Yoga With Denise Austin: Cobra Pose

Quick Win

The Cobra pose can help stretch your core muscles and strengthen your shoulders, abdomen, spine and buttocks.

Try This Today

1. Lie on your stomach. Place your hands flat on the ground, beneath your shoulders. 
2. Push up slightly with your arms, keeping your elbows close to your body, and lift your head and chest.
3. Hold the pose for 30 seconds, then lower your chest to the ground.

Why

Yoga incorporates physical postures, stretching and breathing to benefit physical well-being, but it can also improve mental well-being. In a meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials, participants 60 and older who began to practice yoga experienced enhanced balance, flexibility and muscle strength — and lower depressive symptoms — compared to participants who did other exercises, like walking, or no exercise. Researchers reported their findings in 2023 in the International Journal of Older People Nursing. In a separate meta-analysis of 12 studies, adults in their 60s and 70s who regular yoga sessions into their lives moderately improved their physical fitness, but it especially benefitted their upper limb strength and balance. The greatest effects were seen in participants who practiced yoga for 9 to 12 weeks, as reported in 2021 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.