Why does a time as sparkling and exciting as the holidays have to be so stressful? Our bodies are still dealing with a season’s windy change and now we have planning, baking, traveling and partying to do. It’s a joyous time, sure. But it’s a time of headaches too. I’ve already found myself in child’s pose several times in each room of my house. I’m thankful that a yoga practice at Root has trained me into knowing that it’s okay, a good idea even, to stop and breathe when you need to, to pause and listen to what your body needs wherever you may be. Sometimes it needs child’s pose. It’s a great pose to follow back bends and headstands, family gatherings, and expensive shopping excursions. It eases fatigue, stress, depression, and that feeling that the world is spinning much more quickly than we’d like. When I first learned child’s pose, I assumed it was so called because the shape one makes in the pose, with knees drawn in like a fetus. But, I also think the name is appropriate because it’s such a safe shape to be in, drawn in close to oneself in a quiet place away from it all. It reminds me of the small places children like to be, in a chair just their size, small forts of pillows, a place beneath the stairs where the worries of the adult world are just a rumbling in the background like a storm passing in the distance. You may not choose to join the kids table this year, but when the party’s over, go ahead, take child’s pose. Be in your own quiet place for ten breaths, maybe more. And then, and only then, you may collect the champagne flutes and vacuum the confetti.