Balasana known as बालासन or Child Pose is one of the best yoga poses for beginners as it is a ‘forward bend asana’ that induces a calming effect on the individual’s mental, physical, and emotional faculties. Balasana is a very easy to perform yoga asana which is why it is one of the most commonly recommended yoga postures for beginners. Simple forward bending poses such as child’s pose are ideal yoga exercises for beginners as they help to strengthen the muscles as well as improve the person’s mental state.
It is a resting pose that focuses on the thighs and also helps alleviate back pains (1). If this asana is performed with a full gravitational pull, one can notice a great sense of mental, physical, and emotional solace.
During this exercise, make sure to maintain a focus on your breathing. We often forget to consciously focus on our breathing, taking full breathes throughout the entire exercise. Balasana’s dome shape provides the perfect pose for refocusing and enhancing the benefits of our inhales and exhales.
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How to Do Vrikshasana (Tree Pose) and benefits of Vrikshasana
How to do Balasana (Child Pose)
- Kneel on the floor.
- Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips.
- Exhale and slowly lay your torso down between your thighs.
- Broaden your lower back across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points towards your navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs.
- Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.
- Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso with your palms up, and release the front of your shoulders towards the floor.
- Feel how the weight of the front of your shoulders pulls your shoulder blades wide across your back.
- Stay in this position for 30 seconds to a minute.
Health benefits of Balasana (Child Pose)
- Helps alleviate stress and anxiety
- Flexes the body’s internal organs and keeps them supple
- It lengthens and stretches the spine
- It gently stretches the hips, thighs and ankles
- It stretches muscles, tendons and ligaments in the knee (2)
- Calms the mind and body
- Encourages strong and steady breathing
- It helps release tension in the chest, back, and shoulders
- It helps to massage and flex the internal organs in the body, keeping them active and supple
- If this asana is done with support on the head and the torso, it relieves pain in the lower back and neck
- Child pose benefits promotes blood circulation all throughout the body
How to do Tadasana (Mountain Pose) and benefits of Tadasana
Contraindications and precautions of Balasana (Child Pose)
- Avoid practicing this asana if you have any sort of knee injury
- Individuals suffering from diarrhea are advised to avoid this yoga pose
- Women who are pregnant should not practice this posture
