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St. Louis, MO, 63139
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May 2020 Pose of the Month: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana/Bridge Pose

April 29, 2020 Guest User
Back to Front; Left to Right: Maury Browning (Wheel Pose), Feleg Abraha (Wheel on Chair), Nikki Dosanjh (One-legged Wheel Pose), Jim Etling (Bridge Pose), Heidi Tobe (Supported Bridge w/Block), and Cindy Campbell (Supported Bridge on Bolster).

Back to Front; Left to Right: Maury Browning (Wheel Pose), Feleg Abraha (Wheel on Chair), Nikki Dosanjh (One-legged Wheel Pose), Jim Etling (Bridge Pose), Heidi Tobe (Supported Bridge w/Block), and Cindy Campbell (Supported Bridge on Bolster).

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (setu = bridge; bandha = building or lock; sarva = all; anga = limbs; asana = pose) or Bridge Pose

A bridge is a structure built over some sort of obstacle, be it a river, a railroad track, another road, etc. In essence, a bridge is a connector of two things that may originally seem impossible to connect. Spiritually, a bridge can be seen as a union, as our bodies are a union between earth and sky, and a bridge is a link between two different situations. Right now, as we are in the midst of a global pandemic and many of us are following “shelter-in-place” or “stay-at-home” orders, we are, in a sense, on a bridge between the “normal” that we once knew and a “new normal” that has yet to be seen. We have also figured out a way to bridge the gaps in being separated by bringing yoga online via Zoom, by having FaceTime happy hours, by using masks and gloves and other sanitation supplies to move about in the world. Some of us are using this time to open our hearts to see all of the beauty that we may have missed while moving along in a sort of haze that everyday life had once been. Some have been able to use this time to really consider all of the abundances that filled their lives but had been taken for granted, so in understanding that, some have been able to really let go of what once might have been thought of as a key necessity, but in reality was being held or gripped tightly fearing what might happen if we were to let go. So now, we are being asked to let go. 

In yoga, a bridge is one of the quintessential backbends that open our hearts to new and different ways of thinking and of living. We work into deeper backbends by taking it one step at a time, slowly opening our shoulders, deepening our breath, expanding our collarbones, strengthening our legs, lengthening our quads and hamstrings through systematic movement. According to Judith Hanson Lasasater’s 30 Essential Yoga Poses “Bridge Pose symbolizes the connection between the inner and the outer world, the mind and the body, and the individual and the Divine.”  

While we may not yet see what is on the other side of the bridge, we are taking this moment one step at a time and trusting that what is waiting for us is something beautiful that will take us further in our journey of expansion through the heart. Practice bridge with all the joy that awaits.

How To

  • Place feet hip width distance apart with heels directly below knees

  • Press elbows and shoulder heads down into the floor, lifting chest, and bringing shoulder blades toward one another. Keep your gaze straight up.

  • Press into your feet and slowly send your knees forward; then lift your hips away from the floor. 

  • Optional: hold outside edges of mat and pull arms apart to bring shoulderblades more underneath the back

  • 2nd Option: interlace fingers under body, stretching knuckles to the front of the mat, continuing to open the chest

Variations

  • Supported Bridge Pose (shown in image)

    • Bring block, folded blanket or bolster under the the hips/sacrum - triangular flat bone where hips and low back meet.

  • Bridge Pose on a chair 

    • holding onto the back of the chair and lifting chest up and out

  • Wheel Pose (shown in image)

  • Wheel Pose over a bolster

    • Bring your spine - tailbone to shoulders - on bolster, feet on ground, arms overhead w/fingers toward shoulders

  • Wheel Pose on a chair (shown in image)

    • sending feet through the opening in the back and bringing arms overhead w/fingers toward shoulders

  • One-legged Wheel Pose

    • Step one foot toward middle of body

    • Bring opposite knee toward chest, then lift foot to sky

Benefits

  • Strengthens the erector spinae muscles (vertical stabilizing muscles of the spine)

  • Strengthens hamstrings, quadriceps, hip and gluteal muscles

  • Opens and stretches the abdomen, chest, and shoulders

  • Increases flexibility in upper back

  • Stimulates thyroid and pituitary glands

  • Helps to alter moods

  • Give a sense of an expanding, open heart

  • Calms the mind

  • Energizes the body

Prep Poses: 

  • Ardha Bhekasana/Half Frog Pose (also one-legged Bow Pose)

  • Anjaneyasana/Low Lunge

  • Ashta Chandrasana/Crescent Lunge or High Lunge Pose

  • Bhujangasana/Cobra Pose

  • Bidalasana/Cat and Cow Pose

  • Dhanurasana/Bow Pose

  • Garudasana arms/Eagle Arms

  • Salabhasana A & C/locust pose arm apart & interlacing fingers

  • Supta Virasana/Reclining Hero Pose

  • Tadasana/Mountain Pose

  • Urdhva Mukha Svanasana/Upward-facing Dog Pose

  • Ustrasana/Camel Pose

  • Virabhadrasana I/Warrior I

What this Pose Preps You for:

  • Urdhva Dhanurasana/Wheel Pose

  • Bhujangasana/Cobra Pose

  • Eka Pada Rajakapotasana/ One-Legged King Pigeon Pose

  • Salamba Sarvangasana/Supported ShoulderStand

Counter Poses: 

  • Simple twists

  • Apanasana/Knees to Chest Pose

  • Supta Baddha Konasana/Reclining Bound Angle Pose

  • Ananda Balasana/Happy Baby Pose

  • Balasana/Child’s Pose

  • Seated forward bends

  • Savasana/Resting Pose

Contraindications & Cautions

  • Hiatal hernia

  • Neck injury

  • High Blood Pressure

  • Take precaution when pregnant

In Pose of the Month, Yoga, Inspiration Tags setu bandha sarvangasana, bridge pose, Wheel Pose, urdhva dhanurasana, Judith Lasater, 30 Essential Yoga Poses, heart opener, how-to, supported bridge pose, low lunge, anjaneyasana, mountain pose, tadadasana, Virabhadrasana I, Warrior I
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BLUE SKY YOGA STL
3525 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO 63139
blueskyyogastl@gmail.com | 314-223-9052

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