“At the moment of giving birth to a child, is the mother separate from the child? You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child.”
― Dogen Zenji
Letting go into gravity
As we move through the holiday season, I want nothing more than to do nothing and be supported. I have been craving doing nothing. I’ve found that I’m not the only one: Ashley Zuberi of Yoga for Women’s Wellbeing is offering a 12-days of Relaxation Savasana Challenge that echoes my sentiments. Brea Johnson of Heart and Bones Yoga also offers a lovely event called Restmas every year in December to help people slow down and take care of themselves during the chaos of the holiday season.
In October I offered guidance on Supported Bridge Pose; this time around Supported Child’s Pose seemed like such an appropriate pose for this time of year. Well, it seems appropriate any time of year, but with the holidays coming and the days getting cold and dark (at least in the northern hemisphere), curling inward in a cozy forward bend is about my speed.
Have you ever paused to wonder about the name of Child’s Pose? Not a pose just for children (though I’ve often seen both my kids sleeping in that position), but more of a pose to remind us that on a certain level, we are always children.
One thing about children: they know how to let themselves be supported. If they have a loving home environment, they come to expect it. So it is in Child’s Pose, even in the regular, non-restorative yoga version — though I find that version restorative, too. But this restorative version allows for a deeper level of relaxation and perhaps a longer stay, given the support of props.
Breathing into your back
Last week I wrote about deerga swasam (three-part breath). One of the gifts of Child’s Pose is how it allows us to feel our breath expanding into the back. In my post on three-part breath, I talk about breathing into the ribcage and expanding it in all directions, including the back. As you relax into Supported Child’s Pose, you won’t have to try to breathe into your back; it will happen on its own because of the position of your spine. If you don’t feel it, you might need to adjust so that there’s a gentle rounding in the spine.
How to get there
There’s more than one way to do this pose. If you feel comfortable practicing on the ground, you can set up your bolster on two or three blocks (I used three since my bolster is not super firm). I recommend adding a folded blanket or thin pillow or cushion on the bolster to add a little height to make the pose more gentle. Finally, placing a block where you will sit can take some pressure off the knees since they will be bent for the time you spend in the pose.
If practicing on the ground is uncomfortable on your knees, or any other area, set up the props on a chair, as in the photo below.
You might wonder, how long should I stay here? Should I use a timer? The answer to these questions is personal, though if you feel very comfortable and don’t experience discomfort anywhere in your body, feel free to stay 5 minutes or more, making sure to turn your head to the other side if it is turned to one side (otherwise, its possible to do this with the hands stacked on top of the bolster and the forehead resting on the hands). Of course, if you’re new to this practice, even staying a minute is beneficial, so please listen to your body.
though it does look like I lost some of the curve in my back. In that case, it can be nice to roll up a little face towel and put it under the sternum to allow for that opening in the back:)
As always, if you have little or no experience practicing yoga, it might be advisable to consult with your health care practitioner before doing so. At the very least, listen to you body and never stay in a pose if there is discomfort in your body. This should be a relaxing, nourishing practice that you enjoy:)
By the way, I meant to add audio guidance here, but I’m losing my voice today, so I’ll post it sometime in the next week!
When you don’t have props
I realize not everyone has props! There are always ways to get creative, though! Here are my ideas, which might seem dorky, but in a pinch, they might just work…
no blocks? You can use books or other items as long as they are firm and placed on a surface where they won’t slip (a yoga mat under everything here would have been helpful)
and then there’s always the couch….for what I call sloth pose! Honestly, I prefer using the yoga props but this could give some of the same benefits as long as your are comfortable there for a minute. In retrospect, I would have folded a towel and put it under my chest because that part of the couch wasn’t very soft…
Coming out of the pose
If your head is turned to the side, bring yourself face down, then push with the hands on the ground or chair to come up. It can feel really nice to do Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) or Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog) to open up the backs of the knees after they have been bent for several minutes.
The poetry of the pose
As always, I like to look beyond just the physical aspects of yoga poses. What invitation does Child’s Pose offer us and how can we best accept and receive it? Is it easy or hard to stay there (emotionally? physically? Pssst…if it’s physically difficult to stay there, remember that this is a cue to come out of the pose or shift/add props. Comment at the end of the post if you have any questions!).
I love the quote by Dogen Zenji at the beginning of this post; I first came across it in a wonderful book called Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood by Karen Maezen Miller. In light of it, how would motherhood feel if we could let ourselves remember that part of the gift of being a mama is a second childhood? How would child’s pose feel if we approached it from the child within?
For more poetic inspiration, I wanted to link here to a poem by Corie Feiner, a fellow Substack writer; it’s a reflection on Child’s Pose.
Happy practicing! And it’s not just practice, but it can be play, too (remember, this pose is here to remind us that we can be like children, too:). Just a reminder that every 6-weeks or so, I’ll be offering a post on a restorative yoga pose. Urban Yoga Mama is operating on 6-week cycles rather than monthly offerings so that we can honor the 8 turns of the seasons (not just the solstices and equinoxes, but the other four turning points in between). In reflecting upon these seasonal changes, we pay some respect to the biggest mama of all: our planet Earth!
Know a mama that would enjoy this post? Please share! Thanks for reading:)
I love this! If only I knew about this 16 years ago!”
At the moment of giving birth to a child, is the mother separate from the child? You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child.”
Also, thank you for cross referring my poem🙏🏻