Bridge Pose - Setu Bandhasanasana
Translation: Bridge pose
Lying on the back place the hands down on the mat beside the hips.
Bend the knees and take the heels quite close to the buttocks. Raise the
pelvis and chest remaining grounded with the shoulders, neck, head and feet.
Place the hands under the lower back for a little extra support. The easiest
way to do this is to place only the thumbs under the back and the hands into
the sides of the body. Doing this will allow you to endure this pose for a
longer period of time.
Walk the legs out stopping when the big toes struggle to touch the mat.
Extend through the inside of the legs and push down on the inside of the feet.
Allow the shoulders to touch the mat. Do not let the vertebrae in the lower
neck touch the mat.Create space around the neck for the elements to flow.
Benefits of Bridge Pose
Deep muscles in the spine are strengthened such as the iliocostal lumborum,
longissimus thoracis, iliocostalis thoracisis. All of the gluteal muscles
are strengthened. These are the gluteus maximus, medius and gluteus minimus.
The hamstrings are also a major support in this pose these are (the biceps
femoris, semitendinosus and the semimembranosus). If the toes touch the mat
the muscles around the tibia, and further up the leg the qaudriceps, are also
used for support.
Common Faults in Bridge Pose
The legs seem to rotate outwards. This causes the big toes to raise of the
mat. The ankles have to be very flexible to get the feet flat on the mat with
the legs straight. You may want to allow a slight bend in the legs so that
the feet stay flat on the mat. Or you may want to balance the sides of the
feet on the mat so that it is easy to straighten the legs. Implementing either
technique will allow a greater endurance when performing this posture.
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