Happy Baby Yoga Position

Happy Baby Yoga Position
How to Do Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana) in Yoga and Pilates

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Marguerite Ogle is a freelance writer and experienced natural wellness and life coach, who has been teaching Pilates for more than 35 years.

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Kristin McGee is a certified personal trainer and currently teaches yoga and meditation for Peloton. She is also certified in Pilates and by the National Association of Sports Medicine.

Happy Baby ( Ananda Balasana ) is an easy exercise often done in Pilates and yoga classes. It is a gentle stretch for the hamstrings, inner thigh, and inner groin, a relaxation exercise for the back, and it also opens up the hips, shoulders, and chest. Happy Baby is a nice treat to give yourself any time. It feels especially relaxing after a workout .

Targets: Hip opener, hamstrings, inner thighs, groin

With this pose, you open the hips and give a stretch to your inner thighs, hamstrings at the back of the thighs, and groin. It releases the back and the sacrum. You may notice one hip is tighter than the other and then know which to target for better flexibility and mobility.

In yoga, this move is recommended for relief of stress and fatigue, to calm and center you. You have probably watched a baby grab its toes and play with them, perhaps envying that simple motion and sense of wonder. Grabbing your toes as a baby does brings you back to the flexible spine you had as a baby. The founder of Pilates, Joseph Pilates , was much inspired by the movement of babies. There is much to learn in this simple exercise.

You will need an exercise mat or a firm, padded surface. You may want to support your neck with a small pad, pillow or folded blanket.

To get the most out of this exercise, avoid these errors.

Try to keep the pose contained so the legs stay fairly parallel and the shoulders stay settled on the floor. This can be difficult if you have very tight hips. If you find your shoulders must raise from the mat, modify where you place your hands (such as at the ankles or shins) so your chest remains open and your shoulders remain on the mat.

If your neck is not in contact with the mat, your chin will be raised, which places your neck at risk of strain. Often this is caused by lack of flexibility so you are straining to grab your feet with your hands. Instead, grasp your ankles or shins.

You can do this pose in ways that make it more accessible for beginners or deepen it for those farther along in their practice.

If you are not able to hold your feet, you may use a strap or exercise band to hold the foot, looping it over the middle of the arch. You may need to practice releasing at the hip socket with Pilates knee folds .

If you have great hip flexibility, you can go deeper by pressing your tailbone into the mat.

If you are pregnant or if you have a knee injury or neck injury, you may not wish to do the Happy Baby exercise.

Ask your instructor for modifications or alternative exercises. If you feel pain at any time during this exercise, stop.

Incorporate this move and similar ones into one of these popular workouts:

Get exercise tips to make your workouts less work and more fun.
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The Happy Baby Pose is an excellent way to unwind before bed or stretch after a workout (Image via Instagram)

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The Happy Baby Pose is a stretch common to yoga and Pilates. It is known as the Ananda Balasana in yoga.
Yoga focuses on increasing flexibility, breathing, strength and improving mental well-being. Pilates also includes some yoga-like movements that enhance the range of motion, balance and flexibility and helps strengthen and tone muscles.
The Happy Baby Pose is common to both types of workouts because of its gentle, calming motion and numerous health benefits.
The Happy Baby Pose or Ananda Balasana derives its name from three Sanskrit words - ananda meaning happy, 'bal' meaning child or baby and 'asana' meaning pose.
The happy baby pose is a common movement that babies perform when they are happy. Lying on their back, they reach for their toes and feet and then rock back and forth.
The Happy Baby Pose aims to calm and relax your inner child the same way it does for babies. You can perform this pose any time to give yourself a nice, soothing treat.
The Happy baby pose can be performed anywhere; all you need is a yoga mat and a carpeted or padded surface. You may use a small pillow, towel, pad or folded blanket under your neck for support.
The happy baby pose is a simple, easy and relaxing position that allows you to open up your hips deeply and stretch your hamstrings and groin. It will help you release your back and sacrum.
The happy baby pose is one of the best positions to help relieve stress and fatigue, calm you down and centre you.
The pose mimics a baby's - when it is happy and starts touching its toes while lying on its back and playing with them. The simple motion is possible, as a baby's spine is much more relaxed and flexible. For you too, the pose will serve to make your spine flexible and help relax your muscles.
The founder of Pilates, Joseph Pilates, was very inspired by the movement of babies, so the Happy Baby Pose is also advised in Pilates .
Performing this exercise before bedtime and/or after waking up will help you sleep better and go through your day with a greater calmness and energy.
The Happy Baby Pose offers some benefits, which are listed below:
1) It reduces and helps get rid of lower back pain.
2) It realigns and stretches the spine.
4) It opens the inner thighs , hips and groin.
6) It gets rid of tiredness and fatigue.
Understanding the correct form and common mistakes while doing this exercise will help you obtain the maximum benefits of the Happy Baby Pose:
1) Make sure your shoulders are touching the floor and your legs are reasonably parallel to the ground. Initially, that might be difficult to attain if you have very tight hips.
If you are unable to attain the position without raising your shoulders, modify where you place your hands (place them near your ankle instead of grabbing your toes) so that your chest is open, and your shoulders are on the mat.
2) Maintain a neutral neck, and make sure it is in contact with the mat; else your chin might be lifted, and your neck might get strained or injured.
To avoid that, try to grab your ankles instead of your toes (if it is difficult for you to reach your toes. You can also try placing a rolled towel or blanket underneath your head for support.
The Happy Baby Pose is an excellent exercise that will help you relax in the evening or after a gruelling workout. Apart from its tremendous physical benefits, it also offers great calmness of mind. The happy baby pose is one of the simplest pleasures of life.
Please avoid the Ananda Balasana if you are pregnant or have a knee or neck injury. As the exercise requires you to lie on your back, it might decrease blood circulation to your fetus. So it's advisable to avoid it till you have given birth.
Q. Have you ever done the Happy Baby Pose alongside a baby?

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