The shape of the Baby pose (Balasana), forces the front of your rib cage to condense, thus causing an internal resistance to full, frontal breathing. This is the accepted pattern for most. In this resistance the practitioner confronts –for the first time perhaps – the idea of breathing somewhere other than the front of the lungs.
Alternately, you could feel as if you are trying to avoid distending your belly as you inhale. As your anterior ribs are squeezed, the steadfast presence of your internal organs and the squeezing of your abdomen trapped against your thighs limit your diaphragm. This, oftentimes results in feelings of claustrophobia, nausea, or even fear.
Further, this could even precludes soft, even breathing.
To start the pose, kneel down, sitting on the heels, with knees and feet together. Bend forward on the exhale and place the forehead on the floor. Swing the arms around to the floor behind you with your palms turned up. If you don’t find this comfortable for your neck or if you find it tough to reach the floor, you can support your forehead with a blanket. Take your attention to your breath: See if it is it distorted by the compression of the abdomen?
As you start the next inhale, picture yourself are drawing your breath in through your navel and feel your navel move slightly backwards towards your spine. You may not be able to take a "full" breath this way. In which case, you could sense a soft suction in your belly pulling in the stem of v navel.
As you proceed with the inhalation, the fullness of breath moves to the back your heart, filling the back of your lungs, softening your spine. As your thorax expands, feel your skin across the shoulder blades stretch. The energy of your frontal chest and ribs ought to be immobile. On the exhalation, release the weight of your abdomen, soften your diaphragm, and surrender your arms. Feel their weight pulling down on your collarbones and shoulders.
The release of organs sucks your energy down into your pelvic floor. This in effect bounces back up and sets off subtle movement in your spine. With continued practice, you will see more space in your belly as your organs get toned up and become more flexible. Your pattern of breathing – into the back – will become familiar, and the spine will stretch freely as the breath works slowly to expand and release tension in the ribs.
Although the Baby Pose (Balasana) is extremely fundamental in nature, nevertheless, it will enable you develop a broader understanding of your breath and help you to recognize the role of your organs in your subtle body energies. Even though not be a physically challenging posture, the Baby Pose (Balasana) will definitely help you develop the attitude that is a pre-requisite for deeper practice.
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