Child’s Prayer
Balasana, or child’s pose, is so named because in this posture the curvature of the spine mimics that of a newborn baby. Resting the face downwards on the floor also helps to ground the mind, allowing the adult mind to take a back seat, while beginners’ eyes behold the practice. This simple modification brings the heart close to the floor, and awareness out of the head. Grounding the heart encourages compassionate communication, self-nourishment, and graceful transition through hardships. Bringing awareness to the heart space gives the front brain a break, which is sometimes required to move forward. This pose helps balance the logical ego brain with the soft emotional heart. When little extra emotional support is needed, this version of child’s pose can comfort and nourish. Come back to this pose any time you need a rest during asana practice, or every-day life.
What To Do:
Begin sitting on the ankles, knees slightly open.
Place your hands in front of you,
walk them away from the body until your belly is on your knees.
Place the forehead on the floor.
Palms meet overhead.
Bend the elbows.
Reach for the back of the heart space (between the should blades) with the thumbs.
Don’t worry about actually touching your thumbs to the heart space, reaching for it is enough.
Benefits:
Helps establish healthy spinal curves.
Opens the back of the heart center.
Opens the front of the shoulder.
Moves and refreshes fluid in the lower joints.
Calms the mind and emotions.
Modifications:
Place a folded blanket or a bolster in front of the knees if getting head to floor is difficult. Lower down onto the prop instead.
Folded blanket under the knees, feet and ankles on the floor encourages more circulation to the feet, allowing greater comfort in this pose, especially for long holds.
Folded blanket behind the knees, between calves and hamstrings, also promotes better circulation to the lower legs.
