Extremely simple yoga pose with many benefits

Yoga is a mind-body practice that involves performing a series of postures to improve flexibility, strength, and balance. Yoga is a great way to exercise in a low-impact way. This type of exercise is relaxing and also has cardiovascular benefits.

For example, the bridge yoga pose has many benefits from relieving lower back pain to low-impact stretching to treating osteoporosis and polycystic ovaries.

What is bridge pose?

According toWebMD, the bridge yoga pose, also known as setu bandha, is a backbending pose that opens the chest and stretches the thighs.

Bridge pose is a beginner's pose. It is often performed at the end of a yoga session, after a series of standing poses, to help warm up the spine.

What muscles does the bridge pose work?

For bridge pose, the muscles used are mainly in the back. This pose helps strengthen the back muscles, glutes, and hamstrings. It can also relieve tension and fatigue in the back.

While this pose strengthens your back, it also stretches your chest, neck, and spine. The upward bend also opens your lungs and relaxes your brain. This essential yoga move benefits many parts of your body.

How to do bridge pose

To do the bridge yoga pose:

- Start by lying on your back.

- Place both feet flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart, and keep your knees bent.

- Place both hands down by your sides, palms facing the floor.

- Inhale and push your hips up toward the ceiling, making sure your head, neck and shoulders are flat on the floor.

While holding the pose, there are a few options for your hands. You can keep your palms facing the floor. For a more challenging option, you can interlock your fingers and push your hands into the floor to lift your torso a little higher.

Breathe deeply, hold the position for a few minutes, then exhale while lowering your hips to the floor.

Variations of Bridge Pose

The bridge pose is a basic yoga pose. However, variations of the bridge pose can be adjusted to make it more or less challenging.

Poses that help prepare you for bridge pose include cobra pose, cat-cow pose…

Further bridge pose poses and getting the most out of them include:

- Full wheel pose.

- Legs up the wall position.

You can reach behind your back to increase the difficulty by clasping your hands together and lifting your torso higher or supporting your back with your palms.

Half Bridge Pose is a variation of the full bridge yoga pose. This pose can help you strengthen your core and improve your balance. You will still get stimulation and comfort from this move.

This is similar to bridge pose, but instead you will use your hands to support your lower back, keeping your elbows on the ground. This pose provides better support for your lower back.

Benefits of bridge pose

There are many benefits to practicing yoga. Better posture, improved balance and coordination are some of the main benefits you will see. You will also experience better range of motion, increased strength and reduced anxiety levels.

The benefits of the bridge pose in yoga in particular include cardiovascular health and emotional benefits. Practicing yoga is all about having a positive and healthy mindset.

- With children

Yoga has many benefits for children. It helps improve their concentration, understanding, and memory. Yoga can also help prepare children for school. This mindful activity gives children space to reflect and understand the emotional learning process.

Bridge pose is an easy move for kids to practice at home or in a gym setting.

- People with osteoporosis

The bridge pose can help improve your posture, reducing pain caused by osteoporosis. Improved strength and balance also help reduce the risk of falls, which are a major cause of osteoporosis-related fractures.

- Lower back pain

Bridge pose is great for relieving tension in the lower back. You can also modify this pose to any movement that suits your spine's current needs.

- Polycystic ovary

Bridge pose can improve metabolic/hormonal issues associated with polycystic ovary syndrome. It can help relieve lower back pain, sciatica, and stiffness in the back, thighs, hips, and ankles.

Holding this pose for a few breaths and repeating 8 to 10 times can help during menstruation and pregnancy.

- Hip flexibility

Yoga has been shown to improve flexibility in the major muscle groups around the hips.

The muscles you are strengthening in this pose include your abdominals, back, and quadriceps. These muscles help maintain the range of motion in your hips, making it easier to perform activities like walking, standing, and climbing stairs.

Although bridge pose is a relatively simple and easy pose to do, there are reasons why you should not include this pose in your yoga sequence.

If you have any type of neck or back injury, you should avoid bending your body into the bridge pose. The movement of this pose will strain your neck and back and may cause further injury or prevent healing.

Avoid any yoga poses that strain these areas until you are fully recovered and cleared by your doctor or physical therapist. You can replace them with restorative yoga.

Additionally, this pose has many benefits and is an essential basic yoga pose to include in your routine.

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