Child's Pose, rested into slowly · A gentle rounding of the back on hands and knees to release the shoulders
Time your hold
Three soft ticks and a bell when you're done, so you can close your eyes and stop
watching the clock.
How to do it
Begin on hands and knees, knees under your hips. Keep the hips stacked high over the knees the whole way through — this is what protects your lower back.
Walk your hands forward along the floor, letting your chest sink toward the ground and your forehead or chin come to rest.
Keep your arms about shoulder-width and your elbows lifted, so the stretch pours into the shoulders and upper back rather than collapsing.
Find your edge — about 60–80% of your capacity, a real stretch through the chest but never forcing. A pinch across the back of the shoulders often means you've met a compression point where bone meets bone, not a stretch — walk the hands wider apart to make room, or walk them back to ease the depth.
For more, rest your forehead down and let the chest melt lower; for a gentler option, place a bolster under the chest to hold you.
Let the shape do the work. Soften the belly, breathe wide across the back of the ribs, and be still.
Why practice it
Opens the chest, shoulders and the whole upper back — the front-body space that closes down over a day of desks, phones and driving.
Creates a deep bend through the upper and middle spine while the lower back stays comfortable, so it suits people who find deeper backbends too strong.
Stimulates the Heart and Lung lines through the arms and chest, the Stomach and Spleen lines across the front body, and the Urinary Bladder line along the spine.
A quietly emotional shape — melting the heart toward the floor can feel like a soft, honest opening. Come as you are and let it.
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Take care
Ease off at any sharp or pinching sensation in the shoulders — this pose asks a lot of them, and sharp pain is a stop signal.
Let the hips stay high over the knees; dropping them backwards turns this into a lower-back bend, which is not the intention here.
Pad under sensitive knees with a folded blanket.
Approach cautiously with an existing shoulder or neck injury, and rest the forehead down rather than craning the chin forward.
Any tingling, numbness or pins-and-needles in the hands or fingers means a nerve is being compressed — change the arm position or come out, and never stay with it.
Coming in & out
Into the pose
From hands and knees (table position), walk the hands forward and lower the chest, keeping the hips high over the knees.
Out of the pose
Come out slowly: walk the hands back in and press up to hands and knees, or slide the hips back to Child's Pose.
Common questions
What does Melting Heart pose stretch?
Melting Heart mainly opens the chest and the front of the shoulders while bending the upper and middle back. Many people feel the front-body space that closes down over a day of desks, phones and driving begin to open. The lower back stays comfortable, so it suits people who find deeper backbends too strong.
How long do you hold Melting Heart in Yin Yoga?
Most people hold Melting Heart for 3–5 minutes. If you rest your chin on the floor rather than your forehead, keep the hold a little shorter and watch the sensations in your neck. Come out sooner any time you need to.
Is Melting Heart safe for the shoulders and neck?
For most people, yes, when you work gently. Keep the arms about shoulder-width, elbows lifted, and rest the forehead down to spare the neck. Sharp pinching in the shoulders usually means bone meeting bone rather than a stretch — widen the hands. Any tingling in the hands is a sign of nerve compression, so ease off or come out.
What's the difference between Melting Heart and Sphinx?
Melting Heart bends and opens the upper and middle back with the hips high over the knees, while Sphinx and Seal compress the lower back and sacrum. They work different parts of the spine, which is why they pair so well in a practice.
Melting Heart is one shape among many. When you'd like to put a whole sequence together into one long, slow practice, pop your email in and I'll send you my free two-hour Yin, restorative and Yoga Nidra retreat. Yours to keep.
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