How to do Setu Bandhasana Without Neck Pain

In this video tutorial, I’m going over some simple tips to help you get into Setu Bandhasana (from the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series), without neck pain!

Setu Bandhasana is the pose most Ashtangis love to hate. But I think, when done properly, it actually helps to build neck strength, which will be beneficial for the upcoming work in Intermediate Series.

Here are a few tips:

1. When you set up, make sure your legs are bent only 1/3 of the way

Because you straighten your legs to lift into this posture, the angle of the bend will determine the amount of lift. Too much bend means that you will roll too far on your head, and that can put a lot of strain on the neck.

2. Set up with the back of your head is on the ground, NOT the crown.

If you start this posture with the crown of your head already on the ground, you may roll TOO far back on the head and… it might pop off! That’s not what we want.

3. Don’t lift with your hips, lift with your legs!

Press into your feet, and push the hips back toward the head, not up to the sky. Don’t think about lifting your hips up, think about pushing them back. This helps you to smoothly roll towards the forehead and takes the pressure off the neck.

When you put these three things together, you end up with a smooth, strong, pain-free Setu Bandhasana!

I hope you enjoyed this video tutorial!

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