So what on earth is Baby Yoga?

I asked Karen from Tiger Stripes Birth and Baby to explain a bit about what Baby Yoga is and how it can benefit you and your little one.

Baby yoga might sound like some new-fangled hippie nonsense and you might have visions of babies standing on one leg or gently humming ‘ohmmmmmmmm’ in the lotus position. Whilst that would be quite amusing, baby yoga is not quite the same as yoga done by adults, although the principles are similar.

Yoga is a mix of spiritual, mental and physical practices that have their routes in Northern India more than 5000 years ago. Yoga came to the Western world much more recently in the late 1800s and early 1900s when its focus on breathing, postures and healing appealed to Western interests. Baby yoga has become much more popular over the last 20 years as its benefits have become more widely known.

Baby yoga classes involve yoga inspired movements for parents to do with their babies. These support the baby’s development and also helps parents to communicate with and bond with their babies. The class combines these positive stretches and movements with songs, rhymes, and sensory play. Sensory stimulation involving all the 5 senses as well as movement encourages your baby’s creativity, fine and gross motor skills, spatial awareness and interest in the world around them. A baby yoga class can incorporate and support all of this!

There are also ways in which baby yoga classes can benefit and be enjoyed by parents. We incorporate breathing exercises, movements, songs and relaxations which all promote a sense of wellbeing and calm. A calm parent is often a happier and more attentive parent!

Benefits of Baby Yoga include

• Developing body awareness and co-ordination
• Improves quality of sleep
• Helps to relieve common tummy issues such as wind and constipation
• Strengthens and tones muscles and increases flexibility
• Improves spatial awareness
• Language development through song
• Encourages mindfulness in parents and can aid parents suffering with postnatal depression
• Helps parents develop confidence in playing and interacting with their babies
• Provides techniques for calming and soothing your baby
• Bonding between parent and baby
• Socialisation
• Builds foundations for a future enjoyment of exercise.

The Benefits of yoga are wide ranging and as more studies are done we are discovering more about how yoga can benefit all of our lives. So attending a baby yoga class with your baby is  a lot more than just a fun class, it’s a way to support your baby’s holistic development.

Tiger Stripes Birth & Baby
www.tiger-stripes.co.uk
email: karen(at)tiger-stripes.co.uk
insta: tiger_stripes_birth_baby
facebook: @tiger.stripes.birth.baby