Sanskrit Name: Setu Bandha SarvangasanaTranslation/Meaning: bridge lock
English Name: Bridge Pose
How to Get In and Out of the Asana:
1. Lie on your back and bend your knees so that the soles of your feet are parallel to the ground while your heels are touching your sitting bones
2. Press both your inner feet and arms actively on the ground to help lift your tailbone up towards the ceiling. Lift your buttocks off the floor and make them firm (don't tighten). During this process, your thighs and inner feet should stay parallel to the ground.
3. Interlace your fingers behind your back, under the pelvis section while straightening your arms. Press the arms down into the floor. First roll one shoulder under, and then the other. Now extend your arms more to help you stay on top of your shoulders.
4. Lift your hips and buttocks higher until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Push your knees forward and away from the hips while keeping them directly over the heels. Lengthen your tailbone towards the back of the knees and lift the pubis towards the navel.
5. Draw your chest towards your chin, lifting it slightly away from the sternum while firming the shoulder blades in your back. Do not bring your chin towards the chin to your chest instead of moving your chest to your chin. Try to left up so that there is space between your shoulders and the base of the neck. Broaden your shoulder blades and make your outer arms firm.
6. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Exhale and release while slowly rolling your spine onto the floor starting with your upper back and ending with your lower back.
Benefits/Effects of the asana: This asana allows you to improve your flexibility and stretch your chest, neck, and spine. It stimulates the abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid while opening your chest. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression. While in this pose, you are improving your digesting, relieving menopause symptoms, and rejuvenating tired legs. Another benefit you get from this asana is the benefit of rducing anxiety, fatigue, backache, headache, and insomnia. It is therapeutic for your asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and sinusitis. This asana also relieves menstrual discomfort when done correctly.
Awareness: While in this asana you will calm and relaxed You can feel your spine being stretched and your chest opening. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana is a great pose to do when you are feeling stress or pain in your back. It easily releases the tension in your back with in seconds of staying in this asana.
References: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/472
http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/bridge.htm
