Getting Started with Baby Yoga

Our Tots Play classes are packed with lots of different activities for you and your baby to enjoy together.

One of these is baby yoga!

Yoga can help babies develop their gross and fine motor skills, balance, and coordination as well as improving their flexibility and strength. Yoga will often leave your baby feeling calm and relaxed, which can be especially helpful for fussy or colicky babies. It can also help promote better sleep.

Baby yoga combines stretches, postures and movement to provide stimulation for your little one’s body and mind and can provide a wide range of benefits, here are just a few:

• One short session of yoga provides a full physical work out for baby in a gentle way that will not over stimulate.

• Practicing yoga stimulates the digestive, circulatory, respiratory, nervous and immune systems.

• It can also help improve co-ordination and muscle tone.

• Yoga can help regulate sleep patterns and promote longer, deeper sleep

• Yoga sessions can increasing baby’s ability to relax and deal with stress, such as digestive discomfort. Enjoyment of the positive stress of yoga will increase ability to cope with future challenges.

• Sharing yoga with your baby can also provide a daily routine of activity through which you can engage positively with your little one from birth.

Yoga is a key part of the Tots Play programme, both because of all the benefits it brings and because it’s a really fun way to enjoy special time with your little one!

We use nursery rhymes and simple action songs to help add to the enjoyment of our yoga time and further stimulate the senses. Music also helps to introduce rhythm and rhyme to your baby, an important part of speech development.

Different yoga poses and movements provide different benefits, some are more soothing and relaxing and some are more dynamic and stimulating, so you can mix and match what you include in your yoga session depending on how you and your little one are feeling. You can learn lots of these different ways to enjoy yoga through our classes and resources but today let’s look at getting started with yoga and learn a lovely, simple routine for your baby’s lower body.

The Welcome Touch

It is important when you start a baby yoga session that both you and baby are in the right mood. Setting the scene and creating a pre yoga routine helps your baby to understand what is coming and evokes a gentle anticipation.

1. Lay your baby on her back with her feet closest to you.

2. Breathing deeply and slowly place your hands over your heart then rub them together above your baby to generate warmth and love.

3. Bring both hands slowly to baby’s shoulders with palms flat.

4. Gently and slowly move your hands down baby’s body without lifting them in a stroking motion, maintaining eye contact with your little one throughout.

5. Repeat this action 2 or 3 more times.

These initial touching moments between you and your baby allow the right atmosphere to develop, or for you to take time to notice if he or she is not in the right frame of mind to enjoy yoga today, in which case simply try again another time.

If you do feel you are both ready then it’s time to begin your baby yoga session.

Lower Body Stretches

Here are three stretches that you can put together into a short sequence that will help improve circulation, suppleness and strength in the lower body. At Tots Play we use the song Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake along with these movements, so why not sing along as you play, trying one movement with each verse. You can download the song HERE.

Kissy feet

(Benefits: Improves circulation in the legs and stimulates the nerve endings in the feet.)

1. Lay your baby on her back with feet nearest you.

2. Place your thumbs on the outside of baby’s ankles and wrap your fingers along the inside of the baby’s ankles and lower legs.

3. Bringing the sole of the feet together so the knees drop open, move them slightly apart and then back together in a clapping action with a steady rhythm.

4. Stretch baby’s legs towards you to finish.

Hip Stretches

(Benefits: Improves the suppleness of your baby’s hip joints)

1. Bring the soles of baby’s feet together and gently push both feet in towards the body as far as is comfortable. Never force the movement.

2. Keeping the feet together, draw them towards you to straighten the legs slightly then press them in towards the body again.

3. Repeat 2 or 3 times.

Sole pushes

(Benefits: Increases muscle tone in legs and encourages kicking action)

1. Place the palms of your hands against the soles of baby’s feet and push down, gently, but firmly.

2. Release and repeat a few times.

3. If you feel baby push back against your hands increase the pressure slightly in response.

Once you have finished the sequence pick your baby up for a big hug and lots of praise!

Throughout your yoga practice, it is important to always pay attention to their cues. If you can see that baby has had enough, is bored, tired, hungry or uncomfortable you must stop. You can always continue at a later time when your baby is in a more receptive mood. Like most things, little and often is the best way to enjoy yoga with your baby, so always keep it fun and positive.

At Tots Play you can learn these poses and lots more, along with a wide range of other play activities to boost your little ones development. Classes provide a fun, friendly and positive environment for you and baby, and we have sessions available for babies from birth right up to the age of 3. Find your nearest session HERE. You can also enjoy the activities at home with our online courses and resources, so why not start enjoying the benefits of baby yoga with your little one today?

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