How to Do a Bridge Yoga Pose

Video Transcript

"GINA KENNEDY: Faith is going to help me demonstrate the bridge pose, or Setu Bandhasana. And we're going to use a block to help us allow her to come into it a little more deeper and help through her spine. So, Faith is going to come down on her back. Good. Her heels are going to be close into her sits bones--good--in line with her hips. Maybe the heels are slightly out, the toes are slightly in, and her arms are just relaxed down next to her body. Good. Now, without tensing through her shoulders, neck or her chest, she's going to inhale in, press into her feet, squeeze her thighs, and begin to roll up one vertebra at a time. She wants to see if you can feel each vertebra as it lifts off the ground. Good. Now, I'm going to ask her to rise up to her toes just a little bit, so I can place this block, long-wise, right under her sacrum, right to her tailbone. Is that the right place? And then, you can lower your heels back down, how's that? Good. And notice how that supports her spine to allow her to open her chest. Good. Now, she wants to keep her tailbone pointed towards her knees and her knees in line with her hips. Good. If she wants to take this a little further, she can lift up and hold there, and there she can stay until she begins to tire or feel like she needs to, and then the block is always there for support. So in this manner, she can advance her bridge pose and advance the amount of time she holds the bridge pose."