When I first started studying yoga I learned the Sanskrit name of the common restorative pose, Adho Mukha Virasana, which translates as Downward Facing Hero. Later I learned it is more commonly called Child’s Pose or, in Sanskrit, Balasana. In either case, this grounding pose is an invitation to surrender.
I love both yoga and language. I find meaning in words and in embodied movement and postures. When we settle into Downward Facing Hero Pose, we are called to answer an invitation to rest upon the Earth with reverence and humility. If it is Child’s Pose we choose, we are moved to set aside for a moment our adult worries, lay down anxious thoughts, and experience the peace of the child. Both invitations inspire me.
This pose is great at any time of day, any time of year. If you simply need a moment of quiet out of your busy day, if your lower back has been stiff or the shoulders feel tight, or if you have just completed a back-strengthening, chest-opening yoga sequence or other fitness routine, this versatile pose has many benefits and is a perfect place to rest.
I prefer not to go directly into most yoga poses without some preparatory movement. Motion is lotion, as they say. It feels good, and it is also good for providing proprioceptive feedback — that is, it fosters awareness of where all the parts of your body are relative to each other and the space around you.
Start on hands and knees, cushioning the floor beneath your knees with a blanket as needed for comfort. Become aware of your breath and begin to move your spine with the movement of your breath. This is often called Cat-Cow. Inhale and extend the spine. Lift up your tail, your head, and your chest, allowing the belly to fill with breath and drop toward the floor. Exhale and flex the spine. Round your back to the sky and drop your head and tail. Take 10 or more cycles of deep breath connected to this movement.
Now keep a neutral spine, set your knees just wider than your hips, and shift your hips back. As the hips drop toward the heels, walk the hands forward. Take a moment to feel the hips press back as the chest, arms, and spine extend forward. Enjoy this sensation of lengthening. Then rest your chest down on your thighs and your forehead on your mat or a blanket.
Let yourself be grounded here. Place a bolster under your torso and head if you need more support. Sink your weight down toward the Earth. Let your mind relax as worries and ambitions pour like water into the Earth beneath you. Soften the features of the face. Quiet the space behind the eyes, relax your jaw, and breathe. Surrender to the moment. Take 5 to 10 rounds of intentional breath here, inhaling deeply and exhaling as slowly as you can.
Now begin to return. Resume normal breathing and rest easy in the pose. Come out of the pose when you are ready by pressing into the hands and shifting the chest forward. Stretch the legs out behind you one at a time to relieve the knees and feet. Return to your day carrying forward peace, reverence, and humility.
