When Your Body Needs a Break - Coming to Child's Pose (Balasana)

by Clarissa Adkins | More from this Blogger

15 Jan 2007 05:11 PM

Have you ever found yourself struggling through a yoga class? You are not the only one! Lack of sleep or fuel, or overdoing it on your exercise plan can be major factors that keep you from maintaining during your practice. You could also find yourself with an instructor who is taking the class to a deeper level that your body is simply not ready for yet. Be happy that your body is telling you to take it easy. Overexertion can be the last step before injury or lowering your body's immune system. The body isn't shy about telling you when you need to come to Child's Pose; it's just you that need to cooperate.

Child's Pose is the ultimate resting or restorative pose during a yoga practice. Most teachers will encourage students to come to this pose whenever they need to. To find Child's Pose:

1. Bring hands and knees to the floor.

2. If comfortable, take knees out wider than hips' width apart.

3. Take toes together and flatten the tops of the feet to the floor. From the knees down, you will have formed a triangular shape.

4. With hands still on the floor, begin leaning the gluteals back onto the calves and heels until they reach the back of your legs, or you can't go back any further.

5. Keep the arms parallel and reaching straight out, away from the body. You can also try resting the arms along your sides or on the lower back.

6. Let the forehead rest on a towel, mat, or if necessary, a small pillow.

7. Engage more deeply in the pose by reaching the belly toward the floor or by reaching the hands further away from the rest of the body.

Feel free to stay in this pose until you are ready to continue with your teacher's instructions. Remember that yoga is non-competitive!

You can modify this pose by putting a wedge, towel or bolster under your gluteals, so that the hips can relax without having to stretch all the way to the legs. Some students have also benefited by putting the bolster under their feet if they are not quite ready for pointing the toes. Ask your doctor before trying this pose if you have a knee injury or if you are pregnant. You don't have to save Child's Pose for your yoga class. It can be practiced whenever the body needs a break. Child's Pose wonderfully relieves neck and back aches, cramps and stress.

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Learn more about Clarissa Adkins

Clarissa is a wife and mother, a yoga instructor and a freelance writer. She most recently has moved back to her home state of Virginia.

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