The Pose of the Week is Happy Baby, a pose you may have done when you were a child! This pose offers a great stretch for the hamstrings, inner thighs and groin. Although there isn’t a typical Sanskrit name for this pose, “happy” can also be thought of as bliss, which in Sanskrit is Ananda!
Benefits:
Good for stress relief and to help fatigue. Stretches the hamstrings, inner thighs, groin and back spine.
How to:
- Begin laying down on your mat with the front body facing up.
- One at a time, bring your knees into your chest.
- Open the hips, taking the knees out towards the shoulders.
- Lift your heels up to the sky and flex at your feet.
- Reach your hands for either the inside or outside of the feet, holding the feet above the knees.
- Pull the knees down towards the shoulders.
- Relax at the shoulders.
- If the low back is lifting up off the mat, allow that to happen – don’t flatten the back down.
- Broaden across the collarbone.
- Feel free to stay in stillness or rock side to side.
- To come out of the pose, slide your hands to your knees and draw the knees back into touch.
- Place the soles of feet to Earth and feel free to rock the legs side to side.
Modify it:
Place a blanket below the low back. Option to hold onto the shins instead of holding the feet. Option to do 1 leg at a time.