Bridge Pose (setu bandhasana)

Each yoga posture (or asana) offers a valuable meditative and healing quality for the body, mind, and spirit. If you put off your yoga practice because you can’t remember which pose would help you most, consider what it is that most requires refreshment.

For neck tension and to increase flexibility in the back and shoulders, try bridge posture. This posture also strengthens leg muscles.

Begin by sitting comfortably with eyes gently closed. Take several deep breaths, exhaling and inhaling, and then breathe naturally while focusing on a luminous bridge that takes you over any obstacle you are unable to cross yourself. The bridge could be in a country setting crossing troubled water, clear water, or a boggy stretch of mire. It could be on a busy city road, crossing overpasses, traffic, and congestion. The bridge assists your journey and gets you on your way. So too can bridge posture help strengthen your resolve, put your back and strength to your issues, and cross over the tension to move you on your journey.

Lie down on your back with your knees bent, keeping your feet near your butt and about hip-width apart. You may be able to touch your heels with your hands. Now, squeeze your butt muscles, round up your pelvis toward the ceiling, and press your back into the floor.

Lift your lower, middle, and upper back slowly, raising your hips to the ceiling. Keep your weight on your shoulders and feet. Hold this position for three breaths or however many are comfortable for you.

Release the posture by lowering your spine one vertebrae at a time, slowly. Relax. Ask yourself what obstacles you want to bridge successfully and wait for an image. Breathe. Remain quiet with that image and see the best results occurring for you as you cross over it peacefully and effortlessly.

If you can tailor your yoga practice to your needs rather than just moving through a set of poses you learned in class, you will experience the most therapeutic benefit to your body, mind, and spirit.

By Joy Writer; All Rights Reserved @2017