Child’s Pose is more than just a resting posture. For practitioners, it creates space for grounding and self-awareness. For teachers, it can be an invaluable tool for observing the body’s unique structural alignment. 

Child’s Pose is a restorative asana which encourages lengthening in the spine. With the arms extended, it opens through the shoulders and encourages gentle extension of the thoracic spine.

This posture reveals subtle restrictions or openness in the back, hips, and knees. If a student’s hips sit high in Child’s Pose, it often indicates tightness in the hip flexors, glutes, or adductors, or stiffness in the knees. In which case, props or modifications can make the pose more accessible and comfortable. 

As a teacher, I always pay close attention to spinal alignment in Child’s Pose. It’s one of the clearest opportunities to observe anomalies in curvature such as any signs of scoliosis or asymmetries that might not be as obvious in other positions. This awareness allows teachers to anticipate how a student may present in more complex postures and provides insight into how they may require support or adjustments. 
 
Teaching & Practice Tips

Child’s Pose is a suitable regression for Downward Dog / Summit Pose and provides students with an opportunity to catch their breath and slow their heart rate during their practice. It counteracts back bending asanas, relaxes and calms the mind and body, promotes rest, alleviates back pain, and may improve sleep when practiced before bed. 

Doshas (Balancing for) 
 

• Vata 
• Pitta 

Chakras Stimulated 

• Root
• Sacral
• Solar Plexus 

 
How to Practice (image references and cues listed below)

1. Begin kneeling on your mat, bringing your big toes and knees together with your hips resting on your heels. 
2. Fold forward, allowing your belly to rest on your thighs and your forehead to rest on your mat. 
3. Rest your arms alongside your body, palms up, relaxing your shoulders, spine, and hips. 
4. Soften into your forehead and let your head be heavy, releasing any tension in your neck. 
5. Close your eyes gently, inviting a sense of introspection and relaxation. 
6. Take slow, deep breaths, expanding your back with every inhalation and relaxing deeper into the pose with every exhalation. 
7. Tune in to any sensations in your body, noticing areas of tension and allowing them to soften as you breathe. 
8. Cultivate surrender, letting go of any stress or tightness in your body and mind. 
9. You can use Child's Pose as a resting posture during your practice, returning to it whenever you need a moment of peace or to regain composure. 
10. To come out of the pose, gently press into your palms, slowly lifting your torso, coming to sit onto your heels, returning to a comfortable seated position.
    
    

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