Signature Methods

Walk distance by bringing hands out to push up position and walking the feet back to the hands

1. Begin by lying face-down on the floor with your legs extended behind you, spread a few inches apart. The tops of your feet should rest on the mat — do not tuck your toes, as this can crunch your spine.
Place your hands under your shoulders with your fingers pointing toward the top of the mat. Hug your elbows in to the sides of your body.

2. Press down through the tops of your feet and your pubic bone. Spread your toes.

3. Inhale as you gently lift your head and chest off the floor. Keep your lower ribs on the floor.

4. Draw your shoulders back and your heart forward, but do not crunch your neck. Keep your shoulders dropped away from your ears.
Beginners and those with neck pain should keep their gaze toward the floor. Those with more flexibility can bring their gaze to the sky.

5. Begin to straighten your arms, lifting your chest off the floor. Press the tops of your thighs down firmly into the floor. This is Low Cobra.

6. Do not push yourself away from the floor, forcing the backbend. Instead, allow the lift to come as a natural extension of your spine. There should be almost no weight on your hands — you should be able to lift your palms off the mat for a moment while in the pose.

7. Only straighten your arms as much as your body allows. Deepen the stretch as your practice advances, but avoid straining to achieve a deeper backbend. If your flexibility permits, you can straighten your arms all the way while maintaining the connection of the front of your pelvis and legs with the floor. This is High Cobra.

8. Actively press your shoulder blades into your upper back. Keep your elbows hugged in to your sides. Broaden across your collar bones and lift your heart. Glide the tops of your shoulders away from your ears.

9. Distribute the length of the backbend evenly through your entire spine.

10. Hold the pose for up to 30 seconds. To release, exhale as you slowly lower your chest and forehead to the mat. Turn your head to the right, resting your left ear on the mat. Relax your arms alongside your body.

11. Repeat the pose up to five times.

1. Get into a pushup position with your arms straight.

2. In one movement, lift your right hand and rotate the right side of your body upward, until you're facing sideways and your arms and body form a T.

3. Reverse the move, rotating to the left.

4. Make sure to keep your hips raised and your body in a straight line as you rotate.

1. Start in a plank position with your elbows at shoulder height and width.

2. Extend your elbows to a locked-out position while moving your upper and lower body at the same time.

3. Slowly lower your entire body to the start position while maintaing a straight line.