Bridge Pose Setu Bandhasana
Perform Bridge Pose to strengthen your glutes and hamstrings while stretching your chest, spine, and hip flexors. Improve posture and flexibility.
Description
Bridge Pose opens the chest, heart, and shoulders. It stretches the spine, the back of the neck, the thighs, and the hip flexors (front hip joints).
How to Do Bridge Pose Setu Bandhasana
- 1Setup
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor hip-width apart, and heels positioned a few inches from your glutes.
- 2Setup
Rest your arms alongside your body with palms down, or interlace your fingers beneath your back for a deeper chest opening.
- 3
Inhale deeply, then as you exhale, press through your feet and lift your hips off the mat, actively engaging your glutes and hamstrings.
- 4
Continue lifting until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, ensuring your chest feels open and lifted.
- 5
Hold this position, breathing deeply and maintaining glute engagement, then slowly lower your hips back to the mat with control on an inhale.
Tips
- Keep your knees aligned directly over your ankles throughout the movement to protect your knee joints and maximize glute activation.
- Actively engage your inner thighs by imagining you're squeezing a block between your knees; this prevents them from splaying outwards.
- Focus on lifting from your hips towards the ceiling rather than pushing your chest up, which helps protect your neck and lumbar spine.
- If interlacing fingers, actively press your arms and shoulders into the mat to further open the chest and create a stable base.
Common Mistakes
- ×Avoid over-arching your lower back excessively by engaging your core and glutes to lift from the hips, not just pushing up with the spine.
- ×Prevent your knees from splaying outwards by actively drawing them towards the midline, imagining a block between your thighs.
- ×Do not turn your head or lift your neck while in the pose, as this can strain the cervical spine; keep your gaze fixed straight up at the ceiling.
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