Dwipada Pitham:  Two-footed Bridge Pose

The breath is the soundtrack to your well-being. Let’s allow such a vital and energetic essence to guide us to surrender not simply into an asana, but to release all tension and allow relief to pleasantly overwhelm the body. Throughout our yoga therapy practice, the breath remains constant as the asana changes and even as the body slowly deepens into the sequence or pose through repetition, the breath should always remain the priority: the leading proponent to any movement. As we stay with our breath, we slowly relax into the subtle movements of the pose while embracing and enjoying every second of our yoga practice. Thus, cultivating mindfulness and inner peace.

A suitable alternative to sarvangasana or shoulder stand, Dwipada Pitham or two-footed bridge pose, activates the thyroid gland that is responsible for maintaining a healthy metabolism.

Begin going into this backbend by laying on your back, your knees bent with the soles of the feet on the mat, feet hip-distance apart with your arms by your sides, palms facing down and chin tucked towards your chest so that the back of the neck is neutral and long. As you take in a deep and gentle inhale, push into the souls of the feet and slowly, mindfully use the entirety of the breath to help lift your pelvis, articulating the spine, lifting one vertebrate at a time off the mat. Upon the exhalation, permit the complete duration of your breath to guide your spine back on the mat vertebrate by vertebrate.

One variation of dwipads pitham is to lift your arms over head as you simultaneously inhale the pelvis and spine up off that mat making sure that the pace of your movement matches the pace of your breath. The connection between the breath and the asana is akin to a dance with the breath leading and the asana consciously following along. We can’t help but feel grateful when engaging in such a breath-focused movement; therefore, increasing our awareness to our body’s needs and sensations while also aligning the physical body to our emotional and spiritual body.

Physically the asana stretches the front body, which opens and expands the chest; moreover, facilitating and improving the breath. Stretching the spine backward not only rejuvenates the spine, but relieves lower back pain while strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.