Setu Bandhasana
Setu: bridge Bandha: bind (set-TOOH-bund-AH-sun-uh)
RELATED ASANAS
Ustrasana - Urdhva Dhanurasana - Dhanurasana
ENERGETIC ALIGNMENT
Setu Bandhasana
Key Actions: Pada Bandha - Shoulders press down - Uddiyana Bandha - Heart open
Apana: Press feet and shoulders down, grounding into the Earth
Samana: Engage Uddiyana Bandha to elongate the lumbar spine and create space between the vertebrae
Prana: Open and relax heart
Vyana: Radiate energy from the core outward through all limbs
Udana: Raise hips and thighs toward the sky, chin lifts away from sternum
COMMON MISALIGNMENTS
-Knees opening
-Neck and shoulders tilting back
-Tensed shoulders
ASANA NOTES AND BENEFITS
-Setu Bandhansana counts both for a backbend and an inversion in the lunar end wave, allowing to stay in a more lunar pose
-Setu Bandhansana can be used as the first pose before Salamba Sarvangasana as it is the beginning to transfer into that posture. It allows those who do not wish to go into shoulder stand to still enjoy an inversion at the end of practice
-Opens the heart and pectoral muscles
-Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
-Stimulates the thyroid and abdominal organs
-Reduces fatigue and alleviates insomnia
-Therapeutic for asthma, infertility, and sinusitis
FOUNDATION ANATOMY
HA/Solar - Contract –Gluteus Maximus, Erector Spinae, Quadratus Lumborum, Biceps, Brachialis, Posterior Deltoids, Teres Major, Teres Minor, Infraspinatus, Iliopsoas, Abdominals, Quadriceps, Tensor Fascia Lata, Adductors, Peroneus Brevis and Longus, Tibialis Posterior
THA/Lunar - Lengthen – Pectorals Major and Minor, Anterior Deltoids, Coracobrachialis, Subscapularius muscles, Trapezius
THREE PART VINYASA