Bridge Pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

I’ve been writing for Hugger Mugger’s weblog for 14 years—arduous to consider. And it’s equally arduous to consider that in all these years, spanning greater than 900 posts, I’ve by no means written a primary weblog on tips on how to follow Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana). In my protection, I’ve written two articles about training Bridge on a Commonplace Yoga Bolster, right here and right here. I’ve additionally written about training Setu Bandha with a Yoga Block. However for some purpose, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana sans props escaped my thoughts.

Bridge Pose Advantages

Bridge Pose is a star amongst yoga poses, and it’s been a staple in my courses for many years. Not solely is it a necessary yoga pose, but it surely’s additionally an necessary pose in energy coaching routines. Bridge Pose confers so many advantages. Listed below are a number of:

• Stretches hip flexors, a essential motion for countering the in poor health results of an excessive amount of sitting
• Strengthens again muscular tissues, glutes and hamstrings
• Can relieve again stress
• Promotes improved posture
• Stretches the chest, neck and shoulders
• Calms the nervous system
• Might help digestion (so long as you follow two hours after a meal)

Cautions and Contraindications

Like all yoga poses, Bridge Pose might be contraindicated in sure instances. In case you are at the moment experiencing a neck and/or shoulder harm, it may be greatest to keep away from Setu Bandha Sarvangasana till you might be healed. In a future publish, I’ll share a variation of Bridge Pose that may be okay to follow with a neck situation.

You may also wish to method Bridge Pose with warning in case you are within the early, heavy days of your menstrual interval. Many ladies expertise no unintended effects from training Bridge Pose on their interval. However there are some ladies who expertise an interruption of their regular movement. This will result in cramping and subsequent “flooding.” (I used to be in a position to follow Setu Bandha on my interval for years. Then sooner or later, I skilled these signs, and it was extremely disagreeable!)

Put together to Apply Bridge Pose

Earlier than training Setu Bandha, it may be useful to heat up the areas of the physique that can be doing a lot of the stretching and strengthening work. These embody: glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, chest, shoulders, abdominals and neck.

Listed below are a number of recommendations for potential warm-up poses. After all, a pair rounds of Surya Namaskar (Solar Salutations) might work as nicely:

Apply Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

1. Lie in your again on a nonskid Yoga Mat.
2. Bend your knees and place the soles of your toes on the ground.
3. Draw your arms shut in to your sides, then bend your elbows in order that your forearms are vertical.
4. Press your higher arms into the ground, and concurrently arch your low again away from the ground.
5. Prolong your arms alongside your physique.
6. Prolong your knees outward, away out of your pelvis with a purpose to start to raise your again off the ground. Maintain extending your knees outward away out of your pelvis as your pelvis lifts into Bridge Pose. Preserve this outward extension isometrically as you maintain the pose.
7. I want extending outward via my legs to raise into the pose, reasonably than merely pushing up with my glutes. I’ve discovered that after I push up with my glutes, I overextend my hip joints, which might, over time, put on down the cartilage and labrum. The opposite factor that occurs is that my knees are inclined to splay out to the edges after I merely push up with my glutes. This doesn’t occur after I isometrically lengthen my knees outward from my pelvis. You most likely received’t raise as excessive as you’d by pushing into your hip joints, however lifting excessive isn’t the purpose! Working towards sustainably is much extra necessary.
8. Rock facet to facet onto the tops of your shoulders and clasp your fingers beneath you. In case your elbows bend once you clasp your fingers, follow along with your arms parallel on the ground. You may also maintain a Yoga Strap between your fingers to create a stronger grounding in your arms.
9. Take 5 to 10 deep breaths, stress-free your neck, throat, jaw and facial muscular tissues.
10. To go away the pose, lengthen your arms out overhead, alongside the ground and slowly decrease your backbone down onto the ground, lengthening as you go. Repeat if you happen to like.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started educating in 1986. Charlotte is the writer of Aware Yoga, Aware Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third e-book is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD received two Emmy awards in 2010.