Bridge Pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

I’ve been writing for Hugger Mugger’s weblog for 14 years—onerous to consider. And it’s equally onerous to consider that in all these years, spanning greater than 900 posts, I’ve by no means written a primary weblog on find out how to apply Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana). In my protection, I’ve written two articles about working towards Bridge on a Normal Yoga Bolster, right here and right here. I’ve additionally written about working towards Setu Bandha with a Yoga Block. However for some cause, 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 an important yoga pose, nevertheless it’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 needed motion for countering the ailing results of an excessive amount of sitting
• Strengthens again muscle mass, glutes and hamstrings
• Can relieve again stress
• Promotes improved posture
• Stretches the chest, neck and shoulders
• Calms the nervous system
• Could assist digestion (so long as you apply two hours after a meal)

Cautions and Contraindications

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

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

Put together to Observe Bridge Pose

Earlier than working towards 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 here are just a few ideas for doable warm-up poses. In fact, a pair rounds of Surya Namaskar (Solar Salutations) might work as nicely:

Observe 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 in an effort to start to raise your again off the ground. Hold 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 desire extending outward by my legs to raise into the pose, relatively than merely pushing up with my glutes. I’ve discovered that once 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 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 gained’t raise as excessive as you’d by pushing into your hip joints, however lifting excessive isn’t the purpose! Training sustainably is much extra necessary.
8. Rock facet to facet onto the tops of your shoulders and clasp your palms beneath you. In case your elbows bend once you clasp your palms, apply along with your arms parallel on the ground. You can too maintain a Yoga Strap between your palms to create a stronger grounding in your arms.
9. Take 5 to 10 deep breaths, enjoyable your neck, throat, jaw and facial muscle mass.
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 when you 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 Observe 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 folks sextet Purple Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards in 2010.