

Set up in Cobra with the hands under the shoulders and the feet about hip-width apart. Lift the chest to a comfortable height and hold it there. Exhale and turn the head and upper ribs to the right, looking back towards the left heel. Keep both hips pressed evenly into the mat so the turn happens in the ribs, not the pelvis. Inhale back to centre, then repeat to the left, alternating slowly. Hold for 5–8 slow rounds each side.

What does Twisting Cobra Pose work?

Primarily the spinal erectors, obliques, chest, with the shoulders, glutes, abdominals assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: combines spinal extension with rotation, loading the obliques while the back is already lengthened.

Who should not do Twisting Cobra Pose?

Pregnancy — a prone pose with a twist is unsuitable from the second trimester onward. Disc injury: extension plus rotation is the least forgiving combination for the lumbar spine, so leave this one out. Sacroiliac irritation, which the hip lifting on one side quickly aggravates. Neck injury — turn the ribs only and keep the head facing forward. Recent abdominal surgery. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.

Is Twisting Cobra Pose suitable for beginners?

Yes. Twisting Cobra Pose is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.

How many calories does Twisting Cobra Pose burn?

The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Twisting Cobra Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02150, yoga, Hatha, at 2.5 MET — about 92 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.

The rest of the backbends on the wall

More backbends — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.

Cobra Pose● Bhujaṅgāsana Beginner · backbends · 15–30 seconds, 2–3 rounds Raised Arms Pose Hasta Uttānāsana Beginner · backbends · 2–3 breaths Sphinx Pose Sālamba Bhujaṅgāsana Beginner · backbends · 1–3 minutes Snake Pose Sarpāsana Beginner · backbends · 10–20 seconds, 3 rounds Upward-Facing Dog Ūrdhva Mukha Śvānāsana Intermediate · backbends · 15–30 seconds Locust Pose Śalabhāsana Beginner · backbends · 10–20 seconds, 3 rounds Half Locust Pose Ardha Śalabhāsana Beginner · backbends · 10–15 seconds each side, 2–3 rounds Inverted Locust Pose Viparīta Śalabhāsana Advanced · backbends · 5–10 seconds

All 43 backbends All beginner poses Posture and upright sitting Desk work — neck, shoulders and hips Hips The full library

Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written மற்றும் what it is written from. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.

ஆதாரம்·Published asana references·asana names, alignment and cautions as taught·மறுபரிசீலனை ஜூலை 2026

The people behind these sites

Follow the build

This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.

Amit Sharma @amitsharmaofficial Instagram

Geeta Patel @geetapatelnz Instagram

Geeta Patel GeetaPatelYoga Facebook

Following changes nothing here — every page stays open, with no account and no wall.