Flowing Bridges: 50 day blog - day 21

Following on from yesterday's hip rolls, today I'm going to introduce you to a Bridge. 

I find bridges a really lovely way to open up and soften the front line of the body, in particular the chest and thighs. It's also a lovely way to allow your breathing to work with your body's movement and to let it settle in the diaphragm which gives these movements a lovely flow to them. 

Start with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor about hip width apart. Gently push down into your feet and feel some lightness in your hips as you do so. Continue with this pushing down and allow your pelvis to lift. Send your knees over your ankles and as you do find length through your thighs and hips. As your pelvis is lifting can you feel a heaviness but release in your top half, almost as if the tissue on your chest is taking a rest on your ribs and spine? Keep finding length by sending your knees away and delaying the urge to push your chest up. Feel the backs of your arms lightly pressing into the floor as the front of your shoulders open up. 

Force nothing. Instead experiment with how gently and easily you can lift yourself, just one little piece at a time. 

When you are at the 'top' of the movement, take one big breath and allow the whole of the front of you to soften and rest onto the whole of the back of you (I like to imagine that I have a big cushion wedge underneath which can hold me there). Feel your tummy relax and your lower ribs soften onto the strong structure you have made with the whole of you. 

To return down, let your sitting bones open and your bottom relax, and gently lower yourself back down. Trust your feet to hold you so that you can control the return down and enjoy the tissue on your back spreading wide on the floor as you settle back to the starting place. 

After a doing a few of these you may wish to open up more across the front of the shoulder and chest. You can do this by taking your arms overhead when you are at the top of the move, and keeping them there as you return back down. It helps to take little breaths and to soften the chest and lengthen the side of the ribs as you do this to allow yourself to feel the stretch without holding in tension. If you are unable to take your arms to the floor behind you then bring them back down by your sides to return the bridge back down.     

The more relaxed you can be with these moves the better. In general the less hard you try, the better the movement tends to be. Visualise and feel flow and breathe - your body will love you for it.   

Til tomorrow then :-) 

CT :-) x