Lower back, upper back, neck, hips, shoulders and wrists
Cobra: Minimal Lift
The most accessible active back extension: eyes barely lift off the floor, introducing gentle strengthening that almost everyone can do safely.
How to do it
- 1
Lie face down with your forehead resting on the floor
Legs straight and relaxed, hands flat on the floor under or slightly ahead of your shoulders.
- 2
Lengthen through the top of your head first
Before anything lifts, think of the crown of your head travelling away from your feet. That sets the neck before the back works.
- 3
Lift your chest just enough that your eyes clear the floor
That is the whole range. This version is deliberately tiny, and going higher makes it a different movement rather than a better one.
- 4
Keep the weight in your body, not your hands
The hands rest rather than push. If your arms are working hard, the lift is too high.
- 5
Hold for 15 to 45 seconds, then rest down
Your gaze stays down towards the floor throughout, which keeps the neck long.
What to watch for
Pushing up with the arms and throwing the head back. Eyes stay down and the lift stays small. Come out of it if it produces pain travelling into a leg.
Ways to adjust it
- Gaze down cue
Other ways to do this movement
Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Cobra Pose versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.
Before you try it
Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.
Also part of sessions for
Each of those explains what the condition is, what the published guidance recommends, and where this movement fits.
One movement is a start. A session is the thing.
A few questions about your body and how it is today, and Vinys builds a session around it, including which movements to leave out.
Start your first sessionFrom the clinically authored Vinys movement library.