Awareness is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
From an evolutionary perspective, humans are not well adapted to prolonged periods of inactivity. In contrast to our hunting and gathering ancestry, inactivity in industrialized populations has a tremendous negative influence on our bodies. The Bridge is an excellent exercise to counteract long hours of sitting by developing postural awareness, awakening up your core, stimulating your abdominal organs, relieving back, hip and knee pain, and developing power for sports and active living. Bridging is commonly prescribed for people suffering from low back pain to improve proprioception, or position sense, in the core and wake up sleepy muscles of the backside that have shut off from poor posture, prolonged sitting, or as a reflexive response to pain. With prolonged sitting, glute muscles get weaker, while the hip flexors in the front of your thighs shorten. One of the main reasons for knee pain is the lack of control of the femur or upper leg bone, which causes internal rotation of collapsing in of the knee towards the midline of the body. The bridge exercise targets the muscles that control this injurious knock-kneed collapse.
To perform the bridge, lie on your back with your knees comfortably bent and feet on the ground. Experiment with different placements of your feet to find the position that feels best for your body. Slowly take a deep breath in; then, as you exhale, lift your pelvic floor, tone your inner core, clench your glutes, and press your feet into the ground while you lift your trunk up from the lowest vertebra to the highest, forming a straight, long, strong line from your shoulders to your knees. In the bridge position, ensure your trunk is toned, and lengthen through the front of your hips. Then, slowly lower down from the neck to the tailbone. The bridge exercise can be modified or progressed for all fitness levels. For those that find the standard bridge too challenging, simply begin with clenching your glutes and initiate lifting your hips. For progression of the bridge, increase the intensity by squeezing a ball or block between your knees to promote more core floor activation or by adding a resistance band around your thighs. Additional variations include lifting each leg alternately off the ground or lifting the heels, and finally providing additional challenge by performing these variations on an unstable surface to facilitate and optimize core muscle activation to boost your booty and whittle your waistline.
Empower your core for magnificence of body-mind-spirit and bridge your way to an amazing healthplan!