Bridge Pose
What Is the Bridge Pose?
Bridge Pose is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes and also engages the hamstrings and the muscles along the spine. It is a beginner-level yoga pose: you lie on your back with the knees bent, lift the hips, and hold a gentle backbend that opens the front of the hips, the chest and the shoulders while the back of the body does the holding.
It looks like a Glute Bridge, but the two are trained differently. A Glute Bridge is a strength drill done for repetitions, the hips driving up and down, often with a barbell or dumbbell across the lap. Bridge Pose is held for several slow breaths, and the aim is a long arch from the knees to the shoulders, with the chest lifting toward the chin. Without added load it suits endurance more than strength: in an EMG study of 30 healthy adults, a bodyweight two-leg bridge kept the glutes, hamstrings, back extensors and every other muscle tested below 45% of maximal effort, a level the authors linked to endurance and stabilization rather than strength.
The glutes and hamstrings hold the hips up, the back extensors hold the arch, and the inner thighs and outer hips keep the knees pointing forward, while the hip flexors, the front of the thighs, the abdomen and the chest are gently lengthened. Foot placement changes which muscles do the holding: in a motion-capture and computer-model study of 15 healthy young men bridging with the arms on the floor, setting the feet farther from the hips raised the force in the hamstrings and lower-back muscles and the load on the lumbar spine, while bringing the heels closer tended to shift the work toward the glutes and inner thighs.
The version shown here keeps the arms long beside the body as the hips rise, then sweeps them overhead to the floor behind the head, which adds a stretch through the shoulders and the sides of the back. Some teachers flow the arms up and down with the breath; many others have students interlace the hands under the back instead. Lifting one leg toward the ceiling (One-Legged Bridge) makes the hold much harder, and resting the sacrum on a yoga block turns it into a supported, restorative version.
Bridge Pose suits beginners, people who feel tight through the front of the hips, and anyone working toward deeper backbends such as Camel Pose or Bow Pose. If holding the hips up for a few breaths is too hard, build hip strength first with Glute Bridge repetitions, or use the block-supported version until the unsupported hold feels steady.
Muscles Worked
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Biceps Femoris
- High
- Erector Spinae
- High
- Semimembranosus
- High
- Semitendinosus
- High
- Adductor Magnus
- Medium
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Triceps Brachii (Long Head)
- Minimal
Instructions
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart and parallel.
- Walk your heels in until they sit almost under your knees.
- Rest your arms by your sides, palms down, with your head centered and your gaze straight up.
- Press through your feet and lift your hips until your knees, hips and shoulders form a long, gently arched line.
- Reach your arms long toward your heels and draw your shoulder blades slightly under you so your chest lifts toward your chin.
- Keep your knees pointing forward over your ankles and your weight on your feet and shoulders, not your head.
- Keeping your hips lifted, sweep your arms up over your face and lower them to the floor behind your head, only as far as your ribs can stay down.
- Hold for 5 to 10 slow breaths without turning your head.
- To come out, bring your arms back to your sides, then lower your spine to the floor one section at a time, hips last.
Common Mistakes
Turning the head
Looking to the side while the hips are lifted twists the neck while it carries part of your body weight, so keep the gaze straight up until you lower down.
Knees drifting apart
Letting the knees fall wider than the hips takes work off the glutes and strains the knees, so keep them pointing forward over the ankles.
Feet turned out or too far away
Toes turned out let the knees splay, and heels set far from the hips hand the lift to the hamstrings until they cramp, so keep the feet parallel with the heels near the knees.
Arching from the lower back
Pushing the belly toward the ceiling puts the bend in the lumbar spine, when the lift should come from the hips with the chest moving toward the chin.
Forcing the arms overhead
Dropping the arms to the floor behind the head when the shoulders are tight flares the ribs and deepens the lower-back arch, so take the arms only as far as the ribs stay down.
Holding the breath
Bracing without breathing makes the hold feel harder and shorter, so keep slow, steady breaths through the nose for the whole pose.
Injuries
Bridge Pose is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The body weight rests on the feet and the backs of the shoulders, and the pose is easy to adjust or leave at any moment, which makes it a common choice for beginners.
The neck is the main point to protect. With the hips lifted, the cervical spine is bent forward under some load, so keep the weight on the shoulders rather than the back of the head, and never turn the head to look around while you are up. The lower back can pinch if you lift by pushing the belly up instead of driving through the hips, or if tight shoulders pull the ribs open as the arms go overhead. The knees feel strain when they drift wider than the hips or the feet turn out, and the hamstrings cramp easily when the feet sit far from the hips.
To regress, lift only partway, keep the arms by your sides, or rest the sacrum on a yoga block. A Glute Bridge done for short repetitions also builds the strength to hold the pose. To progress, lengthen the hold, interlace the hands under the back, or lift one leg toward the ceiling, which is close to a held Single-Leg Glute Bridge.
Anyone with a neck injury, or recovering from a shoulder or lower back injury, should check with their clinician first and use the block-supported version if cleared. Come down if you feel sharp pain in the neck or lower back, tingling or numbness in the arms, or pain at the front of the knee. If a hamstring cramps, lower the hips, walk the feet closer and try again with a lower lift.
- Primary Focus
- Glutes
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Yoga
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Bridge Pose
The Bridge Pose is also known as:
- Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between Bridge Pose and a Glute Bridge?
A Glute Bridge is a strength exercise done for repetitions, often with added weight, to build the glutes. Bridge Pose is a yoga backbend held for several breaths, with the shoulders drawn under and the chest lifting, so it trains the hold and opens the hips and chest rather than building strength.
- Q: How long should you hold Bridge Pose?
Most classes hold it for 5 to 10 slow breaths, lower down, and repeat two or three times. Beginners can start with 3 to 5 breaths and lengthen the hold as it gets steadier.
- Q: Why reach the arms overhead?
Sweeping the arms behind the head while the hips stay up adds a stretch through the shoulders and the sides of the back. If your shoulders are tight, stop the arms where your ribs can stay down, or keep them by your sides.
- Q: Should you clasp your hands under your back?
It is optional. Interlacing the fingers under the back helps draw the shoulders under and lift the chest, but keeping the arms by your sides or reaching them overhead, as shown here, works the same legs and hips.
- Q: Is Bridge Pose bad for your neck?
Not when the weight stays on the shoulders and the head stays still. Skip it or use a lower, block-supported version if you have a neck injury or feel pressure in the neck while you hold it.
- Q: Why do my hamstrings cramp in Bridge Pose?
The farther your feet are from your hips, the more the hamstrings do the lifting, and with the knees bent they are working in a shortened position where they cramp easily. Walk the heels closer so they sit near your knees and think about lifting with the glutes.