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:

  1. Begin laying down on your mat with the front body facing up.
  2. One at a time, bring your knees into your chest.
  3. Open the hips, taking the knees out towards the shoulders.
  4. Lift your heels up to the sky and flex at your feet.
  5. Reach your hands for either the inside or outside of the feet, holding the feet above the knees.
  6. Pull the knees down towards the shoulders.
  7. Relax at the shoulders.
  8. If the low back is lifting up off the mat, allow that to happen – don’t flatten the back down. 
  9. Broaden across the collarbone.
  10. Feel free to stay in stillness or rock side to side.
  11. To come out of the pose, slide your hands to your knees and draw the knees back into touch.
  12. 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.