How to Do Child's Pose for Scoliosis
/Child's Pose (Balasana) is a fundamental yoga posture known for its calming and restorative qualities. It offers a sense of rest and gentle stretching of the legs, hips, back, and shoulders, which can be helpful for those with back conditions and scoliosis. (Note, however, that Child's Pose alone cannot treat or cure scoliosis.)
Scoliosis, a condition characterized by an abnormal curvature of the spine, affects 2–3 percent of the population (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) and often requires specialized care and treatment. If you have scoliosis check with your medical provider to determine what path forward is right for you. Yoga is a great method for helping you manage scoliosis, but make sure you are working with a trained and knowledgeable instructor.
Incorporating yoga and Child's Pose into a scoliosis management routine can be beneficial in the following ways:
Mild Stretching: Child's Pose provides a gentle stretch to the back and hamstrings, potentially aiding in maintaining flexibility and reducing tightness, which can be crucial for individuals with scoliosis.
Stress and Relaxation: This pose encourages relaxation and reduces stress on the spine, potentially offering some relief from discomfort associated with scoliosis.
Curve Awareness: Child’s Pose helps those with scoliosis become more mindful of their curves, provides expansion through their concavities, and helps de-rotate the spine (in addition to a sideways curvature the spine also rotates in the direction of convexities).
Important Consideration:
Be aware that improper form can worsen the condition because it can exacerbate spinal imbalances in individuals with scoliosis. This means that you can sink into concavities, making them more collapsed, or you can overstretch convexities. This is a common disclaimer with most yoga poses and is not meant to scare you away from the pose but rather encourage a mindful relationship with your spine and body. While this pose is incredibly useful for those with scoliosis, it is best to practice it in a way that helps your body. This is why working with those trained in and experienced with scoliosis is beneficial—work with someone who can provide specific instruction for your particular scoliotic pattern and bodily needs.
How to Do It:
Begin on your hands and knees: Kneel on a comfortable yoga mat with your big toes together and knees hip-width apart.
Sit back on your heels: Gently lower your buttocks back toward your heels. If sitting directly on your heels is uncomfortable, you can place a folded yoga blanket or towel between your buttocks and heels for additional support. (You can learn alternatives to sitting back on your heels in my accessible options post.)
Lengthen your torso: Bring your torso down between your thighs, extending your spine. Avoid hunching or rounding your back.
Rest your forehead: Gently lower your forehead down toward the mat. If this position strains your neck, you can place a rolled-up towel or yoga block on the mat to rest your forehead on for additional support.
Arms by your sides or forward: Extend your arms out in front of you, palms facing down, alongside your body with palms facing up, or rest them comfortably beside your torso.
Modifications for Scoliosis:
Asymmetrical Knees: Depending on your specific scoliosis curve, you might need a small folded towel under one knee to help level your pelvis and achieve a more neutral spinal alignment.
Neutral Spine: Pay close attention to maintaining a neutral spine throughout the pose. Though this will not be possible with scoliosis, notice which ribs are higher on one side than the other and determine if one side feels more rounded. If your ribcage touches your thighs, notice which side presses into your thigh more and if your ribs touch your legs in the same spot. Are both arms extended the same amount or is one shoulder higher? Developing awareness in this pose is key.
Support ribs and pelvis: Place a small folded towel under your concavities. If you don’t know where they are, try to notice where your ribs feel collapsed in front. For my right thoraco-lumbar curve, I have a concavity on the left side around my bottom, hanging ribs. Place a little towel there to introduce a little more space. If you have a lumbar curve, you may be placing a towel under a dropped hip instead of ribs. This provides some expansion in a collapsed area and starts to de-rotate your spine.
Breath into your concavities: After determining where your concavities are, focus on inhaling into them. If you have multiple, focus on one at a time to start. As odd or impossible as it may sound, visualize sending air there and using that air to expand the ribs (if thoracic) or waist (if lumbar) in that concavity. Doing so helps strengthen the muscles of that area, provides expansion where there is collapse, and continues to de-rotate the spine, which helps make the sides more symmetrical and level.
Child’s Pose is one of the most important poses for scoliosis because it helps you gain awareness about where your curves are and where your back is in space. With the support of the ground and your legs, you have a greater opportunity to feel and sense your back. Though this pose might not be accessible to everyone initially, try to find a variation that works for you so can begin to understand your body and enjoy this pose’s many benefits.