Happy Baby Yoga Pose for Calm + Flexibility
/Feeling tightness in the hips and low back?
Need to calm and center?
Want to add some fun and play to your day?
Hang out in Happy Baby Pose!
Happy Baby Pose is a calming yoga pose that is perfect for both beginner and advanced yoga practitioners. This pose is a movement we see babies do quite naturally when they discover their feet and practicing Happy Baby Pose can relieve stress while inviting feelings of joy and playfulness.
As with many reclined yoga poses, Happy Baby is a relaxation pose. However, it is not completely passive. This pose may provide a pretty intense stretch of the groin and hips and is a wonderful wind down to a final resting pose at the end of your yoga class. Let’s calm and coo in Happy Baby Pose!
The Benefits of Happy Baby Yoga Pose for Kids
Happy Baby Pose is a fun movement children make quite naturally. If you hang out with kids long enough, you will like see them rolling around in this pose at some point. In kids yoga, Happy Baby Pose might also be called Dead Bug Pose and makes a playful addition to bug-themed yoga adventures.
Children spend way too many hours sitting - in chairs, at desks, in car seats and strollers. We often notice a change in a child’s hip flexibility once they start attending school. While this pose is super fun, it also gently stretches the groin and hips. Happy Baby Pose also stretches and lengthen thighs and hamstrings while releasing the lower back. All of this can have a profoundly positive impact on a child’s posture and overall mobility.
Many of the other hip openers in yoga like Squat, Warrior and Goddess may put pressure on the knees. The reclined position of this pose allows us to open the hips while being relatively gentle with our knee joints.
Let’s have some fun and giggle in Happy Baby Pose with Rachel!
How To: Happy Baby Yoga Pose
Lie down on your back.
On exhale, bend your knees and draw them into your chest.
Open your knees wider than your torso and draw them toward your armpits.
Hold outer edge of both feet.
Bring ankles over the knees so the shins are perpendicular to the floor.
Flex the feet and gently push up through the heels while pulling down with the hands to create resistance.
Draw thighs toward the floor.
Release tailbone toward the mat and lengthen the spine.
Relax shoulders and broaden the chest.
Keep the back of the neck long and chin level.
Stay for 5-10 breaths.
Tips for Mastering Happy Baby Yoga Pose
If tight hips make it difficult to hold the feet, use a strap over the soles of the feet create the resistance and relax the hips open. You could also hold ankles or shins if no strap is available.
Make sure shoulders are relaxed on the ground to allow the chest and upper body to broaden and release. If the shoulders are off the floor, grab a strap or modify the grip to create more space.
Relax the tailbone toward the floor to lengthen and release the lumbar spine. If you notice the tail rolling up, switch the grip or move the thighs a bit away from the torso.
Keep the back of the neck long and relaxed and chin level.
Keep gaze neutral toward the ceiling, the back of the neck long and the chin level. You can choose to focus on one point or close the eyes or soften the gaze as feels most comfortable.
Take gentle rock side to side, massaging the back of the body.
Notice your breathing and bring awareness to the back of the body as it moves against the floor.
Kid-friendly Happy Baby Pose Variations
Happy Baby Pose is a great way to open this hips and realign the spine in preparation for final relaxation pose at the end of class. The support of the floor makes this beginner yoga pose calming and comforting, and practicing regularly has the potential to relieve stress and anxiety.
If hip tightness makes it difficult to hold the feet in the traditional pose, try bringing the feet together, widening the knees and holding ankles for a butterfly variation. This variation creates a reclined Bound Angle or Butterfly Pose, which is also a wonderful way to gently open and stretch the hips.
In fact, practicing Butterfly Pose can be a great way to ease the hips into a deeper Happy Baby Pose over time. Let’s be butterflies with Dan!
You might notice that one side of the body feels more open than the other. That is completely normal as none of us are symmetrical. Yoga can help bring our bodies closer into balance as we practice over time.
Many grown-ups hold suppressed or stored emotion in the hips, so it is common to experience rushes and releases of feelings as we practice intense hip stretches. Take deep breaths and make sure to relax any clenching in the jaw or face. Focus on the support and stability of the floor below the body to ground and center.
Happy Baby pose is a perfect segue to relaxation so make sure to allow several minutes of quiet time after this pose. Pair the relaxation with a Body Scan or other guided meditation to allow the body to assimilate all the benefits of this pose while resting.
Elevate Your Curriculum
Did you know Yo Re Mi offers an array of children's musical yoga and mindfulness resources for your kids? You can:
- Download our app for exclusive videos and fun activities -- with no ads!
- Request a professional development workshop
- Join a 30-hour certified kids yoga teacher training
- Inquire about bringing the Yo Re Mi program to your students or family
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