Kinesiology THURSDAY – Child’s Pose (This or That)
Often times we do exercises without really thinking about what we are achieving. And sometimes one little variation in joint movement or position can change the outcome of the exercise significantly. I thought I’d start a series of kinesiology blogs exploring a variation of an exercise to help get your creative cranial juices flowing and I’m calling it This or That?
Let’s start with the child’s pose. Child’s pose is an excellent exercise that stretches the ankles, hips, lumbar spine, thoracic spine and shoulders. Here’s a video on how to do it.
Let’s look at variation #1 – Child’s pose with knees apart

Variation #1 – With the knees spread apart, emphasizes:
- hip abduction – stretching the adductors
- lumbar extension – decompressing the lumbar discs
- thoracic extension – counteracting thoracic kyphosis via vertebral extension

Variation #2 – With the knees together, this emphasizes the following:
- ankle plantar flexion – stretching tibialis anterior
- lumbar flexion – decompressing the facet joints
- latissimus dorsi stretch – counteracting thoracic kyphosis via muscular stretch
Why does this matter?
If your patient has lumbar radiculopathy stemming from a disc herniation or protrusion causing pain with lumbar flexion, variation #1 may feel more beneficial. Tightness in the hip adductors often leads to neurological inhibition of the hip abductors, so this knees apart variation may also supplement a gluteus medius strengthening program well. The patients that benefit from this usually complain of pain with prolonged sitting.
If your patient has spinal stenosis or a psoas major trigger point causing pain with lumbar extension, or has difficulty coming from supine to long sitting due to back pain, variation #2 will be more beneficial. The lumbar flexion emphasized in this pose combined with arm elevation makes it an excellent stretch for the latissimus dorsi, a key muscle that can create thoracic kyphosis if it becomes tight.
Give these two exercises a try and choose wisely. One little change can make a big difference.
Because nobody has time to be in pain.
Until next time…

Kind Regards,
MoveWell Academy
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