Happy Baby Yoga Pose
Video
Description
Happy Baby Yoga Pose – Learn how to do a happy baby yoga pose in this super cool instructional vid.
Lie on your back. With an exhale, bend your knees into your belly.
Inhale, grip the outsides of your feet with your hands (if you have difficulty holding the feet directly with your hands, hold onto a belt looped over each sole.) Open your knees slightly wider than your torso, then bring them up toward your armpits.
Position each ankle directly over the knee, so your shins are perpendicular to the floor. Flex through the heels. Gently push your feet up into your hands (or the belts) as you pull your hands down to create a resistance for the happy baby yoga pose when doing correctly.
Coax the thighs in toward your torso and down toward the floor as you lengthen the spine—release your tail bone toward the floor and lengthen the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.
Hold the pose steadily for 30 seconds to one minute. Then release the feet back to the floor with an exhale and rest for a few breaths.
Benefits
Happy Baby Pose is a wonderful pose for grounding at the end of a practice and hasseveral benefits:
Opens and stretches the hips
Stretches the inner groins
Lengthens and helps to realign the spine
Calms the mind and relieves stress
Strengthens the arms and shoulders
Cautions for the happy baby yoga pose
Pregnancy
Knee or ankle injuries
Extremely tight hips
Steps
Ananda Balasana (AH-nahn-dah-BAHL-ahs-ahna)
Ananda = blissful
Bala = baby
1. Start on your back with your knees drawn in towards your chest.
2. Grab hold of your feet with your hands. Ensure your arms are in front of yourshins, and you are holding on to the outside edges of your feet.
3. Draw your shoulders on to your back, tone your arms and flex your feet asyou pull down on your feet.
4. Draw your knees wide and toward your armpits and try to stack anklesabove knees.
5. Lengthen your lower back down to the ground, trying to touch the tip of yourtailbone to the floor.
6. Stay here for 1 minute, and then release and draw your knees in to yourchest.
Modifications
Hold the inside arches of your feet
Hold your ankles
Place a blanket under your neck
That should explain exactly how to do the happy baby yoga pose correctly.
