Yoga For Rest And Grounding | Child’s Pose Variations

In this 10-minute practice, we'll try resting the arms by your sides, reaching them forward and to each side, and using a folded blanket for support. Depending on the variation, you may feel a gentle stretch through your back, hips, thighs, ankles, shoulders, or side ribs. When you find a shape you can settle into, take a moment to notice how your side and back ribs move as you breathe. If you're carrying sorrow or grief, or you just need a few minutes away from the demands of the day, this is an invitation to pause and let yourself be supported. Bring a folded blanket if you have one, and stay with the version that gives you the most ease today.

Transcript

Welcome, I'm Suzanne Morgan. Today's short practice is on variations of Child's Pose, Velocina. This is one of the most underrated poses in yoga. It's a full body stretch, Stretching the back. Perhaps. The leg. The ankles. So let's come into the first variation. And so you can start just by. . . Drive the thighs together, The ankles together, And Hips to the heels and fold the body over with the legs. Let the front of the shoulders relax down towards the earth. And you can feel the flexion. In the spine. Take some deep breaths into your belly. The middle lower back part of the body. So you can place your hands onto the back body and just take a few breaths. Into the back body, Right at the kidneys. And if your hand hangs down. You might like to take a blanket or a cloth. And support beforehand. With the foam. Sean's pose is a deeply relaxing pose that activates the parasympathetic nervous system which helps us calm down. You could also take a blanket underneath the backs of the knees and then try this one more time, Holding up the blanket as much as you like. With the hips are tight. This is a good way to access the polls. You could double up the blanket. And then on your next inhale, Inhale and come back up. You can take the blade, Get out to the side if you like, Or keep it where it is. A second version is we're going to walk our hands forward, Tuck the toes under, And sit back into child's pose. But tending up onto the fingertips, Releasing the hips back to the heels, The head is going to float. And so you get this deep stretch in the toes. You get a stretch for the shoulders. The side body. Take several breaths here. And then on your inhale, Go ahead and leave it. For a moment, Take a break, Cross the ankles back behind, Sit back, And then you can just Rock the spine from front to side to back to side, Just making a circle with the spine. Before we come into our next. Variation. Change direction. And then come back to all fours. This very mission, We're going to take our knees wide, The big toes together. Sigma hips back to the heels. Lots of arms for learning. The forearms can lift. They had two sons. And then you're going to start to walk the hands over to the left. Picking up the ribcage and taking the left side of the ribs to the left thigh. You can even place the right hand on top of the left to accentuate the stretch in the right side body. Come back for suture. And now, Over you go to the right. Laying the right side of the chest onto the thigh. They have floats, But. Descends towards the arms. Breathe into the left side ribs. And then walk yourself back to center, Taking a little bit of a break out of this. Inhale and come forward. And you can. . . Lift the heels in towards the glute. Open up the shoulders. Roll the shoulders back and down. Come into a modified up dog look. Just did something all counter-close. And then shift the hips back again. We're coming back to a wide-legged child's pose. Left arm is extended. The right hand is going to feed down and through, Taking you into a twist into your child's pose. Perhaps your head touches the ground. It may or may not. The right shoulder will probably touch. You're looking underneath that left arm. Take several breaths. And then inhale, Come out of that, Plant the right hand, Feed the left arm down and through over to the right side. Same again. And then inhale, Come out of it, Walk the hands forward, Bring the knees back to parallel. Wrists underneath the shoulders, Knees underneath the hips. Press that left foot back. You're on the bottom of that left foot heel, Pressing back. We're just taking a little bit of a counter pose. Before the maths variation. And then the shiny boots. And then coming back with the legs parallel. Hip shift balance. Come back to a more traditional child's pose, But this time we'll take a different form of variation. You can clasp the hands together or press the palms together into a Namaste, Fingertips pointing up to the sky. And you can feel how this opens up. The upper back body. And then you bend the shawl around. Come on. And take a seated post. So Charles Coase is. Also repose for grief, For sorrow, It's thought to help protect the heart. One more time just circling the heart, Creating a little bit of movement. After those stagnant poses. And then change direction. And then come back to center, Hands to the heart. Thanks for practicing. Namaste.