It is Friday and these are some extremely common symptoms people suffer from at the end of the week! Here is a suggestion: do something about it! You have two days off to enjoy yourself, you wouldn’t want to waste them crashing on the couch and watch TV!! Instead you could refresh your mind and replenish your energy to do something that you love. See how you can benefit from Happy Baby Pose (‘Ananda Balasana’ in Sanskrit). Ananda Balasana helps calm the brain, as well as relieve stress and fatigue, plus chances are it will make you smile!! Look at this cute ‘little kitten’, doesn’t he look happy? :-) Big thanks to Yoga Australia for being my inspiration today as they published this photo on their Facebook page!
How to practice Ananda Balasana?
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.
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.
For how long?
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.
Tips…
If you can’t easily hold your feet with your hands, try holding each foot with a yoga strap looped around the middle arch.
Contra-indications & cautions:
Pregnancy, knee injury, neck injury (support head on a thickly folded blanket).
Other benefits:
Gently stretches the inner groins and the back spine.
Reference: Yoga Journal (www.yogajournal.com)