Hertfordshire Education Recycle

Finchley             East Barnet            Totteridge

Why Baby Yoga?

The demands of a newborn can be one of the biggest challenges of a postpartum yoga practice. However, it is not necessary to take on a full 60-90 minute practice to benefit from yoga. Even 10 or 20 minutes a day can make a big difference, and a practice can be divided into manageable segments and fit in to an accessible routine, 10 minutes here and there.

Baby yoga classes have been developed to make yoga practice easier to fit into your life with your newborn child. Classes involve yoga for babies, yoga for mums/carers and yoga that can be practised together. It is not necessary to have any previous yoga experience to join a class. Classes are very different from a traditional yoga class with no babies involved. Rhyme, singing, movement, stretching, humour and relaxation all form part of a baby yoga class.

Benefits

Physical

· In one session, the baby is given as much physical activity as he/she would receive if they were handled and carried all day. This activity will help the baby sleep more deeply.

· The baby’ will become more ‘settled’.

· Baby yoga provides a daily routine of activity through which the parent/carer can engage constructively with his/her baby from birth.

Physiological / developmental

All the baby's bodily systems are stimulated, including the digestive and nervous systems.

Psychological

· Baby yoga helps the parent and baby to get to know each other, enhancing communication between them.

· Yoga can help to heal birth trauma.

· Enjoyment of the positive stress of yoga will increase the baby's ability to cope with future challenges.

· Through the high quality attention the baby receives from it’s' parent/carer, the baby learns to interact with others and play actively.

· The relaxation that forms a part of yoga helps parents cope with the stresses of early parenting.

The inspiration for the approach to Birthlight Baby Yoga originated from the Peruvian Amazon native people. Some traditional techniques used with infants in India have also been incorporated and adapted into the sequences we practice. Years of experience and research underlie the integrated set of exercises on the baby yoga course developed by the Birthlight Trust. Baby yoga is suitable for babies from 6 weeks to mobile.

Visit Teeny Tiny Yoga - http://www.teenytinyyoga.com/