Asana · Learn with a teacher
Setu Bandhasana
Bridge pose (Ashtanga form)
Bridge pose in the Ashtanga form. Lifting the hips with the crown of the head on the floor and the arms crossed. Not the supported bridge taught in many Hatha classes.
Awaiting subject reviewWritten from our source material and not yet checked by a teacher of this practice. Read it as reference, and learn the practice from someone who teaches it.
- Meaning
- setu = bridge, bandha = lock or binding, asana = seat or posture
- Family
- Backbend
- Level
- Advanced
- Gaze
- Nose
Take care
This loads the neck. Learn it with a teacher, and do not attempt it with any neck injury.
Learn this with a teacher
This page is for reading. The practice itself should be learned in person from someone who teaches it, so there are no practice controls here.
Find a teacherHow it is done
- 1
Breathe out
Lie on the back, heels together and toes turned out, knees bent.
- 2
Breathe in
Arch the chest and place the crown of the head on the floor. Cross the arms over the chest.
- 3
Breathe freely
Press through the feet and lift the hips, straightening the legs, weight shared between the feet and the crown. Stay for five breaths, then lower carefully.
Holding it
Five breaths.
Making it easier
Keep the hands on the floor beside the body for support, and keep the hips low.
What the tradition says it does
- Strengthens the legs and the back of the neck
A note on the tradition
In the Ashtanga Primary Series this pose bears weight on the crown of the head and the feet. The common supported bridge, lying on the back and lifting the hips with the shoulders down, is a different pose and is not substituted here.
Sources and tradition
- YOG Union App Content Map, 2 November 2026, p. 4
- Ashtanga Primary Series as commonly taught in the Mysore style; sequence order and counts await subject review