Balasana

Western Physiology

Balasana has a therapeutic effect on mental and physical health.

• Balasana improves mental health:
  • This pose helps relieve symptoms of stress and calm the nervous system (Conference, 2016, Guner & Inanici, 2015).
  • It helps in relieving physical and mental fatigue (Guner & Inanici, 2015).

• Balasana stretches and strengthens the muscles:
  • This pose helps in gently stretching the thighs, hips, and ankles.
  • It helps activate the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, scapula muscle, and pectoralis major (Ibrahim et al., 2012).

• Balasana improves the metabolism:
  • This pose, in tandem with others, helps reduce fasting glucose and triglycerides (Lau et al., 2015).
  • It massages the lower colon by providing pressure to this region which may assist in reducing constipation, reducing transit times and increasing the amount of fecal matter and peristalsis overall.

• Other therapeutic effects of Balasana include but are not limited to:
  • This pose improves vagal tone and heart rate variability when combined with more prolonged expiration.
  • It improves cardiac health (Jabir et al., 2017).
  • It helps relieve back and neck pain when the pose is performed while supporting the head and torso (Plastaras et al., 2015).
  • It helps improve sleep quality (Mustian et al., 2013).
  • This pose flexes and extends the lumbar and thoracic spine, respectively (Guner & Inanici, 2015).

Yogic Physiology

• It assists in the flow of downward Apana Vayu, which aids the lower digestive tract, the rectum and reproductive systems, male and female.
• It stimulates Basti Marma, which is said to assist in the bladder’s health.

Chinese Medicine

The child’s pose attends to the spleen, kidney and urinary bladder meridians. If the knees are held more widely open in the posture, this will more effectively target the liver meridian.
You will affect the stomach meridian when you place more pressure on the thighs and lower belly. This pressure can be enhanced by placing a folded blanket between the thighs and stomach to increase pressure in this region and gently massage the organs of digestion and peristalsis.

Contradictions and Cautions

• Individuals suffering from diarrhea should not perform this pose.
• Avoid this pose if pregnant or widen the legs to provide room for the abdomen.
• Unless under the supervision of a yoga teacher, avoid this pose if suffering from a knee injury.

Preparatory Asana

• Virasana

Follow up Asanas

• Balasana is a resting pose that can precede or follow any asana.

Tips for Beginners

Balasana provides an excellent opportunity to take conscious awareness of our breath, bringing it fully into the back and torso. While in the pose, imagine that each breath creates an arc in the back towards the ceiling, lengthening and expanding the spine. With each exhalation, lower your torso deeper into the crease. You can place cushioning under the buttocks to help you ease into the pose. Another alternative is to support your torso with a long bolster under the abdominal region. This can be placed flat on the ground of brought to a tilt at a height that suits you.

Variations

To increase the length of the torso, stretch your arms out forward with palms facing the floor. Lift your buttocks just slightly away from your heels. While reaching the arms forward, draw the shoulder blades down the back. Then without moving the hands, sit the buttocks back down to the heels.