Hi all,
Long, long, long time lurker, but first time poster. I've read pretty much everything on the forums about working bridges and progressing to limbers, and have been working the former on the floor and the latter as a walkover from an elevated position. My concern is largely my lack of flexibility through the T-spine that prevents me from developing sufficient upper body arch and protecting my L spine as I attempt walkovers that are closer to the floor -- I'm actually pausing my work on lowering the assist until I can develop my bridge enough to not have tightness in the muscles of the back around L3/L4.
In particular, I'm a little unclear on the concept of "keeping one's hip level with the bottom rib," as it relates to proper bridge position. The photos that have been posted in several threads as good bridges do not seem to have the bottom rib and hip level on a horizontal plane, and I assume I'm misinterpreting the meaning of keeping them level, as I don't see how one could physically maintain a bridge position with straight legs if they were actually level -- the pelvis won't rotate posterior enough without compromising the shape of the L-spine. Is this actually meaning to maintain the abs in a straight line between the bottom rib and hip?
I'm also curious if there are specific exercises that focus on T-spine flexibility, or if I should just continue to work the many posted mobility drills while trying to maintain a neutral L-spine position.