Flowing Bridge to Empty and Uddiyana Bandha

The Connected Yoga Teacher Live Show: Episode 20

Today on The Connected Yoga Teacher live show, Shannon Crow talks about how bridge pose can be modified to be a more gentle or a more challenging pose. She also shares how she uses this pose to bring awareness to the diaphragm, which is part of the core 4, (along with the multifidus, pelvic floor and transversus abdominis).

Shannon also talks about how to look at your business in terms of seasons. She shares how season 1 (the last 20 episodes) of the live show is ending.

There is a video (to the left) that will walk you through flowing bridge variations, giving insights and cues for this pose and for uddiyana bandha.

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Flowing Bridge Pose Benefits:

Lengthens breath, therefore calming to nervous system
Excellent pose for introducing uddiyana bandha
Stimulating to abdominal organs, lungs and thyroid
Strengthens leg, buttocks and back muscles
Relieves pressure to pelvic floor
Symmetrical pose (okay for for SI (sacroilic) joint issues)
Beginner / gentle friendly pose that can be easily increased in level of challenge
Improves digestion and circulation

Uddiyana Bandha Benefits:

Strengthens the abdominal muscles and diaphragm
Massages abdominal organs
Helpful for digestion and circulation
Creates a healthy lift for the pelvic floor (as used in the hypopressive method)

Shout out of thanks to Kira Sloane and her “Wait For It, Exhale Everything”, class on Yoga Anytime. It inspired me to play with this pose in my own practice and with the yoga students and hypopressive clients that I work with.