When I tell people I teach Toddler Yoga, I think they
envisage some form of organised chaos.
It might be hard to imagine 18 month old's actively engaged in yoga poses
and relaxation, yet this is exactly what happens in my classes, and a whole lot
more.
I trained as a Toddler Yoga Instructor with The Birthlight
Trust, a UK based non-profit organisation, dedicated to enhancing the health and well being of women and
their families from conception through to the fourth year. I teach their SMART Toddler Yoga programme,
which stands for Stretch, Move And Relax Together.
Toddler Yoga classes offer a
structured base for parents to exercise and have fun with their children. Our five-week course promotes strength,
flexibility, balance and relaxation to contrast with the energetic activity of
our weekly expeditions to The Zoo, The Moon, Weather Walk, Old MacDonald’s Farm
and our Under Water Adventure.
It enhances the physical
wellbeing of both parent and child. The
weekly use of songs and rhymes helps to stimulate language, listening and
developmental skills and provide a sense of continuity, helping to lay the
foundations for a healthy life style.
Toddler Yoga also helps to nourish
the spirit and to foster and strengthen family bonds. As toddler’s make the transition from infancy
to independent movement, physical contact with their parent often lessens, new
babies very often make an appearance too, which can leave toddlers struggling
to make sense of their changed place in the family unit. Toddler Yoga can help to support loving and
playful contact, helping parents to share a new experience and learn new ways
of interacting with their child. It is
also a fantastic way of encouraging parents to get in touch with their own
“inner child”. There’s nothing like
crawling on the floor, shaking our imaginary lions tail, to remind us that
we’re never too old for play time!!
The emphasis on relaxation is
another key element of our Toddler Yoga class.
It teaches parents the skills they require to disengage and be in a
quiet, still, calm state whilst still being physically present with their
child. Parents are encouraged to relax
so that their child can relax. It’s
vital that our children learn to respect that we need time for ourselves, and
so class finishes each week with dedicated relaxation time, where I dim the
lights, put on some music and encourage parents to let go, to just breathe and
to concentrate on themselves, their strength’s and their capabilities.
Francoise Freedman, the
Founder and Director of Birthlight, is a medical anthropologist. The philosophy which underpins the
development of her baby and toddler yoga courses is that “in the increasingly
fast pace of the modern world, our children need all the help we can give them
in order to create a foundation of well-being, that will serve them all their
life”.
Our Toddler Yoga Classes take
place Tuesday and Saturday mornings in the tranquil setting of the Carlow
Holistic Centre.
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