Lower back, hips, knees, shoulders and upper back

Child's Pose: Chair Support from Floor

A halfway option: kneel on the floor and rest your forearms and head on the seat of a chair. Easier on the hips and knees than the full floor pose, deeper than the fully seated one.

How to do it

1. 1

   Kneel on the floor facing the seat of a chair

   Knees hip width or a little wider, with a folded blanket under them so the kneeling itself is comfortable.

2. 2

   Rest your forearms and forehead on the seat

   The chair seat takes the weight of your chest and head, which is what makes this gentler than folding all the way to the floor.

3. 3

   Ease your hips back only as far as they like

   There is no need to sit down onto your heels. A rolled blanket between your calves and thighs gives you a place to stop, and a wider knee position takes pressure off the front of the hips.

4. 4

   Add height to the seat if you feel stretched

   A cushion on the chair raises the support so your shoulders are not doing the reaching.

5. 5

   Stay for one to five minutes, then come up slowly

   Push gently through your hands to lift, and sit back for a moment before standing.

What to watch for

Your knees and the fronts of your ankles carry real weight in this one even though your chest is supported. If any of that starts to complain, pad underneath, come back less far, and use the fully seated chair version rather than pushing through.

Ways to adjust it

• Adjust chair height / extra chest support
• Reduce hip flexion
• Do not force sitting to the heels
• Support between calves and thighs
• No forced wide-knee position
• Reduce depth

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 Facing Back

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Child's Pose versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

• Child's Pose: Bolster
• Child's Pose: Chair Facing Back
• Child's Pose: Classic
• Child's Pose: Quick

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.