10 Best Yoga Poses for Self-Love + Compassion
/Some of the best things we can share with the world is love and compassion; but that begins with ourselves. When we practice self-love and self-compassion, we create space to share loving kindness with others.
In a world of self-doubt, loss and trauma, self-love doesn’t always come easy — even as us grown ups try to teach such compassion to our little ones.
We’ve previously mentioned how we use mindfulness to build connections and spread love and kindness. We also look to yoga and mindfulness practices to help embrace an open heart, encourage vulnerability, and promote compassion too!
Heart Opening Yoga Poses for Self-Love and Compassion
There are many yoga poses that can help us strengthen our self-love (including heart opening yoga poses), so we’ve listed a few that you can try with children and benefit from as an adult. It’s also a great activity theme for Valentine’s Day yoga!
1. Camel Pose
Camel Pose is a deep, yet beginner-friendly backbend. This heart opener yoga pose stretches the front of our body while strengthening the back.
Because it expands the chest and ribcage, Camel Pose allows for a deep heart opening that encourages us to release harbored emotion, find comfort in vulnerability, and become connected to our breath.
2. Bow Pose
Bow Pose is another backbend that encourages an open heart! It supports sensory integration and helps us energize by expanding the breath.
With Bow Pose, we are able to balance firmly on our abdomen, and that stabilization provides feelings of security. When we feel secure, we are better able to share love and kindness with others!
3. Humble Warrior Pose (Ostrich Yoga Pose)
Low self-esteem often contributes to a lack of compassion to others. We love to use Humble Warrior Pose to build self-esteem as well as self-acceptance.
Humble Warrior combines a powerful heart opener with a surrendering forward fold, which also grounds us and strengthens our proprioceptive awareness.
4. Upward Facing Dog
If your kids love animal yoga poses, they’ll love upward facing dog! The benefits of Upward Facing Dog pose are endless: it improves posture, stretches the upper body and opens the chest, and even relieves stress and fatigue.
When we are less stressed and tired, we are better able to share love and compassion with each other and ourselves!
5. Triangle Pose
Triangle Pose is a heart opener that fires up the core while improving our balance and digestion. It is the perfect antidote for a mid-afternoon slump, and can release our low back and hip tightness too.
Triangle can be tricky though, so we create a guide on how to master it, but its benefits are plentiful even beyond heart opening.
6. Sphinx Pose and Cobra Pose
Have you ever noticed your posture follows suit when when feeling down, insecure, or lacking in self-love? Your shoulders creep up to your ears, neck and head slump forward, and your morale feels extra low…
Sphinx and Cobra Pose are wonderful ways to open your heart, relieve stress and tension, and feel uplifted. If you are just beginning, start to strengthen the spine and arms in Sphinx Pose first. As you strengthen, you might feel more comfortable to transition to Cobra pose.
Yoga Poses for Self-love and security
7. Knees to Chest Pose (Wind Relieving Pose)
Knees-to-chest Pose has many names. Some people might refer to it as Wind Relieving yoga pose as well. This pose is known for its wonderful digestive and bloating relief, but is also great for promoting self-love and comfort.
Bringing your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around your legs offer a sense of security. You are giving yourself a great, big hug and providing self-love and compassion. Try to add some affirmations along with it for a healthy inner dialogue.
8. Eagle Pose
Comfort is often rooted in grounding and clarity. Balancing poses both challenge us and provide that grounding by making space for us to let go of distractions and improve focus and concentration.
In Eagle Pose we warp our arms and legs, providing security, while challenging our brains by crossing the midline and taking on complex tasks (like simultaneously balancing on one foot).
9. Rabbit Pose
Is your nervous system fired up and your body feeling overwhelmed? Let’s bring in Rabbit Pose!
Not only does Rabbit Pose help bring us calm and security, it also releases tension, promotes respiratory health by breathing into the back and sides of our lungs, and helps with depression and insomnia.
10. Child’s Pose
Similar to Rabbit Pose, except with arms extended, Child’s Pose is an easy go-to yoga pose for self-love, security, and compassion. It helps us find peace, center, and relaxation.
As we rest our forehead on the floor, it signals to our brain that we are safe — and that it's okay to relax.
Much of our fears and doubts come from a lack of security. When we create a space we can find re-centering, we are able to regain that security and in turn, a place in our hearts for self-love.
Join Rachel in this Loving Kindness Meditation:
Save this article for later and don’t forget to download the Yo Re Mi app for children’s mindfulness and musical yoga videos.
