Child's Pose (Balasana)
Bala means child and asana means posture. You fold forward over your knees with your forehead down, much like the curled shape a small child often sleeps in.
At a glance
- Sanskrit name
- Balasana
- Pronunciation
- bah-LAHS-uh-nuh. Lean on LAHS and keep the other syllables soft.
- Family
- Restorative
- Practised in
- Yoga for beginners
- In pregnancy
- Adapt
- After birth
- Adapt
Child’s Pose is the pause button of most yoga classes. This is the classic version on the mat, with the body folded and the arms working lightly. It is simple, and it still has a few details worth getting right. The forehead rests at the point between the eyebrows, the spot yoga texts call ajna, the third eye.
If you are starting yoga with a private teacher, it is also the pose to come back to whenever you need a rest, for as long as you like. With a cushion under the chest, it closes the ten-minute stretch for a stiff lower back.
Lift the hips back over the knees and keep the arms long, and you are in Puppy Pose, Child’s Pose with the hips raised.
How to do Child's Pose
Kneel on your mat with your big toes touching and your knees together or as wide as the mat.
Sit your hips back toward your heels, only as far as they go easily.
Walk your hands forward and fold over your thighs until your forehead rests on the mat.
Choose your arms: reach them long in front with the palms down, or lay them beside your body with the palms up.
Let your breath move into the back of your ribs, so you can feel your back widen on each inhale.
Stay for five to ten breaths, or for as long as you like between harder poses, then walk your hands back and rise slowly.
My cues
- With the arms forward, press your palms lightly into the mat and draw your hips back. I want a gentle stretch along the sides of the body, not a collapse.
- Breathe into your back body. This is one of the few shapes where you can clearly feel the back ribs move.
- If your hips hover above your heels, leave them there. Let them be heavy rather than pushing them down.
Modifications
- Take the knees wide if your belly, chest or hips feel squashed with them together.
- Put a folded blanket between your hips and heels if the hips do not reach.
- Rest your forehead on a block or on your stacked fists if it does not reach the floor.
- Place a rolled towel under the fronts of your ankles if the tops of the feet complain.
In pregnancy. Adapt. Take the knees wide so the belly has room between the thighs, and rest your head on a block or your hands. If folding forward feels uncomfortable or you get breathless, come up. Check with your OB or midwife before starting yoga in pregnancy.
After birth. Adapt. Once your OB or midwife is happy for you to move, rest in the wide-knee version with a blanket under the hips. After a caesarean, wait until the scar is comfortable with pressure from the thighs before folding fully.
Common mistakes
- Forcing the hips down onto the heels when the knees or ankles do not want it.
- Resting all the weight on the forehead and scrunching the back of the neck.
- Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears with the arms forward.
- Holding the breath because the belly is squashed. Widen the knees instead.
Pairs well with
- Downward-Facing DogAdho Mukha Svanasana
- Cat-CowMarjaryasana Bitilasana
- Camel PoseUstrasana