Asana of the Week - Child's Pose (Balasana)

Balasana (bah-LAHS-anna) bala = child

Child's Pose — Balasana (bah-LAHS-uh-nuh) — is a common beginner's yoga pose. It is often used as a resting position in between more difficult poses during a yoga practice. The word "Balasana" comes from the Sanskrit words "bala" (meaning "child") and "asana" (meaning "pose").

How to:

• Start by kneeling on your hands and knees.
• Release your toes on the floor and separate your knees about hip width apart.
• As you exhale, slowly lower your buttocks towards your heels feeling the tailbone lengthen away from the back of your pelvis.
• As your torso folds over your thighs, lengthen the back of your neck before your forehead rests on the floor.
• Lay your arms by the thighs with palms facing up and feel how the weight of your shoulders lightly spreads the shoulder blades.
• Take several slow breaths into the belly and lower your back as you rest here.
• As you exit, inhale and lengthen the torso forward over the thighs and rise up as the tailbone presses down into the pelvis and towards the heels.

Benefits of Child’s Pose:

Child's Pose helps to stretch the hips, thighs, and ankles while reducing stress and fatigue. It gently relaxes the muscles on the front of the body while softly and passively stretching the muscles of the back torso.

This resting pose centers, calms, and soothes the brain, making it a therapeutic posture for relieving stress. When performed with the head and torso supported, it can also help relieve back and neck pain. Sometimes used as a counter-pose to backbends, Child's Pose restores balance and equanimity to the body.

Regular practice of Child's Pose also teaches conscious exploration of the breath. As the front of the body releases onto the thighs, the frontal ribs and abdominal muscles become slightly compressed. This restriction allows for a deeper opening of the back of the torso as the lungs expand behind the body. As this happens, keeping the breath slow, long, and steady allows for a new awareness of the breath's path through the front and back of the body.

Cautions:

Do not practice Child's Pose if you have a current or recent knee injury. Women who are pregnant should only practice a wide-legged variation of the pose — do not press the belly on top of the thighs.

Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor before practicing yoga.

Modifications & Variations:

Since Child's Pose is a resting position, it’s important to make whatever modifications you need to feel comfortable, safe, and supported in the pose. Here are a few suggestions:

If you have difficulty resting your buttocks on your heels, place a thickly folded blanket between the backs of your thighs and your calves. Spreading the knees wider apart can create a deeper stretch in the hips. Only spread your knees as wide as is comfortable for you — do not strain or force your body to extend deeper in this pose. 

Pad the tops of your feet with a blanket. You can also fold your mat for extra padding under your feet. Rest your forehead on a firm pillow, bolster, or stack of blankets. Alternatively, you can make fists and stack your hands, then rest your forehead on your stacked fists.
Keeping your arms extended opens the shoulders and chest, but doing so makes the pose a bit more active. For a more restorative pose, rest your arms alongside your thighs.

Tips:

Use Child's Pose throughout your practice whenever you need a break between poses or if you get out of breath. Return to the practice when you are ready.

Breathe consciously and fully into the back of your torso. Imagine your back is doming toward the ceiling, allowing the spine to lengthen and widen. With each exhalation, release your front torso a little deeper into the pose.

Relax & Let Go:

Child's Pose is a simple way to calm your mind, slow your breath, and restore a feeling of peace and safety. Practicing the pose before bedtime can help to release the worries of the day. Practicing in the morning can you help transition from sleeping to waking. Regularly integrating Child's Pose into your practice will create serenity and overall well-being both on and off the mat.