Bridge Pose

Setu Bandhasana

SAY-too bahn-DAHS-ah-nah

A rejuvenating backbend that opens the chest and strengthens the legs, glutes, and lower back. Bridge Pose is both energizing and calming -- it stimulates the thyroid gland while also helping to reduce anxiety and fatigue. As a supine backbend, it is more accessible than poses like Wheel, making it an excellent way to build backbending confidence.

How to do Bridge Pose

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Walk your feet close enough to your sitting bones that you can graze your heels with your fingertips.
2. Press your feet firmly into the floor and, on an inhale, lift your hips toward the ceiling. Start from the tailbone and peel your spine up one vertebra at a time, rolling the hips upward.
3. Interlace your hands beneath your body and walk your shoulders underneath you, pressing your arms into the mat. This broadens the chest and deepens the shoulder opening.
4. Keep your thighs parallel to each other (avoid letting the knees splay outward) and press evenly through all four corners of both feet. Engage your glutes and hamstrings without clenching.
5. Lift your chest toward your chin while keeping the back of your neck long and the chin slightly tucked. Hold for five to ten breaths, then slowly roll your spine back down one vertebra at a time.

Benefits of Bridge Pose

• Strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back
• Opens the chest, shoulders, and hip flexors
• Stimulates the thyroid and improves metabolism
• Reduces anxiety, fatigue, and mild depression
• Improves spinal mobility and flexibility

Muscles Engaged

Modifications & Variations

• Place a block under the sacrum at any height for a supported, restorative variation
• Keep arms by your sides if interlacing the hands strains the shoulders
• Place a block between the thighs to keep the legs parallel and engage the inner thighs

Cautions

• Avoid with neck injuries; do not turn the head while in the pose
• Use caution with shoulder injuries when clasping the hands
• Those with knee pain should check that feet placement is comfortable