Supported Bridge Pose
सालम्ब सेतुबन्धासन
Sālamba Setubandhāsana — a beginner restorative pose that works the chest, hip flexors.
How to do Supported Bridge Pose
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
Lie on your back with the knees bent and the feet flat, hip-width apart and close to the hips.
Press into the feet, lift the hips a few inches and slide a block under the sacrum — the flat bony plate, not the lower back.
Start with the block on its lowest height and go higher only if that height is comfortable.
Lower the weight of the pelvis fully onto the block and let the arms rest out to the sides, palms up.
Either keep the feet flat or extend the legs long, then lift the hips to remove the block before lowering.
Hold: 3–8 minutes. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What Supported Bridge Pose does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Holds the pelvis above the ribs on a solid prop so no muscle has to maintain the lift.
- Lengthens the front of the hips and the front of the chest passively.
- Provides a long supported hold with no muscular effort required once the block is in place.
Supported Bridge Pose is one of 21 restorative poses in this library and one of 88 poses rated beginner. Supported, low-effort poses held long, where the point is to stop working rather than to work.
Who should skip Supported Bridge Pose, or change it
- Neck injury — the neck is loaded in flexion here; skip if there is any history of neck trouble.
- Pregnancy after the first trimester, where flat supine holds are usually swapped for a side-lying rest.
- Low back discomfort with the block high: drop to the lowest height or use a folded blanket instead.
- Reflux or breathlessness lying low, though the raised pelvis often makes this more comfortable than flat.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in Supported Bridge Pose
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeBlock placed under the lumbar curve rather than the sacrum.
FixSlide it down until it sits under the flat bony plate at the base of the spine.
MistakeStarting on the tallest block setting.
FixBegin at the lowest height and stay there for several sessions.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so Supported Bridge Pose is mapped to the nearest published code — 02170, yoga, Nadisodhana (seated, quiet practice), 2 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 25 | 49 | 74 | 110 | 147 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do Supported Bridge Pose?
Lie on your back with the knees bent and the feet flat, hip-width apart and close to the hips. Press into the feet, lift the hips a few inches and slide a block under the sacrum — the flat bony plate, not the lower back. Start with the block on its lowest height and go higher only if that height is comfortable. Lower the weight of the pelvis fully onto the block and let the arms rest out to the sides, palms up. Either keep the feet flat or extend the legs long, then lift the hips to remove the block before lowering. Hold for 3–8 minutes.
What does Supported Bridge Pose work?
Primarily the chest, hip flexors, with the spinal erectors, shoulders, abdominals assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: holds the pelvis above the ribs on a solid prop so no muscle has to maintain the lift.
Who should not do Supported Bridge Pose?
Neck injury — the neck is loaded in flexion here; skip if there is any history of neck trouble. Pregnancy after the first trimester, where flat supine holds are usually swapped for a side-lying rest. Low back discomfort with the block high: drop to the lowest height or use a folded blanket instead. Reflux or breathlessness lying low, though the raised pelvis often makes this more comfortable than flat. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is Supported Bridge Pose suitable for beginners?
Yes. Supported Bridge Pose is a beginner-level pose on this site, which means it is learnable in a first class and has a version that works for most bodies. The cautions above still apply.
How many calories does Supported Bridge Pose burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. Supported Bridge Pose sits closest to Compendium code 02170, yoga, Nadisodhana (seated, quiet practice), at 2 MET — about 74 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More restorative poses — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.