Shoulder Bridge

Let's take a look at the shoulder bridge and absolutely lovely exercise helping you to really engage the back body and also understand how to stabilize and mobilize. We're looking to stabilize the pelvis while moving the legs around. Quite a lovely movement. Let's explore it. So let's lie on our back, and, of course, you need to be quite comfortable with your pelvic curl position. So here on the back, settling in, feet. I always begin with my feet together so I can feel the bones of my feet aligned, and then I'll open my heels open my toes, and then my legs are most likely pretty close to hip width and pretty grounded in neutral alignment.

That's what we're looking for. So do use your arms a bit here. So actively press down through the arms to the best of your ability with your chest open. Many times when I ask people to press down through their arms, I see the shoulders roll forward because we're pressing through the hands. Can you please make a a specific point to open the chest, press down through the shoulder blades, ideally the upper arm, and ideally the hand as well.

But for some people, changing the hand position will be useful. So we'll take a breath. We'll curl up to the high bridge position. High bridge meaning. I'm in a pelvic curl.

I'm endeavoring to be in a straight diagonal line here with my pelvis on the same plane or the same diagonal line as my legs. My belly is not lifting too high, so I'm not overarching my back. And I wanna feel that my sternum, belly, pubic bone, knees are all kind of on the same line. I'm just gonna readjust so I'm in my body here. Press down through those arms, lift one leg up, and we're gonna flex the foot in that lifted position. Now, ideally, we can keep the pelvis as high as it was when you had your 2 feet down. Point the foot endeavoring to touch the floor, but keeping the pelvis high and then flex the foot as you lift up. Endevering to the floor, but keeping the pelvis high and flex. The pacing can be a little faster, up and down, and up one more time.

I say 5 or 10 on each leg. Let's go ahead and do the other side. So, again, if your pelvis fell down, just hoist it back up. We're looking for the Stability here. Other leg lifts up flexing the ankle at the top here. Use your arms. Don't be shy.

Point the foot as you reach down. Flex up. Point down, flex up, and one more time point down, flex up. We're gonna place the foot down, lower your spine down and relax. Sometimes people in that bridge position will feel a little bit of vulnerability in the knees. If that is the case, think about taking the feet just a little bit wider and that could help or don't lift as high.

Thanks for playing the shoulder bridge with me.