The child pose is a passive forward bend that aims to stretch out tight muscle groups, such as your neck, lower back, thighs, and ankles. As a type of restorative yoga pose, it engages your parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and deep breathing.
3 Key Benefits of Child Pose
There are multiple reasons to incorporate the child pose into your yoga flow. Aside from the typical benefits of yoga, the child pose also targets specific muscle groups and bodily functions, such as digestion.
Helps You Relax Better
In the short term, including the child pose in an intense vinyasa or hatha yoga flow can help you relax between more intense poses. The pose requires little strength and thus reduces active strain on your muscles. The lowered intensity allows you to focus on deepening your breathing, which will help put you in a calmer state.
On its own, the child pose activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This induces multiple physical changes, such as lowered heart rate, slowed breathing, and loosened muscles. By entering a state of relaxation temporarily, you’re better equipped to handle stressors as the day goes on.
Stimulates the Digestive System
The child’s pose is believed to stimulate the digestive system. It aids digestive processes by compressing the abdomen and releasing tension in the hip areas. It is also a helpful pose for alleviating gassy stomachs.
Improves Mobility
Despite being a passive position, the child pose activates multiple muscle groups. Working these muscle groups improves mobility in the hips, spine, and thighs. The muscle groups activated by the child pose include:
- Gluteus muscles and hip flexor muscles: These muscles are responsible for hip and thigh mobility.
- Oblique muscles: These muscles are responsible for your ability to rotate your torso.
- Teres major and latissimus dorsi muscles: These muscles allow shoulder and arm mobility.
- Erector spinae muscles: These muscles are responsible for spinal movement.
- Trapezius muscles: Positioned from your nape to midback, these muscles are responsible for neck and shoulder mobility.
How To Do Child Pose Correctly
The child pose is one of my favorite positions to encounter in a yoga flow. In slower practices like yin yoga, it helps me reach a deeper state of relaxation. It also provides a refreshing break between the more active, complex poses characteristic of styles like vinyasa yoga.
The gentleness makes it an excellent starting point for beginners building their yoga habits.
To perform the child pose, you need to follow the below steps:
- Lower yourself to the yoga mat on your hands and knees.
- Keep your feet together with your big toes touching, then spread your knees to the width of the mat.
- Bend forward and stretch your arms in front of you with your palms facing the floor.
- Rest your forehead on the floor.
- Find a steady rhythm for deep breathing.
We typically include the child pose at the end of my flow, whether we’re practicing yin or vinyasa. Ending with a passive, gentle pose helps me catch my breath and deepen my relaxation. You can also use the child pose as an isolated stretch if you need a quick, easy way to relax.
How long should you hold the pose?
The duration of a child pose depends on your chosen flow. If you’re doing vinyasa yoga, we recommend staying about three breaths, which typically translates to one minute. Slower yoga styles like restorative or yin yoga require more time per pose. Three to five minutes is enough to feel its benefits.
Child Pose Modifications
Yoga poses aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions. Because the practice aims to deepen your mind-body connection, adapting your poses to your body’s unique needs is imperative.
To help you identify what suits your body best, here are few of the most common child pose modifications and when they’re best applied.
Modifications for Hip Flexibility
Hip flexibility differs from person to person. If stretching spreading your hips to the width of the mat hurts your hip muscles, consider narrowing the gap. However, if you want to challenge yourself with a deeper stretch, try spreading your knees wider. Listen to your body and determine a balance between increased difficulty and comfort.
Modifications for Abundance
Bending forward can be challenging for people with larger breasts or stomachs. You might feel an uncomfortable squeeze when forced to bend too low. To bypass the discomfort, stack up to two yoga blocks in front of you. Touch your forehead to the top of the yoga block instead of the floor.
Modifications for Pregnancy
Pregnant individuals need to create space for their bellies when executing the child pose. To do this, place a bolster in front of you before you lower yourself. Rest your collarbone and head atop the bolster for added support.
Modifications for Sore Knees and Ankles
The child pose puts a little weight on the knees and ankles. It’s normal to feel discomfort even with the cushion of the yoga mat. Should you encounter any soreness, roll a towel and place it between your leg and the bridge of your foot. This should help elevate and keep your ankles bent to reduce any discomfort.
Modifications for Neck and Shoulder Discomfort
The forward bend might also put tension on your neck and shoulders. To reduce discomfort, place a bolster under your torso and bend over it. The bolster should provide added support for your upper body while allowing your knees to spread and your hips to stretch.
Modifications for Arm or Shoulder Injuries
Sometimes, stretching your arms in front of you can be uncomfortable, especially if you have arm or shoulder injuries. In these cases, you can modify your arm position to accommodate the area of injury. The most common adjustment is to fold your arms in front of your head rather than stretching them out.
Modifications for Stiff Back
Bending forward can place strain on your back. It’s normal to feel some slight discomfort, but adjustments are necessary if it’s more than you can handle.
There are two common options for modifying the child pose for stiff backs:
- Reduced Forward Bend: You can alleviate the pressure of the child pose on your back by reducing the height of your forward bend. Instead of touching your forehead to the mat, bring your hands closer to your face and rest your forehead on your fists. Alternatively, you can rest your forehead on a cushion, block, or stack of blocks.
- Child Pose on Your Back: Lie on your back and hug your knees, pulling your thighs to your chest. Spread your knees apart to achieve the same hip stretch as the traditional child pose.
Modifications for Chair Yoga
Seniors and individuals with limited mobility might prefer chair yoga for increased gentleness and support. To execute a seated child pose, you can follow one of the below positions:
Seated Child Pose
- Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
- Place a bolster on your lap.
- Fold your arms over the bolster.
- Rest your forehead over your folded arms.
Supported Seated Child Pose
- Sit on the yoga mat with a chair placed in front of you.
- Straighten your legs and spread them apart as far as you can.
- Bend at the hip and reach for the head of the chair with straightened arms.
Conclusion
The child pose is one of the best poses to include in a beginner yoga flow. Despite being a passive posture, it effectively stretches the muscles and releases tension, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and promoting relaxation. There are also multiple ways to modify the child pose to suit your skill level and physical needs.
FAQs
What is another name for child pose?
The child pose is also called “balasana,” derived from the Sanskrit words “bala” (child) and “asana” (pose). It is also less commonly known as “shishuasana,” which comes from the Sansrkit word “shisu” (baby).
Who should avoid the child pose?
While the child pose is one of the gentler asanas, it still has the potential to exacerbate injuries. Avoid the child pose if you have extreme ankle or foot sensitivities, knee injuries, hip injuries, knee replacements, or hip replacements.
Is it safe to do child pose after eating?
The child pose compresses the abdomen. If you do the child pose directly after eating, you might upset your stomach. It’s best to wait a full hour or more after eating before doing child pose.