I’ve been writing for Hugger Mugger’s weblog for 14 years—arduous to consider. And it’s similarly arduous to consider that during these kind of years, spanning greater than 900 posts, I’ve by no means written a elementary weblog on how you can apply Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana). In my protection, I’ve written two articles about practising Bridge on a Usual Yoga Bolster, right here and right here. I’ve additionally written about practising Setu Bandha with a Yoga Block. However for some reason why, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana sans props escaped my thoughts.

Bridge Pose Advantages

Bridge Pose is a celeb amongst yoga poses, and it’s been a staple in my categories for many years. Now not best is it an crucial yoga pose, however it’s additionally a very powerful pose in power coaching routines. Bridge Pose confers such a lot of advantages. Listed here are a couple of:

• Stretches hip flexors, a vital motion for countering the unwell results of an excessive amount of sitting
• Strengthens again muscle mass, glutes and hamstrings
• Can relieve again pressure
• Promotes stepped forward posture
• Stretches the chest, neck and shoulders
• Calms the apprehensive device
• Would possibly support digestion (so long as you apply two hours after a meal)

Cautions and Contraindications

Like several yoga poses, Bridge Pose can also be contraindicated in sure instances. If you’re these days experiencing a neck and/or shoulder damage, it could be very best to keep away from Setu Bandha Sarvangasana till you’re healed. In a long run publish, I’ll percentage a variation of Bridge Pose that could be alright to apply with a neck factor.

You may additionally need to means Bridge Pose with warning if you’re within the early, heavy days of your menstrual length. Many ladies revel in no unwanted side effects from practising Bridge Pose on their length. However there are some girls who revel in an interruption of their commonplace go with the flow. This can result in cramping and next “flooding.” (I used to be in a position to apply Setu Bandha on my length for years. Then at some point, I skilled those signs, and it was once extremely unsightly!)

Tips on how to Get ready to Follow Bridge Pose

Ahead of practising Setu Bandha, it may be useful to heat up the spaces of the frame that can be doing a lot of the stretching and strengthening paintings. Those come with: glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, chest, shoulders, abdominals and neck.

Listed here are a couple of tips for conceivable warm-up poses. After all, a pair rounds of Surya Namaskar (Solar Salutations) may paintings as smartly:

Tips on how to Follow Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

1. Lie to your again on a nonskid Yoga Mat.
2. Bend your knees and position the soles of your ft at the ground.
3. Draw your hands shut in on your aspects, then bend your elbows in order that your forearms are vertical.
4. Press your higher hands into the ground, and concurrently arch your low again clear of the ground.
5. Prolong your hands along your frame.
6. Prolong your knees outward, away out of your pelvis to be able to start to elevate your back down the ground. Stay extending your knees outward away out of your pelvis as your pelvis lifts into Bridge Pose. Care for this outward extension isometrically as you dangle the pose.
7. I choose extending outward via my legs to boost into the pose, fairly than just pushing up with my glutes. I’ve discovered that once I push up with my glutes, I overextend my hip joints, which might, through the years, put on down the cartilage and labrum. The opposite factor that occurs is that my knees have a tendency 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 almost certainly gained’t elevate as top as you can by way of pushing into your hip joints, however lifting top isn’t the purpose! Practising sustainably is way more necessary.
8. Rock aspect to aspect onto the tops of your shoulders and clasp your arms beneath you. In case your elbows bend while you clasp your arms, apply together with your hands parallel at the ground. You’ll be able to additionally dangle a Yoga Strap between your arms to create a more potent grounding for your hands.
9. Take 5 to ten deep breaths, enjoyable your neck, throat, jaw and facial muscle mass.
10. To depart the pose, lengthen your hands out overhead, alongside the ground and slowly decrease your backbone down onto the ground, lengthening as you pass. Repeat should you like.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell found out yoga in 1982 and started educating in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Existence: A Information for On a regular basis Follow and Yoga for Meditators, each printed by way of Rodmell Press. Her 3rd e book is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Protective the Hips and Keeping off SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a per 30 days column for CATALYST Mag 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.