Childs Pose – Balasana:
Balasana is known as Child’s Pose or Child’s Resting Pose. The name “Balasana” comes from the Sanskrit words bala meaning “Child” and asana meaning “Pose”. Balasana is a resting posture for several asanas and is usually practiced before and after Sirsasana. This asana resemblance to the baby in fetal position. It is a simple yoga asana that can even be performed by beginners and it is said to provide physical and emotional relief to the practitioner.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Childs Pose (Balasana):
- Be seated in Vajrasana with Kneel on the ground. Touch your big toes together and rest your buttocks on your heels. Separate your knees about as open as your hips, by that the sides of your ribs are a bit supported by your inner thighs. People with tight hips can keep their knees and thighs together.
- Sit up with your back straight and lengthen your spine up through the crown of your head.
- Inhale as you lengthen your spine, exhale and bring your chest between your knees, your torso between your thighs (the sides of your torso should be lightly supported by your inner thighs and your sit-bones should still be on your heels). Extend your sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they curl up onto the inner thighs.
- Stretch your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.
- Place your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up and set free the fronts of your shoulders towards the ground. Notice how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back.
Benefits of Childs Pose (Balasana):
- This asana helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
- Gives a good stretch to the hips, thighs, and ankles
- It stretches the muscles of the low back, and also the inner thighs
- This asana is very advisable, specifically if you have a bout of dizziness or fatigue during the day or during your workout.
- Helps to stretch and strengthen the abdominal muscles and the back muscles.
- It helps to massage and flex the internal organs in the body, keeping them mobile and lithe.
- This asana helps to stretch and lengthen the spine.
- If this asana is done with support on the head and the torso, it relieves pain in the lower back and neck.
- It encourages blood circulation all throughout the body.
- The tendons, muscles, and ligaments in the knee area are thoroughly stretched.
- It encourages the right way of breathing and calms both the body and the mind.
Precautions for Childs Pose (Balasana):
- If you feel tough or uncomfortable in “childs pose” to place your head on the floor, you can always have an option to use a pillow for comfort.
- It is best to skip doing this asana if you are suffering from diarrhoea or knee injuries.
- Patients with high blood pressure must avoid practicing this asana.
