Restorative · beginner

Child's Pose

Balasana

The universal rest position. Available in any class, at any moment, without asking.

Child's Pose Photograph coming soon

A rigged MakeHuman figure animated into Child's Pose from this guide's own alignment cues — not a photo or scan of a real instructor. Same avatar as Mountain Pose and Downward Dog. Hips settling back toward the heels with the chest resting down and the arms long — the deepest knee bend in this library. Built with MPFB2 from the MakeHuman community CC0 system assets.

How to do it

  1. From hands and knees, bring your big toes together and take your knees as wide as is comfortable.
  2. Sit your hips back toward your heels.
  3. Walk your hands forward and let your forehead rest down.
  4. Breathe into the back of your ribs for as long as you like.

Why it helps

  • Releases the lower back gently
  • Settles the nervous system through slow breathing
  • Gives you somewhere to go when a class moves faster than you want

Common mistakes

  • Forcing the hips all the way to the heels — use a prop instead.
  • Treating it as a pose to 'get through' rather than rest in.

Before you try it

  • Skip or heavily prop with knee injuries; late pregnancy needs the knees very wide.

This is general information, not medical advice. If you're working with an injury, a health condition, or you're pregnant, check with a doctor or physical therapist and tell your teacher before class.

Make it easier

  • Bolster or stacked pillows under the chest to drape over.
  • Blanket behind the knees if the joint compresses.
  • Fists stacked under the forehead if it doesn't reach the floor.

Where this pose shows up

Styles restorative yin

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