Child's Pose (Balasana)

Kneel and sit the hips back toward the heels, fold the torso forward over the thighs, and rest the forehead on the mat. Arms reach forward (active) or rest alongside the body (passive). Knees may be together or wide to make room for the torso. Breathe slowly into the back of the ribs.

Provides a gentle stretch to the lumbar erectors, lats, hips, and ankles, and is the standard recovery/reset posture any time effort needs to be paused. Calming and restorative (recovery-modalities). Pad behind the knees or skip if knee flexion is painful; widen the knees in pregnancy.

• Hips toward heels, torso folded, forehead down.
• Knees together (more spinal stretch) or wide (more room/hip stretch).
• Default rest/reset posture; calming.

• pose-cat-cow — often paired on hands-and-knees work.
• stretch-lower-back-knees-to-chest — similar low-back relief.
• recovery-modalities — restorative/recovery use.