Balasana Yoga (Child’s Pose): Yoga for Good Sleep

When we finally get done for the day, and we inch towards our bed, we look for a comfortable mattress to coddle us to sleep. However, the sleep can slip away and you can be left tossing and turning. It’s no secret that yoga helps with sleep, but if you had to do one asana tonight before retiring to bed to ensure a relaxed, sound sleep, we would recommend Balasana Yoga pose. 

Many people rely on yoga for better sleep, and the Balasana Yoga pose is one of the best yoga poses for people suffering from sleep issues. Studies have shown that practising yoga before sleep helps you fall asleep faster and also get better quality sleep every night. Before we find out how to perform this sleeping asana yoga before sleep pose, let us dig a little deeper into it.

What is Balasana Yoga for Sleep?

The Balasana, also known as the Sharnagat Mudra, Child Pose and sleeping asana, is not as easy as it looks. But the benefits of child pose and the results got by practising Balasana yoga are overwhelming.  If you are looking for a yoga practice to have a night of better sleep, then this is the one as it soothes your mind, helps you relax, and massages the abdominal organs. Balasana yoga pose helps a great deal to stretch the spine, helps to release all the energy and it relaxes your mind and body, that is why this is the perfect sleeping asana. This is why yoga for good sleep is recommended by people all over the globe.

How to Practice Balasana Yoga Pose? 

A good place to start would be to understand and track your sleeping patterns. Once you know when you feel the sleepiest and most awake, you can try yoga positions to calibrate your sleep cycle. To practice Balasana Yoga, simply begin by kneeling on the floor. Make sure your big toes are touching each other. Do not place the feet one over the other.

• Once you feel you have found your balance in this posture, simply spread your knees hip-width apart. Slowly and softly, inhale. This is a nice pose in yoga for good sleep.
• Exhale and lay your torso between your thighs and legs to experience yoga for better sleep.
• For this pose slowly settle down on your thighs by broadening your sacrum all across the back of the pelvis. Feel that your tailbone is stretching away from the back of the pelvis as you slightly lift your head away from the back of the neck.
• Now simply extend your arms and hands in front of you and stretch them out straight. The shoulders should not be strained, let them drop on the floor.
• Balasana Yoga for Sleep is helpful because it helps to open up the shoulder blades across your back.
• Stay in this posture for 30 seconds or more. It is a resting posture, and so, you can simply stay in it for more than a few minutes too, if you want you can use a pillow for additional support. You will soon find out why people prefer balasana yoga pose or child pose yoga in general!
• To come out of this sleeping asana, simply stretch the upper body slowly followed by your hands. Then simply inhale and lift from the tailbone, thus pushing down into the pelvic region. You will no longer have any doubts about the benefits of child pose yoga and about yoga for better sleep in general.

Benefits of Balasana Yoga: It’s Time to Practice Child Pose Yoga

Let us now look into the benefits of child pose yoga or Balasana, which is a great sleeping asana.

1. The balasana yoga or the asana helps release any tension in the chest. It is also why people trust yoga for better sleep.
2. It relaxes the back and spine and enables people to trust in yoga for good sleep.
3. It alleviates the stress felt by your shoulders and hands.
4. The Child Pose is highly recommended to people who keep feeling dizzy.
5. This sleeping asana pose, if practised after a tiring workday or workout, can help with relaxation and soothing of the muscles, ensuring good sleep.
6. This pose helps alleviate stress and feelings of anxiety. This is considered as one of the top benefits of child pose. 
7. Since the Balasana Yoga for sleep flexes the internal organs of your body, it helps in keeping them active, and therefore, supple.
8. This stretch helps in the lengthening of the spine, and in maintaining its natural alignment.
9. When this yoga for better sleep pose is performed with support on the head and the upper part of the body, the Child Pose can give relief from the pain felt in the lower back and the neck.
10. It gives a good stretch to the legs, ankles, thighs, and hips.
11. Performing this yoga before sleep helps lower your blood pressure.
12. By stretching out the whole body with the help of a pillow, the Balasana Yoga for sleep improves blood circulation.
13. It enhances the quality of breathing, and thus, soothes the body as well as the mind. This is why yoga before sleep is a good habit. Many people trust yoga for good sleep.
14. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your knees and legs receive the stretch they need through the Child Pose.

Precautions to Be Taken While Practising Balasana Yoga Pose 

Here are a few things to keep in mind while performing the Balasana Yoga:

1. When placing the head on the floor on the mat you feel some difficulty or find it uncomfortable, then you can use a pillow or a cushion for support.
2. If you are suffering from diarrhoea, then avoid yoga before sleep as it massages the digestive tract and creates pressure on the bowels.
3. If you have injuries in your legs or knee problems, then refrain from getting into this sleeping asana.
4. If you are a patient of hypertension, then this yoga before sleep must be avoided.
5. Although yoga for better sleep has been proven, you may need to see a doctor if your insomnia isn’t reduced by practising sleeping asanas.

Though a relaxing posture that looks easy compared to the other yogic contortions, the Balasana yoga before sleep has numerous benefits, and therefore, must be performed regularly for better results. No wonder so many people trust in yoga for better sleep. Practicing balasana yoga before sleep is a great way to lower your stress and calm down your breathing, enabling you to trust yoga for sleep. 

If you are looking for tips for better sleep ,there are several sleeping asanas and yoga for good sleep. In fact, people who practice yoga for better sleep tend to continue the practice throughout their life. Fortunately, sleeping asanas are easy to master and can be performed just before bedtime. Yoga before sleep lowers your blood pressure as well as the stress hormone cortisol. Additionally, before you rest for the day, you can even try stretches and snuggle up with a comforting pillow specially meant for sleep.