Stretch library
Child's Pose
How to set knee width and arm position to change what child's pose actually stretches, and why it is the safest lower-back position to default to.
How to do it
- 01Kneel on the floor with your big toes touching and your knees about hip-width apart.
- 02Sit your hips back toward your heels.
- 03Walk your hands forward and let your chest sink toward the floor, forehead resting down.
- 04Let your lower back round gently — unlike most positions on this site, that is the point here.
- 05Breathe into the back of your ribs for 60 seconds. Each exhale should let you settle a little further.
Child’s pose is the position most people already know and the one they use least deliberately. Two small setup choices change what it does entirely.
Knee width changes the stretch
Knees together keeps your torso on top of your thighs, so the movement has to come from your spine rounding. That makes it a lower-back stretch.
Knees wide lets your chest sink between them. Now your hips are flexing and abducting, and you get a hip and adductor stretch with much less spinal flexion. It is also far more comfortable for anyone with a larger midsection.
Neither is correct. Pick the one matching what you want, rather than defaulting to whichever the person in the video used.
Arms change it again
Arms stretched forward with the palms down pulls your lats into it and adds a shoulder stretch, which is useful after a day at a desk.
Arms back alongside your body, palms up, removes that entirely and turns the position into a rest. That version is what to use between hard sets or at the end of a session when you want to breathe rather than stretch.
Breathe into your back
Once you are in position, there is nothing left to push.
Slow breaths directed into the back of your ribcage do the rest — you will feel the position open slightly on each exhale. That is the most productive way to spend the minute, and it is why this works better as a long hold than as a 30-second box to tick.
The one caveat
Most of this site argues against letting your lower back round. This position is the deliberate exception, and it comes with a condition.
If your back pain is disc-related and worse when you bend forward, repeated loaded flexion is not what you want, and child’s pose may aggravate it. The lower back pain guide covers how to tell, and cat cow lets you work the extension direction instead.
Common questions
What does child's pose stretch?
Mainly the lower back and the muscles alongside the spine, plus the glutes and, with the knees wide, the inner thighs. Arms stretched overhead adds a lat and shoulder stretch; arms by your sides makes it purely a rest position.
Knees together or apart in child's pose?
Together emphasises the lower back and gives a stronger spinal flexion stretch. Wide apart lets your torso sink between your thighs, which opens the hips and adductors and is far more comfortable if you have a larger midsection or are pregnant.
How long should you hold child's pose?
Sixty seconds to a few minutes. It is a low-intensity position that responds to time rather than effort, and it is one of the few stretches where simply staying longer keeps producing something.
Why does child's pose hurt my knees?
Because it is full knee flexion with your body weight on top. Put a folded towel behind the knees to reduce the depth, or a cushion between your heels and hips to sit higher. Sharp pain in the joint line means stop.
Is child's pose good for lower back pain?
It helps many people, and it depends on the cause. Pain that eases with bending forward often responds well; pain that worsens with flexion — common with disc-related problems — may be aggravated by it. Let your symptoms decide rather than the reputation.