Yoga Foundations: Child's Pose

In this Yoga Foundations video, which forms part of my free posture education series, we explore Child's Pose. This resting, restorative posture gently stretches the back, hips, and thighs and encourages deeper breathing. Practicing it mindfully, even as a standalone asana, can support nervous system regulation, and create a sense of grounding and safety, since practiced very close to the mat.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Nina and today I will show you the position of Child's Pose as part of my Yoga Foundation series. Child's Pose is a very relaxing position that can also calm down your nervous system. It also has a cooling effect, So if you're living maybe somewhere warm and you sometimes just need to cool down a little bit, You can also take that position and it's just good to calm down, To protect for a moment and to just be on the mat and close to the ground, Which can be very calming. What is important in this position is that first of all you have two variations. The first one is the legs are together and you are bending forward and you let the arms relax next to the body, Palms facing up. Because if you do that, You are activating the shoulders and we just want to relax. And the head goes down, The shoulders even bend, Because if the elbows are touching the mat, You are best relaxed. Now oftentimes you may feel it in the feet if they're not stretched enough, So you can fold a blanket, For example, Between your legs and put it here, Or you can also, If you can't touch the mat like that, You can, For example, Put a cushion or a block underneath your head. Then the alternative would be to bring the knees in mat distance, The feet and the back are together and you are a little bit more actively reaching forward. Now the arms are a little bit longer now. Use the arms to the hands to push your bum back to the heels and at the same time to start forward. Once you have done that twice or three times, You just relax and that's your open child's pose. You may also hear if that feels comfortable and if you're stable enough, Bring the arms next to the bottom. Now you can take this position anytime, Obviously your yoga instructor tells you to take that position, But also when you are in a more active and dynamic yoga flow, You can take this position to just take a break. Anytime you feel like you need a break, Something is too much, You can just go into this position, Find your breath and come back to the practice when you're ready. I hope that serves you and I'll see you on the next video.

Reviews

Thanks for the great explanation. Will try to integrate the pose more often 🙏🏻