Hello,
I have a question regarding the cobra pose. I’m a male, and whenever I try this pose I get a lot of pressure on my genital area, to the point where it is too painful to continue. The only way for me to perform this pose is to gently lift my lower body off the floor with my arms, but this defeats the purpose since the lower back is meant to do the work. Does anyone have a solution for this, or perhaps another pose that targets the same area as the cobra pose?
Peter
Hello Peter,
Obviously pain is not a desired result of asana practice. So we look at this with two thoughts in mind. The first is whether the student is doing the posture correctly. The second is how we might modify the pose to ameliorate the pain when the pose IS being done correctly.
Before going further it should be pointed out that the work in Bhujangasana (cobra) is NOT in the lower back (lumbar spine) at all. In fact students should go to great lengths when doing the pose to keep the action OUT of the lumbar spine. Instead the action of most backbends, including this pose, is to primarily work the thoracic spine.
If you have the proper rotation in the thighs, the proper contraction in the two glutes (but not all three), the appropriate lift in the bottom of the belly, the necessary descent in the shoulder blades, the grounding and rooting of the thigh bones, etcetera then we’re on to modifying.
You can try moving your hand placement forward, not straightening your arms, resting on your forearms (three different mods here please, not one), not coming up so high, having someone ground the top of your hamstrings while coming up, or you can do the pose on a bolster (lengthwise on the mat with the top of the pelvis on the edge of the bolster). If these are not fruitful you can exchange Urdhva Mukha Svanasana for Bhujangasana but be forewarned that this pose can be more intense in the lower back for some students and therefore increase the potential for injury.
gordon
Move “it” out of the way before you do the posture
[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;28978]Hello Peter,
Obviously pain is not a desired result of asana practice. So we look at this with two thoughts in mind. The first is whether the student is doing the posture correctly. The second is how we might modify the pose to ameliorate the pain when the pose IS being done correctly.
Before going further it should be pointed out that the work in Bhujangasana (cobra) is NOT in the lower back (lumbar spine) at all. In fact students should go to great lengths when doing the pose to keep the action OUT of the lumbar spine. Instead the action of most backbends, including this pose, is to primarily work the thoracic spine.
If you have the proper rotation in the thighs, the proper contraction in the two glutes (but not all three), the appropriate lift in the bottom of the belly, the necessary descent in the shoulder blades, the grounding and rooting of the thigh bones, etcetera then we’re on to modifying.
You can try moving your hand placement forward, not straightening your arms, resting on your forearms (three different mods here please, not one), not coming up so high, having someone ground the top of your hamstrings while coming up, or you can do the pose on a bolster (lengthwise on the mat with the top of the pelvis on the edge of the bolster). If these are not fruitful you can exchange Urdhva Mukha Svanasana for Bhujangasana but be forewarned that this pose can be more intense in the lower back for some students and therefore increase the potential for injury.
gordon[/QUOTE]
Thank you for your elaborate reply. 
The modifications didn’t really help, the area is still being squashed. I think will use the Urdhva Mukha Svanasana instead of the cobra pose. It’s a bit more intense on my back, but not to the point where it is harmful.
[QUOTE=jlg;29021]Move “it” out of the way before you do the posture[/QUOTE]
It’s the two “its” below that are causing the problem. I can’t move those out of the way 