One of my favorite restorative yoga poses is Supported Child’s Pose!
This restorative pose allows you to stay in it for a bit longer than the version without props, and provides all the amazing benefits of the more athletic version without any discomfort.
Some benefits of Child’s Pose:
Gentle stretching of the hips, thighs, and ankles
Stress and anxiety relief
Relieves fatigue
Regulates the nervous system (To learn more about your nervous system in general, click here.)
Improves mental focus
Supports the belly, heart and head
Relieves back pain
Relaxes the muscles onn the front of the body
Passively and gently stretches the muscles on the back of the body
To get into this pose, follow these steps:
Set up your bolster or stack of blankets on the floor in front of you.
Come onto your knees with your big toes together and knees wide apart behind your bolster.
Straddle your bolster. If this isn’t comfortable on your knees, you can place another blanket or rolled towel in the crease between your calves and thighs. If this is uncomfortable on your ankles, place a rolled towel underneath your ankles so that your feet drape over the towel.
Drape you torso over the bolster and rest your head on one side. The pose should start out completely comfortable so make sure you tuck a towel underneath the side of your head or face if you feel any tension in your neck.
If your shoulders and hips are not in the same plane, add another folded blanket on top of the bolster to add height.
Rest your elbows on the floor. If they don’t rest comfortably, place additional towels or pillows underneath your arms and hands.
Rest in supported Child’s pose for 2-3 minutes and then turn your head to face in the other direction for another 2-3 minutes.
Before you come out of the pose completely, rest your forehead on the bolster in neutral position for a few moments.
Enjoy this pose whenever you feel stressed or need to rest your back.
And while you’re here, grab your FREE “Calm your Stress” audio recording of a gentle exercise to do right before bed so that you fall asleep easily!