Balasana!!!!

Step by Step:

Kneel on the floor. Spread your knees to the width of your hips big toes together.

Exhale and bring your belly to rest between the thighs, lowering your buttocks towards your heels. Lengthen your spine away from your tailbone. Breathe into your lower back.

Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Feel how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back. Rest your forehead into the floor.

You can stay anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes in this resting pose.

To come up, first lengthen the front torso, and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone as it presses down and into the pelvis.

Beginners Tips:

If you can't reach the floor because your back is stiff, if your belly is too big, you can widen the stance of your knees and try again.

If your forehead still does not rest easily onto the floor, if your neck is flexing forward and your head does not touch the floor at all place a block to rest your head on. You can also bring your arm around and rest your head on your forearms.

You can also place a pillow between the feet and hips if the buttocks don't reach the heels.

Benefits:

Stretches the hips, thighs, lower back, ankles and knees.

Helps relieve fatigue.

Calms the mind and the body.

Increases blood circulation to the head.

Watch out for...

If you have neck injuries, make sure that your neck stays in a neutral position. If your head does not rest easily on the floor, rest your head on your forearms, doubled up fists, pillows or blocks.

This pose should be avoided if you are pregnant of if you have diarrhea, high blood pressure, ankle and knee problems.

Pose alterations / adaptions:

If you feel too much of a stretch in your ankles - place a small roll at the bottom of your shins to relieve tension.

If your buttocks does not sit on your heels, and you wish to rest here for a while as a restorative pose, place a pillow/blanket between your feet and your buttocks.

To increase the stretch in your spine and side body, stretch out your arms and hands, up over your head, reaching forward. It's also helpful to open the upper body and shoulderblades. Make sure your neck stays soft.