Happy Baby pose is a restorative hip opener in yoga that stretches the inner thighs and groin, relaxes the body, quiets the mind and can help to alleviate lower back pain. It often comes at the end of the practice but it’s also a nice one to do at the beginning of your session, to gently start to open up the hips. Rocking from side to side can feel really good on the lower back.
HAPPY BABY POSE BENEFITS
- Stretches the groin and inner thighs as your knees open out wide into hip abduction.
- Stretches the glutes as your hips flex deeply, drawing your knees up towards your armpits.
- Opens up the hips.
- Decompresses and releases tension in the lower back, especially as you rock gently from side to side.
- Relaxes the body and quiets the mind.
- Can help to alleviate lower back pain.
- Counters the stiffness from prolonged sitting.
CATEGORY
SKILL LEVEL
- Beginner
INSTRUCTIONS
- Set-Up
Lie on your back and hug your knees into your chest.
- Action
Keep your feet together and bring your knees out wide. Thread your hands through and take hold of the outsides of your feet. Bring your ankles out over your knees, flex your feet and gently pull them down towards you.
- Modification
If you can’t reach your feet, you can hold onto your ankles or shins.
- Refinements
Press your lower back into the mat and rock gently from side to side.
- Duration
Hold the pose for 5-10 breaths, in and out through your nose.
HAPPY BABY VARIATION: HALF HAPPY BABY
- Practising one leg at a time lets you focus your attention on a single hip and allows you to better control the depth of the stretch. Hold one foot and draw that knee towards your shoulder, keeping your other leg extended flat on the mat, or bent with the foot flat for more support. And then switch sides.
- If you like, you can try actively squeezing the glute of your extended leg: contracting it pulls that side of your pelvis into a posterior tilt, pressing your lower back more firmly into the mat, which can help relieve lower back pain by actively flattening out the lumbar spine rather than just relying on gravity to do it passively. This same action also anchors your pelvis, which actively deepens the hip flexor stretch in your extended leg.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
- Avoid this pose if you have a knee or hip injury.
MASTER HAPPY BABY POSE
If you’d like to practise Happy Baby pose as part of a sequence, watch Groin And Hip Flexors—a 15-minute guided practice designed to improve flexibility in the groin and hip flexors. This video can be accessed along with my full library of 360+ videos as part of the 14-Day Free Trial.
Add comment