This post is part of our Yoga for Wellness Series with Well.ca’s resident yoga expert (& Warehouse Associate) Carolyn Evans! Join us every other Tuesday as Carolyn guides you through a new pose or sequence and teaches you about its benefits.

Child’s pose is one of my personal favourite resting poses to help calm my body and mind.  This pose has also aided in reducing lower back pain that I have experienced. Taking this posture throughout your practice or at any time throughout your day will be beneficial to your mind, body and breath.

How To:

1. Start on your knees with big toes touching and knees spread apart. (1.5-2 feet apart)
2. Reaching your arms way out in front of you, allowing your heart to draw softly towards the earth.
3. Drawing your hips down towards your heels.
4. Resting your forehead on the floor or on a block for extra support.
5. Child’s Pose is a resting pose, hold from 30 seconds to a few minutes.
6. To exit the posture, lengthen through the crown of the head, then on an inhalation slowly bring your torso upright, using your hands to help bring you up.

Tips and Alignment Cues:

1. Lighten your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis, while you lift the base of your skull away from the neck, creating length.
2. Option to use blocks for extra support. Place a block under the forehead, hips or torso.

Tip for Beginners:

This posture is great for exploring our breath. We often have trouble breathing into our back torso.  Child’s Pose gives us the opportunity to practice sending our breath into our back bodies.  With every inhale imagine filling your back torso, so that it reaches up towards the sky, lightening and widening the spine here. Then with every exhale gently sinking a little more deeply into the fold.

Benefits:

• Stretches the hips, thighs and ankles
• Helps to relieve back and back pain
• Helps relieve stress and fatigue
• Calms the brain
• Gives us the opportunity to practice breathing into our torso 360 degrees