Featured Pose: Bridge Pose (Setubandha Sarvangasana)

by Baxter

Compared with the backbends we have previously featured, including Cobra and Upward-Facing Dog pose, in Bridge pose, your back body is in a back-bending shape just from the base of your neck (around C7-T1 for my anatomy geeks out there) to the backs of your knees. So in this pose, you are encouraging back bending movement in most of your spine, but none in the neck or below the knee joints. This makes this backbend suitable for people who have neck problems and experience difficulty or pain with other backbends, as long as the pose is comfortable for you.

But as with many of the other backbends, this pose is great for increasing flexibility along the front of your body—from the crook of your throat to your knees—and for strengthening the muscles that line your back body—from the backs of your knees to the base of your neck. Because you’re lifting your thighs away from the ground, this pose is a good way to strengthen your hamstring muscles, which tend to become weak from too much sitting. For those with low back pain, this can be a helpful pose because it returns your lumbar spine to its natural healthy curve and strengthens lower back muscles that may be weak and contributing to pain. 

When practiced as an active backbend, this pose can be energizing for your body and mind. It is particularly uplifting if you practice it dynamically, lifting up into the backbend on your inhalation and dropping back down on your exhalation. When practiced with support under the sacrum, this pose acts as a supported inversion, with a gentle downward gradient from knees to head, so it can be very calming (triggering the Relaxation Response) and also provides some of the other benefits of supported inversions. This backbend is accessible to anyone who can get down on the floor or even has access to a fairly firm mattress!

I prescribe this pose for:

• Improving front body flexibility
• Improving flexibility of the spine
• Improving strength of the back body, including the hamstrings
• Relief of lower back pain, especially versions 2 and 4 and very low lifts of version 
• Quieting your nervous system 
• Releasing tension around the front of the chest to help improve overall breathing
• Counter-pose for forward bends and twists
• Uplifting pose for mild depression when practiced dynamically

Cautions: The higher you lift your hips into Bridge pose, the more your neck goes into flexion (forward bending). Because of this, those of you with neck issues, such as neck pain, whiplash, or cervical disc problems, should be careful how high you raise your hips, making sure you’re pain free in the pose. You can also try placing a folded blanket under your shoulders but not under your neck or head to reduce the bend of your neck. (If the pose worsens symptoms, you may need to skip it entirely.) 

Although most of my students with low back pain find this pose accessible and even helpful, there will be some people with low back pain who cannot do the pose due to worsening of pain. And those with knee problems sometimes complain of pain around the knee joints as they lift their hips higher. This can sometimes resolved by placing a block between your knees and keeping a good squeeze on it during the pose.

For everyone, do not roll your head and neck side to side when in the full pose, as this could be injurious to the structures of the neck!

1. Classic Bridge Pose

Start in Constructive Rest position (lying on your back with knees bent and heels about four inches from your hips).

From here, establish the normal, slightly arched shape of your lumbar spine. Then push down into your feet and lift your hips straight up off the floor—like an elevator going up a few floors—maintaining the neutral arch of your lower back. Stop this action when the stretch on your front body becomes strong or if you feel the knees coming apart, usually about 6-12 inches off the floor. Keep your thighs parallel each other. 

Once in Bridge pose, bring some focus to your arms. Press the upper backs of your upper arms (where your arms meet your shoulders) firmly down into the floor while actively lifting up the lower tip of your breast bone to the sky. Then press your arms, which are lengthening toward your feet, firmly down into the floor. This will encourage extension of your shoulder joints and spine. Optionally, you can try to roll your upper arms bones under your chest and clasp the hands together under your body, pressing the entire length of your arms down firmly into the floor (this part is best learned from an experienced teacher). Keep your head and neck relaxed and centered, and look straight up at the ceiling above you. 

Stay in the pose for 15-30 seconds, gradually extending your hold over time, up to 1-2 minutes. To come out of the pose, move your arms out to your sides if necessary and then lower your hips straight down, like an elevator returning to the lobby floor. Rest for a moment and consider repeating one more time.

If desired, you can also practice the pose dynamically, coming up into the backbend on your inhalation and lowering down on your exhalation, repeating for about six rounds. This is a good way to warm up for longer holds of the pose or simply to energize or uplift yourself.

2. Supported Bridge Pose with Low/Medium Block

When you rest your pelvis on a prop, Bridge pose shifts from an active pose to a passive, restorative pose. This version still provides the benefits of opening your front body and extending your back body, but there is less strength building than in the active version. And because you are not usually lifting to your maximum, this version is also gentler on the neck. This makes it ideal for gentle practices, for situations of fatigue, as a good closing pose for a practice. 

To come into the pose, start in Constructive Rest pose with a block handy near your hip. Then, come into the pose as in the classic version, but lifting your hips only high enough to slip the block crosswise like a belt is oriented, on its medium or lowest height, under the top part of your buttocks, just below your waist. Then rest your pelvis fully onto the block. Keep pressing your feet into the floor just enough to keep your legs parallel with each other (not turning out) and work your arms and create the lift of your sternum as in the classic version. 

Stay in the pose from 1-2 minutes unless you feel pain or sense you need come out before then. To come out of the pose, press into your feet, lift your hips off the block and slide the block and your arms out of the way. Then lower your hips gently to the floor. Rest a few breaths before moving on.

3. Supported Bridge Pose with High Block

This version has the same benefits as version 2, but because you are on the highest height of the block, it invites more stretch to the front of your body at your hips, abdomen, and chest. For many, this version will be near or even a little beyond what you can do on your own, so be mindful that it does not cause pain in the lower back or neck. If it does, return to a lower height of the block. 

To come into the pose, follow the steps for version 2, but as you lift your hips up, you may need to also lift your heels and come onto the balls of your feet to be high enough to slip the block, crosswise like a belt is oriented, under your pelvis. As you set your pelvis onto the block, your heels should be able to easily come back to rest on floor. If they don’t, come out and turn the block down to a lower height. 

Stay for 8-12 breaths initially and work up to 1-2 minute holds. Even though this is a restorative version of Bridge pose, it may create a lot of sensation in your front body, so you may decide to come out earlier than for version 2.

To come out the pose, exit the same way as you did for version 2, although, once again, you may need to lift your heels to move your pelvis off the block and move the block out of the way before you lower your hips to the floor. Rest for a few breaths before moving on.

4. Supported Bridge Pose with Bolster

(sorry, no photo)

Resting your pelvis on a bolster is similar to the resting on the lowest or middle height of the block, with the same benefits, but adds in the benefit of the bolster’s softness and size, which may provide more comfortable support for those with a sensitive lower back and pelvis. For everyone, using the bolster may make the pose more restful and restorative. 

To come into the pose, follow the same steps as version 2, using a bolster instead of a block. When you slide the bolster crosswise under your pelvis and release down onto it, make sure the entire bolster is below your waist and is not supporting the curve of your lower back. If necessary, move the bolster to a better position. To make the pose fully supported, tie a belt just above your knees to keep your legs in place. From there, use the same actions and timing as version 2.
 
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To Peel or Not to Peel: Working with Bridge Pose

by Baxter

I received this question a while back from one of our readers and thought today was the perfect day to address it:

“I often hear teachers instruct to come out of Bridge 'one vertebra at a time.' What are your thoughts on this? Is this healthier for the spine? Or is it in fact better to maintain the lower lumbar curve?”

It turns out that most of my first teachers would encourage just such an action when instruction for Bridge pose (Setu Bandha) with bent knees. In those days, I was practicing a style of yoga in which we would hold the poses for several minutes once in the shape of the pose. My instructors would often say to come up into Bridge one vertebrae at a time, as if your spine were taped to the floor and you were slowly peeling the tape off the floor. And they would suggest a similar action upon exiting the pose only in reverse: lower down slowly, one vertebra at a time, as if you were pressing the “tape” of the spine back onto the floor.

Bridge Pose (from "Yoga: The Poetry of the Body")

This way of entering or exiting Bridge pose is one of two basic ways I still think are valid and reasonable ways to work in the pose. The second way that I instruct entering and exiting is as follows: From Constructive Rest position (supine, knees bent and heels about 4 inches from your hips), establish the normal, slightly arched shape of your lumbar spine. Lift your hips straight up as you push down into your feet, like an elevator going up a few floors, maintaining the neutral arch of the lower back. To come down, lower your hips straight down, like an elevator returning to the lobby floor.

The obvious question would be what are the advantages to the two different ways of getting in and out of the pose? The Peel Method, as I call it, is particularly well suited to the generally stiff student who does not have any lower back problems, specifically, but not exclusively, lumbar disc issues. For the healthy, stiff student, this way of moving in and out of Bridge pose creates more movement in certain directions between the individual bones of the lower spine, a bit more flexion (forward bending) than extension. So you can create better movement in a stiff part of the body using the Peel Method. And it is a fine way to work with healthy students who have normal flexibility as well.

However, in my specialty Back Care class, where lots of students have bulging or inflamed discs or structures in the lower back, there may be some instability and/or too much mobility that can result in increased pain. In addition, flexion (such as in a forward folding, rounded spine) which as I mentioned above, happens with the Peel Method, could potentially worsen disc problems and even run-of-the-mill general lower back pain. So the Elevator Method provides more stability to the lower spine, as well as encouraging a more neutral or natural curve in the lumber spine. I find that almost all of my Back Care students can not only do this variation without pain, but also seem to benefit from the overall strengthening of the back body muscles that come form this particular back bend.

There will always be some students who are exceptions to the above recommendations, and so each individual has to try the methods out for themselves and see which feels better for their body and seems to have the overall desired effects from regular practice. And, as with all asana, there are certainly other creative ways to get in and out of Bridge, so playing around to find a new way of working in the pose can add some fun to your home practice as well. I personally like to mix up the way I enter and exit poses a bit, so that I don’t get stuck in a rut of doing things the same way each time. This way of varying things keeps my attention more clearly focused on the task at hand, so I am more present with my regular asana practice. And this cultivation of moment-by-moment awareness in my yoga practice has great benefit for my everyday activities as well. In this way, I can move beyond the mere performance of yoga poses and reap the deeper benefits that yoga has to offer. So, play around with Bridge pose this week and see what you discover for yourself.

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For Tamasic Depression: Moving with Your Breath

by Nina

Light in the Mist by Michele McCartney-Filgate

Last week in my post Tamasic and Rajasic Depression, I mentioned how moving with your breath can be very helpful for people with tamasic depression (or for all of us on those days when we're just feeling blue). We don’t have scientific evidence to prove this, however, many long-time yogis have experienced the enlivening and uplifting sensations of vinyasas and mini vinyasas. And I'm here to testify to that! Some possible reasons why this works are:

• Moving with you breath engages your mind, providing you with temporary respite from depressing thoughts. Coordinating movements with your breath doesn’t give you time to brood or let your mind wander.
• Consciously breathing as you move improves your breathing in general, which can reduce lethargy and fatigue.
• Exercising in general can actually change your mood, possibly by changing your body chemistry.

You can use a vinyasa or mini vinyasa as a way to start a longer practice or as a mini practice on its own. If you’re too depressed to contemplate a challenging practice, try some simple movements. Just starting to move, however modestly, can sometimes get your energy flowing and may even motivate you to move onto a longer practice.

Practicing a vinyasa with a backbending movement may be the most helpful for depression. For most people, backbends are energizing and uplifting. Patricia Walden, who teaches yoga for depression, says that backbends “let in the light.” In Gary Kraftsow’s sequence for chronic depression in Yoga for Wellness, he includes a mini vinyasa with Bridge pose, a sequence that includes Warrior 1, and second mini vinyasa with Upward-Facing Dog pose, probably for the same reasons.

Today I’m just going to offer up a few ideas for poses you can use to start a practice or to do on their own as mini practices (and, hmmm, now that I look at the list, I realize you could actually do them all, in the order below, as a short sequence). Some of these ideas come from Patricia Walden, some from Gary Kraftsow, and some are my own.

Cat Pose: If you can’t even bring yourself to stand up on your yoga mat, whether because you’re depressed, discouraged, or just tired, try starting on hands and knees. Move into your backbend on an inhalation (what some people call Cow pose and what I like to call Purring Cat) and arching your back into Cat pose on an exhalation. Repeat any number of times. Who knows, maybe you’ll feel like going into Doward-Facing Dog pose next or perhaps even standing in Mountain pose on your mat. By the way, you can even do this pose in a chair, as we described in our post Chair Cat Pose, anywhere and in any attire.

Mountain Pose: The easiest standing mini vinyasa is to move in Mountain Pose. Start in Mountain pose, with your arms by your sides. On an inhalation, bring your arms overhead as you bend slightly into a backbend in your upper back. On an exhalation, release back to your starting position, bringing your arms back by your sides. Repeat six times.

Warrior 1: Moving from Warrior 1 stance to full Warrior 1 pose as we illustrated in our post Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Mini Vinyasas is a more challenging vinyasa. But the fact that it takes more concentration and effort may bring you more powerful results. Repeat six times.

Bridge Pose: This is the deepest backbend of the group, which provides the benefits of a good chest opening along with the benefits of moving with your breath. Start by lying on your back with your knees bend, your feet about hips-width apart and your arms by your sides. On an inhalation, press down with your feet as you lift your pelvis off the ground, open your chest, and raise your arms overhead and down toward the floor behind your head. On an exhalation, return to the starting position, dropping your pelvis straight down to the floor as you bring your arms back by your sides. Repeat six times.

I hope that some of you out there will give these a try and let me know how it goes!

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