Balasana
Child's Pose
Cultivate the beautiful childlike quality of life. Be present and mindful in the moment. Walk with joy and stay connected to the Earth. Once we remember our divine nature, and are integrated with it we need to forget it again in order to stay engaged in the world. Know the divinity within you and find the balance of conscious forgetting in order to stay grounded. These are the lessons hidden within the mythology of child's pose, balasana.
Benefits:
Physical:
Emotional:
Contradictions:
Method:
The goal of Balasana is to have your forehead touching the ground in front of you while your buttocks stay in contact with your heels.
Props:
Benefits:
Physical:
- Stretches lower back;
- opens hips
- brings awareness to the breath as the diaphragm is constricted against the thighs
- Helpful for relieving lower back discomfort
- Brings on sleep
Emotional:
- Calming, cooling, introspective
- relieves an anxious mind
Contradictions:
- Sore knee
- High blood pressure
Method:
- Sit on your heels, hands on thighs.
- As you exhale, lower your chest and forehead until your chest rests on your thighs and your forehead comes to the floor.
- Straighten arms behind body, palms face up.
- Hold for 5 to 10 breaths.
The goal of Balasana is to have your forehead touching the ground in front of you while your buttocks stay in contact with your heels.
Props:
- If there is pain in the ankles, slip a rolled up mat between the ankles and the floor.
- If there is tightness in the quads slip a folded blanket or two between the calves and the thighs.
- In the case of high blood pressure, keep the head in line with the heart by propping up the forehead on two fists or a block