Bridge (+ Blocks and Straps)

Bridge is a great pose for building leg strength, engaging your abdominal muscles, and opening through your chest and shoulders. We've talked about bridge before as it relates to Diastasis Recti, but this time we're focusing on how to use blocks and straps! Here are our top tips for the pose in general:

1. Keep your feet and knees hip-width distance apart with your knees directly above your ankles. Your toes should point toward the front of the room and your knees should point toward the ceiling.

2. Use the strength of your legs to lift your hips toward the ceiling and keep your legs engaged throughout the pose (imagine your squeezing a block between your knees and you don't want to let it fall to the ground).

3. Gaze directly above you and avoid pressing your chin toward your chest.

4. For a deeper stretch through your shoulders and chest, interlace all 10 fingers behind you, coming up on one shoulder and then the other (you can also use a strap here to help make the connection between your hands).

STRAP

If you find that your knees flair out when you lift into bridge, use a strap to help keep them hip-width distance apart! This works best with a D-ring yoga strap, but can work with any strap that makes a secure loop. Make the loop hip-width distance (this is different for everybody). Before lying back, bring your feet through the loop and secure the loop just above your knees. Move through the pose as you normally would, but now the strap is there to help you form a more solid bridge!

BLOCK

If your knees move inward when you lift into bridge, use a block to help keep them hip-width distance apart! Find the side of the block that works best for you and place the block between your knees. Move through the pose as you normally would, continuing to press the block between your legs throughout the pose.

If you're working on building leg strength, you can also use a block beneath your lower back/tail bone for additional support! This will help you keep your hips elevated while building strength in your legs and core and feeling the stretch through your chest and shoulders. I suggest using the short or medium side of the block rather than the tallest one as that may lift your hips too high.