Unlock Your Core Strength with The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler: A Complete Mat Workout Guide
June 19, 2025
Explore Your Body in Motion: A Deep Dive into Pilates Anatomy by Isacowitz & Clippinger
June 25, 2025
Child’s Pose, or Balasana, is a restful and grounding yoga pose that provides a deep stretch to the hips, thighs, lower back, and ankles. It’s a calming posture that helps relieve fatigue and promotes relaxation. Child’s Pose can be used as a resting pose at any time during your yoga practice or throughout the day. Here’s how to perform Balasana properly.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Starting Position: Begin by sitting on your heels with your knees spread apart to mat distance. Bring your head towards the floor, allowing your body to gently fold forward.
Arm Placement: Your arms can be extended forward on the mat, placed by your sides, or positioned underneath your forehead, depending on what feels most comfortable.
Breathe into Your Lower Back: As you breathe deeply, focus on sending your breath into your lower back, allowing it to soften and release any tension.
Hold the Pose: Stay in Child’s Pose for anywhere between 30 seconds to several minutes, depending on your comfort level and need for rest.
Coming Out of the Pose: To come out of the pose, exhale and slowly roll up vertebra by vertebra. Alternatively, you can return to a seated position with a straight spine.
Beginner’s Tips:
Comfort and Flexibility: Child’s Pose is designed to be comfortable and restorative, so focus on relaxing your body while also increasing flexibility in your hips and back. You can modify the pose to find a variation that suits your body.
Wider Knees: Many people find it more comfortable to widen their knees to the width of a yoga mat. This provides more space, especially if you have a larger belly or chest.
Support for the Forehead: If your forehead doesn’t comfortably reach the floor, try using props or stack your fists to support your head. This helps prevent straining the neck.
Padding: If you have sensitivity in your knees or ankles, consider using padding or a blanket under these areas for added comfort.
Benefits of Child’s Pose:
Stretches the Hips, Thighs, Lower Back, Ankles, and Knees: This pose deeply stretches the muscles of the hips, thighs, lower back, and ankles, promoting flexibility and releasing tension.
Relieves Fatigue: As a resting pose, Child’s Pose helps to calm the mind and body, relieving mental and physical fatigue.
Calming and Restorative: It is a deeply calming pose that helps to soothe the nervous system, reduce stress, and promote relaxation.
Versatile Resting Pose: Child’s Pose can be used anytime during your practice or throughout your day when you need a moment of rest and recovery.
Things to Watch Out For:
Knee and Ankle Sensitivity: If you have knee or ankle injuries, you may prefer to substitute Child’s Pose with a different resting pose, such as Savasana or Corpse Pose, to avoid strain.
Hip Compression: If you feel compression or discomfort in your hips or constriction in the pose, try a wider-legged variation or substitute with a back-lying pose like Reclined Butterfly Pose.
Variations to Try:
Side Stretch Variation: From the standard Child’s Pose with arms extended forward, on an exhale, walk your hands towards one side until you feel a comfortable stretch along the side of your body. Stay here for 3 to 5 breaths, then walk your hands back to the center and repeat on the other side.
Restorative Child’s Pose: For a more restorative variation, place a bolster or a couple of pillows under your chest and belly to fully support your weight. This will allow your body to deeply relax into the pose without effort.
Child’s Pose (Balasana) is an essential pose in yoga that helps stretch and relax the body while promoting a sense of calm and relaxation. If you’re looking for restorative yoga classes in North York, Serenev Studio offers three distinctive practices: Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, and Kundalini Yoga. Register today or contact Serenev North York Yoga for more information.
