Baby Yoga

Eli and I have been going to baby yoga at the Balace Studio in Hale since he was about 10 weeks old. I've had a lot of questions from my friends and family in the states about what it is like so I thought I'd share a little bit about it with you all.  Baby yoga can be split up into four parts.

1.  Yoga for me- When we do yoga for the mommies, the babies lay on the mats or play with toys.  I would divide the yoga for us into three parts:  A. Poses that help strengthen the pelvic floor and other muscles that were used (and abused) differently in pregnancy and childbirth.  B. Poses that help stretch out the muscles we use (and abuse) the most as mommies (i.e. back, sholders, wrists, etc.).  C.  Much-needed relaxation time!

2.  Yoga for Eli- During the yoga for the babies, we sing songs with motions, do different stretches with the babies, and put them into various poses that are reminiscent of adult yoga poses.  These stretches help Eli learn about his body and help me learn how to play with him in engaging ways.  They also came in very handy when he was colicky or gassy.

3.  Yoga for us both-  Some of the poses we do allow for interaction with the little ones in the process.  For example, when doing a swooping cat pose, I can tickle his tummy with my nose and play with him.  We also do different lifts and swings that are fun for us both.

4.  Social time- After we practice our yoga, we have time for tea and a little chat with the other moms.  This was one of the very first social engagements I had after moving to Hale with newborn Eli and we have made some dear friends in class who I'm sure will be around for a long time to come.

This is the link to the website of my fab teacher (Jess) if you would like more information.  There is also a picture gallery; just click on Treetots Yoga, then Baby and Toddler Yoga Pictures.

http://www.treetotsyoga.com/