Setu Bandhasana ~ Bridge Pose

“Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent, and the soles of your feet pressing into the ground. Slowly peel your spine from the floor, beginning with your tailbone, moving vertebra by vertebra, till your weight is resting on your shoulders. Engage the thighs here. You may also like to roll your shoulders under you, interlock your fingers and press your arms firmly into the floor. This helps to open and lift the chest. Once you’ve settled here, bring your awareness to your breath, deepening and lengthening it so that you fill the three parts of your lungs.”

Setu Bandhasana is an exceptional asana for strengthening different muscle groups. If we look from the floor up, we notice the power and strength of this asana begins with the feet and travels up through the quadriceps/thighs, into the abdominal cavity, through the back and into the neck. Each of these muscle groups are strengthened by the isometric contractions (The muscle does not overcome the resistance of the weight

and so it does not change length) (Martini, 1998). The benefit of this, aside from feeling really strong, is that it creates greater muscle tone. It is this tone that both stabilises and supports the position of bones and joints (Martini, 1998).

Of particular interest, is the way setu bandhasana strengthens the muscles through the back, and opens and releases the thoracic cavity (including the heart and lungs).


Written by:Rachael Freeland

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