Rest in Child's Pose

Child's Pose - Balasana (Sanskrit)

Ahhhhh Child's Pose. So you have just done a few rounds of Sun Salutations, your arms are aching from your Chaturanga's (bent elbow planks), you have built up heat throughout your body and your heart rate has increased due to the exertion and then the teacher suggests settling into your favourite Child's Pose... ahhh relax! Child's Pose is an easy way to calm your mind, slow your breath, and restore a feeling of tranquility. Regularly putting Child's Pose into your practice will create peace and overall well-being both on and off the mat.

Practicing in the morning can you help transition from sleeping to waking. Practicing the pose before bedtime can help to release the worries of the day.

It looks like a very simple pose but there is a lot going on. Child's Pose helps to stretch the hips, thighs, and ankles. It reduces anxiety by soothing the whole of the nervous system and calms the mind. It gently relaxes the muscles on the front of the body while softly stretching out the muscles of the back body. It really is a magical pose!

Step-by-step

1. Come onto hands and knees. Sink your hips back towards the heels, laying your chest on the top of your thighs and placing the forehead on the mat/floor.

2. Release the arms down alongside the body with the hands by your heels and the palms facing up. Take several long, deep breaths, breathing deep down into the bottom of the lungs, expanding the tummy and then exhaling fully by pulling in the tummy to push the air from the body and out through the nose. With each exhale, send your sit bones down towards your heels to help release the lower back.

Variation - It is really important to make yourself as comfortable as possible in Child's Pose as it's so beneficial to rest here for a while. There are lots of ways you can play with this pose to make it the most relaxing and restorative that you can -

• Rather than lying the arms alongside the body you can stretch them out in front of you, resting the palms flat onto the mat.

• You can always take the knees wide, keeping the big toes touching to make room for the tummy to breathe.

• It might be useful to pop a blanket between the folded legs, under the thighs to lift the hips higher.

• You can always put a cushion under the forehead if your forehead doesn't quite reach the floor.

Play with the pose and get as comfortable as possible to gain all the benefits from it.

Enjoy a peaceful 5 minutes each day.