Upper back, shoulders, wrists, neck, lower back, hips, knees and ankles

Child's Pose: Arms on Blocks

An active take on Child's Pose: pressing your hands into blocks wakes up your upper back, shoulders and arms while your lower back rests long in a supported fold.

Ways to adjust it

• Short hold
• Stop if symptoms spread
• Cervical neutral, gaze down
• Short hold, stop if symptoms spread
• Blocks closer, light press, short hold
• Do not force overhead range
• Weight back, light press
• Neutral wrist, equal pressure
• Stop with tingling
• Pelvis slightly above heels, reduce flexion
• Small range, stop with symptom spread
• Reduce hip flexion
• Do not force sitting to the heels
• Support between calves and thighs
• No forced wide-knee position
• Reduce depth
• Feet parallel, no sickling
• Pad the ankles
• Stop with foot tingling

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

• Child's Pose: Chair

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits.

• Child's Pose: Bolster
• Child's Pose: Chair
• Child's Pose: Chair Facing Back
• Child's Pose: Chair Support from Floor
• Child's Pose: Classic
• Child's Pose: Forearms
• Child's Pose: Quick
• Child's Pose: Wide Knee

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.