Mom & Baby Yoga
Thursdays 11:15 to noon
$10 (exact cash, check or credit cards accepted on site)
This is a class for moms to share with babies up to 6-months or crawling (whichever comes first). We start our practice with some gentle stretches for mom to relieve head, shoulder, neck and head tension and some exercises to prevent or support healing of carpal tunnel pain. Then, we move on to yoga for baby. Yes, you read that correctly—yoga for your baby! Babies love being gently touched, singing songs and mindful movement. Then, we close with some stretching and stretches for mom and a deep relaxation for everyone. No experience required! Just pack some diapers, be prepared to feed your baby on demand during the class and bring a blanket for baby to lie on during class.
Doing Yoga Together: Preparations and Expectations
You love yoga and now you want to make it a part of your child’s life too. We are delighted that this is the case and we have a few things to keep in mind that will help you and your child enjoy the experience.
Keep an Open Mind
We find that it takes a couple of visits to the studio for children (ok, it’s actually true for adults too!) to understand what the activity is and what is expected of them. You might find that your child acts bored or is not interested in doing yoga. The way that babies and children enjoy yoga classes may be different from the way that you enjoy them. What we know is that, over time, sharing yoga together with your child creates beautiful memories and is time that you will cherish forever.
Prepare for Class
As much as possible, make sure that you and baby have had a snack and are wearing comfortable clothing. Try to leave enough time to get the studio so that there isn’t a lot of stress before class. Bring your little ones favorite toy or comfort item and some snacks as appropriate. Bring a receiving blanket for newborns and pre-crawling infants and a change of clothing and more diapering supplies than you think you need. For young children, after the first class, make sure that you talk with them about it and start talking about it again a few days before class—–remind them of the teacher’s name, another child’s name or some feature of class that they remember (a story, a sound or ritual).
Enjoy the Moment
When we release our expectations, we can enjoy whatever is happening. This is yoga! Yoga together is very different from adult yoga, but it allows us to stay fit and take time to meet our own needs as adults while sharing something that is very important to us with our children. Sometimes it goes as planned and sometimes it is a bit of a disaster, but know that you and your child are never judged at Yoga Matrika. There isn’t one of us who haven’t had a child tantrum during a Mom & Baby class or who didn’t have a baby who cried through an entire class——we welcome you and your little one, even if you are having “one of those days.”
