Bridge Pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

I’ve been writing for Hugger Mugger’s weblog for 14 years—onerous to imagine. And it’s equally onerous to imagine that in all these years, spanning greater than 900 posts, I’ve by no means written a primary weblog on find out how to follow Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana). In my protection, I’ve written two articles about working towards Bridge on a Commonplace Yoga Bolster, right here and right here. I’ve additionally written about working towards Setu Bandha with a Yoga Block. However for some motive, 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 lessons for many years. Not solely is it an important yoga pose, but it surely’s additionally an necessary pose in power coaching routines. Bridge Pose confers so many advantages. Listed here are just a few:

• Stretches hip flexors, a crucial motion for countering the unwell results of an excessive amount of sitting
• Strengthens again muscle mass, glutes and hamstrings
• Can relieve again rigidity
• Promotes improved posture
• Stretches the chest, neck and shoulders
• Calms the nervous system
• Might support digestion (so long as you follow two hours after a meal)

Cautions and Contraindications

Like all yoga poses, Bridge Pose may be contraindicated in sure instances. If you’re at present experiencing a neck and/or shoulder damage, it is perhaps greatest to keep away from Setu Bandha Sarvangasana till you’re healed. In a future publish, I’ll share a variation of Bridge Pose that is perhaps okay to follow with a neck concern.

You may additionally need to method Bridge Pose with warning if you’re within the early, heavy days of your menstrual interval. Many ladies expertise no uncomfortable side effects from working towards Bridge Pose on their interval. However there are some girls who expertise an interruption of their regular circulation. This could result in cramping and subsequent “flooding.” (I used to be in a position to follow Setu Bandha on my interval for years. Then someday, I skilled these signs, and it was extremely disagreeable!)

Put together to Apply Bridge Pose

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

Listed here are just a few recommendations for attainable warm-up poses. After all, a pair rounds of Surya Namaskar (Solar Salutations) may 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 ft 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 view 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. Keep this outward extension isometrically as you maintain the pose.
7. I want extending outward via my legs to raise into the pose, somewhat than merely pushing up with my glutes. I’ve discovered that once I push up with my glutes, I overextend my hip joints, which may, over time, put on down the cartilage and labrum. The opposite factor that occurs is that my knees are likely to splay out to the perimeters once I merely push up with my glutes. This doesn’t occur once I isometrically lengthen my knees outward from my pelvis. You in all probability received’t raise as excessive as you’ll by pushing into your hip joints, however lifting excessive isn’t the purpose! Working towards sustainably is much extra necessary.
8. Rock aspect to aspect onto the tops of your shoulders and clasp your fingers beneath you. In case your elbows bend if you clasp your fingers, follow together 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 muscle mass.
10. To depart the pose, lengthen your arms out overhead, alongside the ground and slowly decrease your backbone down onto the ground, lengthening as you go. Repeat should you like.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and commenced 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 printed by Rodmell Press. Her third guide 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 folks sextet Purple Rock Rondo, whose DVD received two Emmy awards in 2010.