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I'm sure I'm doing something wrong here in cobra, it's a mess. I can do it if we just concentrate on this one pose, but when it's liked to other poses in the sun salute I feel that I'm all over the place. I feel, well, rushed! I have to think about so many things and then by the time that I'm sorted we're up and off onto another pose?

Can anyone suggest something that will help me streamline this pose in the sun salute?

so, you're coming in from ashtangasana (knees, chest & chin to the floor), scooping up. when you're in knees chest chin, make sure you have dog tilt (anterior tilt/ back bend) in the hips, that helps the slithery snake like motion which scoops you up into cobra on your inhale, grounding through the tops of the legs & tops of the feet, tummy long, arms strong, shoulder blades tucking in, chest proud and gaze either forward or to the sky.

its a big movement, so i can empathise with the rushed feeling. i reckon focus on the breath rythm, and on keeping that constant (either 5/5, or 6/6 or whatever) slow it to your pace. maybe close your eyes if you feel able to, that way you're not seeing everyone else and the speed they're doing it at.

daily practice of sun sal will help. even 1 a day, and build up.

I don't do ashtanga but I do sun salutes in my hatha practice (is it the same? )

Personally I find it hard (impossible actually!! ) to get my chin on the floor as you come through 'snake' (I didn't know it was called that??). I am with you Timmy mine is a bit rushed and not very graceful. Is there another way to scoop through?

Reuben, please can you explain what you mean by 5/5 or 6/6? Sorry if this is a silly question but I'm not sure this is and how it would help me? Thanks

I learnt to do this by dropping myself between my hands rather than the scoop through (which I still have problems with). If you do it with control then it can be quite graceful actually. It's also not so messy, and then you have time to go into cobra. I don't go very deep into cobra either, just a bob up and down with the torso before I get back onto my knees and then to d/dog. My advice would be to keep it all 'small' if you know what I mean? Don't go for the full pose, just feel yourself in the pose and just work with the inhale and exhale. Well that's what I do!

Ashtangasana is the sanskrit name for "knees, chest & chin on the floor", ashta means 8, as in 8 point pose, cos there are 8 points touching the floor (2 feet, 2 knees, 2 hands, chest & chin)

Ashtanga yoga is a style of yoga which empahsises 8 points of the practice. The eight limbs denoted by the word ashtanga refer specifically to the eight spiritual practices outlined by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra. It should be noted that practitioners of most modern day schools of Hatha Yoga, including Pattabi Jois, draw from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and thus practice ashtanga yoga. To avoid this confusion many yoga practitioners have taken to referring to Jois's system as Pattabi Jois's Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

What I mean by 5/5 or 6/6 is breath rythm, so a count of 5 inhale & 5 exhale, or 6 in & 6 ex, thats an even breath rythm. Its generally spoken about with the inhale first.